The Power of Creative Tension

Day 9 of 22 Days of Transformation, 7th March 2010

Transformation is a creative process and like any creative process it has tension inherent in it. It is a process of resolving polarities by raising consciousness to a higher level, raising energy to a higher vibration and manifesting something into the world that didn’t exist before.

Einstein said we can’t solve problems on the level at which those problems are created. When we raise our consciousness to a higher level problems get smaller as we transcend our emotional attachment to them  and approach them with curiosity and in a spirit of creative experimentation.   In other words we free our energy from the heaviness of a problem mentality into the lightness of creative play. At this point the “problems” haven’t yet changed but we have changed, and by changing ourselves we are then able to be creators of a new physical reality.

In this series, 22 Days of Transformation, we have been working a lot with the imagination, with our visionary power. The imagination or inner vision is an attribute of soul, and to travel into the landscape of soul in this way is deep work for we are tapping into a quality of time which contains both past and future.  In my experience soul visions do not manifest over night. You may find yourself capable of some instant manifestations – a friend calls out of the blue with just the information you need, you receive an unexpected and welcome offer of resources – that sort of thing, but the building of our soul vision, our soul work, is a lifetime’s task and the deepest things we long for may take many years to come into being. These deepest callings are what motivate us to grow and to expand into our full potential.

So, in the process of transformation one of our important tasks as creators is to hold the tension   between our vision, or our soul yearnings, and where we are now. Between what we want and who we are. What do I mean by hold the tension?

Let me give you a personal example. Yesterday, at the end of the session on community I said I was feeling both a fullness and an absence. The fullness came from the beautiful depth of sharing and heart connection I was experiencing with everyone on the call. The absence came from a knowing that there is more for me to do, a longing for physical, in-person community as well as virtual community. I know that building community and supporting others to build community is part of my soul work. If I collapse into the absence I can feel weary, overwhelmed and sad. Yet, if I try and cling to the fullness I know I am not being true. So in the process of alchemy I need to move between my experience of fullness and emptiness, knowing both, accepting both, embracing both, allowing the play between the polarities.  Then I am unattached to outcomes and free to receive what comes.

We can play with all our creative tensions in this way.  You may be experiencing a tension between your desire to express yourself fully and your fear of expressing yourself; between your longing for “success” and your fear of success; between your desire just to be and your need to do.

When you experience the negative polarity, instead of trying to push it away, embrace it, welcome it, see it is a signpost to what can be. Allow yourself to flow gracefully between the poles, enjoying the movement and the play.

Photo by Felix