Creativity and The Healing Process

I have been on this journey of healing and self-discovery for many years now. What I have realized is that the more I discover the more I dig. The more I dig, then the more I discover. Healing and transformation is a chaotic, confusing, and exhausting process. Sometimes I can’t even describe what my internal world wants to tell me. There are so much evolution and synthesis going on between my head, heart, and soul.

For most of my life, my internal world came out however it could—addictions, passive-aggressiveness, intense persecution, and ridicule of others. I had no way of processing and releasing my internal world. I did not know how to relax, have fun, and create something to represent my process.

Transformation and change are a dying and birthing process. Something is created when we change. It could be a new thought, belief, narrative, or life script—something is created. Pain happens in the transformation process too—grieving, rage, and hostility can be very overwhelming and scary.

When we experience trauma, suffering, and pain our struggle can be adding language to our experiences. Part of the brain that deals with these hurts actually goes off-line to cope. Being creative allows for language and meaning to be attached to our suffering. Creativity allows for relief of pain and integration of transformation. It allows for a safe way to nudge our brain to stay in the game a bit longer—it leads to healing…

Expression through creativity leads to healing. Expressive therapists such as music and art therapy are highly effective practices. People actually specialize in expressive therapy. So, it works and there is research to back that up.

I am working with a mentor on how to use pottery as a creative process. He said something to me about an experience he had in therapy a long time ago. He said, “my therapist asked if I ever got angry”. I said “no”. The therapist then requested for him to get a drum. He bought a drum and did not realize how angry he actually was. Moral of the story—We need things to help us express our internal landscape even if we think “we’re okay” and “don’t have any issues”. It will always come out either in a creative process or a destructive process.

Here are some ways to be expressive and creative:

• Writing poetry, music, and stories
• Playing instruments
• Painting, drawing
• Pottery and woodworking

It doesn’t have to make sense. Allow for the creativity that you have to illustrate the beautiful transformative process that you are in—that we are all in all of the time. I would love to hear your ideas and see what you create.