Creativity: A Spiritual Process

As a child growing up on Long Island, New York, Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles learned many lessons from his parents. He particularly recalls one experience when his father taught him about establishing the proper atmosphere for creativity.

“Father was a commercial artist for a large advertising agency in New York City,” Elder Hales explains. “On one occasion he was under tremendous stress to produce an advertising campaign. He had come home on a Friday evening and worked most of the night. Saturday morning, after a few hours working in the yard, he retired to his studio to create an advertising campaign for a new product.

“My sister and I found great delight in chasing each other round and round the dining room table, which was situated in a room directly over his head. He had told us to please stop at least twice, but to no avail. This time he came bounding up the steps and collared me. He sat me down and taught a great lesson. He did not yell or strike me even though he was very annoyed.

“He explained the creative process, the spiritual process, if you will, and the need for quiet pondering and getting close to the Spirit for his creativity to function. Because he took time to explain and help me understand, I learned a lesson that has been put to use almost daily in my life.”

Steps for Increasing Creativity

Elder Hales says: “The process of creative thinking reminds me time and again of the work we used to do on my uncle’s ranch. The steps used in growing crops offer a good guideline:

“Prepare the soil. Start with prayer to clear your mind and set the proper atmosphere. Research the problem thoroughly. Develop a positive attitude that a solution can be found. Establish an atmosphere of trust in yourself and in others.

“Plant the seeds. Investigate what you can do to help. Determine where you may need help. Ask for counsel when you are ready to act on the advice given to you, but don’t ask someone else to make the decision for you.

“Let the seeds grow. Don’t uproot your idea before it has a chance to grow. Back off and give the idea time to develop. But you must be willing to face failure with a willingness to try again.

“Examine your crops. Weed out ideas that don’t belong. Through obedience to the Lord, you are entitled to inspiration. Review D&C 9:7–9. Inspiration comes when we ask if we have made a correct decision.

“Harvest. The most productive farmers in the world would be unsuccessful if they didn’t harvest their crops. Do something about your ideas. Take the initiative to share your thoughts with others and to take action on your own.”

Content for this article came from: lds.org

Making Time for Nutrition

How can you eat a nutritious diet with a hectic schedule? Running from place to place doesn’t leave a lot of time to think about eating healthy. We set out to discover innovative ways to eat healthy on a busy schedule.

Stock your house with only healthy foods. When you are busy and have junk food lying around, it is easy to pick up and run out the door while munching. Replace all these foods with fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, cottage cheese and yogurt.  If you do not have access to unhealthy foods, it will be impossible to eat them.
 
Plan ahead. Prepare food ahead of time. Separate food into easy to grab bags. This can help you control your portion sizes as well. Below is a list of examples of healthy snacks that are good for sticking in your bag on the way out the door on a demanding day.

• Almonds
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Peppers
• Sandwiches
• Granola bars
• Bananas
• Grapes
• Strawberries
• Applesauce
• Pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Pretzels
• Dried fruit

• Baked chips
• Trail-mix
• Wraps
• Cereal
• Granola
• Low-fat beef jerky
• Oranges
• Pistachios
• Pita chips
• Veggies and dressing
• Popcorn
• Snap peas
• Cranberries
• Oatmeal

Buy frozen fruit and vegetables. In the winter months when fresh fruits and vegetables are not in season, buy them frozen. They last longer and are cheaper than fresh options during those months.

Freeze your leftovers. Another great option for to-go food is frozen meals. Freeze individual portions of leftovers when you make large meals. This often is healthier than store bought or fast food options. If you know there will be a microwave available to you then this is an option for hot meals. Since these meals were originally frozen then they are able to keep themselves cold for some time until you are able to eat them.

Creative and Convenient Meals

Pack a potato. One creative option is to pack a raw potato. Potatoes are easily microwaved but be sure to poke holes in the potato with a fork so steam can be released. Many microwaves have a potato cooking function to simplify this process. Add toppings to make it a flavorful meal.

Add frozen fruit to your yogurt. If you add frozen fruit such as mixed berries to plain yogurt, then the frozen fruit will keep the yogurt cold for a few hours until it can be eaten.

Instant Avocado Dip. Mash a ripe avocado in the peel with a fork and season with lime or lemon juice, and salt. Then you can use it as a dip for raw veggies or crackers.

Make and freeze smoothies in advance. If you stick them in your lunch bag pre-frozen then they can be used as an icepack for the rest of your food. By the time you eat it then it will be unthawed enough to drink it.

Pre-made salads. Salads can be prepared ahead of time as long as you wait to add salad dressing. You can stick a separate container with dressing in your bag and you are good to go.