The Way of the Heart
Screenwriting instructor and author of How to write your movie in 21 days Viki King says you need to write the first draft of your script from your heart, and rewrite the second draft with your head. (Incidentally, in the movie Finding Forrester, William, played by Sean Connery, gave Jamul the exact same advice.)
When you engage a blank page with your head, all sorts of mental debris obstruct your flow. Self-doubt, judgment and other insecurities inevitably surface when you try to think your way through an idea.
Brilliant work is never conceived of in the head. Inspiration is rooted in the heart, through a divine dance with the unknown. The mind helps communicate the message of the heart, which sometimes takes years, even decades, leading many of the world’s greatest artists to insanity.
How does one harness the power of the heart, something he does not understand? Although we may not be able to explain how to write, speak, listen, act, sing or draw from the heart, intuitively we know when it transpires.
When operating from the heart, time dissolves into a sea of nothingness, mental blocks crumble to dust and resistance is uprooted. As if skipping from cloud to cloud in a robe of clarity and eloquence, unknown forces craft the work others call “genius.”
And what happens after a work of brilliance is formed? The mind, or more specifically, the ego steps in to take credit. “What an amazing job I did?” “This is my best work!”
If we view the heart as being a direct link to something beyond ourselves, the source of this gift becomes clear. Interestingly, creative geniuses throughout time have rarely taken credit for their work, always acknowledging that the work flowed from a Higher source—through them, rather than from them.
Creative people operate from the heart when doing their chosen work. Most uncreative people wonder why the world isn’t fair to them and why they aren’t lucky. Operating from the head obstructs creativity because the ego centers around I, whereas the heart’s focal point is universal.
Keep reminding yourself: “It’s not about you.”
Catch the ego taking credit for what the heart wants to share. Search each day for ways to let go of your mind and embrace the love planted deep in your soul. Only then will life’s meaning shine forth to illuminate the path of your blissful adventure.
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