The Creative Process

Inspiration and the creative spirit are now more important than ever. To live with inspiration and fulfillment, we need to understand how and whence inspiration comes. Each of us has the capacity to be creative, to receive inspiration, to express our unique gifts, to make our contribution in a way that may not have been done before. Without creativity, humans are reduced to little more than automatons. Furthermore, creativity is important to the health, evolution and transformation of the whole of society. This book offers a comprehensive understanding of the totality of the creative process, whereas most theories of creativity have dealt only with its fragmentary aspects. Freud defined creativity as the sublimation of sexual frustrations or conflicts; personality theorists attempt to measure experimentally and to categorize traits of those designated 'creative'; current humanist theorists speak of creativity as being the highest stage of development of the human personality and synonymous with peak health; more recent theories attempt to locate the environmental, historical determinants and the psychodynamics of creativity. "The Creative Process" provides a thorough study of the creative process, including a review of foremost theorists and psychologists' writings about it, accounts by modern day creative geniuses about their inspiration and process, and case studies of the author's own work as a psychologist "unblocking" blocked writers and getting them in touch with their creative wellsprings.