McMeekin's 12 Secrets > First Gateway: Engaging Your Creativity

A Self-Coaching Journey through Gail McMeekin's

The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women: a Portable Mentor

By Chris Dunmire

continued from Introduction

First Gateway: Engaging Your Creativity

Chapter 1 Questions for Reflection:

1. McMeekin states that “Creativity is not just for ‘talented geniuses,’ and is a tool we can all access and utilize.” Do you believe the “creativity factor” is equal among all people, or does culture, intelligence, or personality type play a part in a person’s creative ability? How do your answers reflect on your own creative productivity?
   
   
2. What might you do in the spirit of “Experimenting with New Processes”?
   
   
3. McMeekin observes that the “creative impulses of too many women are asleep — dormant or unacknowledged.” Do you find this to be true for yourself? If so, why do you think this is?
   
   
4. Are you familiar with the creative work of any of the 45 interviewees from this book? How can you benefit from knowing more details about the "developmental stages" of their success stories?

Chapter 2 Questions for Reflection:

1. Characteristics of “creative inspirations” are described. How do you respond when an inspiration beckons?
   
   
2. What are ways you play creatively? How does this creative play make you feel?
   
   
3. Do you find communing in nature and the natural world to be a stimulus for your creativity?
   
   
4. The need for a personal sanctuary for creative reflection is discussed. Do you have a sanctuary for creative reflection? What does it look like? How has it benefited you?

Chapter 3 Questions for Reflection:

1. Two types of risks are distinguished: impulsive risks and calculated risks. Do you understand the differences between the two? In what circumstances would you support impulsive risk taking?
   
   
2. How does the story of Rosette Gault, the inventor of paper clay, affect your thinking on simple invention and innovation? Do you allow “experts” to decide whether something can be done or not before you try?
   
   
3. McMeekin states “Artistic risks involve new dimensions of your self-expression.” Has this been true for you? What has been the outcome of such risks?
   
   
4. How does limited thinking or the fear of being wrong short-circuit your creative goals?

Chapter 4 Questions for Reflection:

1. The necessity for a “fallow season” in agrarian cultures is discussed. How does this parallel with the patience needed for creative cycles and processes?
   
   
2. Creativity cycles include times of emptiness, voids, and neutral zones. When these times arise, are you able to “trust that your inspirations will percolate again” when the time is right?
   
   
3. Are you ready to “navigate into the darkness?”
   
   
4. If you are a parent, how do you match up your creative work cycles with the stages of your children’s lives?

Next: Second Gateway: Mastering Challenges as a Creative Woman »