Creativity is not optional.

What is creativity? Why is it important and why is it important now?After all, we are not all artists, or movie makers, or musicians, or any other profession that is traditionally associated with creativity.

The reality of today’s world is such that you need to be creative more than any time before in history in today’s job market. Creativity is also essential for human beings; it’s what makes humans, humans.
The outsourcing of jobs abroad has been an issue that has gotten much traction in the media. The real job-killer though is the automation of simple tasks (think robots). The average cost of operating a robot in a wholesale store is $3.20 per hour.  Robots also do not need sick days, health insurance, pension plans; they have no family situations that might affect their productivity; they make fewer mistakes with monotonous tasks.  What jobs can they do? They are used already in the medical fields assisting in surgeries; they are dispensing medications; there is a whole warehouse in Connecticut, USA that uses robots to pack and ship; country Brazil is not using accountants anymore for corporations. In three years, Brazil is planning to substitute all accounting jobs with the software. It is not just simple jobs that are disappearing. Programmers are programming programs that program programs. Robots and computers are the peaks of human progress, they show how far we have come as a race. We are living in the future. Studies show that creativity and ability to “think outside the box” are valued by employers more in 2015 than ever before.  It is becoming less acceptable to just be able to do what your job description requires; everyone needs to bring something special to the table. So are we prepared for that?  Are we preparing our kids for that?
Certainly not in the US school system where art programs are disappearing. Art programs that should be able creative outlets are taught through step by step approach. There is very limited creativity. I remember talking to a group of 6 graders whom I asked” Do you like Art classes?” The answer was: “Yes when it is creative. Most of the time, we just need to do what the teacher tells us to do so it is boring.” Teachers, on the other hand, are stuck with a lot of regulations created by stupid and wrong ideas of people who probably should not be creating regulations in the first place.
Creativity can resolve so many issues we are facing in our schools: from violence to life readiness, to helping children with learning disabilities.  Violence in schools often comes from one group of students trying to fit in and anther group not allowing that. Many students have trouble finding “their place” in school social circles. Every time a shooting or a violent episode at school happens people starts saying that we need religion back in schools to educate kids about morals. It would be better to bring spirituality back into classrooms instead of religion. Religion might create controversy, as everyone has their religious ideas and principals, but spirituality is less likely create that controversy.  If we accept our uniqueness, it is easier to accept others.  Spirituality is all about creating a connection with the world around you, therefore, the people around you. Spirituality is as simple as a group of kids coming together to collaborate on an art project and sharing their creativity.
Creativity is an energy flow of life.  God is an artist, not an engineer. Look around to feel that.  Every snowflake is different, every fingerprint is different, every DNA is unique.
How did it happen that we were trained without taking care of this energy that is our “blood supply”.  It feels that no one thought about creating a lot of leaders and visionaries. It is easier to manipulate people when they do not realize their power. Look at every royal family or any high standing in the society family, the education of their children always starts with art and music, drama, foreign languages, and debate.
The good news is that even if you were trained the “wrong” way and are now out of touch with your creative source, it is possible to restore it and open it and enjoy it. It did not go anywhere; it is just sleeping inside of you because you are not using it to its potential.
These are some ideas that you can apply to your life right away. Let’s look at the profiles of the highly creative people and please ask you: “Can I increase any of these qualities in me?” because creative people have a lot of energy. They can concentrate and work with enthusiasm. They can see a big picture and they find great solutions.
These are the qualities of creative people.
– You have a lot of energy.  You can work long hours with great concentration and enthusiasm.
– You are smart and a bit naive.
– You can combine playfulness and discipline.
-You can be both, extroverted and introverted.  Both traits can be exhibited simultaneously.
– You are humble and proud at the same time because creativity is never rooted in ego.  You are aware of what you stand for.
-You are ready to take risks, break the safety if necessary.
– You are passionate about work and are objective about it.
-You are sensitive and open.

Art is an amazing tool that is available for every single person on the planet, and you can start using it today. It is a myth that you only can do art when you are young, that you need to be trained in the art to do art.  You do need to be trained but not necessarily in the traditional art school.  The biggest secret is “ Every single person on the plane has a potential to be an artist.”  It is a huge statement, I realize that but that is what I have seen with my students.    I use the oldest tradition on the planet to open up the fountain of your creativity, Vedic Art.
Here is a quote from Curt Kallman, founder of Vedic Art Course to give you a taste and hopefully to start realizing that there is a hidden talent in you that is also in high demand in whatever occupation you are involved.
“Vedic art does not teach anyone how to paint;   the Vedic art is a way to remember how to paint, remember how art can be created.  From the moment we remember the 17 Vedic Art principles, we remember the whole story of life. From where we come, and where we are going. Vedic Art contains a navigation map. Use the compass You have in Your brain and find the way to the chamber of peace in Your heart. Then – when You dip Your brush in light, space and bliss, eternity will be pictured. When you enter into Your work of art – in Yourself referral dialogue – You will find the code of how life can be lived and how a piece of art can open doors in heaven and on earth.” – Curt Kallman.

Starting your day with a creative action will invite the creative energy into your day.  The Goddess of Art might visit.
It is easily accessible and the more you are aware of, the more often you will experience the joy of communicating with it.  Art is life.  When you are setting up a table for dinner, you are setting up a still life.  When you are choosing what to wear, you are creating a moving art piece out of yourself. How about your makeup?!
Simple things to do for fun:
Get yourself a nice art book.  Small.  Small books are easy to carry around, and pages you create can be used as hand-made cards.
Buy a small pack of markers.  Choose the colors you enjoy the most.
Play with images on that paper, with different lines and shapes.  Do not try to think them up.  Let them come to you instead.
Do not try to create a masterpiece with every image.  Be curious and feel that you are only a witness.  You are not creating, the energy is moving through you.  You are on the receiving end.
Smile through the process.  Feel light.  Enjoy.
Tell your mind “ I am listening with the pencil now.  Relax.  I do not want your thinking” and feel the flow.

Of course doing this is much easier for people who have attended the workshop but even if you are just reading this you can do this [ractice successfully.  Please feel free to email me for more guidance! elena.zelenina@gmail.com and I will send you our resource guide.
The most important advice is not give up on yourself if you are not in the flow right away.  Enjoy the process of opening up!

I now would like to touch on a very important topic of your uniqueness.
I already said that you are unique. I also know that there is a great reason for that. We are needed the way we are but minus our powerless thoughts of course. No one has your DNA, no one has your finger print, no one will create an image as you can.  No one has your story either.  We, humans, love stories though.  We make them up; we tell them, we create plays and movies.  We paint our stories.  We live inside our stories.  If you spend some time and look at your story so that you will understand your path, your goals and then you make it accessible to others, you will in fact attract right jobs and right people responding to your story.  It takes some time, and it is a real adventure to figure it out, but it is worth every second of it, and it is worth every penny you spend on that journey.
A big secret is that your story is not set in stone.  It changes, evolves with you and as, per my Guru, your story can be …..re-written.  Going deeper into your patterns and understanding your true uniqueness will change your story for the better.
But even before that your unique story, as it is right now, serves some much bigger unique plan.  I want to tell you a bucket story from the book “Guaranteed Solutions” by Paramahamsa Nithyananda.
There lived a gardener once who worked in the garden on top of the mountain next to the king’s palace.  Every morning he went to the river to fill two buckets with fresh water.   One day one of the buckets started crying.  The bucket said: “Oh, Master, you work so hard carrying the water for the flowers.  You have to go down the hill and up the hill, so the flowers are never thirsty.  I am the one who waste your work away because I have that leak on one side.  Your work is wasted because I am such a broken bucket.  I am not good enough for you.
The gardener smiled and said: “Make sure you look down when we walk down and up when we bring water this time.”
Again he went to the river, filled his two buckets with water and started going up.  The bucket was trying so hard to see but all it saw was the leaking water on the way up.  The Gardner asked the basket what did it see.  The bucket said:”I saw how the water was escaping, and you did not bring the water back as you could have if I were not broken.  You should through me away and get a new bucket!”
The  gardener smiled and said: “Did you notice the flowers that are growing on one side of the road?”…
Same way with us, we think we are not good enough, and we do not realize that our unique cracks can be serving a much bigger purpose.