Butler Library at Buffalo State College Digital Commons at Buffalo State Creative Studies Graduate Student Master's Projects International Center for Studies in Creativity 5-2015 The Symbiosis of Creativity and Wellness: A Personal Journey Jennifer A. Quarrie International Center for Studies in Creativity, Buffalo State College, jaqarete@gmail.com Advisor Dr. Cynthia Burnett To learn more about the International Center for Studies in Creativity and its educational programs, research, and resources, go to http://creativity. Recommended Citation Quarrie, Jennifer A., "The Symbiosis of Creativity and Wellness: A Personal Journey" (2015).
Creative Studies Graduate Student Master's Projects. Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.edu/creativeprojects Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons The Symbiosis of Creativity and Wellness: A Personal Journey by Jennifer A. Quarrie An Abstract of a Project in Creative Studies Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science April 2015 ii ABSTRACT OF PROJECT The Symbiosis of Creativity and Wellness: A Personal Journey The Symbiosis of Creativity and Wellness project explored how holistic personal wellness practices nurture creativity, and conversely, how creativity fosters personal wellness. The project specifically explored wellness from the standpoint of sleep and circadian rhythms, somaticism and movement, nutrition and hydration, meditation and mindfulness, as well as connection and support.
By immersing in research-based wellness practices and building a customized approach to personal wellness, this project not only facilitated measurable personal wellness improvements over the six-week period, but also highlighted more profound insights within the relationship between creativity and wellness. Overall this work resulted in significant lifestyle changes, a more holistic and balanced approach to priorities and time management, and insights towards personal, familial and vocational goals. The experience deepened personal skills in creative thinking, Creative Problem Solving, affective thinking, intuition and mindfulness, as well as forged additional steps on a path towards self-actualization and transformational leadership. Keywords: creativity, wellness, wellbeing, creative thinking, creative problem solving, self-actualization, sleep, circadian rhythms, somatic, movement, nutrition, hydration, meditation, mindfulness, connection, support, symbiosis ___________________________________ Jennifer A.
Quarrie __________05/03/2015_______________ Date iii Buffalo State State University of New York Department of Creative Studies The Symbiosis of Creativity and Wellness: A Personal Journey A Project in Creative Studies by Jennifer A. Quarrie Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science April 2015 Dates of Approval: ____05/04/2015________ _____________________________________ Dr. Cynthia Burnett Assistant Professor ____05/03/2015________ _____________________________________ Jennifer A. Quarrie Student iv Copyright Notice, Copyright © 2015 by Jennifer A.
All rights reserved. The works of authorship contained in this paper, including but not limited to all text and images, are owned, except as otherwise expressly stated, by Jennifer A. Quarrie, and may not be copied, reproduced, transmitted, displayed, distributed, rented, sublicensed, altered, stored for subsequent use, or otherwise used in whole or in part in any manner without the prior written consent of Jennifer A. Quarrie, except to the extent that such use constitutes "fair use" under the Copyright Act of 1976 (17 U.
§107), with an attached copy of this page containing the Copyright Notice. The principle of fair use specifies that a teacher may fairly copy 10 percent of a prose work, up to 1,000 words. v DEDICATION & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Within us is a secret longing to remember the light, to step out of time in this dancing world. It’s where we began and where we return.
- Jack Kornfield This project and all of my Masters work is humbly dedicated with deepest gratitude to my loving and supportive family. Thank you for your endless encouragement, patience and sacrifice. It has been your company along the way that made this experience so rich. To my darling baby girl, Ashley – You have walked every day of this journey by my side, thank you for your unconditional love, blooming mind and boundless energy.
You inspire me to be the best person I could ever be and to love like the ocean. To my golden-hearted husband, Euge – Thank you for your strength and flexibility on this journey. Your spirit for adventure and change is unparalleled. Thank you for paving this future together.
To my lovely mother, Marilyn – Thank you for holding us up in every way. Your time, thoughtfulness, love and devotion bring our family alive. You steep the family in wellness and we wish to give the same to you. To my supportive father, Walt – Thank you for your quiet support and punny humor.
You are a living example of physical wellness and I strive to share that path. To my joyful sister, Carolyn – Thank you for your gentle openness and loving care. Many years ago you taught me the joy of the present moment, it’s with me every day. To my sweet brother, Jason – Thank you for demonstrating such a beautifully non- judgmental and accepting way of living.
It inspires us to watch you striving for your dreams – we are with you. To my inspiring aunt, Janine – Thank you for always believing in me, supporting my dreams in so many ways, and teaching me early in life to take crazy breaks! To my discerning stepson Jack – May you find joy in all that you do. As you blossom and embrace your gifts, may you find richness in connecting with others, love in family and lightness in the weight of the world. To the Quarries – Thank you for such positive and loving support for our family.
To Grammy – Thank you for your encouragement smiles and love. To Grandma – Your Masters inspires me - thank you for paving the way. To all of the ICSC Creative Studies faculty and staff, thank you for your amazing ability to give knowledge from your heart in such a compelling way, share your lives’ work and challenge us to move past our perceived boundaries. It has been a joy to work with each of you.
Most especially, thank you to Dr. Cyndi Burnett, who has been a listening ear, supporting hand and guiding light from before day one. Her humor and intuitive ability to connect made her a powerful advisor and a wonderful friend. To Doug Reid, thank you for teaching, living and listening so empathically, and for such kind and supportive friendship and collaboration on our listening work.
Finally, to my incomparable cohort and tribe, the Wizards of Osborn, thank you for creating this unparalleled experience, going amazing places together and helping to build a glittering future. Insight and humor * Connection and growth abounds * Creativity vi Table of Contents Section 1 – Project Background 1 Section 2 – Pertinent Literature 13 Section 3 – Process Plan 63 Section 4 – Outcomes 68 Section 5 – Key Learnings 83 Section 6 – Conclusions 95 References 98 Appendices Appendix A – Comparison of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the Seven Energy Chakras 109 Appendix B – Parallels Between Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Seven Energy Chakras and Seven Dimensions of Wellness 110 Appendix C – National Wellness Institute’s Six-Dimension Wellness Model 111 Appendix D – Internal/External Wellness Cycle 112 Appendix E – Blog 1: Enjoying the Exhale: Breathing in Creativity & Wellness 113 Appendix F – Blog 2: Creative Survival: Wellness Beyond Work 118 Appendix G – Blog 3: Creative Convergence: Making Space for Wellness 123 Appendix H – Blog 4: Directing Energy: Deliberate Intent in Creativity & Wellness 129 Appendix I – Blog 5: Trusting Yourself: The Gateway to Creativity & Wellness 134 Appendix J – Photo Journal Sample 139 Appendix K – The Symbiosis of Creativity & Wellness 144 1 SECTION ONE: PROJECT BACKGROUND Purpose When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot become manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied. – Herophilus The purpose of the Symbiosis of Creativity and Wellness project is to explore the relationship between wellness and creativity in order to more clearly identify how holistic personal wellness practices nurture creativity, and conversely, how creativity can foster personal wellness. By contributing potential insights to both fields this project may also encourage habitual creativity and wellness practices in readership and provide social institutions with additional reasons to prioritize these elements in our daily lives.
Through the power of media, insight blogs of key take-aways may prompt attention and discussion on these topics, as well as help facilitate win-win solutions between those seeking enhanced personal wellness and those seeking increased creativity from others. More personally, the project predominantly aimed to further my own private journey towards understanding and achieving wellness through practice, exploration, play and experiential study. In addition to enhancing personal health, creating a more balanced and holistic life, and developing additional courage to protect personal needs, this project also enriched my professional creative contributions to both creativity and wellness fields and helped solidify my career trajectory in the direction of my passions. Background What Does Creativity Look Like? What does creativity look like? When we look at a creative person or a creative product what do we really see? We all have different personal impressions of creativity, 2 but chances are that many members of the world population ascribe to creative stereotypes: artistic, erratic, disruptive, anti-social, weird, or even ill.
We’ve heard lore and watched movies of raving, mad creative geniuses. While a few folks may fit that bill, creativity, true creativity, is beautiful. It is open and intensely aware. It is alive and teeming with energy, motivation and connection.
It is inspired and unafraid to see big possibilities. It is imbued with hope and rooted in reality. It is connected through acceptance, partnership and respect. When the world sees creativity, I wish they might see these elements.
I hope they understand that creativity harnesses possibility in a way that empowers people to change their own lives for the better. Next time that you look at a creative person or product, I hope you will see the courage, care, energy and hard work it took them to harness their inner person and to share this beauty with the world. Creativity and Illness Overplayed From modern medical research to mega media, creativity gets an inordinate amount of attention from the standpoint of mental illness. Amazon offers dozens of books with the words creativity and madness/illness/depression in their titles, but none containing creativity and wellness.
There are annual conferences dedicated to creativity and madness (Panter, 2015) and box office hits, such as Amadeus, highlighting the odd behaviors of eminent creatives. “The romantic notion that mental illness and creativity are linked is so prominent in the public consciousness that it is rarely challenged” (Kaufman, 2013). In 2009, Judith Schlesinger debunked some of the over-hype by carefully evaluating the original studies by Kay Redfield Jamison, Nancy Andreasen, and Arnold Ludwig that have been most frequently cited as showing a link between mental illness 3 and creativity, and criticized their validity based on their “small, highly specialized samples with weak and inconsistent methodologies and a strong dependence on subjective and anecdotal accounts” (Kaufman, 2013). Since that time, a 40-year study of approximately 1.2 million Swedish people, found that individuals with scientific or artistic occupations were not more likely to suffer from psychiatric disorders and concluded that mental illness did not increase the probability of entering a creative profession (Kyaga et al.
The one exception noted was that those with bi-polar disorder who were 8% more likely to be in a creative profession (Kyaga et al. Separately, Harvard psychologist Albert Rothenberg (1990) spent decades and over 2,000 hours interviewing creative people and used his data to refute the link between mental illness and eminent creativity by stating, First, contrary to popular as well as professional belief, there is no specific personality type associated with outstanding creativity. Creative people are not necessarily childish or erratic in human relationships, as is often thought, nor are they necessarily extraordinarily egotistic or rebellious or eccentric.