Hello and welcome to Creative / Seminary,
As you start your weekly creative practice, it will be useful to have a specific journal or Word document to use solely for Creative / Seminary—one that you can look back through for inspiration, ideas or to pat yourself on the back for a creative job-well-done. You could even decorate your journal, doodle, paint or add images, art or song links where you feel so inspired, in order to create a more interactive experience.
I want to start with an exercise that we’ll refer back to every so often in order to check in with our process and notice any changes that occur as we continue to flex our creative muscles. (I’m sorry, that’s a cheesy line. Do creative muscles exist? I don’t even know what that means.)
Image from Maksim Goncharenok / Pexels.
Okay, anyway, begin by finding a quiet place to write without distractions. I know this will be hard for some, even as I type this one of my kids is blaring a bombastic show from the television. But I do believe uninterrupted space to read, write and think are so important. If possible, tuck yourself away, if even for fifteen minutes, and answer the following questions:
Do you consider yourself a creative person? If yes, how so? If not, why? Explain.
What in your life is already creative? Do you actively create art (paint, poetry, music, etc) or not really? What about your home design, wardrobe, certain work tasks? Any other aspects of your life already feel creative to you? Be as specific as possible.
Where do you find inspiration? (Anime? Flowers? Nature? Poetry? Cooking?) What sort of things, activities and/or people inspire you creatively? What does your creative response look like?
We’ll start there. Next week we’ll get into more specifics about writing and reading. And then on the 21st, we’ll start our adventure looking carefully at certain concepts and topics that will spark our curiosity and imaginations.
Save this entry with a gold star on top, or a special heading, so you can find it easily. We’ll come back to these questions periodically.
I promise I won’t always ask this, but I would really appreciate your help spreading the word about Creative / Seminary to anyone you think will enjoy this work. I plan to devote a lot of time to this project, but with so many other priorities in life—I really do need reader support.
If you feel comfortable, feel free to share your answers on the Substack page. If not, you still might peruse the comments and be surprised with others’ answers—either how they help you feel seen or inspire you to think in new ways. You might just share one line, one thought, ask a question to the larger community or reach out to me personally in the comments. Thanks for being here.
See you next week,
Misha
Do I consider myself a creative person?
I would absolutely consider myself a creative person. I tend to see the world in a creative light. Both in my mind, as well as in the physical world. For me, it has always been that way. I am at my happiest when I can create something interesting. I will often spend a lot of extra time meticulously perfecting my creation. It’s very meditative, and rejuvenating. There are no rules. It’s just me and my imagination!