Dear Friends,
Creativity seems to be the name of the game around these parts. Here in Northern California, we witness the creative pulse of nature in the vast array of color. What's ready to open and blossom inside of you?
In this Spring issue, we feature the theme of creativity in its many forms. Suggest you set aside some time, take a few full body breaths and delight in reading the inventive ways our guest writers explore the topic.
Our ITPI conference,
Adventures in Human Possibility
, is coming up soon, May 18-20, at Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA. Join us for an enriching and playful exploration of what is possible for you, the ITP community and our precious world. As George would say, "Let's do it!"
Also excited to launch our live online ITP training, the Journey of Practice six-session series, beginning June 24, led by ITP Mastery teachers. Connect with a community of fellow practitioners from around the globe and be enlivened by the shared discovery and embodiment of ITP essential practices.
Here's to sprouting, growing and evolving together!
In the spirit of joy and practice,
Pamela Kramer,
ITPI President
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The Sense of Wonder and Imagination
as Windows into the Creative Process
by Christina Grote
ITPI Board Chair
"We continue to evolve and transform who we are in relationship
to where we are. We do not live in isolation from the physical world
around us. Nature beckons our response. It is in the doing, the being, the
becoming that meaning is made. What becomes sacred is the act itself -
not what remains. Something inexplicable is set into motion." - Terry
Tempest Williams
The topic of creativity is so vast that I can only give the barest
take here, just a few ideas to consider. I am not an expert in this
area at all, but someone who has been in a deep study of ITP and
has engaged in a few creative projects. To start we could ask, what do we mean by creativity? The
definition Miriam-Webster gives is to bring something into existence, to cause, or to design. Who or
what is bringing something into existence, or doing the designing, isn't specified but we'll let that go
for now.
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Learning to Sing:
The Practice of Creativity
by Sally Durgan
ITP San Francisco Co-leader
"What makes your heart sing?" Receiving this icebreaker question
at a workshop, I reflected that singing (literally) makes my heart
sing. Growing up, I sang in school and church choruses and at
home with my sister. As an adult singing by myself and with
others brought me joy. With that seed planted, I pursued this
creative outlet.
Fortunately, I found a school and teacher in San Francisco that
offered weekly group classes and began my singing practice.
In The Life We Are Given, George Leonard and Michael Murphy
define practice as "an activity that, for all its benefits, is done on a regular basis primarily for its own sake,
because it is the path upon which you walk.
" They further describe creativity as "a natural human state" and
that the
"ability to create, to put together the stuff of existence in novel ways, is limitless."
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Global Transformation and the
Power of Practice
by Emanuel Kuntzelman
Greenheart International President & ITPI Board Member
and Jill Robinson,
ITP Mastery Teacher
In our contemporary time of unprecedented global crisis, how
do we proceed towards a future that is sustainable, loving, and
just? How do we make sense of our democratic values when their
truest, spiritual form is yet to be realized?
These are big and important questions to ask ourselves, but
perhaps the answer doesn't lie in one or a handful of perfect
solutions. What if global transformation is inspired simply by our
collective ability to respond to life's challenges? To do so, each
of us needs to utilize the tools provided by an intentional and
integral practice and put them to use with a sense of purpose.
Read More
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3 Steps to Heighten Your Creativity
by Eva-Lena Rehnmark
Freelance designer for ITPI
Creativity is one of those words difficult to define. Merriam Webster
Dictionary makes it sound simple: "The ability to make new
things or think of new ideas." But let's break that down further, as
anyone can "make things" but to create something new is bit more elusive
. I suggest three ways to increase creativity: first, create a
lot (ie, paintings, music, writing), second, think divergently and,
the kicker - my third way - procrastinate.
My first suggestion may strike you as obvious, but as a
professional artist, I have felt stuck working for other people,
perfecting the techniques and materials needed for their artistic
applications. So, I followed the advice of Picasso,
"Inspiration
exists, but it has to find you working."
In order to rediscover my
personal creativity, I decided to create a painting every day for a
year.
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Helpful Qualities
and Attitudes
for Creativity from The Future of the Body
by Michael Murphy
ITP and Esalen Institute Co-founder
Qualities that enhance creativity as outlined in
The Future of the Body
can serve as reminders of the
need for openness to change, allowing us to step outside of the ways that we have held ourselves
and our understanding of reality. It is useful to refer to this list from time to time as we evaluate our
stance relative to our practices.
- Tolerance of ambiguity
- Openness to experience (including altered states)
- Willingness to temporarily set aside reality testing
- Non defensiveness in relation to strong feelings or unusual ideas
- A flair for rendering novel forms from complex stimuli
- Unusual capacities for intuition
- Psychological risk taking
- Emotional sensitivity
- A strong drive to find pattern and meaning
- Feelings of oneness with others
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Tools for Navigating the Creative Process
by Dave Fribush
ITP Mastery in the Bay Member
The tricky thing about generalizing tools for navigating the
creative process is that we are all different and approach being
creative in different ways. Malcolm Gladwell has a great article
about this in The New Yorker where he compares the vastly
different processes and experiences of writers Jonathan Safran
Foer and Ben Fountain. For Foer, novels seem to emerge almost
fully formed, effortlessly. For Fountain, it's a long and arduous
grind. Yet neither would be successful using the other's process.
Why they are both successful is they each seem to understand
how to navigate their own particular selves through the process.
Very apropos to ITP, navigating yourself through the creative process is a practice where you are your
own authority. This applies to determining the tools that best suit you. Writing this article has forced
me to think about my own tools, and while they are a continual work in progress, the following
have emerged as feeling like the most important. I've included some suggestions for trying them out
yourself, and some reminders for myself to make sure I'm practicing what I preach.
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Spotlight on Jac Brown
ITP Kansas & Mastery in the Heartland Member
How did you become involved in ITP?
My involvement with ITP began through a mentor, Matthew Cobb, who was helping me with my meditation practice and becoming more centered and balanced.
What do you appreciate about the practice?
The depth of the core commitments and how they help me to increase my awareness and understanding of my own being and being in the world.
What keeps you practicing ITP?
My ITP practice is, now, a part of who I am. My center and life-balance are better when I am grounded in my practice.
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** Starts this Friday
Register Today! **
ITPI Conference 2018
Adventures in
Human Possibility:
The Heart of ITP
May 18 - 20, 2018
Asilomar Conference Grounds,
Pacific Grove, CA
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Annual GLEE Meeting
After the ITPI Conference
May 20, 2018
Asilomar Conference Grounds
Pacific Grove, CA
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The Purpose Summit
June 2 & 3, 2018
Berlin, Germany
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Activate Your Talents
Power of Practice workshop
June 16 & 17, 2018
Bordeaux, France
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ITP Online Global Dojo Presents
The Journey of Practice Online Training
Sundays from 10am - Noon PST
Jun 24 | Jul 29 | Aug 26
Sep 23 | Oct 21 | Nove 18
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ITP International Presents
8th Annual
Golf in the Kingdom
at TPC Harding Park
Home of the 2020
PGA Championship
October 1, 2018
San Francisco, CA
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"Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy."
- Rollo May, The Courage to Create
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