Madness Can Lead To Creativity?...Sign Me Up!

 Hello World! Kemi Writes here!

"Learning through intense, extreme, and often painful experiences, and using what has been learned to add meaning and depth to creative work, is probably the most widely accepted and written about aspect of the relationship between, melancholy, madness, and artistic experience" (Jamison, pg.114).

It was interesting to learn about the relationship between creativity and madness and how madness is essentially a gateway to creativity and spiritual insight. I never thought about the connection between the two before we discussed it in creativity class. Overwhelming experiences or a spiritual emergency can lead to visionary artistic expression and in this artistic expression, it can help one process psychological extremes and lead to deeper self-understanding. That is creative madness. 

I really resonated with the passage about melancholy and depression on pg.117 in "Touched With Fire" by Kay Redfield Jamison. She touched on how melancholy can bring about reflective experiences that are very important in the creative process. From feelings of depression, introspection can take place and lead to compassion and sensitivity. This resonated with me because I have experienced deep feelings of depression, and I used to write poetry from these feelings of depression. It did feel like introspection and I felt like I released the depression I felt on the page(s) and in the poems I wrote. I realized how I made art from my depression, and it was healing for me. 

So much art has been made from experiences of madness, and it makes me wonder if Western medicine is looking at the glass all wrong when it comes to mental illness. I feel like our society tends to see mental illness from a glass half empty perspective, but from the readings this week and reading about Dr. Gupta's experiences with her spiritual emergency, creativity can be witnessed as well as a deeper understanding of oneself. "If approached through a transpersonal lens rather than solely a psychiatric one, the crisis can become a profound opportunity" to a deep, spiritual transformation (Gupta, pg.6). 

I really enjoyed doing the Jungian Soul Collage Activity in class! It felt enriching for me, and I felt like I was in a flow state. I named my first collage Wanderer Drifting Away, and I think it speaks to my fear of death also being in a way a fear of life because I feel like I am hiding myself from my potential and from being seen. I added symbolizations of death in my collage and a photo of a young child holding something on their head that reminded me of a wanderer in some way. I think fear is the feeling in this card. What you need to know is your fear of death is stopping you from living life. 

My 2nd card is called, The Knocking Door of Life. I feel like this speaks to the energetic pull I have felt to let go of my fears and step into the unknown that is eternal life. There is life on the other side of the door and that life towards death is not the end. Opening the door and stepping in is accepting death and life as well as the dance with chaos and flow. I included images of doors and a key as well as images that resemble the the chaos and flow of life. What you need to know is the door is knocking for you to step in and unlock your gifts. 

My 3rd card is called, The Beauty In You, and I think this one was to show gratitude to myself and acknowledge where I am at in my life. It is a journey and I think this card helped to remind me of my worth and growth. It shows me where I am and where I am going. I have symbols of a crowned jewel which I like to think of myself as a crowned jewel. There is a little mirror on my collage card as well to see the beauty within me. What you need to know is you are more than enough. 

Below are pictures of my collage cards! Thank you for reading!

XOXO,

Kemi Writes💜💭💥

Wanderer Drifting Away

The Knocking Door of Life

The Beauty In You