exploring creativity


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Mary and Gary Holdgrafer

" T H E   C O N C E P T   O F
C R E A T I V E N E S S,
A N D   T H E   C O N C E P T
O F   T H E   H E A L T H Y,
S E L F - A C T U A L I Z I N G,
F U L L Y   H U M A N
P E R S O N   S E E M   T O
B E   C O M I N G   C L O S E R
A N D   C L O S E R
T O G E T H E R,   A N D
M A Y   T U R N   O U T
T O   B E   T H E
S A M E   T H I N G "
Abraham Maslow

" W E   L I V E   W I T H I N
T H E   P R O C E S S   O F
C R E A T I O N   J U S T
A S   M U C H   A S   I T
E X I S T S   W I T H I N   U S "
Shaun McNiff

" L E T   T H E   B E A U T Y
W E   L O V E
B E   T H E   B E A U T Y
W E   D O "
Rumi

" I M A G I N A T I O N
I S   M O R E I M P O R T A N T
T H A N
K N O W L E D G E "
Albert Einstein

" B E L I E F  C O N D I T I O N S
E X P E R I E N C E,
A N D   E X P E R I E N C E
T H E N
S T R E N G T H E N S
B E L I E F.
W H A T   Y O U   B E L I E V E,
Y O U   E X P E R I E N C E "
Krishnamurti

" I F Y O U   B E L I E V E   I T
Y O U W I L L   S E E   I T "
Froma Walsh

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About us

Gary Holdgrafer, Ph.D. is a respected educator and skillful group facilitator. He is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta. Gary has applied his strong teaching abilities and interest in self-learning to personal development programs. He is particularly interested in the links between creativity, resilience and self care. Gary has experienced significant life-enhancement since having a personal experience with cancer during 1991. He has studied and practiced acupressure bodywork, combining his interests in the mind and the body.

Mary Sullivan Holdgrafer, M.Ed., Dip.C. is an accomplished textile artist, teacher/mentor and group facilitator. She is interested in how the creative process can be used to enhance personal growth and healing. Mary used her artwork as a means of personal healing following a diagnosis of breast cancer in 1990. Since then she has assisted many people to explore their own creative processes. Her work is held in public and private collections and has been exhibited in Canada and the United States.

Our Perspective on Creativity & Personal Growth

Creativity is a response to life that involves actions and solutions that are novel or a little different from what we usually do or think we should do. The anxiety associated with feeling "stuck" in life can be viewed from the perspective of creativity. It requires a step into the unfamiliar and unknown, which is ironic because creativity is an expression or reflection of our unique personal qualities.

Creativity leads us to self-discovery. We make better use of our imagination to solve our problems and to make even the routine events of our daily lives more enjoyable. It requires that we view ourselves as "everyday creative" people. (E. Maisel, The Creativity Book).

Every life experience holds potential for moving ourselves forward or holding back. Our initial solutions will be the least imaginative and the most similar to what we are already doing. Generally they will not lead to success in living life more fully (F. Flach, Resilience: The Power To Bounce Back When The Going Gets Tough). Lacking promise, those thoughts result in self-defeat. Often if we can't see success immediately, we don't believe it is possible. Conversely, when we believe creative solutions and personal growth are possible, we can see many opportunities.

Our first thoughts serve to prime our minds. Our imagination then allows us to travel more and more freely away from the stuck place we usually inhabit. It opens up possibilities and opportunities beyond the few limited options we initially considered. The eventual outcome is a re-definition of ourselves that we would never, never have imagined when we first set foot on the path.

email: gary@exploringcreativity.com
mary@exploringcreativity.com