Head Hand and Heart - head hand and HEART Blog - Why did we call it head hand and HEART?

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Oct042010

Why did we call it head hand and HEART?

Monday, October 4, 2010 at 08:35PM

The other day someone asked me, “Why is head hand and HEART, called head hand and HEART?” A good question really, and one that I hardly contemplate anymore given that head hand and HEART has been some years in the making.

Let me take you on a journey into the creative space and the genesis of the name head hand and HEART.

Quite often when I’m creating, photographing, painting or drawing, something rather magical happens – a kind of transcendent experience in which my mind, my spirit and my body seem to merge into one.

In that somewhat mysterious state, the subject I’m drawing, the drawing and my ‘self’ seem to become one.

I’ve had similar experiences creating music and jamming with others, a real blurring of the boundaries between self, others and the collective creation. It’s an awesome experience.

In that creative space the ‘voice in my head’ that constantly compares, analyses, criticizes and judges goes quiet, all comprehension of myself as a separate entity disappears and for an indeterminate moment, time stands still.

When it occurs this ‘flow state’ is wonderful, mysterious, elusive and really quite intoxicating.

In fact, creating access for others to share in this experience is one of our prime motivations in creating head hand and HEART. www.headhandandheart.com

Flow can be characterized as the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity and was first identified as such by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. Csíkszentmihályi conducted research with over seventy leading creative people, scientists, artists, performers, all game changers in their fields. Almost all described flow state as something they experienced when deeply engaged in their creative process.

Csíkszentmihályi described flow as ‘"being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost."

It’s an experience that is actually somewhat difficult to describe, as it is an experience that is not bound by the world of logic, language or rational thought. Like trying to describe the act of balancing on a bike!

Betty Edwards in her seminal work, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, described it as a shift to right brain mode of operation and over the past 30 years her work has enabled literally thousands of people to overcome their fear of drawing by learning to recognize the shift from ‘left to right’ brain mode that takes place as you draw.

Brain researcher, and left brain stroke survivor, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor in her wonderful TED lecture, http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

describes the experience as feeling ‘enormous, expansive, like a genie liberated from her bottle’.

To me, flow occurs at the meeting point of head, hand and heart.

Democrates, a little known Greek philosopher, gives us some indication of this his quote…

“If done by the hand only – one is a slave,

If done by the hand and head – one is an artisan

If done by hand, head and heart – one is an artist”

Flow state is not however the sole domain of the artist. True, I’ve experienced it many times as a musician, writing poetry or painting. But I’ve also experience it walking in nature, playing tennis, repairing my bicycle, riding my mountain bike, ocean kayaking, working in the vegetable garden, playing with my kids or making love.

What’s common to each of these experiences is an uncommon interaction of our three primary domains, our mind, body and spirit, our thinking, feeling and doing, our knowing, intuiting and expressing.

While our understanding of the nature of creativity and the science of consciousness has evolved much since the time of Democrates, his simple triune view of human creativity and experience still pervades much science, art and culture.

Creativity emerges as result of the dynamic interaction of these three domains, known in psychology as the cognitive (head), psychomotor (hand) and affective (heart).

The cognitive domain or head is the domain most associated with thinking, language and rational thought, logic, reason, intellect and cognition. It provides mental frameworks that help us understand, make sense of and function rationally in the world.

The psychomotor domain or hand is the domain of tangible action through which our thoughts and feelings are made manifest in some physical form, hand skills, dexterity, application, vocal and physical expression.

Finally the affective domain or heart is the domain of our emotions, feelings, intuition, imagination and values. It enables us to experience and connect deeply to a more immediate sense of who we are beyond the need for logic and reason.

When I’m engaged fully in creative activities, like drawing, my sight, my emotional response to what I see and my capacity to express what is see and feel with charcoal or paint, merge into one.

When this occurs my drawing is free, spontaneous and seems to possess a life that both captures and goes beyond the subject. More importantly for me I become united with both the drawing and the subject in a new relationship that was not previously present.

When we visit galleries and see those great ‘works of art’ that excite our sprit and capture our imagination I believe we are experiencing, as an observer, a small glimpse into the ‘captured flow state’ of the artist creator.

When we see children creating that same spontaneous creative joy and expression is present. Likewise, when we play with our children, with no intent to any purpose other than to be with them, enjoying the connection and having fun. And isn’t it amazing that these are so often the experiences that create strong, meaningful and long lasting bonds.

In our time pressured, specialised and often highly focussed lives, it’s not often that we take time out to recreate; to reunite head, hand and heart. So much of what we do is a directed, purposeful form of delayed gratification. We do things ‘in order to’ and our schedules brim with ‘things to do’. When we are doing one thing our mind is on the next thing and as a consequence we are never fully present, never in the flow.

The experiences of head hand and HEART are designed to reconnect you to that wonderful state of flow. To open the door to a spontaneous interplay of head, hand and heart in which time stands still and your life takes on new meaning.

head hand and HEART will explore the interplay of our minds, emotions and actions, giving you access to creative flow and connecting you to a deeper sense of what it is to be fully human.

Throughout head hand and HEART you will explore experiences that combine thinking, feeling and doing in a way that unlock your creative flow state.

head hand and HEART will open up different modes of thinking, feeling and doing – modes that have been know to artists and creators throughout history.

You will discover ways to give voice and form to your heart’s intuition and imagination.

You will experience, explore and make sense of emotions and feelings and open the door to unexpressed perspectives and a richer deeper understanding of who you are and how you operate in the world.

Finally, head hand and HEART will open the possibility for the unexpected, for serendipity, chance, mystery and wonder to emerge.

“I would rather live in a world where my life is surrounded by mystery than live in a world so small that my mind could comprehend it.” Henry Emerson Fosdick

Find out more and register at www.headhandandheart.com

10 Comments |

Reader Comments (10)

The quote form Democrates is FABULOUS.

October 4, 2010 |

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*from

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Julie Cowdroy

I think you have done a great job articulating something that is difficult to put in to words. For me, the "state of flow" is like being in a state of nothingness but at the same time being enormously full.

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