The Role of Creativity in Spiritual Growth

What defines a human being? Is there a single quality that distinguishes us from the animal kingdom?

Opposable thumbs? Upright posture? The ability to smile?

Good guesses. But we have a better answer in mind—one that not only distinguishes humans from animals, but also suggests limitless opportunity for excitement, discovery, and growth.

We’re talking about creativity.

Sure, opposable thumbs give us fine motor control, but it is creativity that turns that into beautiful piano music or open-heart surgery—neither of which we would care to entrust to any of our animal brethren.

Creativity is highly valued in the Royal Way spiritual community and in the teachings of Royal Way founder Michael Gottlieb. Creativity is what makes us human, and it can spark our path to the divine.

In Michael’s words, creativity “is the difference between a human and an animal. Animals express. Period. They express their hunger. They express their instinctive lusts. They express their rage. Period. There is nothing that happens to it and with it and from it. A tree expresses itself by producing leaves or fruit. Period. That is the end. The tree does not do anything with its leaves or its fruit. A stalk expresses itself by bringing forth a kernel of wheat. Period. It does not do anything with it. It is the human quality of creativity that takes a kernel of wheat and grinds it, etc., etc., and turns it into a croissant.”

Then Michael adds, “Humans do things with the expressivity around and about them, what to say of their own expressivity.”Such a beautiful insight. Expressivity is happening all around us: Wheat expresses itself by producing kernels at the top of its stalks. We in turn apply our creativity to harvesting it, culling the chaff, grinding the grain, and, yes, baking delightful croissants. And if we are not farmers or bakers, we might paint the scene—Van Gogh’s “Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds.” Or we might write a song extolling the beauty of wheat as “amber waves of grain” in a poetic song—“America the Beautiful.”

 

How to Become Creative

If creativity is a key to our humanness, how do we access it?

It begins with expression. Really, any kind of expression. Because from expression comes more expression, and from more expression comes discovery. “I write to find out what’s on my mind,” the poet Gary Snyder once said. For a poet, writing is a means for exploration, a way to make connections, an avenue toward insights. But it doesn’t happen without an initial expression. And we don’t need to be poets to express. We merely need to be human.

So how do we become creative? We express.

“In the human, expression is the means by which to reach your inherent creativity,” writes Michael Gottlieb. “The more creative you become, the more intelligent you become, the more brave you become. In fact, the more acute the expression, the more potential and capacity for creativity in that expression.”

It’s fascinating to realize that creativity makes us more intelligent, more brave. By expressing, we learn, and by learning we grow more intelligent. And creativity is such an exciting process that we want more of it; we want to venture to new places, make new discoveries—become more brave.

Creativity Is Crucial for Spiritual Growth

When we begin to understand the connection between creativity and spiritual growth, we begin to understand why creativity is so valued in Royal Way, which is, after all, a community devoted to spiritual growth.

“Growth is simply not possible without expression,” says Michael. “Once the expression happens, then begins the clarity, the  intelligence, the true desire to be on a path. That is what a path means: going from point A to point B to point C and on and on, not just to express A over and over again. People are stuck even in their expressions. It takes

movement, creative movement, to get from A to Z, and that is what the path is.”

Creativity abounds in the Royal Way spiritual community. Royal Way includes gifted painters, sculptors, landscape designers, photographers, filmmakers, poets, musicians, and dancers, and creativity is encouraged in every aspect of the Royal Way life. (Note that many of them discovered their creative ability only after coming to Royal Way—the community both attracts creatives and helps seekers discover and grow hidden creative talents.) A visit to Royal Way Spiritual Center bears out this abundance of creativity. Beauty is everywhere. The beauty of human expression complements the stunning beauty of the high desert setting and the surrounding mountains.

Of course, not everyone is a gifted artist or poet. But anyone can be creative.

Anyone Can Be Creative

Being creative is not about producing great works of art. Creativity, according to Michael Gottlieb, is a quality. It’s a quality everyone can embrace. We can all be creative. As Michael Gottlieb writes:“Creativity is a quality, a quality you bring  to whatever you do. It has nothing to do with a specific activity per se. One can paint pictures without creativity—heaven knows, we see enough of those. One can sing without creativity. One can write poetry and books without creativity. 

“On the other hand, one can clean a room with creativity. One can cook a meal with creativity. It is not what you do. It is what you bring to what you do. Once you understand that creativity is not necessarily linked to any specific act or behavior, then you will realize that anyone can be creative.”

Being Creative Is Being Godly

So what is creativity? Michael teaches that creativity is not any particular mode of expression. “It is a quality you bring to whatever you do,” writes Michael.

Whatever we are doing can be creative. And being creative can lead us to the highest of heights.

“Even sitting in silence can be creative,” Michael teaches. “Buddha sitting under the bodhi tree was the greatest creator the world has ever known. If you do what you do joyfully, lovingly, and with an experience growing in you, becoming growthful for you, then you are creative. Then you are divine. All the religions teach that God is the creator and man is made in the image of God. Whenever you are being creative, you are being godly. If you live a life fully creatively, then your life is fully godly.”

Conclusion: Creativity Is at the Essence of the Life Force

To be human is to be creative. Creativity is such a gift. We can take our opposable thumbs, our fine motor control, and our God-given ability to express, and produce a Beethoven sonata, a Renoir painting, a Shakespeare sonnet. Or, as Michael teaches, we can cook a meal or clean a room and be creative. Because, again, creativity is not what we do or even what we produce, but what we are.

To conclude with Michael’s words:

“Again, it does not matter what you do. Anything you do can be done creatively. Doing things that way, you can never be bored. You can never be lonely. You can never be sad. Creativity is at the very essence of the life force … obviously.”