It sounds simple enough, a young child sums up the creative process this way: “Drawing is easy. You just think your thought and draw your think!”

But what happens when you don’t have a think? There are times when we just find the imagination fading, the “flashes” of insight occur with less frequency, or the ideas are of no real value.

Fears begin to take over and slows the creativity to a very slow pace or the creativity seems to stop altogether.

I would like to reassure you that it is highly unlikely, that the creativity never really seems to stop as creativity evolves from many sources and it would be difficult, if not impossible for it to stop entirely.

Creative levels may drop, however, it is important to exam the qualities and conditions that make possible the creative experience:

They are:

Attentiveness:             Originality – engaging the senses, seeing things for the first time.

Playfulness:                In order to create – we need to have a concept and play with materials, concepts, perspectives and to even fantasize.

Anxiety & Chaos:       The interaction that takes place within the conscious and sub-conscious minds resolving conflicts, organises memories and co-ordinates in the same direction.

Limitations:                 The creativity benefits from having to function within limits.

Relaxation:                 It brings forward, it breaks us away from the concentrated effort and allows for creativity to breathe and surface giving us the much needed spark.

Trance State;              Trance states occupy us all day long, no matter whether we are driving, jogging, watering the garden or taking a shower – it is closely associated with relaxation and allows for the “play” in the mind to take place.

Receptivity:                Creativity cannot be forced – acknowledgement of the new ideas needs to be received - that break thought, being aware. 

Responsiveness:        once that “flash”, the acknowledgement is made the ideas flow and the body trusts its own intuition.

Absorption:                 Complete immersion within the subject.

Fear:                           Fear of the unknown.

Self Criticism:             Closely related to fear – it is that little critic that sits on your shoulder when you have commenced a project – it places limitations on the creativity.

Using hypnotherapy to enhance creativity:

Now you know the qualities and conditions which make possible a creative experience, with this in mind you can now use hypnotherapy to assist you in overcoming those blocks and to achieve those goals:

Assisting in:

• Acceptance of those unproductive periods during the formative stages of the creative processes – it takes away that temporary stop light;
• Eliminating the fears and reducing self-criticism – be released from any doubts, fears or inhibitions; and
• Reinforce the productivity and pleasure of the creative process – use the imagination to create and have those ideas emerge.

For further information contact us on (03) 5223 2370 or via email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.                                      

Karen Holt Clinical Hypnotherapy and Counselling
AMAHS, MASCH, NFH