Tag: creativity

Setting our standards

Hannah TelluselleLeave a comment

A good way to enable boundary setting, is by looking at, and deciding, our own standards. A standard is a value that we live by, a level of what we think is good enough to let into our lives. This can be set in terms of what we acquire, the things we buy or eat, such as choosing organic when possible. And they can also be set in terms of what we allow ourselves and others to do or not to us or with us. These standards and their adjoining boundaries, then becomes our way to uphold integrity. They also say something about our taste and style; what we prefer and who we are.

Generally speaking in society, good standards can be to have access to fresh water, and to be able to heat up our apartments during winter. It can also be that most people have their own jobs and can afford their own living.

What setting standards boils down to, is what we find good or bad. It can be what we think of certain brands, or for example certain type of TV-shows or books. This is usually defined as culture vs pop-culture. When I grew up, it was important in our family to only consume good literature and what is deemed of high cultural value, such as real art. Of course though, this meant for me to excitingly explore some of the more commercialised sides and therethrough develop my own standards, and also to learn the difference between art and entertainment. This in turn becomes a standard for creativity. What is truly our own and authentically unique, is usually very artistic, whereas the more common, general, and mainstream, something is, the less creative it’s usually considered. A standard thus, is a matter of the quality that we strive for.

Which are your standards? Where do you draw the line for what you want to let into your life? And for what you let out? While this can be seen as setting high expectations, it can also omit what’s not good for us, and more distinctly help us to find our real tribe.

Does practicing yoga and qigong make you more creative?

Hannah TelluselleLeave a comment

It’s time to debunk a myth. Practicing yoga or qigong, doesn’t make you creative. Most kids, grow up without ever practicing either, and still are creative. I wrote short stories, and my brother took apart and put back together computers, when we were young, and we never practiced neither yoga, nor qigong, and neither did our parents. What makes us creative, is usually an urge to express and release anxiety, a way to understand our impression, answer questions and ponderings about life that we distil into art, or a wish to solve a problem with an invention. It’s even said that: “Necessity is the mother of all inventions.”, meaning that when we face an urgency, we become more creative, whether that is to fix something broken, or to make a meal only with what we already have at home. Did Einstein and Picasso practice yoga or qigong? No, but physical exercise can make you feel more relaxed and in a flow, I’ve noticed. Just like taking a nap can.

I practice qigong, to balance my enery-levels, such as to remove feelings and impressions of negativity, to pull myself together if I feel I’ve gotten into a slump, and to find clarity, so that I can be more focused and concentrated, which in turn may help during my creative pursuits, meetings, work, or studies. But, I’ve never come up with any ideas, during, or directly after, practicing neither yoga nor qigong. I might feel the urge to remember something that I need to do and write that down, since this sometimes surface.

Music and dance though, let me connect with what’s in my heart, propelling me into for example, writing poetry. I’ve developed my creativity, through advertising school and related work as a copywriter, as well as through taking dance-classes in various styles, at least off and on, since I was a little girl beginning with classical ballet, making it possible to assemble my own choreographies. In fact, this year marks the 30th anniversary since I started with Qigong and the 20th since I started practicing Hawaiian Hula (and I’ve done Yoga regularly for 22 years and danced Isadora Duncan for 11 years)!

To learn more about creativity, you can order my book here, or contact me for a coaching session, where I will help you be a sounding board with questions that enable you to find your own best answers!

How to become more creative

Hannah Telluselle1 Comment

Creativity seems to be high commodity these days, when so many strive to create content. Creativity derives from two driving forces: To survive and to self-actualize. Man invented how to start a fire, so we could survive the cold and cook food. Man also created art, to share with the world, to share himself and to communicate. This takes us into what creativity is.

Creativity can be narrowed down to two things: To do something completely new and unique, which is what most creative pursuits aim to. Or, to do a new combination, adjustment, or interpretation, of something already existing. Both are protected by laws of copyright.

Creativity can most often be exemplified through the arts (music, song, paintings, drawings, movies, dance choreographies, poetry, authors, design and so forth) or through the crafts (carpentry, painting, photography, architecture, recipes, clothing design, art direction, copywriting, styling and so forth). What it’s all about, is making something. What can you make? What would you like to make? What is your purpose with it? To have fun, to express your soul, to explore a technique, to sell something?

Creativity can also be innovating; a method, an invention, a solution, or even forming a new theory.

How do you then become more creative? Also here, there are two ways, which best works in combination:

  1. Through research – by watching and trying what already has been made and learning from it, by interacting with users and makers, you can detect a need for improvement, a perspective or an essence that can be cultivated and expressed anew. For example by comparisons and looking at it from an opposite point of view.
  2. Through inspiration – by faith as a co-creator, often with nature as your guide, some ideas simply appear on their own, especially when we have a real need and feel rested. Using sexual energy, can also aid to produce creative results.

It’s said, that we’re naturally creative as children, at least until the age of 6, when our societal conditioning starts chipping away at our free and inhibited expressions. There was once an experiment showing this. Six year olds were asked to draw a fire-truck. Some drew big, others small. Some drew it with one big wheel, and some with five wheels, and all in different colors. Seven year olds, were then asked to do the same thing, whereupon the majority of the group simply drew replicas of an actual fire-truck. Creativity is most often a means for play and interaction among children, which is why it’s so important to nurture our inner child, also as a grown-up, so we can keep this joyful and life-giving ability.

Would you like to increase your creativity, and try to pursue this whether through taking up a hobby, on your job, or as a new career? This is part of my coaching, that you can receive through a series of sessions, in person or through Zoom. And this will also be tried in small groups at Telluselle Living Center, with brainstorming, discussions and developing various definitions and possible solutions.