The Seven Traits of Creative People

The deepest reality you are aware of is the one from which you draw your power. For someone who is conscious only of the material world, power is limited to material forces; but at a more profound level there is a creative power shaping the mind and body [...]

To get in touch with the core of life, you have to get in touch with the creative power of the universe. That power expresses itself through your personal creativity. When you are in the field of creativity, you lose track of time. Only the flow exists.

There are three forces pervading all of life: creation, maintenance, and destruction. All three are present in the life span of cells, stars, trees, planets, and galaxies, since every form must come into being, be maintained, and pass away. Even though each life span unfolds in a sequence over time, the three forces themselves exist simultaneously. The genes of every species include the code for creating new cells, maintaining each cell for a certain time, and destroying it to make way for another generation of tissue. This three-in-one intelligence is what you are trying to affect when you consciously shape your life; it is up to you which aspect -– creation, maintenance, or destruction -– is most dominant. Because you have the power to shift the balance of forces, you are above and beyond them.

As long as creation dominates your existence, you will keep growing and evolving. Evolution thwarts entropy, decay, and aging. The most creative people in any field intuitively draw on this understanding. They grow with the full consciousness that they are the source of their own power, and whatever their field, certain traits are generally shared by them.

1. They are able to contact and enjoy silence.
2. They connect with and enjoy Nature.
3. They trust their feelings.
4. They can remain centered and function amid confusion and chaos.
5. They are childlike –- they enjoy fantasy and play.
6. They self-refer: They place the highest trust in their own consciousness
7. They are not rigidly attached to any point of view: Although passionately committed to their creativity, they remain open to new possibilities.

These seven points give us a practical standard to measure how creatively our lives are proceeding. [...]

You don’t have to squeeze every point into each day -- just make a commitment to allow these aspects of your life to emerge more fully.

--Deepak Chopra