A Lost Art

"We have become slaves to culture, a culture created for us, not by us."

  Creativity is an exciting subject and a difficult one to learn. Creativity, as it works out, is a very elusive gift. 

  Here's why it seems we have let some things go over time, culturally and socially. You see, over time, the culture, history, the narrative. The social narrative we listen to every day, the cultural meme, has changed, and we, subsequently, have changed as a civilization, if you will. The things known to be common knowledge, say 1000 years ago, are not common knowledge today. We have discarded the truth that the Jewish people in the year 100 AD knew today as nonsense.

Furthermore, truth as we know it today, is it the truth? We believe many things to be true these days, evolution for one because the cultural narrative says it is truth when in reality, it is just a theory. Yes, it is just a theory. The author of the evolution theory even stated it was just a theory. One could say it is a "conspiracy theory." And yet most of society loves to think of it as fact. So what does this have to do with the creativity problem? 

  Many years ago, the creative process was understood. The great writers and artists of the past understood it. As many today understand it. The study I have embarked on reveals a historically understood concept called theurgy. Look it up. The definition of theurgy is clearly understood as "the operation or effect of a divine agency in human affairs." This vocabulary has been shown in many artist statements, interviews, biographies, literature, and others. The great composers speak of the interaction of God in their lives and the great work they produce. The old testament is a historical record of God's relationship with his chosen people. Contemporaries speak of the inspiration and revelations that changed their lives and the effect on the work they produced. Cameron and Berdayev, from two different times and cultures, speak fluently of the work of theurgy in their lives. 

  That's what I am hearing! A cultural movement, an ism, has been allowed to rule the contemporary mind and institutions that say we are enlightened and rational people and don't need any help. We don't need anyone, for that matter. And we don't need the help offered by the God of creation. And we don't need any of that theurgy stuff. Yet, we have a creativity problem. 

  We have another glaring problem before we can be creative. We have much that got in the way of tapping into the creative relationship of creation. And it is very unhealthy. Along with the changing narrative that got us in this 'state of being,". We have allowed the "truth" of social memes that take up residence in our lives to enslave us to a paradigm of living that makes it increasingly difficult to find the creative process in our lives. We are slaves to the culture created for us, not by us. And we appear to like this culture that is—big difference. 

  Creativity is a lost "art," if you will. But it can be found.