Supercharging the Creative Process:
A Roadmap Toward Better Art
Part 9, Parallels of Life and Art
I hope this has broadened your understanding of the creative process.
I was a scriptwriter when I evolved this application of a philosophic machine to the process of creation. I did it because I was stymied by the lack of decent texts on the subject of scriptwriting. It’s a sort of universal joke within scriptwriting circles that all texts on scriptwriting are not very good. So I concluded if I wanted a good text, I was going to have to write it myself.
I had read that universes were created by the application of self determinism along eight primary spheres of activity. These eight spheres included,
8. The realm of the infinite or supreme being,
7. The realm of thought,
6. The material universe consisting of matter, energy space and time,
5. The cumulative collection of all life forms,
4. Our own species being mankind,
3. Groups,
2. The creative urge, which can be said to include sex and the family unit,
1. And existence as self (an individual with mass, meaning and mobility).
The key was when I realized a script (or film, or book) was in fact its own little universe—nothing new. Various film directors talk about the fact. But my realization was that if a script is a universe, then the way one would put together a script was the same as the way a person would create a universe, i.e., by through the application of self determinism along the 8 primary divisions of life. The process was further reinforced by the use of the inverted pyramid and circle as additional philosophic machines to guide our pathway.
So helpful was this insight to me that I included it in my own logo.
I’m not trying to take credit for inventing these or any philosophic machines. The symbol of the triangle and the circle are as old as man. What I do take credit for is understanding these tools and the bright idea on how to employ them to achieve artistic goals.
All this served to supercharge my ability to write scripts and create other types of art. But the benefits empowered more than that, bringing on a huge surge in my own ability to script the story of my life.
Life breaks down into at least 8 major divisions. Perhaps there are more. For example, the choice of your overriding objectives might be considered a 9th division. What’s important is to understand your own interests (or lack of them) along each of these levels.
8. There is existence of the infinite. Here is one’s conception and beliefs concerning the infinite. It includes belief in a supreme being or your choice of atheism. Since the symbol for infinity is the number 8 turned on its side, we can well call this number 8. Here also is where one goes for research, homework and consequent inspiration.
7. In the realm of thought we have logic and perhaps the creator of human thought, the human spirit, spiritual life or spiritual things. Are you a material being having a spiritual experience? Or are you a spiritual being having a material experience? I’m not trying to convert anyone. But I wouldn’t mind helping you script the story of your life. So there is the world of thought.
6. Life itself requires a playing field and we have a rather large one called Earth. Where will you go on that playing field? What will you do? I hope it isn’t nothing. The material universe is composed of matter, energy, space and time. That is our world and today there is a growing awareness of our small planet and the effort to preserve it. The exploration of moons and other planets and even the mapping of unknown places such as the bottom of the sea all fit here. We watch storms from space and study the cycles of weather, including global cooling and warming, we track the movement of continental plates, and monitor volcanic plumes that create volcanic hotspots, eruptions and super eruptions. We have earth-moving equipment that is capable of damming or diverting entire rivers. We hold back the sea with dikes and sea walls to keep out surging tides.
5. Unlike some planets and moons devoid of life, our world is populated with a plethora of flora and fauna even below the bottom of the ocean within hot subterranean vents. From the virus to the viceroy, this is the realm of living creatures animated by life. Some people are very strong on their support of organizations preventing cruelty to animals and working to preserve forests and jungles and other living resources.
4. Here is the realm of species, which serves to unify all parts of the whole. Our species is mankind. A changing thing about our world is that many people have a low or almost non-existent thrust to exist as mankind. Probably this concept stems from sociopaths who care little for anything or anyone but themselves. Activities under the banners of science and sports help improve the general level of fellowship as a race, thanks to events such as the Olympics and the effort to explore space and put man on the moon. Efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and preserve Mother Earth all belong here. And when you look out upon the world, it is striking what pride you can feel for the human race, considering that there is virtually no culture that has failed to bring something of value to civilization’s table. Some cultures bring music. Some bring styles. Some bring engineering. Some bring culinary creations. Together we are an amazing race and there is every reason to feel pride as a member of the human race.
3. Here we get to the realm of organization and therefore groups. Mankind as a whole is grouped into nations, regions and cultures. Every person has their circle of friends, their clubs, political or professional organizations to which they may belong or support. The company where you work is a group. There are military groups and groups within those groups. Your local teams are each a group. What groups do you identify with? What teams are “yours”?
2. Next comes the level of creativity applied to being human, and that means reproduction, sexual activity and the family unit. Here perhaps is art in all its myriad of forms. Here is what’s hot and what’s not, from fashions to architectural mansions and monuments of the ancient and modern world.
1. At the bottom is the realm of self or more precisely, of your body. The human body is itself just a symbol because like a chess piece, it has mass, meaning and mobility. Every individual body is in turn it’s own virtual universe consisting of some 37.2 trillion living cells and more. So if you think mankind and other realms are too broad to mess with, heck, you’re already managing 37.2 trillion living elements as it is, evidence that our capabilities are unlimited. At this level we have the body form, your personality, clothes, and all the accouterments of self and the trappings of who you are whether tinker, tailor, soldier or spy.
All this information, of course, is useless unless you realize it constitutes a philosophic machine, that is a pattern of sockets into which you can plug in data and thereby uncover missing elements that may be holding you back from enjoying a more full, rewarding and meaningful life.
Analyze or plot your own life across the pattern and see what you may be missing. Do you do anything with plants or animals? Do you do anything to preserve mother earth? Do you do any sort of volunteer activities for the benefit of fellow humans? (And if not, do you sometimes feel depressed?) For a healthy life, having some kind of activity in each area is simply requirement. It’s not my arbitrary opinion, it’s the nature of the universe itself. And your own life is a microcosm of the greater macrocosm in which we live.
It also provides a road map to write new chapters or plot changes in the story of your life that you would like to make. If you can remedy missing elements and establish strong overarching themes, your own life can become a work of art in itself.
The world needs more artists for they imbue the world with insight and life. By doing a more competent job, you will get a higher quality product that is more rewarding for you personally to produce and one that easily qualifies as art.
Bon courage in your future creative pursuits.
— Steve Hall
