What Is The Science of Originality?

The Science of Originality is the product of a lifetime of study, experiment, and discovery in art and spirituality. From a young age, I have meditated and practiced yoga and metaphysics, among other disciplines. I have been an artist all my life, and I have approached my work both subjectively and objectively. I have read many biographies and autobiographies of creative people, studied their contributions, studied art, and perused countless critiques: I have made it my business to understand, to the best of my ability, the creative process. Most importantly, I have observed my own creativity. And as I developed my talents, I also honed the creativity itself. I shaped it and learned from it as I made art. I am a note-taker and an observer, of self and of others. Admittedly, I am as self-centered as some actors. I watch my performance, looking always to see where I can improve, yes; but also, I simply observe because the creative process, anyone’s creative process, fascinates me.

The creative process is many things. It is a performance, something you can observe, improve, and develop. It is an act of self-discovery. It is an act of celebration. It is an act of honoring and affirming life. In art, not only do we learn to master skills; we also learn to master the creative act itself: we celebrate life, reveal more and more of our beauty, and evolve.

One of the most inspiring aspects of someone’s beauty is that person’s individuality. Every one of us is a unique commodity, an original, fresh, new, one-of-a-kind person. Some of us hide this fact, but it is nonetheless true for everyone. We are originals. And though society in many ways shuns originality, nonetheless, originality is the invaluable commodity responsible for our evolution.
True originality is new information. Without new information, we could not evolve. We would disintegrate into the old outmoded patterns that once upon a time worked; now, no longer. That is one reason the idea of human cloning scares us, as well it should. Such a person would not be a contribution to evolution. True, an amount of redundancy in any system is valuable, but only within the context of a high concentration of new information.

The value of originality is inestimable. Perhaps we all know that. But we forget. It’s a trap we can easily fall into, this forgetting. The ways of falling into the mediocrity of conformity come in many forms that all have this in common: those forms are a shrinking back, an unwillingness to be courageous and truly creative. Conformity, and by that I mean the lack of creativity and originality, can be described succinctly as giving in to fear. We fall into perfection and mediocrity. We fall into various neurotic delusions, choosing obsessive-compulsive tendencies over true passion. (Most of us have a shade of obsessive-compulsive disorder: OCD, as the shrinks call it.) We fall into mediocrity and lie to ourselves, delude ourselves, convince ourselves that we are being truly creative. Or perhaps we don’t need to convince ourselves of anything. We “numb out”. We, in effect, die a little, and a little more, and a little more. We have our subtle and not so subtle forms of suicide. And don’t forget that, in our suicidal behaviors, we are likely bringing others down as well. We are not simply suicides. We are homicides. If that sounds like an exaggeration, I dramatize my point to bring it home because when we are fooling ourselves and falling into mind-numbing mediocrity we need to be shaken awake.

When we repress our creativity, that creativity comes out in negative, destructive ways. So say the Jungians, as do I. This is a spiritual issue, is what I’m getting at: a spiritual issue, and a moral one.
Nothing works better for shaking one out of mediocrity than a personal spiritual path. I’m not talking about dogma. I’m not talking about religion, though it may be an important or not so important part of your spirituality. I’m talking about a personal relationship with the Divine, by whatever name you give it. I’m talking about a pursuit of realness. I’m talking about a path of the heart, such as Carlos Castaneda’s Don Juan spoke of. I’m talking about choosing life over death. (Not a plug for pro-lifers; I happen to be pro-choice.)

Tall words, but can I back them up? Well, I must admit that I fall into mediocrity more often than I like to admit. Indeed, there are parts of my life where I am mediocre, at best. That said, one thing I know about me, and I’ve known it from a young age: I am an original. There is no one like me. And I can and do produce art that is highly original and highly creative. I am powerfully original. This ability, to be original, is in my blood. It is in my psyche. It is so much a part of me to be original that, when I am not, I suffer.

I must quickly insert here that being original does not equate to monetary success. If that were so, many of the creative geniuses of the past would have been millionaires, and most of them were not. Some of them were. Most were not. My opinion is that true creativity, consistently applied, brings wealth over time. But it might not. The two are not synonymous, as you probably well know. Oh, and by the way, I am not suggesting here that I am a genius. Although I must admit that I do like to think I am brilliant.

Getting back to this money thing, this lack of a guarantee that creativity will bring wealth: Are we going to use that as a reason not to be creative? That’s silly, but we do make that rationalization. We play it out. We go for the bucks and leave the art for retirement. The typical artist has to eek out a living, does he not? Well, maybe he’s not poor, but he does have to work extra hard, suffer for his art. Eek out a living originally meant that one has taken on a second job. So the artist does his art and then something else to make a living, something that may or may not be related to his art. He may actively agent his work. He may develop a business around the production of his work. Or he may do something entirely non-related.

Here, I think one of the answers to this conflict is integration. We must integrate our ability to be original and creative, such that we exhibit this useful and indeed incredibly beautiful quality throughout our realities. The artist who must eek out a living does well to bring his inspiration and creativity into the business part of his work. The “non-artist” likewise might consider starting those art projects now instead of waiting for retirement.

Through integration, the artist’s primary interest--his art--blossoms, having the wealth of other skills to expand and inform it. To achieve this, one needs a heaping helping of selflessness. That depth of soul is as important as any skill.

Getting back to my qualifications for writing this: I’m highly creative, highly original, according to me, anyway, and those who appreciate my art. Furthermore, I have come to know how to convey that originality and creativity to others. I’ve achieved this knowledge through my study of the creative process. I’ve achieved my communicative ability through my passion for writing.
Several years ago, my knowledge bubbled up as insights that lead to other insights and, well, here we are. I’m not going to bullshit you or regurgitate old information. The stuff I’m going to talk about is new. I thought it up. And yes, I’m proud of this science I am founding.

You might instead be more comfortable calling my new science a philosophy, and that’s fine. I regard my philosophy as a science, a soft science maybe, but a science nonetheless: a product of close observation, a never-ending study full of theory and discovery based on direct observation of the creative process. In a way, The Science of Originality is a critique of art. It is a critique that desires to further art, to hone and shape art to become more, that art may blossom and be abundant.

The Science of Originality, which I plan to convey through a series of books, will be an important tool for the practicing artist. But this science is for everyone: We all benefit from being more original and creative. Originality and creativity may or may not add up to bucks. But experiences of being creative and original are going to make you happy. Your expressions are going to make the world a better place. They are going to unleash your beauty, setting the world aglow with it. And isn’t that what’s most important? Of course that is more important than money. Such inspiration you cannot buy. You have to feel it. You have to be it. You cannot buy it in a book. This book won’t give it to you; nor will any book. You attracted this book because you are ready. Well, I would hope that’s why you attracted this book and are reading it, though I don’t purport to be psychic. I’ll tell you this: If you are ready, then this book will inspire you, and you’ll take it to heart. It won’t be the only book. But it is one, and it is important. I have stuff to say. And I’m not bullshitting you. I should know. I’ve done a good bit of bullshitting in my life. I write a good bit of fiction, and there’s lots of bullshitting in there, regardless of what Ernest Hemingway says about cutting out the bullshit.