In previous entries we have explored the inception of creativity, the problems we face with procrastination, and how restrictions of both internal and external origin can be used to shape our intentions rather than limit them. A big part of my creative spirit are rituals. What rituals are to me and why I find them important beyond the scope of creativity is today's topic. Let's have a look together, shall we?
Alleviating the Burden of Self
Modern life has one goal: performance and output. This does two things to the individual:
- It creates a need to optimize for better performance and higher output.
- We adopt a “me first” worldview.
I argue that this behavioural pattern can be useful but has its downsides. That is where I point to the importance of rituals in a practical sense. They can and will provide structure through repetitive actions.
One memory of my Kung Fu classes stands out and will illustrate this well. We had a prospective student come in to train with us. He was given clear instructions: Repeat the first three movement patterns of the first form. He went through the motions only a few times before going up to the instructor, asking for the next pattern of the form so he can "learn it". The instructor told him that he couldn't request to move on, that he would be told when he was ready for the next step. To make his point, he then pointed at me and asked me how many times I had performed the first form. I said countless times. To that, the instructor nodded and motioned for the guy to continue his practice.
I have quoted Bruce Lee saying that "truth is outside of all patterns", but I have also stressed the importance of mastering a rule first before breaking it, and rituals are exactly that. They are forms that give us purpose and shape, and we do not understand them or something about us through them by repeating them just a few times. I also believe that in physical form through training, they free up the mental load of individualistic self analysis and ground us in the moment.
Creating Mental Anchors
In our modern attempt to understand things through analysis we have taken a backseat in the processes of the mind and body. As mentioned before, self analysis has to occur, and it often is a proccess of finding the middle road. As one of my mentors used to say "Go slow to go fast", which means to take your time to look at the status quo and figure out the next steps from there.
But when it comes to the active part of any endeavour, we have to be engaged within the process. This is what some people refer to as "Flowstate". I argue that practices that are physical (meaning anything of the body and mind) and have a repetitive and defined structure have a positive effect on emotional processing. I classify any such activity as a ritual, and believe that it must sometimes come first to create a mental anchor.
Too often we try to analyze things from the get go instead of trying to understand them through rigorous repetition. For example; I can read about how to drive a car and be an expert in theory but if I've never driven one, I will have a hard time sitting behind the wheel trying to go from A to B. And clearly you wouldn't hire a driver that has zero practical experience.
Similar to that example, it is impossible to recreate the emotional and physical state (which the brain/mind is a part of) of any real world experience through theory. We can approximate these things through visual media like images, pictures, or movies, or we can write about them. In the end, what something feels like to the individual can only be felt by the individual in the act, and then recalled later through approximation.
A ritual can be used to anchor the mental state and process emotions which creates deeper understanding and furthers, in my opinion, the creative spirit.
Providing Closure
If you have a dayjob and a Netflix account (or any streaming service), chances are you work and consume back to back without ever escaping the loop (I am oversimplifying on purpose here). In Buddhism, the constant loop of rebirth and suffering is called Samsara. The goal is to transcend this cycle by reaching enlightenment, also called Nirvana. If we apply that concept to the aforementioned daily loop of work and consumption, we realize that suffering comes from never (or rarely) experiencing closure. Rituals can introduce microcosms with clear boundaries that are not part of the day to day, effectively creating beginnings and more importantly endings to experience true rest and transition.
Here's a fun fact: Maslow's pyramid of needs was in its original conception never a pyramid at all, but a text-based hierarchy. The pyramid-model helps us understand that one thing builds on another, but I think it takes away from the actual intent. Another thing to note is Maslow's modifications to his hierarchy before his death. According to the creator of this well-known model, there is another stage above Self-Actualization. He called it Self-Transendence - The need to further a cause beyond the self or connect with something beyond the ego.
To get back to what I said earlier: if we live our lives in constant pursuit of Self-Actualization through individualism as its purported to be the highest goal, then we will in my estimation never be satisfied. It is an important goal, but not the highest.
And if we take even just five minutes to sit down and collect our thoughts, we will come to our own conclusions of what we need quite naturally.
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