Creativity

[Olesya]

Creativity
2006/07/08


When we have the opportunity to experience a very pleasurable weather or a very interesting environment, we do so, because that's our nature. It does seem that it is the nature of the living entity to be in the situation which is pleasurable for him. After all, nobody is going to voluntarily accept the situation of pain, unless you are one of those very special people who are masochists, they love to inflict pain upon themselves. Normally, I mean, even in psychology Freud used to say that the living being's main business is to avoid pain and maximize pleasure, but we do find that this is a significant part of our lives. So, we are all familiar with this and there is no need to discuss this point further, but what I really want to discuss today is what it is that gives us pleasure.

In the Judaic-Christian religion, in the tradition of the Judaic and Christian religious groups, the idea of sacrificing the self for the sake of others is top-most. We find that self-negation, self-denigration, putting the self secondary is glorified. Therefore, people are going through life doing what they can for others, they are trying to do whatever they can do to satisfy others, in other words, the satisfaction of others is more important than their own self-satisfaction. This idea is also similar to being a humble servant that we have heard often. And it is also related to the idea of classes where people just would render service in a happy mood, in a happy way because it was their nature. But one thing we have been questioning in our lectures here is this very fundamental fact, which we have all accepted as an axiomatic truth. I use the word "question" because I am not coming right out and saying that it has no value to be of service to others. When I say "question" I am saying that there is a possibility, there is a very significant possibility that the self is at least equally important.

The idea of selfishness has been thrown around often amongst people who worry about such questioning, worry about such discussions. They worry about the idea of caring for the self more than caring for others. It seems to be a fear which is instilled by the religious traditions, by the cultures, by our parents, by the government. It's just simply something which people worry about. If you think about it, it's very interesting over a period of time, in the late 60ties, when the Flower-Power and all that came, it was not really a selfish kind of a movement, so to speak. People were just trying to make great relationships among each and other and spread love, so there was this idea of sharing and being of service. This went on through the 70ties, but gradually started to transform towards the end of the 70ties. Although I didn't personally experience it, as you know, but I have read different accounts of it, the 80ties were a time where "Me" was the primary understanding, "to worry about Me". In fact, some people call the eighties the Age of Hedonism where music, art, all expressions, not everything, but there was this enormous increase in awareness of the sensual pleasures of life. And certain aspects of society, which were hidden, which were under the surface, came out. The idea of women becoming more powerful, more dominant started to really manifest. You will also see at that time the beginning of public awareness of transvestites. Homosexuals became very much more apparent, lesbians became more apparent, where their sexual preferences became something that they wore with greater pride. Yet, to a certain extent, it pushed the limits of the hedonistic ideal. That since that time has pulled back to a very great extent. I'll explain that further. It's like OK, we are used to it now, it's something more normal, it's not so shocking or different or radical. And even though there have been a lot of discussions, a lot of books, a lot of teachings of coming back to the self, the overriding thousands of years of tradition of selflessness is still there. Indeed, I would say, it's impossible to destroy, because the idea of selflessness is ingrained within our existence, but in a purified form. It is this purified form of the selflessness that I've been trying to discuss with you over these past years. And therefore, I have transformed the idea "I don"t try to take credit for it, - I've been speaking of the idea of instead of being a humble servant, "to be of service". And when we are of service like that, when we do feel "to be of service" like that is our voluntary expression of our energy, it is our voluntary expression of love. Well, none of this is new, but I would like to now focus on "being of service" - what does it really mean?

We do know we have duties. That is something you can not avoid. We have duties to children, we have to take care of them, we have to feed them and our family, we have to bring them to school, we have to do things with them. Family is a duty. We have to make money, we have to pay the bills, we have to do things to keep ourselves afloat - these are duties. We have duties in relationship to our bodies and our health and the health of those around us. Duties to the government, duties to the society -you've got the point. In the tradition, if somebody needs help, you are to put aside all of your considerations to offer that help. For example, the saying "A friend in need is a friend indeed". OK, these are all valid points. They have validity to them; they have an importance to them. And I don't think it's necessary to discuss weather they are valid or not. However, I would like to question about what it means to be of service on a deeper level. And to do that I would like to put aside this whole concept just for a second and discuss it from a totally different point of view.

I would like to discuss it from the point of view of our creativity. I know that sound a little strained, but it's, I think, a powerful point and one that's often neglected by us. We've often spoken of self-realization, self-awareness, self-understanding and so on. But when we speak about the Self, what really are we speaking about? What is that essence there that makes it important?
To take this a little further, let's just remember for a second, how in the time of Radha and Krishna historically children were educated or what was considered to be valuable or important? Krishna learnt 64 arts, Radha knew so many arts, these arts were considered the most important thing, not the pedagogic of a normal educational system. These arts were real arts, they were not sciences, they were not technologies. Alright, there is a technology to art, of course, but they were mainly concerned with creations of creativity that were fascinating to people around.
Every artist, regardless of their particular way of manifesting it, knows that the technique or the technology behind the art is an essential factor.
For example, in painting the particular brush that is used with the particular kind of paint on a particular kind of a backdrop on a particular kind of a canvas which is stretched to create a different kind of stroke or effect - all of this is important. You know, there is the "squash the paint on", then there is the "slightly touch", there is the scalpel scrape, there is the slide of brush, there are all kinds of different methods. The old masters used to have all different secret colors they would prepare themselves; they would have special sources of their ingredients. They would be ground in a very specific manner, mixed in a specific manner, used on a very specific kind of base, they had their proprietary techniques. So, they were well aware that the technique and the technology of their art was a fundamental, primary ingredient in their creativity.
Even violinists were always seeking out that perfectly fabricated violin, which would resonate in just a way, which would give that tone, that crispness, or that smoothness, or that beauty, they were seeking to utilize. The singer, the actors or any personality who was creating, writers, poets, play-writers, they all were perfecting their technique, perfecting their art. It doesn't matter whether you are using a violin, a sitar, an electric guitar or you are at any period of time, these principals remain similar throughout time.

But what is the point of it? The point of it is to optimize the creation, to optimize that, which is being displayed or shared with people, the sharing of our creative essence, which manifests from our soul, from our spirit in just the proper way. You may have noticed among various artists of any kind their capacity to verbally express or to explain or to discuss what they do is not very advanced. I don't mean to say, "They do not have capacity, they are not intelligent, whatever." That's not the point. The point is they don't focus on communicating in that way. They are mainly concerned with communicating through their creativity.
This was also manifested there at the time of Radha and Krishna, in fact, Radharani is the epitome of creativity. This creativity just emanates from her in all ways.

Creativity is an essential part of our essence; it's an essential part of our being. Yet how many of us respect that part of our being? This is an important point, it's not just an insignificant point, it's not like "oh yeah, that's something else on my ''to-do list''. It is not something to do, it's something to be. Everybody has that creative energy, that creativity within. But we have this problem with critics. Critics are those who judge what we do and give some review of it. So, when we face critics, when we come in contact with critics, we become afraid, we become uncertain, we back off from our creativity. One wise person once wrote that a critic is one who has no legs, yet is teaching others how to run. In other words, the critic is one who doesn't know the art in the same way that the artist knows the art. Yet, will claim so much knowledge of it that will go out of the way to educate as it were about the art. Of course, I understand that critics perform a service by helping people understand whether they want to go to that movie or that play or listen to this record. Yes. But the funny thing is nowadays nobody listens to critics anymore, critics may pan a certain movie - people still go anyway. I think it's a dying part of journalism, if you ask me. But just think about the effect of the critic on our creativity. What will the critic say about what I create? Let's say, you want to paint, you want to do music, and you have to worry about what people will think. Let's say, you are worried about them paying for it, let's say, you need it for your income. So, from that point of view, your creativity is handicapped, because it is all dependent on what others will think of it. Yet, there are some of the most significant artistic personalities were those who were not recognized in their lifetimes, who had nothing and only after their death were they recognized. Of course, there were those who were capable of doing both - doing incredible artistic accomplishments and getting a lot of money for it. These are the most amazing personalities, those who did what they wanted to do and at the same time got a lot of money for it. These are very special persons, but I don't really want to talk about that right now.

I want to talk about you and me. I want to talk about us who are regular people, who have not any particularly extraordinary capacity. OK, of course, maybe, some of us do have a great capacity, but I am trying not to focus on the capacity but rather focus on the creativity. You may not think you have that creativity. I have seen, I have somehow or another seen what people paint or what music people make, how they have expressed themselves in a literary way and so on, and I have seen that they themselves don't take themselves so seriously, they don't think it's so significant. You know, my wife performs a very great service to me by chastising me when I do something similar. I have this disease that I always compare myself to the greatest in any particular instrument I might play or anything I might do. When I am playing guitar, I would think, "Jimmy would do it like this and Jerry would do it like that and Eric would do it like this, and look at me - I am just a nothing." So, in this way I discourage myself, because I am always comparing myself to these monsters in the art.

And I think to a certain extent most of us do like this. Let's say, you can paint a little. So, you paint and than you think, 'Oh, my God, compared to Rembrandt or Van Gough or anyone, we are just a nobody, we can't even paint like what these people paint on the advertising.' So, there are many personalities we compare ourselves to and always we pale in comparison, obviously. These people have dedicated their entire lives, these people have dedicated all their time and all their energy to perfect their art to such a degree that we will never compare to them. Alright. But we still have creativity. It still should manifest. What keeps it from manifesting is we say it shouldn't manifest. Whether you believe it or not, or whether you have ever experienced or not, somewhere somehow you have a creativity. I've seen even my father, my cousin is amazed by my father in his capacity to build things. My cousin has a whole workshop filled with the latest machines that can do this, do that, do the other thing in such a perfect way, and my father had some hand tools and maybe one very small power tool at the time, and yet he built beautiful clocks and beautiful dining-room furniture or other furniture. I mean, my cousin was just mind-boggled, 'How do you do that with this stuff?' He was manifesting his creativity in that way.

I have seen others manifest creativity in things they write, maybe, just to themselves, maybe, in a diary, maybe, every now and than they may think of a little poetry or write a little song. OK, maybe, it won't be a number 1 hit, but at least, it's something you've made.
Some ladies or men have just created the most incredible things in the kitchen. I've seen a couple of movies which described one lady in Copenhagen who came from France, another one in China, or others, where their cooking was so incredible, they would just inspire the minds of people just like they would be at a great symphony.
I guarantee you, every single one of you has some idea of something you would like to do like a hobby of somehow manifesting your creativity: working in a garden, making a beautiful display; dressing the deities in such a fabulous way that people are just inspired; mixing oils, mixing aromas, to just make it so beautiful; sitting in front of a painting and painting or drawing; writing a poem, writing a song, anything. There is really no limit to creativity; it's just what you feel like doing, something which is just you and your creation, something where your essence is involved in expressing how you feel in some manner that others may or may not see, it doesn't matter. The best kind of creation - of course, I can't say 'the best', but - a very significant kind of creation is one where you are just expressing yourself and it doesn't matter what others think or even if they see it or not. What if we lived in a world where there were no critics? What if we were living in a world where there was no obstacle to our creativity? No one to tell us, 'Hey, don't do that,' or 'That's no good, do it like this.' What if we were just allowed to manifest our creativity however we felt it should be manifested?

Let's look at it in another way. When we are little baby, and we are just expressing our joy, expressing our sounds, when we are just making sounds, because we just like the way they sound, would any sane person come up to a baby and say, 'No-no-no-no, this sound, this is not right. You have to do it the proper way.' Although that sounds like a funny statement, that's very significant. Little babies don't worry about what you think about their googoos and gagas. They don't have anything to prove to you, they are not trying to sell themselves to you. They are just expressing how they can create, they are expressing their creativity. Little babies are so uninhibited, they are even happy to express pooping; they think this is just a wonderful creation, they are just fascinated by what they've made. Think about that. They are just happy to create. That is fabulous. No fear. Even no fear of pooping, unless the mother says, 'No, that wasn't good now.' - 'Oh, than I have to hold it in.' Therefore, the healthiest babies are those who are just allowed to manifest their creativity, to discover themselves, to discover how to express themselves, to discover how to relate with the world. After a while, of course, they have to be socially integrated, so that their expression doesn't cause difficulty to others; that's something else, that's part of growing up. But why does the growing up have to include a repression of the creativity? What is it, what is the mechanism that dampens the creativity, that pushes it down? I remember when once my father brought home a piano for my sister to learn on, and while she was learning, I just happened to look over her shoulder and started playing. Naturally, it wasn't great, but they said, 'Hey, you want to learn?' I said, 'Sure.' I went off to lessons. When you are in an atmosphere where your creativity is encouraged, it's very different than when you are in an atmosphere where your creativity is discouraged. And the main discouragement is when we think, what we create will not be appreciated, what we will create will be criticized, will be judged and it will be rejected.

Here is the interesting point and here is where it links to the first point about service. If I am the servant, if the servant is like the sudra, the idea is that my creation is to be appreciated, is to be rewarded, than my creativity becomes a task, it becomes a job, it becomes something linked to others. In this understanding, I create for your pleasure, ultimately, what I create is for your pleasure. So, you are the ultimate authority over my creation. What you like, what you dislike, what you think is good, what you think is bad rules my creative process. Naturally, this will destroy the creative process, it will modify the way in which the creativity manifests, it will limit it in a very specific fashion.
Now if you are 'The Beatles', for instance, you have such a freedom, you can do that. Because you will be so progressive in your musical creation, that you will cause your audience to move with your creativity and love it. But if you are you or me, we don't have such a capacity. So, if we have this idea that we have to be servants, if what we do is not accepted by others, we will not do it, we would rather not do it than subject ourselves to the rejection of others. And thus the most important aspect of our energy, our creativity, doesn't manifest. And we work day after day, fulfilling our duties, taking care of life step by step, until we die. That doesn't sound very inspiring to me, I don't know about you.

However, it does make great sense to analyze that and to come up with the new model which is more compatible with what we are. And that new model is to respect our creativity, respect whatever it is to whatever degree it can manifest. Whether we share it or not, whether other people accept it or not, whether it makes us money or is recognized or not, is not the point. The point is the creative process itself, the point is to be creative because it is what we are, we are creative beings. We talk about being co-creators of this Universe, yet when we are talking like that, we usually think of co-creating physical things like houses or economy or relationships or stuff like that. We think of being co-creators as a practical affair, and all this philosophy and all this understanding and having the awareness is to help us manifest this practical future. So, in essence, our life becomes a practical affair. Yet, in essence, our life is not a practical affair, it's a creative affair.

OK, we understand this point, what do we do about it? Well, I can just give off the top of my head suggestions. You all have some idea of how you would have liked to or how you do like to be creative. How you would shut the door of your apartment and sing when no one can hear you, dancing around your living room, manifesting beautiful movements, writing just a little poem or a little paragraph to express how you feel. Everybody has that idea, we all have that feeling, not all the time, but when we do get it, respect it. Make an appointment, make a meeting, set up a time for that to manifest. And if somebody says, 'Can you do this or do you...?' - 'No-no, sorry, I have a meeting at that time.' Don't care about any critic, don't care about good or bad, don't care what others may think, just create. And if you feel like doing so, you can share it. If you don't feel like doing so, you never have to share it. Like you know, in my forum I have my 'Hari's corner', that's where when I feel inspired, I write something. You like it, you don't like it - not really my problem, I am just giving you what I create. You can if you want, just a suggestion, just write a poem, or write a little essay or write a short story, just write something, if it's in the written form, in your own language, and let it just be the creation which you like the most. I can create a forum in Harimedia.net for people to just share their creations. But it doesn't matter whether you want to share them or not, you don't have to share them, it's just an idea, if you feel like this. And in these forums it's not something we comment on, we just simply have them, that's all. You like it - read it, fine. You don't want to read it - don't, fine. If you are a photographer, upload your photos, we have them. If you are an artist, take pictures of what you've done, upload those, if you want. You can even do it anonymously, no one would even know it's what you've done, so even if they do judge it, you'll never get the problematic aspect of it. All I am saying here is that don't let anyone, don't let anything prevent you from manifesting your creativity, just let it flow. Let your creativity flow, let it just be whatever it can be, because that is the manifestation of your spiritual essence.

I know this is in some cases radical, yet, it's not difficult. It is something that can actually make you feel very good about yourself. You may say, 'Well, I am not really good at what I manifest'. I would say that the more you manifest it, the better you will become at it. Just doing it will make you better at it. But even the "better" or "not better" - that's not the point, it's the manifestation, it's the endeavor, it's the trial, it's the attempt to just express how you feel.

Back to the point of the technology. Why did the artists, the great masters spend so much time perfecting the media of the painting? Because they were trying to express what they wanted to express in a very perfect manner. Why do the musicians take so much concern and time to have the perfect sounds and to have the perfect medium by which they can express the very nuances of their soul? Because they are so concerned with specifically expressing exactly how they feel and because they have perfected the art, they know exactly how to do it.
And therefore, so much emphasis was given in the Vedic times on perfecting arts. Because perfecting those arts was a way to manifest very nicely our spirit. As was for example in the Zen flower arranging or any of the Zen practices of the manifestation of an art or the manifestation of a specific artistic creation, it was to just express the spirituality in its maximum potential. So, it's not just some thing for fun, it's not just some hobby, it's something that is just integral to the spirit.
So, therefore, I recommend to all to manifest their creativity. And that is basically, I would say, one of the hidden functions or hidden factors in spirituality. It's something which is not obvious; it's something which you will not find it, for example, in the scriptures stated in this way. But it is something of great, great importance, something which I think we should take seriously, and therefore, today I have spoken about this topic 'Creativity'.

However, there was this one point which I think I should have dealt with which is how those who are, shall we say, more capable creators, deal with their active creation. For example, I spoke about how I compare myself to personalities who are very expert at the musical art. Well, I am not the only one who does that, I think, most creative persons do that to a certain extent.
And Siva-Ratri is saying that we are not afraid of critics, but we do require feedback from the spectators. Therefore, when you are creating in this live format, it's essential that you do it in such a way that you will capture the imagination of the listener and you will get that excitement and the audience enthusiasm. OK, that is certainly true and it's something I am very aware of myself. After all, when you do not have that capacity to connect with the persons to whom you are performing, you don't have the same experience of sharing your creativity.
So, there are really at least two aspects to the creative process. One is where you are feeling the creative process and expressing your essence, and the other is that you are expressing it in such a way, that you are getting that feedback, that energetic feedback, that excitement in reciprocation with those who you are performing for. The reason that's important is not just because you want to be accepted, not just because you want to be glorified, but because the audience becomes a part of the creative process. In other words, the audience is interacting with you in such a way, that their energy inspires your energy and together with the audience the creation expends. This brings an enormous enthusiasm to artists, when they get this incredible connection with the audience to such a degree, that it just expands the art. And because of that, the perfection of the technique and the perfection of the music and the requirement to do it in the way which is compatible with the audience is part of the excitement, of the life of the artist.
It's interesting that there are these different varieties of the creativity and different levels on which the creativity works and different ways in which we can be nourished by it, because it is very nourishing to have that experience. Therefore, I am being asked and I agree, that it is a little difficult for some people to create when there is no one to share it with, in other words, when they are not receiving feedback, when they are not receiving some kind of appreciation for their creation. But I think it's more a factor of our particular mentality and the particular way in which we have developed ourselves rather than "art in general". Some feel that need, that desire, that feeling to create, regardless of how others accept it or reject it. And some feel it's very important that their art be accepted. I don't think there is any rule or formula here that I can discuss, rather that we are all different and we all relate to creativity according to our own quality. I don't think there is a better or worse here, it's rather how you find the flow, how you find connection to the flow of your creativity, and even more significantly how you feel rewarded by that flowing creativity.

And yet, we are social animals, we like to share what we are with others; we feel pleasure when others are feeling pleasure. So, we have our entrance into art and we have our entrance into creativity, and than we have our path down the road of creativity.

I've just been asked again about creativity and motivation. I mean, motivation is like one of the main factors in creativity. Without motivation, why do anything? Yet, at the same time it is a question of what motivates you, how you are motivated, what is really the factor which is motivating you. If it's something born outside of you, than, perhaps, the creative process is not flowing in the spiritual format. If it's flowing from within you or it's a reciprocating flow from within and from without, it has more of a chance to be connected with our essence, with our spirit. So, I think, I have addressed that situation in the beginning of this talk.

There is, of course, one other factor, where some musicians, for example, are in an orchestra or they are in a group and the opinions of those who lead or whose who are making sure of the quality of the music, is an essential factor, but that's a different situation, because in that situation the creation is not yours, it's not your creation. The creation is the group creation. The rules, so to speak, if there are any, are different in a group creation than they are in individual creation. Because the creation itself depends on multiple personalities inputting into it, and these personalities must work in a compatible way. So, obviously, we have to consider the group.

And here is another question. Does the development of talent help somebody to unite with their spiritual energy? In childhood this person very much liked to improvise and it restored them to a very surprisingly meditative state, that meeting with the music caused one to forget about the body. And this was a very attractive and unusual state, it was very nice state. I've had the same experience, I can relate with this very well. However, I am not so sure that the development of a particular talent is specifically and uniquely meant or tied to the expansion of our spiritual consciousness. In the example given here about childhood, the idea of improvising, the idea of creating, just letting that creating energy flow I would say it's a very spiritually enlivening, spiritually broadening act. But than there is a very specific phenomena, that takes place for those who dedicate themselves to learning. So, you have this feeling, you have some talent, than you enter into a disciplined program to expand your talent with all of the technique required, with all of the knowledge required, with all of the skills in the fingers required to manifest it. So, you start on a journey where the spontaneous improvised creativity just gets deviated off of that spontaneity into discipline, so that you can ultimately get to the point where your creation will again have all of the tools to spontaneously manifest your energy. So, you have to go all the way around from the same state you started in, go out and learn and learn, and practice and practice to get back to the same state you started in. But in that original state your expression is not so, shall we say, attractive to or interesting to those around you. And when you finish this evolutionary process to the point that you can so perfectly manifest your creativity, you have also grown so much as a person, that what you manifest is so deep and significant. Some people lose themselves in this pathway. While they are moving from that point of innocence to that point of mature perfection, they lose themselves, they lose their spontaneity, they lose their connection to the creative process. They may give it up, they may give up all desire to continue, they may give up all motivation, they may give up all interest. They may conclude it's too much of a price to pay.

So, creativity does have different levels, does have different pathways, and all of this have to be considered, but my discussion today was not meant to be specifically related to those, who have dedicated their lives to the creative process, because those who have dedicated their lives to the creative process, have a very unique challenge in their lives. I am talking about the rest of us in this world, who just would feel good about manifesting their creativity. And I think it would do well for us to manifest that.

There are going to be a lot of questions about how you deal with group creation, when you are doing a group creation, either in design or in music or in any particular activity. And there is one generic kind of an answer to all of that. And that generic answer, I think, is a universal answer, is that when you are in a group situation, you have to consider that your interests as an individual must be coordinated with the group. And the problem is that there may be some members of the group who are not very compatible with you. And that is one of the major problems in life. One of the main problems of life is how do you balance the interests of the group that you are forced to work with to create with your own creative process, with your own creative requirement. How do you do it? It's tough. You will see even the Beatles whom I've mentioned before had the exact same problem, they could no longer balance their individual creative capacities with the creative requirement of a group situation, so they started doing their own thing. So, this problem is across the boards, wherever you have a group involved in a creative process, you will have the struggle and there is just nothing you can do about it. And ultimately what happens is that you usually change these groups periodically because you can no longer tolerate being restricted in that way.
And even though one might say, 'This is a terrible thing and no, it shouldn't be like this and no, we should try to work it out,'- practically speaking, this is what happens amongst groups of artists who get together to design or to make music or to do any architectural things or any kind of creative process, they can stay together as long as they can, but ultimately they have to change to keep that balance.

Another problem is when you alone do some creation for somebody who has a very specific desire of what they want you to do. That's another kind of the problem and I'll give a generic answer to that. So, we have this situation, you are the creator, you like to create, you like to do what you do, this person is a client. Now you are in a professional situation, they hire you to do something you need done. This is very different than what I am talking about. Because now you are employed by that person, and the customer, as they say, is always right, you have to satisfy them. So, whatever they ask you to do, you can either do it or you can suggest to them a way to do it better, you can work with them, so that they can create something better, but if you think of yourself as the creator and your client has to just simply take your creation, you can not work as a professional. Of course, you could. You could say, 'I design gardens, for instance. You take my gardens as they are, I just make them and you take them. If you don't like that, don't hire me.' - You could say that. From the business point of view, I don't recommend that. Than again, you can just let them tell you what to do, because you are the artist, they are the client. You know what you do and you have certain integrity. So, what I would do is I would make a drawing and try to give some idea, 'This is what it will look like.' And 'Do you like that? If not, let's modify it, until you do like it. If so, we can do it.' But if they want you to transform things into something, which you think are awful, you have two choices. You can say, 'I am sorry, I don't want to do that. Find somebody else.' Or you can say to yourself, 'Alright, I am just doing this for money. I'll do something else for creativity.' And you just tell the customer, ''Whatever you want.'' Do it fast, don't leave your name, so that anyone else knows that you did it and go home.

I see a pattern here, evolving from the questions, and I think I have to correct the misunderstanding. If you are a creative person and you are forced to do a certain kind of creation because of monetary requirement, this does not interfere with your spiritual evolution. In other words, I spoke in the beginning about how this kind of creativity is a manifestation of the soul's energy, is the manifestation of our essence. That kind of creation is not related to the creation you do artistically as business or as a profession. And neither is any compromise you have to make or any surrender you have to make in your business to make money going to directly affect your spiritual evolution. But like everything you do, if you let it interfere with your spiritual evolution, it will. For example, if this obstacle or this compromise or this surrender causes you to become depressed, if it causes you to not feel like yourself any more, if it causes you to lose contact with yourself and you let it do so, certainly, that will cause an effect on your evolution. In that case, I might advise you to find something else to do to make money or modify the way you use your creativity to make money. In other words, the creative act is no longer an act of creation when it is restricted. It is simply than something you do because you have to do it.

When I speak about creation, I speak about manifestation of that creativity that's in the soul, the spontaneous creation which is an expression of what we are. This is not related to the skills that we bring into the act of creation, and therefore, problems in the act of creation do not relate to spiritual problems. Again, unless you let them do so.