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Let Your Creativity Flourish With Your
Inner Magical Child
We all have different
facets to our psyche and by the time we become adults we identify with only
a few of them, having pushed away those we either think we no longer need or
those parts of us we find problematic in some way. Creativity is something
we all had as children but because it is an expression of a part of the
psyche we can call the Magical Child, as we grow up, we identify
increasingly with the rational adult selves and so this child, along with
all its wonderful creative talents, starts to disappear - or, more
accurately, is pushed into the deep recesses of our unconscious, shadow
self.
People who are creative as adults maintain access to their Magical Child,
and some even identify with this part of themselves so fully that they can
find it difficult to take care of the more adult, practical aspects of life.
We've all heard of the artist who has no idea about managing finances or
dealing with the mundane yet essential aspects of parenting.
Keep in mind that the Magical Child isn't the only creative inner self there
is - there are the artistic selves, the musical selves, the writer selves
and many more. What the Magical Child does is see solutions and
opportunities that the rational mind cannot see. In a way it fuels these
other artistic selves. People sometimes describe receiving answers to
problems as coming from 'nowhere' or from 'left field' - this is often the
Magical Child contributing. Inventors and business entrepreneurs who will
see something others just can't perceive, often have strong inner magical
children yet would not be considered as creative in the traditional sense.
So what are the qualities of the Magical Child? It is extremely imaginative,
it often doesn't make sense, and it sees magic in our environment. You can
see it in children when they make up fantasy worlds and sing non-rational
rhymes and songs, putting in silly words instead of the correct ones. I
believe that the recent extraordinary success of books like the Harry Potter
series is due to the widespread disowning of this inner self and our
yearning to have some of it back in our lives.
This inner child (and also other manifestations of our inner child,
particularly the Vulnerable Child) becomes disowned or repressed in many
people because the more adult, powerful, rational selves become the primary
parts of the personality and can't understand this child, and so see no need
for it. It can seem quite silly and irrelevant to them.
So if you feel you are lacking creativity or are always concerned with the
more mundane or practical aspects of life, all you need to do is reclaim
your inner Magical Child and bring some of its energy into yourself. If you
are a creative person anyway, this inner child can bring you fresh new
perspectives and add another dimension to your work. If you are primarily
logical and rational, the Magical Child can literally add magic to your life
and can give you new ideas with your usual activities.
The following exercises will help to access your Magical Child:
1. Set out to write a poem, but don't try to make it 'intelligent'
and fit in with a particular poetic style. Instead just allow yourself to
write whatever comes to you. Pick a topic to begin with such as 'eggs'.
Write a line about eggs and then another one, and so on. For example: Eggs
are best when scrambled up, they roll and dance around a lot, eggs can smile
like humpty dumpty, who is very fumpty lumpty.
Keep going and don't censor yourself with your more rational side. What you
write doesn't have to make sense. If you allow yourself to do this, no
matter how silly your poem is, you will soon be able to draw on the immense
reserves of creativity coming from your Magical Child and use them in many
areas of your life.
2. Get some coloured pencils, crayons or paints and some paper, and
have some fun drawing with these. Allow yourself to draw or paint whatever
you feel like. Don't worry if you think you can't draw. Abstract art is all
you need here. Just allow yourself to experiment with mixing colours, with
drawing shapes and squiggles - much like a young child would.
3. Buy or borrow some good children's fantasy books and read them.
For example, the Harry Potter books, the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, or
Tolkien's The Hobbit. Such books will delight your Magical Child, and
reading them will serve to honour it and to make it more a part of your
life.
4. Let your imagination go by
playing with toys such as building blocks which allow you to create your own
designs.
For other articles on
various life issues visit my blog
Daily Voice Dialogue
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