Creativity and originality are the mysterious processes of imagination. Artists, poets, musicians, writers, painters, actors and dancers engage in creative life work. Psychoanalysts also engage in creative work. They utilize established theories, personal intuition and the unique analytic relationship to bring patients’ stories to life, and then revise that biography until it resonates as a truer version of the patient’s life story. Artists use specific tools to bring something new to life. The analyst’s tool is the patient’s life story. We listen closely to stories our patients tell us, and we create an inner image of the patient in our minds. Our canvas is our theories and training, but each patient’s story is unique and requires special attention and interest. Insight is derived from the shared space of creative minds working together for the goal of our patient’s wellbeing and personal growth. Combined with the dynamics of transference, an analytic relationship is built, and through trust and an environment of safety, the patient tell us who he or she really is inside. Over time, we find common language, using symbols and metaphors, and various other modes of communication, to bring the patient’s story to life, examine it from various angles, unleash its inner wishes, hopes and dreams, and wait for something new to emerge.
As with all artistic work, psychoanalysis infuses creativity into the familiar and allows patients to rediscover themselves in a new form with words and feelings that open up new possibilities for self-expression in various ways. So I was delighted when my friend and fellow analyst Bonnie Zindel published her recent book “Writing on the Moon, Stories and Poetry from the Creative Unconscious by Psychoanalysts and Others” which contains poetry, essays and short stories written by psychoanalysts and patients in therapy, on familiar themes such as love, loss, dreams, motherhood, and taps into the same creative energy as the psychoanalytic method. It reminds us that we all embody creative energy, but we need to feel safe and quiet the inner critical voices that deny us the courage to express ourselves. There is a universal need to make sense of our lives through stories. Bonnie created space for this, and her book is a treasure. It connects us with each other in meaningful and life-affirming ways and gives us all permission to express ourselves creatively.
Bonnie, a writer and analyst herself, invited psychotherapists and analytic patients to access their “creative unconscious” as a portal to inner wisdom and intelligence and to unleash their unique voices through art, narratives and creative writings about all aspects of the human experience. “Writing on the Moon” has pieces on themes as diverse as Love Calls, Dreams as Poetry, Mothers of the Milky Way, Poetry by People in Analysis, Strong Women’s Voices, and Capturing Moments. This extraordinary compilation reveals that each of us has a “creative unconscious”, the creative energy and inner wisdom which holds our personal experiences, dreams and beliefs. Encouraged to unleash them, we find universal understanding and common humanity in each other and our lives become like a work of art.
“Writing on the Moon”, like a good analysis, is born of courage and the need to express ourselves truly and honestly, to find creativity in the mundane and uniqueness in the universal. Reading it will leave you with the urge to create as a way to understand yourself better and connect with others and feel more deeply understood and less alone. In this beautiful book, you are invited to go within yourself to find your unique voice in the voices of others. In this shared chorus, one finds that beauty and life-affirming energy reside in all of us.
“Writing on the Moon, Stories and Poetry from the Creative Unconscious by Psychoanalysts and Others” by Bonnie Zindel is available on Amazon and Karnac Books.