WAX ON, WAX OFF

Do you remember "Wax On, Wax Off"?from the movie classic Karate Kid? If you don't, watch this 2-minute clip?here.

I have a creative exercise for you: the Wax On, Wax Off of Creativity.My design student daughter coined it, "Mom, this is like, Wipe On, Wipe Off. You can do this as many times as you want until you reach mastery."This exercise is incredibly simple?and takes 5 minutes. It is accessible to every one of us, regardless of our occupation, culture, and age.?

I learned it from?Richard Lang?from his beautiful series,?The Headless Way, from The Waking Up?app by Sam Harris. He calls it?Being Creative—Explore the spontaneous, ongoing act of pure creativity (note that the original exercise is set in the context of Mindfulness, with a link below.)

Put On, Take Off (after Wax On, Wax Off):

1. Clear?space on your table. I do this on my work table before I start my workday, but you can do it on your kitchen counter or at a meeting table in the office.
2. Collect?8 to 10 things from around the house, office, or garden. I put them on a tray to bring them to the table.
3. Pause?for a moment, take a deep breath, and clear your mind.
4. Arrange?the objects on the table in the space you cleared. This should take you all 15 seconds.
5. Look?at the pattern you just created. You created something out of nothing.
6. Clear?the space again by putting the objects to the side.
7. Look?at the empty space now and?imagine?a pattern on the table.
8. Create?this pattern on the table.
9. Pause?and take a look. You saw a pattern in your mind's eye, and then you re-created it on the table.?
10. Reflect?on how wonderfully creative you all are.

Richard Lang is Mr. Miyagi. We are Daniel. The table is the car. The exercise to put and take off objects is the equivalent of Wipe On, Wipe Off. The student sees the car; the master sees the never-ending pursuit of mastery. Mastery is an understanding of the meaning of life through karate, or in this case, creativity.

This exercise is now part of my?morning routine.?I find it helps me be?fearlessly creative?throughout my day. I don't need to draw to be creative, just like?you don't need to be a designer to be creative.?You can be a mom or a dad making up bedtime stories, a coach helping your client see things differently, a financial advisor connecting knowledge and patterns for unique insights, a lawyer who solves complex problems, a political advocate envisioning a campaign that blends art and politics; a plumber figuring out how to stop a leak without breaking a wall; a design student cross-fertilizing from one context to another and inspiring this Newsletter—every moment is an opportunity to be creative.??

As Richard Lang says, "Simply to be is to be creative. Each moment is creative. In each moment, something is coming out of nothing. Something is emerging from the mystery that you are. How spontaneously effortlessly and endlessly creative you are."

Give it a try.?

Thank you!

Ayse Birsel

INSPIRATION

I recommend?The Headless Way?by Richard Lang for?a deeper dive into his wonderful Mindfulness tools on the Waking Up app?here.?Do listen to him take you through the?Being Creative Exercise, the original which inspired me to share it with you here. The app is?free?for the 1st 30 days and does not require your credit card information to register.??

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I talked about Creative Habits as an Antidote to Waking Up Frightened in an earlier Newsletter. Rumi's poem inspired it,

?

?Today, like every other day, we wake up empty

?and frightened. Don't open the door to the study

?and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

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?Let the beauty we love be what we do.

?There are a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

?

?—Rumi

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You can read it in full?here.?

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A few years ago, I became a contributor to?INC.com. My 1st article was?32 Easy Exercises to Boost Your Creativity Every Day.?You don't need to be a talented artist to pick up a creative habit.?To this day it is my most viewed article,?here.

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