Seminar session

Question 1. What is creativity and how does it manifest itself?

Creativity is usually understood as artistic, scientific and technical creativity. But the creative element takes place in any kind of activity: in business, sports, games, in a simple thought process, in daily communication, as the famous physicist, academician P. Kapitsa says, wherever a person does not act according to instructions. The essence of creativity is in the discovery and creation of a qualitatively new, having some value. In scientific creativity, new facts and laws are discovered, what exists, but what was not known. Technical creativity invents something that was not there, new devices. In art, new spiritual, aesthetic values ​​are discovered and new ones are created, “invented”. artistic images, new art forms. Philosophical creativity combines the features of scientific and artistic creativity.

Different types of creativity differ in results, products of creativity, but are subject to a single psychological laws. Any process of creativity presupposes a subject of creativity, a creator motivated to creativity by certain needs, motives, incentives, possessing certain knowledge, skills, and creative abilities. Common are the main stages of the creative process: preparation, maturation (“incubation”), insight (“insight”) and verification.

The natural inclinations of creative abilities are inherent in every person. But in order to reveal them and develop them to the full, certain objective and subjective conditions are needed: early and skillful training, a creative climate, volitional qualities personality (perseverance, efficiency, courage, etc.).

Question 2. Can a person live without creativity?

We quite often touch upon the topic of creativity in our everyday conversation. Whether it's someone's well-performed song, written music, or a poem, or maybe even a painted picture. But this is not all, creativity is manifested in our lives in small things. This is a lovingly prepared dinner for a husband, and a cheerful face on a child’s plate, and a rearrangement in the house, this is also a fresh idea that is waiting for implementation. Whether we like it or not, creativity is inextricably linked with a person's life, because a person himself is the creator of both his life and his happiness.

Creativity is a powerful stream of energy that you just need to see in yourself and direct it in the right direction. This flow is in everyone, perhaps in someone it is better developed, in someone else it sleeps. For example, I like to draw, and someone is fond of photography or sculpture. In any case, this is an internal work that wants to see its fruits. When we look at the works of talented artists, does not the play of colors, the simplicity of the plot, some understatement, some mystery that we want to unravel, fascinate us? When we see, read a creation, we mentally speak with the author, with his soul. But doesn’t our soul wake up after this, is it not filled with a wild thirst for life and its knowledge? Only by revealing ourselves in creativity can we better read our own and see someone else's soul.

Why can't a person live without creativity? Is there a person without creativity? A creative person is always very sensitive to the world around him, he responds to all its good impulses and changes. At the same time, he sees all the disharmony around him and wants to understand it, streamline it, simplify it. Beauty is always in harmony, therefore a person in harmony with himself and the world around him is capable of great creative impulses and achievements, you only need the desire to work unceasingly both externally and with your soul. Moreover, at present there are all means for creativity, as well as a large number of information that can be understood, understood and expressed in its own way with additions.

Question 3. What role does human creativity play in society?

Whether we like it or not, creativity is inextricably linked with a person's life, because a person himself is the creator of both his life and his happiness.

Creative energy is what drives progress. A genius or just a creative person can come up with, invent or optimize something without which or for which millions of people spend an insane amount of physical and moral strength.

Question 4. How does the spiritual, social and bodily correlate in human life?

The spiritual component of a person is an internal, spiritual state that reflects the aspiration of the individual to certain values ​​and ideals. This also includes willpower and character.

There are several major social personality types:

- "doers" (For such individuals, active action is inherent, changing the world and other people, including oneself.)

- "thinkers" (scientists);

- "people of feelings and emotions" (workers of literature and art).

- “humanists and ascetics” (The Gospel commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself” is directly embodied in their activities.)

The social structure of man is a system social roles a person in different groups of which he is a part; the main qualities of a person acquired in the process of life (education, upbringing, etc.)

The physical component of a person is the body, or the bodily organization of a person, the most stable component of the personality, based on bodily properties and self-perceptions. The physical component of the personality often includes clothing and the hearth, which are an important characteristic of the essence of man. Results:

In concept human body its biological origin is emphasized.

In the concept of man - his biosocial beginning.

The concept of personality highlights, first of all, the socio-psychological characteristics of a person: worldview, self-esteem, character, self-esteem, value orientations, lifestyle principles, moral and aesthetic ideals, socio-political positions and beliefs, thinking style, emotional environment, willpower and etc.

Findings. The basis of a person is a stable system of socially significant features that are manifested in active participation in the socio-economic and cultural life of society and the possibility of a certain influence on events taking place in society, and sometimes in the world. There are 3 main components of a person: Physical, Social, Spiritual. A person needs a harmonious (uniform and equal) development of all his components in order to avoid problems in one or another part of his life.

Question 5. Is there a connection between a person's lifestyle and creativity?

Certainly. Any way of human life is associated with creativity. For example, a person whose hobby is programming can also create in his field of activity: for example, create programs that are completely unusual, going beyond the standard. Lifestyle and creativity are, of course, connected.

"Whoever has experienced the pleasure of creativity, for that already all other pleasures do not exist." A.P. Chekhov.

Creativity in our life.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." - The Bible and the history of our world, the world in which we live, begin with these words.

Creativity occupies a special place in the life of every person, since its manifestations are multifaceted. It has played an important role in the development of history, and continues to make it to this day. Creativity is unique in that it is unique, not copied, it is individual. This state is the highest gift for every reasonable inhabitant of the Earth. It is with its help that a person can show his abilities, express thoughts and feelings, talk about his individuality.

Another thing is that creativity manifests itself in different ways. Most clearly, we notice its trend in culture and art. For cultural figures: writers, poets, sculptors, artists, musicians, creativity sometimes plays the most significant role in life, pushing everything else into the background. Creativity for such people becomes the key purpose of existence. And they realize it and talk about it. Creativity is nothing but a state of mind, its disclosure to others, and first of all to yourself. The artist is able to express his inner world with paints, and the stronger his emotional state at the time of creation, the more he will tell us about himself, and the sharper his picture will attract everyone's attention.

But one cannot say that creativity is just a part of culture and art. In fact, it is much more significant. Creators can also be safely called those who work day by day on the creation of new projects and technologies: scientists, architects, geneticists. With the help of science, humanity is making giant strides forward. Take, for example, such an exact science as physics, where everything is presented in theorems and formulas. But even here, among the many numbers and calculations, there is a creative approach. When a group of scientists starts working on a new technical invention, one of the main questions is what exactly should be invented, for what purpose, what it is for, and how it will look like. And here, in this aspect, creativity manifests itself most clearly.

But, if a person is neither a poet, nor an artist, nor a scientist. For example, he is a simple worker, loader or janitor. There is no less creativity in his life. Perhaps only that its manifestations are not so bright and less noticeable to society as a whole. After all, even just to give your girlfriend a bouquet of flowers, you need to attach a little imagination. A letter sent to a friend, a handmade postcard, even a sand castle built by a five-year-old kid is creative.

Creativity, of course, should give a person pleasure, relieve stress. After all, it is better to express your grievances, anger, disappointment on paper, pour it all out in prose or poetry, than to take out your pain on loved ones. Sometimes emotional shock can contribute to the manifestation of any creative gift. And then ordinary words written in crooked handwriting can eventually turn into world classics, and splashed out in a fit of anger, paint on canvas can become an expensive masterpiece.

Thus, creativity is so necessary that humanity cannot do without it. It, like air, helps us breathe, exist, survive and enjoy life. It comes largely from inspiration. And in order for a person to learn how to master it, it is worth listening to himself and the whole world around him.

The main themes of this book are pleasure and creativity. Both are closely related to each other, since pleasure provides motivation and energy. creative process which, in turn, enhances the pleasure and joy of life. Life with pleasure becomes a creative adventure; without pleasure it becomes a struggle for survival. In the previous chapters we have considered what is the essence of pleasure and what is its role in the determination of behavior. I want to devote this chapter to a discussion of the role of creativity in human life.

A creative approach to life involves finding new, non-trivial, inventive solutions to various situations that arise daily in the life of any person. The urgent need for new solutions is caused by the fact that the values ​​and social etiquette that defined relationships and regulated the behavior of people of previous generations no longer satisfy the conditions of modern life. This is obvious if we consider the phenomena of personal and family life or address a broader social or political sphere. The new solutions we seek cannot be reduced to denial existing concepts. Banal protest is not a creative approach and can only lead to chaos, in which the search for pleasure and meaning most often ends in suffering and despair.

The collapse of traditional norms and patterns carries the promise of new, higher pleasures and joys, but it is also a serious danger. The promise is that there are more opportunities for creativity in every area of ​​life; the danger lies in the lack of understanding of what creativity is. In a state of confusion, people tend to accept any popular ideas that offer a solution, naively believing that popularity is some kind of guarantee of their validity. Since popularity is often determined by mass appeal and the actions of the media mass media, then it contradicts the idea of ​​creativity, which implies finding special decision unique problem. Two paintings by different artists will never be identical.

Another danger that lies in wait for us is the delusion that experience is the only true value in life. Too many people who follow this belief find themselves in situations that are detrimental to their health and well-being. The argument often made in favor of drug use is that one should not limit one's experience. Promiscuity in sexual relations is justified in the same way. Experience alone does not necessarily promote growth and development. To do this, it must be integrated into the structure of personality. It must be creatively assimilated, that is, it must expand the person's idea of ​​himself, his ability to experience pleasure and, in association with physical growth, contribute to the growth of personality. Experiences that have not been creatively assimilated only increase confusion and weaken the sense of identity.

What does it mean to be a creative person? A creative person has an original, fresh view of the world. He does not try to solve new problems with old methods. He proceeds from the fact that he does not have ready-made solutions. Therefore, he looks at life with wide eyes and with the curiosity of a child whose thinking has not yet become ossified, and his view of the world has not yet been established. If a person's personality has not yet become rigidly fixed, he is free to use his imagination when faced with the ever-changing circumstances of life.

To be creative means to have a developed imagination, but not every act of imagination is a creative activity. The dreams, fantasies and illusions that fill the mind and occupy the thoughts of many people cannot be called expressions of creativity. The type of imagination characteristic of Walter Mitty becomes a mental compensation for the inability of a person to resolve his internal conflicts. Such compensatory images have little connection with reality, and since they cannot be realized, they leave the person in a state of heightened tension. Creative imagination begins with a subtle perception and acceptance of reality. It does not attempt to transform reality in order to bring it into line with the illusions that a person has, but becomes a means of deeper understanding of reality, allowing a person who has encountered this reality to gain a more intense and rich experience. The creative impulse begins with the imagination of the child, but directed at the same time to the realization of the needs of an adult.

The synthesis of the realism of an adult and a child's imagination is the key to any creative act. This is embodied basic principle creativity, which lies in the fact that the creative act is the merging of two seemingly incompatible views into a single vision. Arthur Koestler, author "Act of Creation", in his study focused on this idea and confirmed it with numerous examples. He writes: “The creative act, in which the connection of previously unrelated aspects of experience takes place, allows him [man] to reach the highest level of mental evolution. This becomes for him an act of liberation, a victory of originality over habit. Merging and integrating opposing approaches as a creative principle is not limited to the realm of art or science, but is applicable to any form of creative expression in life. I will illustrate its applicability to the ordinary situation of modern life.

Majority current parents experience difficulty in approaching the upbringing of their children, choosing between discipline and permissiveness. They have no confidence that the authoritarian approach that their parents used successfully in the past will work today. Despite good intentions, the use of the authority of power only provokes children to resistance and disobedience. However, the exclusion of authoritarianism and the permissive attitude that follows from this also seem to lead to rather unfortunate results. Permissiveness for many young people today becomes more of a source of confusion than freedom, and usually contributes to even greater generational disunity.

The question is not to choose between authoritarianism and permissiveness. Neither is a creative approach to building a relationship that should be built on love. A parent who loves his child wishes him happiness; he wants his child to enjoy life. The well-being and pleasure of the child are of paramount importance to him. Supporting the child's desire for pleasure, he does not show permissiveness, but love. The child, in turn, will respect such a parent and will turn to him for advice out of respect, and not because of parental authority.

At the same time, a loving parent really has authority. This is not a despotism based on power and on the attitude of “I know better”. It is an authority based on the parent's responsibility for the well-being of the child. This responsibility gives the parent full authority to set the rules for the smooth functioning of family life. These rules always impose certain disciplinary obligations on all family members, but discipline, like authority, is not overwhelming. Its main purpose is to contribute to the enjoyment of each member of the family, and it becomes unreasonable if it ceases to meet this goal. Thus, a loving parent is a responsible parent, not a supporter of either punishment or permissiveness.

Parenting becomes a creative activity if we strive to make the child feel loved, respected and protected. And like any creative act, such education cannot follow any particular formula. The desire of the child for pleasure and the need for self-expression should be understood by his parents. And this is possible only if they themselves are free from guilt about pleasure and can express their feelings sincerely and openly. If for a parent pleasure is associated with feelings of guilt, his attitude of permissiveness will be overshadowed by anxiety, which the child is sure to feel. Anxiety undermines the child's pleasure and turns him into a restless and irritable creature who cannot be appeased by pushing boundaries or discipline.

Raising a child with love and respect for his individuality requires a creative attitude on the part of the parents. They cannot follow the educational models used by their parents due to their different lifestyles. Modern parents are more sophisticated in psychology, and many of them are aware of the mistakes made in their upbringing. However, psychology does not provide ready-made solutions, but warnings. Consequently, each parent is faced with the need to develop a new, unique form of parent-child relationship. This requires from him sensitivity, imagination, developed self-awareness and adequate self-esteem, all those qualities that characterize a healthy person and a creative individual.

The need for a creative approach is relevant not only for parent-child relationships, but for other areas of life. We encounter a similar confusion in the sexual realm, where we find two alternatives: either old-fashioned morality or no morality at all. The double standard that has defined sexual relationships and behavior for centuries has collapsed under the influence of psychoanalysis, antibiotics, birth control pills, automobiles and other forces. Rejection did not lead, as was hoped, to sexual satisfaction, but turned into sexual chaos and suffering. The full development of these events is set forth in my book "Love and Orgasm". Neither the old moral traditions nor the new immoral code with its principle of fun provide a clear answer to the problem of sexual behavior in today's world. Obviously, they don't have this answer. Each individual must develop a personal moral code based on a creative attitude towards love and sex.

The important question is this: How do we know if our attitude is creative or destructive? Creativity connects the opposite aspects and needs of the individual in one action, in a single response. A destructive attitude splits the unity of the individual, pitting one need against another. Consider, for example, the conflict between pleasure and achievement.

Despite my emphasis on pleasure, one cannot make the pursuit of pleasure the main goal of one's life. The nature of pleasure is such that stronger man strives for it, the further it eludes it. Pleasure is inextricably linked with achievement, and a life without achievement is just as devoid of pleasure. However, we all know people whose obsessive pursuit of achievement and success has robbed them of all enjoyment and made them unable to enjoy life. There is an antithesis between pleasure and achievement, arising from the fact that achievement requires self-discipline. Dedicating oneself to a particular goal or task necessarily involves sacrificing some momentary pleasure. A person who is unable to delay the immediate satisfaction of his desires is likened to an infant whose achievements are zero and whose pleasure is significant only for himself.

The conflict between pleasure and achievement cannot be resolved by allocating time between these two needs. Such an attempt at a solution only increases the conflict: with tension waiting for the approach of work, a person will not be able to fully enjoy the hours of leisure. If there is no satisfaction from work, and pleasure is not associated with creative steps, instead of feeling joy, frustration arises. Even the creative process requires some effort or hard work to bear fruit in the form of the promised joy.

Any work should provide a person with the opportunity to use creative imagination. There is no job that cannot be done better, easier, or more enjoyable. It just takes a little creative imagination. However, creativity flourishes only in an atmosphere of freedom, with pleasure as the driving force. If productivity in the form of output or money earned is the only reward and result of the work process, then the people involved in such a process turn into humanoid robots incapable of creative activity. This is the current situation in our economy, and the only thing that it clearly demonstrates is that neither the goods produced nor the money earned contribute to the joy of life.

Opposite strivings like those mentioned above represent the phenomenon of polarity. Within the personality structure, each striving is complemented by its polar opposite. Thus, the more pleasure a person experiences, the greater his achievements can be. With the growth of achievements, the feeling of experienced pleasure also intensifies. Polar aspirations come into conflict with each other only when they are dissociated from the functioning of the person as a whole. The pursuit of pleasure turns into disappointment. No one who was looking for pleasure has yet been able to find it. Similarly, an achievement that has no connection with a person's life is a waste of energy.

AT healthy personality the need for security and the need to accept a challenge complement each other. An individual who accepts a challenge, which is saturated with any form of active life, feels more secure than a person who isolates himself from difficulties. A self-confident person goes out into the world and thereby reinforces a sense of inner security, while a frightened person who isolates himself and builds up a defense against his own fears increases his sense of insecurity.

Polar aspirations and needs are biologically linked by the rhythmic or pulsating movement of feeling between these two poles. The simplest illustration of this concept is the relationship between sleep and wakefulness. Every night there is an immersion in sleep, every morning there is an ascent into consciousness. Human health depends on this rhythmic fluctuation. Without enough sleep, a person's consciousness becomes dull and his activity decreases. Without active and vigorous activity during the day, sleep tends to be disturbed. One striving promotes movement in the direction of the opposite. In a healthy individual, these two polar needs are balanced and in harmony with the lifestyle. Sleep gives a person the same pleasure as wakefulness.

The pulsation that unifies the polar forces and creates a movement of feeling between them is also evident in the relationship of love and sex. Love and sex reflect the need for closeness and intimacy with another being. Love, however, takes an antithetical position in relation to sex. Feelings of love flow up through the body as a person seeks contact. During sex, the feeling flows down, charging the sexual organs. Love increases the tension in a relationship by increasing the level of arousal. Sex relieves tension by discharging arousal. Love inspires, its pleasure is in anticipation. Sex performs, its pleasure is connected with obtaining satisfaction. From a logical point of view, it may seem that sexual pleasure is the act that completes the feeling of love, but in fact the opposite is true. Just as an elevated feeling of love enhances sexual pleasure, so the pleasure of sexual release enhances the love a person feels for his sexual partner. Wilhelm Reich noticed that during orgasm there is a reverse flow, energy and feeling, which were concentrated in the genitals, fill the whole body. Thus, the biological pulsation between love and sex is a constant process that ensures the development of relationships.

Sex without love is the minimum pleasure that can be obtained from a sexual partner. This experience does not allow creative development. Love that is not biologically realized in sex or some other form of pleasurable contact is an illusion, a dream, or a fantasy. A mother who speaks of love, but does not feed her child, does not pick up and care for him with tenderness, is a pretender. A lover who does not give anything to his beloved as an expression of his feelings is dishonest. The husband who loudly proclaims his love for his wife without feeling for her sexual feelings, lies. Love is a promise that must be put into action. Sex is the very form of realization that serves as a continuation of the promise.

The dissociation of love from sex and sex from love is due to the interruption of the pulsating movement that unites different aspects of a person's personality. The result is the division of the single essence of man into opposite categories - soul and flesh, nature and culture, intellectual and animal nature. These distinctions exist, but only as rational concepts. When they become structured in body and behavior, they cause the schizoid state. AT schizoid personality the flow of feeling between the upper and lower halves of the body is blocked by tensions in the area of ​​the diaphragm. More full study this problem can be found in my book "Betrayal of the Body". Love and sex can only oppose each other at the cost of pleasure and joy.

United by the rhythmic flow of feelings in the body, love and sex form a creative potential. For real loving people not content with their status quo, they feel compelled to help each other, beautify and beautify their environment, and build a shared future. Of course, part of this future is the creation of a new life that embodies the joy they have known with each other. This joy extends to their environment and enriches anyone who enters it. In such an atmosphere created by the union of love and sex, children grow up beautiful and strong as their parents become wiser and more understanding as individuals.

Creativity and self-awareness

The creative fusion of opposite aspects of the personality cannot be the result of a conscious effort. Koestler emphasized that the act of creativity is a function of the unconscious. I would also like to turn Special attention to this fact. Consciousness can operate only with those images that are already present in it. By definition, a creative act is the formation of an image that did not previously exist in the mind. This does not mean that consciousness plays no role in the creative process. The problem is always perceived consciously, but this does not concern its solution. If a person knows the solution to a problem, he may be right, but the correct answer is never a creative act.

A creative approach to life is possible only for a person rooted in the unconscious layers of the personality. Creatively thinking person in search of a solution plunges deep into the source of his feelings. He is capable of this because he has a deeper self-awareness than a common person. The need for growing self-awareness is now becoming more and more evident. This is evidenced by the number of published books on psychology and the increase in the number of requests for psychotherapeutic help. And yet, many continue to believe that some formula will be found that can solve all their problems without the need for exploration of their inner world, which can lead to an increase in self-awareness. I am sure that these people are on the way to depression, because the collapse of their illusions is inevitable.

If we can accept the fact that there are no ready-made solutions, then the path to joy will be open. The path that leads through self-awareness and understanding of the individual to the formation of a creative attitude to life. The purpose of this book is to promote such understanding, and the author hopes that it will help deepen the reader's self-awareness.

In the previous chapters I have tried to show some of the relationships that exist between different aspects of the personality. The contrast between the desire for power and pleasure has led us to discuss the antithesis of the ego-body. The ego is a representation of the conscious self, while the body represents the unconscious self. There is no clear division between these two aspects of personality. Like a float on the surface of water, consciousness rises and falls with each wave of feeling that passes through the body. Self-awareness, limited to the sphere of conscious perception, is very superficial. Deeper self-awareness reveals to us that the content of conscious perception is strongly influenced by, and even determined by, unconscious processes. By expanding our consciousness, lowering it into the body, we can learn more about these processes. The degree of self-awareness of a person depends on how much he is in contact with his own body.

Man has a dual nature. He is not only consciously acting, but also unconsciously reacting. When walking, his attention shifts from one foot to the other. When he takes a step forward, his attention is momentarily focused on the foot that is in contact with the ground, then switches to the foot that is just coming into contact with it. This fluctuation of attention is the basis of a sense of stability, which is characteristic of a person who is able to move smoothly and gracefully. The operation of this mechanism can also be illustrated by the example of a person speaking to the public. During the speech, he must be in contact with two realities: with his listeners and with himself. If he is completely absorbed in the content or manner of his speech, he will lose the audience. If he concentrates completely on the audience, he will become unconscious of himself and become confused. A good speaker is able to quickly shift his attention between two realities, and although at any given time his attention is focused on only one of them, in general he maintains contact with both realities.

The concept of polarity applies to these situations as well as any other. To say that a speaker should be more conscious of his audience than of himself would be wrong. When he becomes overly focused on his listeners, he stops seeing them for who they are. In his unconscious, they appear as some kind of frightening and threatening force. Similarly, a self-focused speaker may lose real contact with himself. He may lose his composure and be overcome with great anxiety, or he may fall under the influence of some kind of compulsion. The more self-control a speaker has, the easier it is for him to keep the audience and capture its attention.

In the relationship between the ego and the body, the conscious and unconscious aspects of the Self, the same principle applies. The ego is only as strong as the body is energetic and active. If the body is constricted, the ego is in a weakened state. In other words, a person who allows free expression of his unconscious reactions is actually conscious in more than a person who is afraid of his unconscious reactions. Thus, by "letting go" of the unconscious, we strengthen consciousness and ego functions. However, this principle is like a two-way street that is as long in one direction as it is in the other. Like a pendulum, the amplitude of which is the same in both directions, a person can only "let go" as much as he can consciously hold back. This principle is forgotten by the supporters of the Dionysian way of life, who believe that there is nothing more important than indulging in pleasures.

By my emphasis on the body, pleasure, and the ability to “let go,” I do not detract from the importance of ego, achievement, and self-control. Without polarity, there is no movement. Without movement, life is boring and monotonous. If we were to deny the values ​​associated with mental activity, discipline and authority, we would be like those who exalt the superior value of the ego to the detriment of the body and unconscious processes.

Another important pair of opposites that we talked about earlier is thinking and feeling. I tried to show that the quality of human thinking is determined by his feelings. This polarity is well illustrated by the relationship between subjectivity and objectivity. I noted the fact that true objectivity is impossible without a fair amount of subjectivity. A person who does not know how he feels cannot be objective about himself, and it is extremely unlikely that he will be objective about another. Lack of self-awareness will necessarily limit his level of awareness of others. The opposite is equally true. A person who is not conscious of others is not capable of being fully conscious of himself. His immunity covers all aspects of reality with a fog.

Self-knowledge is as much a cognitive function as it is a sensory function. Feelings must be correctly interpreted if we want them to make sense. If feeling is separated from thinking, the personality is split as much as these functions are divided. A body without a head is no better than a head without a body. If we do not focus on mental activity, this does not mean that we completely deny its significance. The ability to think clearly is just as important to the individual as the ability to feel deeply. If a person feels confused, his thinking becomes clouded, but it is also true that confused thinking dulls the senses.

Whatever aspect of personality we consider, manifestations of the same principle of polarity are found everywhere. On an emotional level, it expresses itself in polar relationships of attachment and hostility, anger and fear, joy and sadness, and so on. At the level of basic sensations, it is reflected in the spectrum of pleasure - pain. This means that a person who suppresses awareness of pain also suppresses their receptivity to pleasure. The explanation is very simple. If a person suppresses the body in order to reduce the feeling of pain, then he thereby reduces the body's ability to experience pleasure.

Self-awareness, as opposed to awareness per se, requires a two-pronged approach to any experience. First of all, the experience must be perceived at the bodily level, where it represents the body's unconscious response to a stimulus or situation. This bodily experience can be sensory or motor, or, most often, both. The smell of food can cause salivation. When we look at a child, we may feel an impulse to touch it. Such reactions testify to awareness of the surrounding world. Self-awareness arises when experience is polarized, that is, when it is connected and integrated with experience of the opposite, that is, internal orientation. Thus, the smell of food becomes an element of self-awareness when it awakens the feeling of hunger. Thanks to the polar connection of food and hunger, a person is aware of his "I" in relation to the outside world, that is, he is aware of the "I" and the outside world. The polarization of experience is the second component of the process of self-realization. This is the function of the ego, which connects all experience into a single story of a person's life.

To better understand the phenomenon of self-awareness, let's go back to the relationship between thinking and feeling. Simply being aware of thoughts or feelings is a limited type of self-awareness. An individual who is fully aware of himself is also aware of the connection of his thinking with feelings, and the conditioning of his feelings by thinking. His attention or perception fluctuates between mind and body. He has, in fact, a dual awareness of what is happening, although at any given moment his attention is focused on only one aspect of the experience. Imagine the opposite image - an absent-minded professor whose focus on intellectual activity forces him to ignore the reality of his body and his sensations.

The polarity of love and sex is another good example of how understanding polar relationships increases self-awareness. Sex in its purely physiological aspect does not require awareness of the other person. However, it is doubtful that the human sexual response is purely physiological. Image and fantasy cannot be excluded from conscious behavior, therefore, we must admit that some degree of self-awareness is always present in this act. But when the sexual act is accompanied by a conscious experience of love, the polarity is greatly enhanced. Love leads to the awareness of one's partner and causes the attention to swing between the Self and the other person, increasing the consciousness of the Self in relation to the other. So than better man aware of his partner, the more self-aware he has. His self-awareness increases his degree of arousal and greatly enhances the pleasure of release.

In self-awareness lies the potential for creative expression. This state allows the synthesis of opposites within the "I", as well as between the "I" and the outside world. Any creative action is a reflection of self-awareness, which in itself serves as an expression of the creative power of the individual. Any creative person is self-conscious in the field of application of his creative talent. And any self-conscious person has creative potential in those areas that are covered by awareness.

Sometimes it is tempting to say that man is a unique being capable of creativity and self-awareness. But I don't believe in it. It would be more correct to say that both self-awareness and creativity in humans are better developed than in other animals. It is also logical to assume that between them there is polar bond. The more self-awareness a person has, the higher his creative abilities, and vice versa.

Loss of integrity

Duality human nature, which is responsible for self-awareness and creativity, is also a prerequisite for the emergence of a set of self-negation and self-destruction. A person who in the drama of life appears now as a consciously acting character, now as an unconsciously reacting one, experiences internal stress when these two sides of his personality are separated from each other. How much stress a person can withstand before its unity is broken depends on the amount of vital energy that acts as a binding force of the body. The degree of tension that can lead to a split in a low-energy personality may be quite acceptable for a person with a higher charge. When a split occurs, one aspect of the personality rises up against the other, causing self-destructive behavior.

The ego is that aspect of the personality that is responsible for conscious actions, while the body is responsible for involuntary reactions. Usually these two different patterns of behavior, action and response, are harmoniously combined into a single whole. In the process of eating, for example, both types of behavior are involved. The direct reaction of a person to the smell and taste of food is exclusively involuntary. If the food elicits a positive reaction, the person will consciously move the spoon to their mouth. If not, the person will push the plate aside. These actions are performed consciously, that is, they are under the control of the ego. There is usually no conflict here. However, let's imagine a child sitting at the table who does not like vegetables, and next to him is a parent who convinces him to eat them because they are useful. The child is faced with a dilemma in this situation. If he refuses to eat vegetables, he will come into conflict with the parent. If he starts to eat, he will come into conflict with his feelings. This simple example illustrates the tension that is often experienced by a person in our culture. The difference between human and animal behavior in similar situation expressed in the aphorism: "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink."

The process of socialization includes learning the skills to consciously restrain the involuntary reactions of the body. This cannot be considered an unnatural phenomenon, since any learning process depends on it, whether it be learning motor skills or intellectual operations. In Chapter 6, I already noted that our conscious thinking often requires prior inhibition of involuntary reactivity (“stop to think”). However, there is a limit to the amount of stress or load that a person can withstand. Exceeding this limit leads to the fact that the polar forces of the personality break the relationship with each other and begin to function independently. This causes a schizophrenic state.

To better understand how this process develops, imagine the ego (conscious activity) and the body (involuntary processes) as two forces that stretch a spring in opposite directions. Usually the force applied by the ego is not constant, so the tension in the spring fluctuates. Sometimes effort can be completely absent, such as during orgasm, when the involuntary processes of the body predominate. The normal increase and decrease in tension in the spring corresponds to the rise and fall of excitation. If the two forces are properly balanced, the rise and fall of tension will produce a feeling of pleasure.

If the stretching of the spring exceeds the allowable level, it will lose its elasticity. This can happen when too much load is applied to it, or when barely limiting stress is maintained for too long. With the loss of elasticity of the spring, the vital connection between the ego and the body is severed. There is no longer a dynamic relationship between them. The analogy would be incomplete without noting that there may be a weakening of the elasticity of the spring, which in the human personality corresponds to a weakening of the cohesive force between the ego and the body.

The duality of human nature has many aspects. They can be grouped under two headings: ego and body. Here is a partial list of them:

We have already considered the polar relationship in pairs "b" and "c". Now let's move on to discussing the rest of the pairs.

a) There is no such person whose behavior would be entirely under conscious control. And yet, in some individuals, the involuntary reactions of the body are so suppressed that they look and act like automata. The most severe cases result in hospitalization in psychiatric institutions. Cases of less serious violations are described in my book Betrayal of the Body. Such disturbances are manifested in a lack of spontaneity, lethargy, slow reactions and a decrease in the ability to experience pleasure. Quite often, depression develops, and suicidal thoughts often occur. Such people usually complain of inner emptiness, which is quite understandable, given the reduced mobility of their bodies and the absence of feelings corresponding to such a state.

What is less clear in this case is the widespread belief that such disorders are exclusively mental in nature. When the personality is identified with the mind or ego, the body becomes a mechanism. Such an attitude destroys the integrity of the personality, since it denies the interconnection of all personal functions. It makes impossible any significant therapeutic effect aimed at changing the structure of the personality. It is contrary to a creative approach to both therapy and life.

Obviously, the situation is just as disastrous when a person completely loses control over his behavior, that is, loses self-control and turns into a quivering mass of protoplasm. I had the opportunity to observe such cases and I can say that the picture is not pleasant. Decreased control may not be a therapeutic goal. What is really needed is the integration of the conscious and the involuntary, which can only take place if every conscious act is permeated with feeling and every involuntary reaction is perceived by consciousness and is consistent with it. This is the meaning of the expression "to be in touch with the body" and this is the path to self-mastery.

d) Polarity adult - child is the basis of a creative personality. With the adult figure, we associate all the qualities of the ego: self-awareness, achievement, rationality, individuality, and culture. The child symbolizes the qualities associated with the body: spontaneity, pleasure, feeling, community and nature. Inside every adult lies the child he once was. Its maturity is nothing more than a superficial layer, which, however, very often turns into a hardened facade. When this happens, the person loses contact with his inner child. The fact that the child still lives inside us is evidenced by cases of relapse child behavior that occur when the façade collapses under stress. These outbursts of childish behavior are destructive in nature and represent, figuratively, the anger of a child who is kept locked up by a fearful but powerful ego.

In an integrated personality, the adult and the child constantly communicate with each other, the child through the senses, and the adult through the intellect. Each supports and strengthens the other: the child adds imagery to the realism of the adult, who in turn provides the knowledge that explains the child's intuitive reactions. The statement that the creative person dives deep into the unconscious in search of artistic solutions to his problems can be interpreted as if he is thus consulting with his inner child. And since the child is identified with the body, to keep in touch with the child means to be in contact with the body.

It is important to note that almost every patient who seeks psychotherapy has very few memories of his own childhood. At some point in growing up children's experience and the feelings associated with it are cut off. Experiences are pushed out of memory. Feelings are forced out of consciousness. This rejection occurs because the child has been taught to regard his feelings as wrong. He was born an animal, free from any desires, except for the desire for pleasure and joy. However, civilization in the person of his parents required him to develop control, become rational and obey authority. The confrontation between the will of the parents and the will of the child that accompanies the process of upbringing is a phenomenon well known to be described here anew. In this battle, the child always loses, and his submission means the rejection of his animal nature.

In the interests of survival, the child is forced to suppress his feelings and acquire the skills of acceptable behavior, he has no alternative. Thus he erects an artificial façade, which is structured in his body and mind, that is, imprinted in the form and movements of the body, as well as in the image of the ego. The ego identifies itself with this image and separates from the body. Having adopted this image, the individual again perceives himself as an innocent person, unaware that in his unconscious he cherishes hostile and negative feelings associated with traumatic experiences. early years life. Suppressed emotions peep through and break free from time to time, forcing you to create a whole series of rationalizations and self-justifications to maintain the image. They constitute his ego defenses, while muscle tension form what Wilhelm Reich called the "body armor".

Having made a coup, replacing the “wrong” feelings with the right ones and fenced off with fortress walls, the ego perceives itself as the full owner of its territory, the sphere of the conscious “I”, losing the body, the child and the unconscious in this retreat. This image of the master of the situation that the ego creates is nothing but conceit. This is a typical phenomenon for people with emotional disorders. In the case of paranoid schizophrenia, it develops into megalomania. In a schizoid, it manifests itself as arrogance, in a narcissistic type - as excessive pride, and in an individual with a masochistic character - as complacency.

The self-confident ego, comforting itself with imaginary security in its imaginary fortress, controls the personality like a real tyrant. Like a tyrant, it seeks to eliminate any forces that might threaten its power. At the same time, a person feels isolated, alienated and alone. These feelings compel him to seek the help of a therapist. However, his request for help is a convention. The ego does not want its deceptions to be revealed, does not want to give up the defenses and face the negative experience hidden behind them. This step is simply an attempt to overcome one's own weakness with the help of the therapist. Such attempts are doomed to failure. But only failure will cause a person to give up the position of ego that seems to ensure his survival.

The corporeal approach to the personality allows you to directly come into contact with the inner child. When the body is mobilized by breathing, first of all there is an involuntary trembling, which usually starts in the legs and spreads to the whole body. The trembling sometimes quite spontaneously turns into sobs, and the patient begins to cry. He may not even know why he is crying. Sounds seem to come from within, against the will of the patient. Such bouts of crying will be repeated more than once in the course of therapy before infantile notes appear in it and the patient feels the grief of a child deprived of liberty.

Any chronic muscle tension is a suppressed impulse. Muscle contraction was aimed at preventing the expression of impulses. The restrained impulse was negatively colored, which became the main reason for its suppression. Bound by chronic muscle tension, feelings of anger, fear, and sadness are held back in the body. The impulses released during body therapy are crying, screaming, yelling, hitting, kicking, biting, and so on. Expressing impulses in a safe environment helps to avoid acting them out on other people. In this case, the resentful and angry child always comes to the surface, who needs to pour out his negative feelings before he can sincerely express positive ones.

Chronic muscle spasticity is an unconscious limitation of mobility and self-expression. In fact, the person thereby says: "I can not." If this is translated into a consciously expressed "I won't," tension can be released. Similarly, having felt and expressed his hostility with the words "I hate you", the patient may later sincerely say "I love you". As these feelings surface, repressed childhood memories return. Therefore, bodily work must be accompanied by appropriate analysis, which will help bridge the gap between the past and the present.

Parallel work on both levels, physical and psychological, allows the patient to identify with the lost child, accept it and integrate it with their adult outlook on life. This expands his self-awareness and frees up his creativity.

e) A person who is in touch with his inner child is a true social being. It is no coincidence that primitive people, with their social way of life, are characterized by childish qualities. Children by nature, to a greater extent than adults, are prone to unity and identification with the environment. The sense of individuality is a product of the ego that aims to encourage and support the uniqueness and independence of the individual. When the ego is dissociated from the body, the adult is separated from the child he once was. Under such circumstances, individuality turns into isolation, uniqueness into alienation, and independence into loneliness.

Social consciousness is an ego-created substitute for the children's sense of belonging and natural willingness to be part of a group or community. For modern man it is nothing more than an attempt to compensate for one's own alienation and isolation, which cannot fully replace the sense of community that people today lack so much. The sense of community is based on physical participation in common cause. Pioneers, soldiers, and activist groups may experience this feeling, but it is very different from identification based on guilt and monetary relations.

E) Children are also in greater harmony with nature than adults. They are closer in spirit to natural phenomena because they still feel part of the natural environment. The exploitation of nature to satisfy the desires of the ego is not in their vital interest. When a person loses the vital connection with the inner child, he also loses the child's respect and reverence for natural life.

A creative person treats a child with warmth, recognizing a kindred spirit in him. He rejoices in children, his own and others, because each child is a new life, bringing a fresh breath of enthusiasm into the general stream of life. He shares his pleasure with the children, for this intensifies the intensity of his own experiences. He wants every child to know the joy of life that flows naturally in the free following of spontaneous impulses. He himself was lucky to know this joy. At the sight of a child who feels bad, he always feels his pain, because in his heart he is also a child.

Self-realization

None of the patients manages to fully resolve their conflicts or release all tensions in the course of therapy. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the psychological and physical patterns of repression are so deeply structured in the individual that they cannot be completely eliminated. I have repeatedly demonstrated to my patients that it is impossible to completely erase the line drawn with a pencil on a piece of paper. There is always a trace left. Similarly, our experiences are engraved in our bodies. The second reason is that the traumatic experience of the individual is part of his life and cannot be rejected or ignored. However, it can be suppressed or accepted. If it is suppressed, it becomes a source of problems for a person. On the other hand, through its acceptance and understanding, a person can expand his perception and increase sensitivity. And it can serve as source material for the creative process.

Fortunately, patients do not ask to be redone. They just want to feel again that life can be enjoyable. They once had this feeling, because it is on it that their dreams of happiness are based. The very thought that this feeling might suggest that it is familiar to the person. I am not sure that a person could have survived if he did not have at least a few moments of joy when he was a child. The memory, however hazy, of these experiences sustains his spirit in the difficult situations he later encounters. Every patient who has visited me, in spite of his desperate situation or the severity of the disorder, could recall such moments. He wants to feel this joy again, but not as a memory, but as a real experience caused by real events. He wants to understand what in the past led to the loss of this feeling, and to learn how to avoid losing it again in the future.

The difficulty of achieving these goals lies in the renewal process. The patient needs to experience his life anew, in full, every feeling and every thought, perhaps even an action. He goes through everything anew, but moving in reverse direction, from present to past. Thanks to this reverse sequence, he can draw on reality. He must know who he is now in order to understand how he became that way. The present can only be understood through the past, but the past itself only matters because it has affected the present. I emphasize this because patients, like most other people, have a tendency to either ignore the past or live in it. Both attitudes level the meaning of the present and, consequently, the meaning of "I". A person must accept what happened in the past, and not confuse it with the present.

In this movement in the opposite direction, from adult to youth, on to child and infant, a person will have to face the very situation that led to the replacement of the true "I" by the image of the ego. The impetus for the events, during which the feeling of innocence of the child was replaced by a sense of guilt, was his confrontation with his parents. In this confrontation, the child at first felt he was right. However, after unsuccessful attempts to change the parental attitude, this feeling was replaced by a sense of being wrong. Feeling wrong turned out to be an unbearable burden, and in the end, by submitting to parental authority and accepting the parents' point of view, the child ended up on the side of the right, but lost his rights. This transition (from feeling right to feeling wrong, from feeling innocence to feeling guilty) was not associated with a conscious decision. It happened gradually, as negative and hostile feelings were suppressed and then replaced with thoughts and attitudes more acceptable to parents. Therefore, it cannot be remembered as any particular event and must be recreated from scattered memories of past experiences. However, these memories are associated with repressed feelings and cannot be recalled until the feelings are reactivated.

Reactivation of repressed feelings during therapy is difficult. This is countered on the one hand by ego defenses, and on the other by the fear of repressed feelings. Through repression of the senses, the ego has succeeded in creating a relatively safe environment for the personality, and is not willing to risk that security by causing past conflicts. This ego position is reinforced by the patient's fear of intense feelings. The patient is afraid that his anger will get out of control and develop into rage or rage. He is afraid that he will be completely consumed by grief or that he will be overwhelmed by his despair. He is afraid that fear will be replaced by panic or horror and completely paralyze him. When these feelings are awakened, they become a reality for a person, so his fear of them is quite justified.

The situation is further aggravated by the feeling of helplessness that arises in the patient during therapy, which was also part of the initial situation that led to the suppression of feelings. The child was forced to give up confrontation with his parents, otherwise there was a danger that he would be abandoned. Parents use the denial of their love, or the threat of such denial, as a means of controlling the child. The feeling of helplessness again brings up the problem of survival, a problem that, without getting a solution, was sent to the unconscious. Since self-denial contributed to the survival of the child, self-assertion seemed to pose a threat to him. However, a certain amount of self-affirmation is also necessary for survival in this world.

Releasing the patient's repressed feelings and establishing contact with the inner child requires constant coordinated work on the psychological and physical levels. Ego-defenses that prevent the acceptance of natural emotional reactions the child's pleasure and pain must be analyzed. Chronic muscular tensions that block the entire range of emotional expression must be released. This cannot be achieved with a single level approach. Psychotherapy, analytic or otherwise, that does not involve the expression of repressed feelings, tends to increase control at the expense of spontaneity and strengthen the ego at the expense of the body. If the therapeutic work is limited to the expression of feelings, then there is an encouragement of impulsivity at the expense of integration.

Creativity in therapy, as in life, is the result of a synthesis of polar forces. The ability to express a feeling and the ability to control its expression are two sides of the same coin, in other words, the qualities of a mature person. At the beginning of therapy, the control function is performed by the therapist. The patient is encouraged to "let go" of the feeling, ensuring that the therapist can deal with the situation. Anger is directed to the couch and does not become destructive. The patient can give vent to his sadness, knowing that he is not alone and has a sympathetic listener by his side. He can express his fear through screaming, knowing that he can get support. He can afford to be helpless because he believes in the power of the therapist. Gradually, this control passes to the patient, who comes to the conclusion that if he accepts his feelings and trusts them, they cease to be dark, unknown forces that threaten his ego. He comes to understand that his negative and hostile feelings are a reaction to pain, and tender feelings are a reaction to pleasure.

Gradually, with the strengthening of his connection with reality, the patient moves from a defensive position and ego control to an open position and a creative attitude towards life. The patient's first step towards reality is his identification with the body. The therapist helps him see himself from the point of view of the body, and not through the prism of the image of the ego, which is in conflict with the body. He becomes aware of his muscular tensions and feels their influence on his attitudes and behavior. And he learns to reduce these tensions with the help of appropriate physical exercises. Identification with the body is also the first step towards self-realization.

The second step towards reality is the recognition of the pleasure principle as the basis conscious activity. The motivation for all our actions lies in the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. In pursuing this goal, we can go different ways, but we are driven by one desire. A person who does not recognize that his actions are motivated by the desire for pleasure, or who is held back by the fear of pleasure (guilt), has no idea of ​​the reality of his animal nature.

The third step is accepting your own feelings. Feelings are spontaneous reactions of the body to its environment. A person is not able to influence his feelings, they do not obey his will or reason. All he can do is express his feelings or refrain from expressing them, depending on the situation. Going against his feelings, a person cheats on himself. If he rejects his feelings, then he rejects himself.

The fourth step is the realization that all human functions are interconnected. A person rooted in reality is distinguished by a subjective attitude. He knows that his thinking is connected with feelings and is conditioned by bodily reactions. He can be objective because he is aware of his subjectivity. Even the most abstract of his reasonings is inseparable from his actual state. He doesn't say, "I think, therefore I am." If he wanted to say something, it would be the words: "Because I exist, I think."

The fifth step is humility. Humility is the recognition of the limitations of one's abilities. It is the opposite of ego self-importance. We are helpless in many important matters of life. We cannot find true love, even with all the money in the world. We cannot generate pleasure, even with the power that modern technology gives us. A man begins his life in the womb of a woman not of his own free will, and it ends regardless of his desire. We do not create it, and we cannot keep it forever. We should only care about living it to the fullest.

Humility is a sign of a person who fully accepts himself. Such a person is neither timid nor arrogant. He is not selfish, but he does not try to keep a low profile either. Recognizing his own uniqueness, he is well aware that he is part of a larger order. And although he understands that his life is subject to impersonal forces, he feels these forces, natural and social, within himself and perceives them as part of his being. Therefore, he is both subject and object, both creator and "creation" in the master's life.

The position of a person is a combination of seeming contradictions, the resolution of which occurs spontaneously in the creative process of life. Every human being is both an animal and a bearer of culture. When these two opposing forces merge creatively in his personality, man becomes a civilized animal. His culture is a superstructure erected on the foundation of his animal nature and designed to strengthen and exalt this nature. Such a fusion does not occur if the process of transferring culture, the educational process, is reduced to attempts to modify and control the animal nature of man. If the modification was carried out and control was established, then the person turns into a tamed animal, whose creative potential is destroyed in order to achieve high productivity. If this was not done, then the person remains to live, tormented by a furious animal essence, which often breaks through the cultural facade in the form of a rebellious and destructive behavior.

In fact, the attempt to modify the animal nature of man can only be partially successful. The process of taming does not have a significant impact on the deep levels of a person, covering only the surface layer. Hidden resistance and opposition can always be found behind submission and obedience, which are associated with repressed negative and hostile feelings. And behind the open rejection and indignation of most young people, there is a level of subordination associated with repressed feelings of fear and despair. In adults, the submissive attitude is a defense against internal feelings of resistance and hostility, while external defiance is a reaction to the internal attitude of obedience. None of these attitudes can be considered creative, and none of them is evidence of self-acceptance.

For successful therapy, it is necessary to reach through all the layers directly to the heart of the individual. In order to open a person's heart to joy, one must first restore his innocence. It is necessary to revive his faith in himself and in life. In other words, it is necessary to return a person to the state in which these qualities were part of his being. That state is childhood.

A person who can accept a child within himself is able to enjoy life. A sense of wonder is alive in him, which will open the door to a new experience for him. He has enough excitement to respond enthusiastically to the experience. It has enough spontaneity necessary for self-expression. Little children are close to joy because they still retain some of the innocence and faith with which they were born. That is why Jesus said: "If you will not be like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."

A creative person is not a child. The behavior of adults who try to be children in their pursuit of fun is unrealistic and self-destructive. The motive of their childishness is a departure from reality, and their installation is far-fetched. A mature person can gain wisdom because he has lived and suffered. But, despite all the suffering and the acquired knowledge about the world, he continues to come into contact with the child that he was and that, to a certain extent, he still is. We get older, but our feelings about life, love, and pleasure don't change. Although our ways of expressing these feelings may be different, we are still little children at heart. In a creative person there is no separation or barrier between child and adult, between heart and mind, between ego and body.

Any successful therapy in one sense always ends in failure. It lies in the fact that it is not possible to achieve the image of perfection. The patient is aware that he will always have certain defects. He knows that his growth is not complete and that the creative process, having begun in therapy, is now a matter of his personal responsibility. He is not carried away from the therapy room on a silver cloud. Those to whom this happens are doomed to fall. He feels that his feet are firmly planted on the ground, he has learned to appreciate reality and has learned to approach problems creatively. He experienced joy, but I also experienced sadness. He is left with a sense of achieving self-realization, which includes respect for wisdom. own body. He rediscovered his creativity.

Notes:

Lewis Mumford remarks: "Compulsive play is the only viable alternative to compulsive work." (Norman M. Lobsenz. Is Anybody Happy? Garden City Doubleday & Company, 1960. P. 75.)

Walter Mitty is a character in J. Gerber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" stories. A clumsy, timid man who is (living) under the heel of his wife, he brightens up the squalor of everyday life with fantasies of risky adventures in which he portrays himself as a real man and hero. His name has become a household name. - Approx. per.

Gospel of Matthew 18:3. - Approx. ed.

It is sometimes believed that creativity is the creation of something new that has a positive social significance and contributes to the progressive development of mankind.

The more a person learns, analyzes, observes, the more, the wider he opens up to the creative process - the creation of new forms.

Creative components are found everywhere both in the composition of sensory representations and in the system of conceptual images, both in living contemplation and in empirical, theoretical knowledge.

Creativity helps a person to free his individuality. At the time when the creative process is turned on, a person acquires activity and a desire to act. The soul strives for its goal.

The ancients believed that creativity is an individual look at things, the ability to see each object in its own way. Creativity is able to free a person from his psychological pathologies. Creative thinking requires freedom, emancipation, elimination of any external inhibitions. Every person has the ability to generate ideas and evaluate them critically. At the same time, excessive criticism constrains thought.

Creativity is love, freedom, fullness of various energies and striving for action.

Creativity is based on many factors, these are abstract and lateral thinking, and the readiness of memory and the ability to speak, as well as the ability to link facts, the ability to work with information and the will to complete any process. In short, for the realization of creativity, the main things remain: work, talent and the ability to find oneself in the surrounding reality.

Creativity is connected with intuition, it helps to make a more accurate decision. Impulses carrying information go through numerous channels. Spatial and temporal summation of impulses, the mosaic of excitation and inhibition associated with it - is physiological basis human thinking. However, the processing and summation of impulses is not yet thinking. it is necessary to form spatial and temporal pulse configurations in which the structural invariant is singled out and noise is eliminated.

This invariant underlies the images. From this level of interaction, thinking opens up. By virtue of individual features mental images are physiologically created in the same way, but they have different information-content phenomena.

Creativity can be called awareness of one's spiritual impulses, impulses coming from the inner world. Creativity encourages a person to live in this world, but at the same time to stay outside of it.

Creativity also has several levels of its development:

1. A person mainly reacts to impulses that come from the external world and almost does not react at all to the internal one. The inner world then becomes a simple generator of needs. Here you can diagnose the narrowness of consciousness and the inability to see your capabilities. This person is able to listen to something new, but not able to apply it. Naturally, it is difficult for him to analyze, invent, design, because this is not his! It's new! Often such people, feeling sorry for themselves, stop at some stage, and they are not able to see themselves as part of some process.
2. A person understands and sees the shortcomings of other people, but is not able to accept himself. He has developed the threshold of an internal critic, often this is projected onto other people and the creative process is inhibited. Although it must be said that a lot can feel and feel, although it is not always able to express in words. Can add. that fear is also the enemy of creativity. He process of creativity together with excessive criticism leads to paralysis.
3. A person knows how to observe, analyze and highlight the main thing in situations. He understands that each person has his own reality near him and it is not worth judging anything. It is easier to interact with people and seek, feel their individuality, while revealing his own, which helps him generate new ideas and assert himself through their implementation. The nature of such a person is characterized enough strong will, and such an influence of the inner will helps to change mental attitudes. Man opens up to his own evolution and acquires greater freedom. Motivation for action is always internal impulses.
4. A person easily creates images, any, in every field, whether it be mathematical or humanitarian or technical. These people feel their freedom and the limits of its influence, and also open up to any of their thoughts. They are able to understand the illusions of others, not to destroy their castles, and at the same time, preserving themselves, their values, help others to understand and accept themselves.

Today we invite you to meet an inspiring woman, the organizer of the Northern Lights talent fair, the mother of five friendly children, who cannot imagine her life without creativity and finds the strength and opportunity to bring grandiose ideas to life in the daily bustle.

Anna Uppit

– Tell us a little about yourself and your family

My name is Anya Uppit, I am 27 years old, I love learning new things and doing unusual, special things that transform everyday life. I am inspired when a new, bright goal appears, I like the state of enthusiasm, enthusiasm, in which you can, even if you are very tired, still get a return on what you are doing. My first and main interest is children, classes with them, pedagogy as such, the second is type design and calligraphy. Even as a special, separate hobby, one can single out the process of organizing and preparing holidays - domestic and community.

Since I love children and everything connected with them, I have a large family: Oleg and I have five children. Oleg is my husband, he works in the field of IT, and besides that, he is also engaged in journalism: he writes articles for men's online magazines and even recently opened his own online magazine called "Interest". I see that he is very interested in this business, and I like it when he is passionate :)

It is very important that Oleg and I have the same views on the upbringing and education of children. We do not have to argue about this - even during my first pregnancy, nine years ago, we thought about natural childbirth and home education. And our views expanded and deepened more and more as the younger children were born and the older ones grew older. Now there are five of them: Agnes is nine years old, Anton is six and a half, Daria is four and a half, Ignat is two and Maria, the youngest, is exactly five months old :)

The last two were born at home, because, having gained experience of interacting with the state system of obstetric care and having formed our opinion about it, in many respects critical, we studied the issue of natural childbearing quite deeply and came to the conclusion that such a path is necessary. Now we are very glad that we made such a choice, it was an invaluable experience, the birth was successful, without complications, the children were born healthy and develop absolutely normally. For our entire family - both adults and younger children - these were, of course, very significant events.

– What place does creativity occupy in the life of your family and why?

Calligraphy lesson

It seems to me that all people bring creativity into their lives, because there is no way without it. It will be gray and dull. Many are creative in home improvement, cooking, raising children. Creativity plays a very important role in our family.

Personally, I usually find it difficult to get creative with my home routine. Therefore, we in our family went a different way: we try not to turn our everyday life into creativity, but to bring as much diverse creativity as possible into our everyday life. A simple example: during children's holidays, we arrange exhibitions of the work of our children and the children of our guests, arrange home performances in which both we and our guests prepare the numbers. It is always exciting and exciting for everyone.

However, I want, first of all, that not only festive, but also everyday life It would be interesting for both children and myself. Therefore, we specifically devote time to creativity, art, the creation of beautiful things, so that they are part of life and for a reason, and just like that - according to the mood.

My biggest creative passion is calligraphy. It all started in 2008, when my children and I went to the first international exhibition of calligraphy at the Academy of Arts and I myself was inspired so that I wanted to learn as much as possible about this art. I learned about the calligraphy courses "From Aza to Izhitsa", and since then I have not stopped interacting with them. It can be said that calligraphy has changed my life in many ways - I have decided on my favorite thing that I would like to do and in which I will improve as much as possible.

As for children, from an early age they are engaged with me in various types of drawing and needlework. I think that young children should be shown how to more possibilities creation (or creativity?). They are able to put a lot of effort into creating some interesting things. And they are truly happy when they succeed.

In addition to drawing, music and dance occupy an important place in the life of children. But no longer with me, because I do not have the appropriate skills. Although I myself want to do music and dance, and I hope that I can embody these goals of mine - over time, when I have more time.

My eldest daughter Agnes is a person of movement, she is a pronounced kinesthetic, and even at home, doing her homework, she sometimes hangs upside down or sits on a twine. Knowing this, we first gave her to the section on rhythmic gymnastics. We had to leave there because of the departure of our beloved coach, and as a full-fledged replacement for these classes and to further develop our daughter's talent, we chose classical ballet, and, as it turned out, very successfully. Now Agnes goes to a ballet studio, which is conveniently located next to our house.

The girl really likes it, she has excellent contact with both the teacher and her peers, and, in my opinion, she is making progress, although she has not become a soloist. But this was not the goal - the main thing for me was to develop the talents that the child had. Anton, the next oldest child after Agnes, is now learning to play the flute, but now he is most interested in space.

Every year, from the age of 4.5, older children take part in theatrical performances that our Christian community arranges for Christmas and other holidays - we can say that they are no longer beginners and they have accumulated quite significant experience in this area for their age.

And, of course, with children it is best to do what you like most of all. And that's why I take great pleasure in doing calligraphy with them. We even have a home group, which now includes four children: two of my elders and two children of my friends. Once a week we study the history of writing and different historical fonts. This is reflected in children: they learn to notice the subtleties and nuances of writing, small artistic details which usually go unnoticed even by adults. These classes train their attention, develop their diligence, concentration, patience, diligence - skills that are very useful in learning, which are then transferred to other classes.

great attention in the classroom we devote to the development of the aesthetic taste of children: we consider works of art, natural forms, we compare them with each other ... It makes me very happy when children suddenly begin to notice and find beauty in the world around them. This gives me hope that my efforts are not in vain.

– How do you deal with it? Where does strength come from? Who or what is helping you?

kids

To cope, you have to organize your life very strictly: we usually have a whole week scheduled for things that need to be done every day. Not by the minute, of course (I have not yet risen to such heights of the organization), but in general. Some things, for example, children's activities, are tied to time, some I can do freely. I can’t say that I manage to do everything - this is not at all the case, something, of course, is missed, there is a minimum of time left for something. To cope with everything, I involve children, they help me from an early age: with cleaning, and with cooking, and with the younger ones - but only when they themselves want to play with them. Specially sit with the younger ones, as is customary in large families I don't ask them. For me, let them help me with the housework, but I can handle the kids myself. Seniors play with them only on their own, which, fortunately, happens often.

Forces are taken from inspiration - when you do what you like, what carries you into this moment. In such cases, forces are taken as if from nowhere: straight out of thin air. I can very clearly feel this energy that suddenly begins to flow when you do what you like. And such things I always bring to the end, no matter what it costs me. Even if I don't get enough sleep, even if I fall off my feet.

When I am completely exhausted, a hot bath, favorite music, delicious coffee or tea helps. Sometimes I really want to be alone and not see anyone - then my husband helps out, he takes the children and goes out with them alone for a few hours, for which I am very grateful to him. I consider it very important to be able to please yourself and from time to time give yourself at least a small but respite or find a new creative impulse that gives a new portion of strength.

– Tell us about your projects and plans

Anya's husband with his youngest son

I plan to continue to study calligraphy and fonts, invite new students to our classes, make handwritten books on the different topics, to organize an exhibition… I would like to learn how to play the piano, practice singing and dancing. I would especially like to learn how to dance the tango.

Well, the most important of my current projects is, of course, participation in the organization of the Talent Fair