The Spiritual Practice of Creativity
“The Spiritual Practice of Creativity” first appeared on Feb 14, 2022 on Kevin Fitton’s blog, The End of Platitudes. Thanks to Kevin for letting us share it here.
That phrase—the spiritual practice of creativity—I don’t really know where it came from. One day, it just appeared in my mind. I was looking for a title for a workshop, and there it was. Immediately, though, I knew it was an important idea, despite the fact that I wasn’t quite sure what it was. Also, I knew it was true—that creativity could be a spiritual practice. It just sounded right.
Of course, creativity isn’t always spiritual. It isn’t even necessarily used for good. Creativity can be used to amass frivolous amounts of wealth and then hoard it. Creativity can be used to demonize our enemies. Political entities use creativity to spread lies about their opponents. Some of our most profoundly creative speech come in moments of defensiveness—in a breath, we form elaborate excuses and counterattacks. No, there is nothing inherently good about creativity.
But it can also be applied toward good. And it can be a spiritual practice.
I naturally approach the idea of spiritual practice from a Christian perspective, so let’s start there. In the Christian faith, a spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is an activity a person engages in with the purpose of becoming more like Jesus. As the theologian Dallas Willard put it in his book, The Spirit of the Disciplines, “If we have faith in Christ, we must believe that he knew how to live. We can, through faith and grace, become like Christ by practicing the types of activities he engaged in, by arranging our whole lives around the activities he himself practiced in order to remain constantly at home in the fellowship of his Father” (ix).
The question, then, is whether the practice of creativity is one of the “activities” Jesus engaged in? The answer is yes. The most essential practices for enlivening our creativity involve activating the mind and the body and setting aside discreet time away from distractions. Jesus did each of these things regularly, and, at least partially as a result, exhibited immense creativity in his life and teaching. The examples are so numerous it seems silly to mention them, but let’s take the Sermon on the Mount as an example, a short teaching which has spawned centuries of study and speculation, sermonizing and writing. As a writer, it is difficult to imagine how a person could be more creative than Jesus in his Sermon, describing a universal moral ethic in a few short pages.
For centuries, certain elements in the Christian church have tried to diminish the role of art in our faith communities. In a sense, the Church has forgotten who it is in this regard. But it shouldn’t be hard to make the connection between the Christian faith and creativity. They should be part-and-parcel. After all, God is defined by his creative activity. The opening chapters of the Bible declare that God made the world and everything in it, the greatest act of creativity imaginable. And the New Testament describes Jesus as the recreator, the one who came to repair God’s damaged world. Creative practice, therefore, should be an essential activity for the Christian who is seeking to emulate Jesus.
But let’s also look at the idea of spirituality more broadly. Without the Christian emphasis, a spiritual practice is a way in which a person cultivates a deeper and more attentive approach to life in the world. Yoga could be a spiritual practice, meditation and breathing exercises, walking. What these practices all have in common is the fact that they create a space for a person to separate from the anxieties and distractions of daily life. Spiritual practice, broadly defined, is a means for digging deep, asking meaningful questions, getting beyond the surface.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that many people are attracted to these sorts of practices in today’s world. Even before Covid, rates of anxiety were growing. With the strain and struggles that come with this disease, anxiety has turned Covid into a double-pandemic. Our phones and their constant alerts are wreaking havoc with our attention spans. We are strung out and desperately need to reclaim our space and sanity.
The activities I mentioned above are all great and highly effective for lowering anxiety and increasing attentiveness. I utilize breathing exercises when I’m feeling anxious and sometimes when I just want to slow down and be more attentive. Meditation is a powerful antidote to the pressures and concerns of daily life. I don’t know yoga, but based on the research I’ve read, I’m sure it’s a very useful practice for both mind and body.
But let’s also add creative practice to the mix. What is a creative practice? From my understanding of current research into creativity, there are essentially three ways to increase creativity. 1) Engage the mind, 2) Engage the body, and 3) Reduce inhibition. There are many ways to implement these three pathways. Go for a run or walk (without your phone). Learn how to make cheese or learn a new language. Go to a museum. There’s a great brainstorming trick where you brainstorm for 10 minutes until you think you’ve come up with every idea imaginable and then give yourself another 10 minutes. You will come up with more ideas and surprise yourself. Trust me.
My point is this: creativity can be a spiritual practice. If you choose to practice creativity, you will find that your brain comes alive in a new way. You will be surprised by your own imagination. And the world might even look a little different. Because creativity is a part of who we are. If you’re a Christian, that’s a theological truth. If not, think about what makes life meaningful. Relationships, of course. Also creativity. The activity that really enlivens our experience is creative. New things. New ideas. New ways of using old things and ideas. That’s what makes our world new and vibrant. It’s what adds depth to our experience in the world. Creativity. It’s a deeply spiritual thing. We should seek to employ it more often and more intentionally.
