Creativity and Presence

July 13th, 2006 Fred McVittie

There seem to be two key strands of concern that I am developing an interest in, at least to the extent that I keep finding myself at presentations concerning these ideas; these are presence and creativy. I guess something I would like to do would be to find a way of thinking of them as part of the same gestalt, or having a similarity of structure. There does seem to be a relationship of shared metaphor, particularly in relation to the metaphor of light, which (sort of) figures in both concepts. For now, I am assuming there is a link between theatrical presence (i.e. an assessment of presence carried out be an outside observer or audience) and presence as signifying an individual, phenomenological feeling of being exactly here, precisely now.

In performances which have presence, the moment of continuous becoming which marks the ‘being in the moment’ of performance, can be considered as a constant ’stepping into the light’, a state of wakefulness and breaking consciousness.

In creative processes there is (usually) a moment in which connections are made, solutions are revealed, intuitive leaps are made, and this moment is often termed illumination. In this case the light is that of conscious awareness. There is a feeling that the creative process has been proceeding in the darkness of unconscious processing, and that the end result is forced up or brought forth into the light.

In terms of training, assuming that these metaphors have any validity, there is clearly a benefit to be gained by both performers seeking to improve their presence and others wishing to improve their creativity by working on this shared moment of enlightenment.

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Enlightenment - Line and Point

December 12th, 2006 Fred McVittie

Enlightenment is not a ’state’, it is a ‘way’. Both these terms use spatial metaphors to organise experience. It is tempting to think of enlightenment as a ’state’ in the geographical sense; a special place we can move ourselves metaphorically into which is radically different from the state we are in at present. It is tempting to think that if we were in this place or state then we can simply stay there, permanently and completely enlightened, and from the vantage point of this mythical, brightly illuminated place, we can look back at the place we left and at the unenlightened people who are still standing in that place, and we can feel secure that we have not only seen the light, but we now live permanently in that light. Citizens of that special place.

This is all wrong. If we are to use a spatial metaphor to talk about enlightenment then we have to use one which reflects its status as a process, not as a fixed way of being. We need to see it not as a place but as a journey. Not as a place to hang our hat and relax, but as a road that we might walk down. This journey has no destination (although it probably ends at our death) but a journey in which the walking itself is the reason. Constant moving is both the way and the point of enlightenment. Walking and waking, walking and waking.

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