When I plan to actively create, sometimes I like to bring a map with me. I call this a concept map. It isn’t a map of physical territory, it is a map of conceptual territory. I use it for navigating internal spaces of my mind and soul. It helps to orient me to the cool and creative ideas and concepts which I want to explore and draw from during my creative experience. Often, these are ideas which I have accumulated in my notebook for further creative explorations. They might be concepts I found in books I am reading, symbols from my symbolic library, or even just feelings or intentions which I wish to heighten during my creative process.
“I find that having a concept map around helps me to ground the process into these ideas and creates a template for them to begin to mix in fun ways.”
Sometimes, creation can be a powerful and chaotic process and if we are taking a very open approach it is easy to get sidetracked, take a random turn, and go down some long roads which we never meant to travel down. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, maybe this is what we want to happen in some instances. But it can also be nice to be extremely open and still be able to stay focused and oriented on certain ideas, and for me, a concept map helps me to do this. In my map, which is often really just a list, I insert any ideas which I want to actively inform and influence my creative process so that I can continually circle back and reference it at various points in my journey. Maybe I don’t know what I will make, what it will look like, how it will even happen or begin. Having a concept map around helps me to ground the process into these ideas and creates a template for them to begin to mix in fun ways.
I think of creation like a journey or a trip. I keep my concept map with me during my voyage so that I remember to hit all the cool attractions along the way. The purpose is to cultivate a proper set and setting for a creative enterprise. It is meant to amplify my intentions for my trip. I consider my creative process to be similar to a shamanic ritual, an opening for an altered state of consciousness, a hallucinogenic journey (and sometimes it is just that). Things can get hectic in the spirit-world, so make sure you bring a map along with you so you don’t get lost.