Many young people feel that art and creativity is something they need to pursue outside the walls of the church. Dr. Linda Seger encourages believers to connect their creativity to their Creator.
Most of us in the arts define ourselves as creative. Many of us who also are committed to a spiritual life may have heard the term spiritual creative and used it to identify ourselves. What does it mean? Why is it an important term as a motivator for our creative lives?
A spiritual creative is someone who feels called, led or guided by a higher power to do his or her artistic work. We serve this higher power by trying to get out of our own way. This interference often is referred to as ego. Many spiritual creatives feel that ego muffles the voice of the Spirit.
Personal gain or passion is not the key motivating force. It isn’t just a matter of enjoying the creative process, finding that our work is the best way to be affirmed by others, or finding that we can make money doing something that is fun and enjoyable. Spiritual creatives feel our work is important in more than just political, social, or individual ways. Some say we add meaning and value to life through our artistic expression. Some say we work to build up the kingdom of God. We see ourselves as givers, here to make the earth a better place to live for all.
A spiritual creative usually feels he or she is led and nurtured in creative life by the Spirit, which can be defined in a number of ways. Some say the Holy Spirit works through them. Others say they feel moved and guided by the Creator, the Source, the Divine—or that they’re in touch with The Sacred. This Spirit puts them in the flow. These spiritual creatives come from all walks of faith; some may be non-believers, yet feel a positive connection with all of creation.
The goal of the spiritual creative usually falls within several different arenas. For many, there is a desire and a sense of responsibility to tell the truth through their art. Their truth tells us something about the human condition, about how things work, and about what’s important in life. The ideas they express are not meant to be haphazard or arbitrary; and creativity is not meant to be just for fun, but the artist feels the work is sacred, perhaps even defined as a sacred trust. Finding and exploring the truth, as well as a way to express truth becomes part of the work. If the truth is told, but not accepted, many spiritual creatives still would judge their work by whether they stayed true to what they perceive as their calling.
Often an artist is not recognized until after his or her death, because the truth they were expressing was too hard for society to embrace at the time; nonetheless, this contribution moves society in a new and better direction.
For some, the goal is also to create joy—not just to make things fun, or to create work that makes others laugh and is entertaining, but to encourage a spirit of joy. Actress and acting teacher Nina Foch says it’s almost impossible to work creatively in a condition of discord. No matter the situation, even if it’s playing a dark scene or writing a dark story, the creator says, “I’m going to create joy today.” Spiritual creatives share a deep sense of joy that comes from illuminating life and feeling they’re fulfilling their mission.
For spiritual creatives, success is not defined by numbers, not by the amount of money made or the number of people who know their name. Success is more apt to be defined by whether the artist did the work well, told the truth, if the work touched the audience, or even changed and transformed the reader, viewer or audience.
For many, the work is about change and transformation toward becoming better, more fulfilled people and the ways art can help achieve this. They aim to inspire, encourage, enlighten and uplift. For the writer, actor and dancer, transforming the character may lead to transformation within individual audience members. For the painter or photographer, the work might change the attitude, ideas or sometimes even the behavior of the viewer. In the process of exploring the subject matter, the artist also might be changed. For the spiritual creative, the goal often is to be open to his or her own changes, as well as hope to change others in some important way, whether large or small. The spiritual creative knows change is not always easy, but frames the work with a sense of destiny being guided by a divine hand working in his or her life. Author and holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl said, “What is to give light must endure burning.” The spiritual creative is willing to go through the fire.
William Kelley, Academy Award-winning screenwriter for the film, Witness, says, “Writing is holy. We are keepers of the flame. We sit down at our dulcimer and try to steal a little fire from heaven. We are keepers of the Word—we must know the Word, the proper words. We must know what words mean, and we must know if there’s a better word. We are keepers of the gate, we see darkness and try to light a candle. We try to be proper citizens of what we occupy.”
Our work is a trust, a responsibility, a calling and a blessing. We know, deeply, how important the arts are; and we try to illuminate life, truth and the human condition through what we do—and through that, add a bit of light to the world.
What Adults Can Do to Cultivate Young Spiritual Creatives
We asked Dr. Seger what youth workers could do to encourage and inspire creative kids. Here’s what she told us:
“Adults can encourage spiritual creatives by recognizing that creativity is a process and that any creative person is finding his or her way. Look to see what the youth is trying to do and encourage him or her. Look for places where the artist has transcended a cliche. Encourage the values implicit in the art. Have the youth talk about what his or her art is about; then if possible, have someone with skills in that artistic area show the artist several different approaches to expressing that idea in order to strengthen and clarify what he or she is trying to do.
“Think of this artistic work as learning, strategizing and developing skills. Recognize also that many young artists are philosophers in their own right. It may not yet be worked out, and the philosophy might be filled with holes, but encourage thinking through meaning and expression of meaning.”
Dr. Linda Seger has been exploring the integration of creativity and spirituality for more than 30 years. She’s an international speaker, writing consultant and author of 12 books, including Spiritual Steps on the Road to Success: Gaining the Goal Without Losing Your Soul and Making a Good Writer Great. She has master’s degrees in drama and religion and the arts and a Th.D. in drama and theology. Her websites are LindaSeger.com and Spiritual-Steps.com.
