Piano ‘music’ on the piano became a ‘limiting belief’ and held back creativity. Remove the sheet music and ‘me’ is allowed out to play and experiment. We noticed how subjectively we compare ‘other’ people’s versions of creativity. We shared the knowledge of ‘washing up’ undone in the kitchen making other rooms in the house less creative, and generally disturbing the environment. (Could be that little green fairy keeps popping his head round the door to see if you’re ready for him yet!) Full instructions on this and the other exercises we played with are available through the NLP-South Home Practice Pack. On sale at the next meeting. And also available here and now.

On to the first exercise. “Sensing the creative you”. Using most of Robert’s Dilts ‘Logical levels’ model (leaving out identity) Tara had us thinking about our creativity as she moved up the levels. Then we got to play in pairs to help each other represent our findings ‘spatially’. In the wash up following this exercise several revelations were shared.

NLP-South 3 April 2008 Nigel’s Full report.

Creating FUN with NLP,
with Tara Dominick of Living Creatively

We are blessed at NLP-South with a number of great group facilitators who all live near enough to come along often. Tara is one of these and for a while was a member of the group, before changes in her circumstances made the trip just too far.
Tara complained that my cartoon this year made her a bit “heftier” than my portrayal of her last year. I blame the stripey trousers!

This started a discussion about the meaning of creativity. Whose perception is right? What do each of us think creativity really is? Do we use creativity in everyday life or just keep it for special times? Can we remember a time when we were creative? Does it equal playfulness in children? How about cooking? Does creativity brought into our everyday lives make the world more colourful? We talked about repetitive, mundane jobs that numb the conscious mind and allow the unconscious to soar away free. To access the ‘peripheral vision’ state of relaxed awareness. Enough of all this chatter!!

Who’s right?

Just
a soupcon!

JENNY’S PICTURE.

I realised that my creativity comes from a sense of spiritual ease and wonderment about what the world and nature has to offer us. When I see wide open spaces I feel uplifted and capable of anything. In this picture the far horizon beckoned and I was taken immediately to other views and other locations when this had happened.

The word resurrect conjured up a very different time - on my Master Practitioner training, when the trainer had used a time line process to help us find skills we wanted. Many people went into the future to find theirs. I went back in time to refresh and recreate my skills with sewing. I had allowed them to fall into disuse when it seemed I was obliged to make everything I wore, just because I could.  Now I wanted that skill again - just so I could make unusual things.

There is also a sense of fun in my picture as not everything is immediately visible. What is lurking just out of sight....

It was time for the break when for the third time Tara said we were all probably gasping for a cup of tea. By the time I got downstairs to collect my pre-ordered drinks there was a great long queue for tea, which isn’t poured to await us but made freshly! The one man behind the bar was therefore predictably held up in fulfilling our half time drinks order. Oh the power of suggestion (Tara really wanted a cup of tea) or maybe even an imbedded command. I must make sure to exclude tea and coffee from the half time menu as it took us ages to get back together upstairs.

It was a revelation as I realised I suddenly became aware of the foreground. This symbolised the detail of what I do, in contrast to the overview that was the larger vista. The detail is far less creative - yet in the totality of my picture- and my metaphor - both are essential.  It was much easier when the picture went on its side to see both perspectives.

In all the excitement I can’t recall if Tara checked to see where our creativity had got to on a scale from 1 - 10, I’m sure she did, I just don’t recall where my score went to. Its probably still caught in the mist!
Thank you Tara for a creatively entertaining evening. Find out more about Tara’s creativity Company here
http://www.livingcreatively.co.uk

Tea Break

“Settle down ... Now!”

Once more we settled in and Tara asked us to turn our picture upside down and notice what happened. Then to turn it on its side. I’ll let Jenny tell you how that was for her.

Next for a game Tara had made earlier. Forming an almost orderly queue with minimal pushing and shoving we all dipped our hands into two boxes. In one were pictures and in the other words. Find a new friend to play with and discuss how your picture and word relate to your own creativity. Below is Jenny’s picture and word and this is what happened for her.

If you read her brief biog on the programme page for April you will know she is a lady of great
talent as well as as an NLP certifying Trainer. Her life is dedicated to living creatively, and at all
times she asks herself the question, “Is this the most creative way I can be right this moment?”
This time there was no paint to play with. Those of us wearing our grandad’s shirt back to front
over our ‘best’ clothes felt slightly out of sorts and a little let down. After all what is creativity if
you can’t get messy? We were about to find out!

Setting a benchmark is always a good place to begin so Tara asked us to think where we were at on a scale of 1 - 10 with our own creativity. We all had a thunk and then time to put our hands up and admit to ourselves and to each other how creative we were with ourselves on a regular basis. There were 7 between 1 - 3; 6 between 3 - 6; 8 between 6- 8; and 2 between 8 - 10. Tara’s question to all of us , “What’s stopping you being more creative?” We spilt into pairs to debate this. Then came back together to share our findings.

Our final game for the evening required the use of a willing volunteer. Karen was delighted to play! Tara took a moment to ask Karen about creativity and to think about a ‘creative’ state. Karen began immediately creating a painting in her mind. (Karen is into painting). Tara encouraged her to put the picture
out in front of her and began to tweak her sub-modalities! This isn’t nearly as painful
as it sounds and I think Karen was really rather enjoying it as she told us about her
tingly hands, her sparkly paintbrush vibrating at speed - warmth - and hearing the
word “you”. (No she hadn’t won the lottery!) Tara encouraged Karen to make it
bigger until she could step into it and become part of it and then to anchor the whole
experience with a word or phrase.
Karen didn’t need to be asked twice, and I wondered, unnecessarily, whether we
would ever get her out again!
Now we’d had the demo, time for the rest of us.
My experience included having a tube running through my head filled with a sticky mist. The tube was open to the atmosphere allowing for unsuspecting creative pieces to float in and be trapped by the sticky mist, sucked dry of their juices and sold in slavery to.... Whoops got a bit carried away there. Actually it didn’t happen quite like that but the tube and the mist were definitely there!

If you missed all the fun and would like to re-create the session in the comfort of your own home then the NLP-South Practice Pack based on this evening is just what you need! Available here and now. It includes an interview with Tara following the meeting, listen in to discover more about NLP in deepest Dorset.