On Violence and Creativity - May 31, 2004

Barbara and a friend spoke of her impulse to paint. This question arose. 

Q: I'm fascinated to see that the antidote to violence is creativity. Can Aaron speak to this? 

Aaron: I am Aaron. Violence is chaotic power. Chaotic energy. Creativity is the voice of love that harnesses that energy and shapes it. When we use the term "creativity," we must be sure we understand that word, and that we mean authentic creativity. This is creativity that comes from the fully open heart, from the deepest place of interconnection with all that is. 

An imitation of creativity indulges fear. It is what we call the "near enemy" of authentic creativity, in that it imitates such creativity, but it is false. It comes from that part of the being that is terrified and which carries the old habit energy to try to control, often with force. It does not know itself as inter-being with all that is but acts from the individuated self, thus attempting to control what it sees as forces separate from the self. 

Much that poses as the creative in the world today is such false creativity. You can often feel the strain behind it. I find this especially to be true in so-called political creativity, which is more often the voice of the ego, of separation. It is harder to discern this distortion in artistic creativity, but it is there. Several weeks ago when B. felt arising in herself the wish to paint, I asked her to reflect upon how this arising aspiration to paint fitted in with the recent dreams and meditations in which she saw the ocean's violence and her helplessness in that violence. It became very clear to her that this was fear's voice attempting to get back in control. I recommended that she gently enter those dreams and meditations, feel the true nature of the universe in which everything is participating in the dance, co-creating the dance, and no one dancer has control. This is exactly the truth ego wishes to deny. But you cannot be co-creator in this dance of life unless you accept, and even learn to enjoy, this truth. That which knows non-separation loves this truth, that everything is boundaryless! 

It took two weeks of work with dreams and meditation to allow herself to relax into this co-created dance of being, in which there is both life and death, movement and stillness, chaos and clarity, being, transition and being-lessness, without the ego's grasping to hold onto any single part. 

There is still desire to paint, but no longer to do so to control. Here, there is the opportunity for authentic creativity. It would be a useful exercise for many people to explore the differences in their own lives—between authentic creativity and this imitation of it that springs from fear. 

Copyright © 2004 by Barbara Brodsky