I woke up the other night at 2am. The phrase, 'law of acquisition,' floated in my waking brain. I quickly realized this was the cause of a climactic scene I had just written for my novel that afternoon. While the scene worked, there needed to be a background logic for the action. That was the 'law of acquisition'. The phrase came to me in a dream; I spoke into my phone and promptly fell asleep.
So this brings me to creativity and how little credit I ascribe to myself. I began to learn this while in school. I attended college, like many, not knowing what I wanted to do. College became a potential escape to me from a life of limited options. My father worked hard, as did my older brothers on the railroad, but it was not for me. I eventually committed to a double major in biology and psychology, not art classes! I hadn't discovered my true self as yet.
During my calculus courses, I had to take a year sequence, very much out of my depth, but I did well; I couldn't complete my homework. The class was not about the answer, but the path to the answer. The direction was 'to show your work'. As an artist I understand this now as process, back to the homework. I couldn't solve the problem after a few attempts and wadded up papers strewn about my desk. I went to bed very late and exhausted. When my alarm went off, I walked over to my desk and wrote out the correct answer two-page correct answer with all the steps. I solved the problem in my sleep. I trusted my dreams after that.
It hasn't happened often in my 30 year artistic career, but when it has, I have made sculptures based on dreams.
Now I find the same happening as I write. I am on page 290; the 'law of acquisition' actually comes from ideas earlier in the book. So, my sleeping mind integrated information from works I wrote months ago. It is hard to take credit for something that you dream up.
Comments