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Revealing Our Thoughts

Our Birthright for Creative Expression

By Chris Dunmire, CurrentLiving.com

Since sharing my experience of reading two of my writing pieces at a Barnes & Noble bookstore last week (Reading My Mind: Words are Thoughts), I've received some validating feedback from readers and wanted to talk a little more about the idea of "revealing our thoughts" publicly.

Given the unique opportunity to read to an audience was a wonderful experience that I'm grateful for. I believe that everything we do adds to who we are TODAY and life really is a gift for us to experience in every facet we so desire.

In this case, I could have chosen to read or not. Certainly my writing group facilitator would have understood and others in our group chose not to. And hey, reading to strangers isn't as easy as licking frosting off of a spoon, that's for sure. But after all is said and done, I can feel the positive, uplifting change in my being from sharing a creative part of me in such a public way. For manifesting my private thoughts and weaving them into a larger experience for others to partake of and enjoy is an awesome unfolding of life in action.

How did I get to be this way now when not long ago I could have sworn that I was a shy and insecure creative? It's been a process that continues with each breath I take. However, I do recollect a moment during one of my creativity coaching modules with author Eric Maisel when he said something to me that was life-altering and has since been an invaluable tool to me. I've talked about this exchange last year in my Thirty-Four: Growing piece, but here it is again:

This is part of what I wrote on the subject of "writing":

When I write what I feel, I am vulnerable. I allow the possibility to be rejected or criticized for my thoughts. Should I say that so bluntly? Or should I sugar-coat it as not to elicit an emotional response? Yes, this is hard work!

To with Dr. Maisel responded:

I have probably mentioned already that Freud believed that all creative blockage was a form of self-censorship. In his estimation, we do not want to reveal ourselves, so, even if we say that we want to write, we don’t really, as writing reveals our grammar skills, our imaginative skills, our opinions, and our insides. There is a lot of truth in this view that we write so little because we fear revealing ourselves. The solution? Stop fearing that! Stop right now. Stop fearing how you will be viewed and what “people” will think of you. Just speak. Or else you will be silent.

The part "Or else you will be silent" hit me the hardest. It was then that I realized that I had the birthright to express my voice in this world and that it was up to me to initiate that expression and thus be alive. Bottom line: I was responsible for writing all of the chapters of my life and not being silent. For if I continued to be so, I could blame no one else for the fearful quietness in my soul.

Appreciating the variety and contrast in this world has soothed my fears of there being "only one right way" to write or do art or create in any form. Having a voice of any kind in this world automatically means that some will agree and some will disagree. I couldn't be silent on that account. I can't be silent now, for silence to me means the death of life. Life is not silent. It is a chorus singing in both high and low notes, and in every note in between. It is moving. It is energy. Life is the creative flow.

Thinking this way has made a huge difference for me. And for some good reason I have the undeniable desire to share these honest bits for the purpose of "human example" and to help coach others to not be so afraid to explore their own creative potential. We have to cut through the illusions of perfection out there. It doesn't exist except in our own minds.

We create our lives one moment at a time, in the now, by the choices we make. Or not. Could it really be that simple? What do you think? •

© 2007 Chris Dunmire, CurrentLiving.com. All rights reserved. (04/02/07) Please do not duplicate this article elsewhere without my permission.

About the Author
Chris Dunmire is creatively engaged in life as an artist, writer, humorist, and publisher of the popular Creativity Portal Web site. She's trained as a creativity coach with Eric Maisel, Ph.D., and develops projects and playbooks to encourage creative thinking, artistic expression, and play in people of all ages. Learn more about Chris's books at CreativeSlush.com.