The Creative Mind

http://talentdevelop.com/3423/ - The mythology of the mad artist continues in various forms, supported to some extent by research. For example, there are studies indicating writers are more susceptible to depression. Cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., says, "I do believe that If the mental processes associated with psychosis were evaporated entirely from this world, art would suck. But so would a lot of other things that require imagination."

http://innertalentinterviews.com/72/ - Cheryl Arutt, Psy.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in creative artist issues.

This is an excerpt from a much longer audio interview

Also see post: Pain and suffering and developing creativity
http://talentdevelop.com/2810/pain-and-suffering-and-developing-creativity/

'Creativity involves process, and process involves change. The truism we often hear is that we often resist change because change is difficult or change is painful. This is not quite accurate. It is the resistance to change that is difficult or painful. In the same way, it is the resistance to our creativity that causes us to equate it with suffering.

'It is important to remember that “effort” and “suffering” are two different things.'

- Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity http://vsb.li/EYgHDw

By  Drew Hansen, Forbes Staff. For those interested in more research about the connection between creativity and madness, I recommend the website talentdevelop.com, where I found plenty of material on the topic. I encourage you to take a closer look and share what you learn.

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See list of posts on Creativity and Mental Health

http://talentdevelop.com/category/mental-health/

Don't we need to keep busy to be creatively productive? A number of psychologists and artists say daydreaming is actually a way to enhance creativity.

Psychologist Dennis Palumbo notes, “Some people call it puttering, or screwing around, or just plain goofing off. Others, of a more kindly bent, call it day-dreaming. Kurt Vonnegut used the quaint old term ‘skylarking.’ What I’m referring to, of course, is that well-known, rarely discussed but absolutely essential component of a successful creative person’s life — the down-time..."

Your Best Life in the Arts - Course by Eric Maisel, PhD, available for immediate download - "You’ll learn to identify the challenges that confront you as an artist—and what to do about them...silence negative self-talk, create and cultivate productive obsessions, institute a regular creativity practice, more effectively meet the marketplace, and more."
http://www.entheosacademy.com/course/Your-Best-Life-in-the-Arts?&c=deby

http://talentdevelop.com/2344/ - Writer Elizabeth Gilbert addresses a number of topics related to being creative -- including fears and anxieties about "the work you were put on this Earth to do." // Excerpt from her TED talk Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius.

http://talentdevelop.com/5746/ - "The greatest achievements in life are only possible if we can activate the best within us." Brendon Burchard / This is a theme of his book "The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives that Make You Feel Alive." /

Follow link to quotes about other books by Jack Canfield, Pamela Bruner, George Pratt, PhD and Peter Lambrou, PhD.

> Main posts:

Depression: More Creativity, or Not?

Self-Study Classes for Sensitive People

Tama Kieves on claiming our potential with joy

Alanis Morissette: Channeling rage and finding joy in creativity

Enhancing Creative Thinking With Design Examples

The  Mandela above is from Artists with Asperger’s Asperger’s Syndrome, Sheldon Cooper, Carl Jung and the Persona.

Anyone familiar with the television show Big Bang Theory will easily recognize that all of the Asperger’s Syndrome characteristics mentioned below describe the character of Dr. Sheldon Cooper:

Inflexible adherence to routines and perseveration. Fascination with esoteric subjects Superior rote memory. Preoccupation with a particular subject to the exclusion of all others...

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List of articles on Autism and Asperger's

http://talentdevelop.com/articlelive/categories/Learning-differences/Autism-and-Asperger%26%23039%3Bs/

Alanis Morissette talks about dealing with fame, channeling rage and using other strong feelings in her creative work as an artist.

"It’s a joke to think that anyone is one thing. We’re all such complex creatures. But if I’m going to be a poster child for anything, anger’s a gorgeous emotion. It gets a bad rap, but it can make great changes happen.”

Quinn Cummings, now 45, got an Oscar nomination at age 10 for The Goodbye Girl, but she hasn’t acted since appearing on Evening Shade in 1992.

“I realized I didn’t love it anymore,” she says. She’s since found success as a writer. Her new book, The Year of Learning Dangerously, explores her decision to homeschool her 12-year-old daughter—who isn’t impressed by her mother’s acting past. “Moms by definition aren’t terribly interesting!” Cummings says. [Parade.com Aug 26 2012]

By Jenna Avery

A chat with my Writer’s Circle participants inspired today’s post. So often we wait for the right conditions before we write or start our other creative projects.

Although we’d like to imagine otherwise, waiting doesn’t get us very far. Are you waiting for the right mood to strike before you work on your creative project?

Janet Echelman on Creative Thinking and Living a Creative Life

Building self-confidence: changing limiting beliefs and helping others

Creativity is an Ebb and Flow Process

   and more