Rising Up Your Creative Fibonacci

We’ve learned that tension is our friend.  Tension is what compels us to create and is the catalyst for climbing higher towards our Lush Life.

Often, our analytical mind needs something more concrete to judge or measure progress.  Well, look no further than nature.  Nature offers a beautiful way of seeing the progression of creative momentum.

The images above demonstrate a common, naturally occurring pattern that curiously repeats throughout nature.

Mathematicians needed to find a way to explain this phenomenon.  Leonardo Fibonacci (also known as Leonardo Pisano Bigollo) was a medieval mathematician who translated this phenomenon found in nature into a mathematical sequence that explains how quantities build upon themselves.  For example:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144

where each number is the sum of the two preceding digits.  You can see the physical expression of this in the diagram below:

Similarly, to our own creative journey, the mathematical sequence starts slowly.  In the beginning, the amount of creative tension we can hold is relatively small; maybe we create a result for the grocery store and hold the tension to create that vision.  Or, we hold the creative tension for joyous family event.  Later, we move on to bigger creations like starting a new job or moving to a new home.  And finally, we can hold the amount of creative tension necessary to create significant changes in our lives, like entirely new vocations, new businesses, living in new places or simply creating the life that is truly in line with what we would love.

We can see how small initial gains support later rapid propulsion and exponential growth (note the imagery in the Expanding Possibilities logo! 😉).  Early in the journey, creators may be discouraged by this seemingly small amount of progress, and give up on their creations.  But, as in nature, small progressions expand and our Fibonacci spiral supports greater leaps in creative ability as we continue to hold creative tension.  The amount of tension we can hold increases exponentially and our creations become greater and greater.

I like to think of the spiral as new levels of a video game.  Once we master one level, the next unlocks.  ‘Levelling up’ raises tension and invites resistance at a new level.  Just like in a video game, the next level will seem ‘harder’ to navigate and surpass.  Be prepared to experience a greater amount of resistance at a new level.  Old assumptions and strategies that we thought we had ‘beaten’ can turn up again, and we may fall victim to old patterns of behaviour.

So, as creators, what is important to know in order to harness the power of our own Fibonacci spiral?  Well, we need to:

• Recognize that our ability to hold tension builds with practice.

We may be at a very high level of creation with one vision and at a low level with another.  This is normal, but we must not give up on our creations.  I have clients tell me that five years ago they couldn’t even fathom what they are creating today.  Basically, they were so deeply embedded in their C.A.G.E. that they were unable to see the vision of what their Spirit desired.  By having smaller visions and learning to hold the tension to create those visions first, they were able to climb up their own Fibonacci spiral.  Today, nothing seems ‘impossible’ to them, and the amount of creative tension they can hold has grown exponentially.  So… never give up!

• Remember that resistance will show up in ‘different’ ways at every level of the Fibonacci creative spiral.

Suddenly, we are faced with feelings of being overwhelmed or we are having creative visions that make us want to throw up (i.e. ‘I choose the end result of writing a book, building my own business or living in Africa’).  CONGRATULATIONS… we have arrived at a new Fibonacci level!  When ratcheting up our creative tension to new levels, resistance will inevitably enter in new (or seemingly different ways).

I’ve heard of the saying “New level, new devil”, however, often, we are faced with the same devil; stories, strategies and assumptions that we pacified in the previous level.  The relics of our C.A.G.E. are simply wearing a different outfit.  It will take time to recognize what tricks our identity is playing on us to stop our Spirit from reaching for its truth.  So, be conscientious of what ‘replays’ happen when levelling up.

For me, I start to feel overwhelmed, and I have a compelling urge to put my head down and work harder.  This is my ‘I’m-not-good-enough’ belief rearing its head again, and I naturally pacify this dragon with my go-to ‘work hard to achieve’ strategy.  If I’m not conscious of what is going on, I find myself headed down a dangerous path of trying to resolve my psychological tension.

It is imperative that we take time to become aware of what is going on and choose to S.H.I.F.T. out of that pattern of behavior.  The faster that we recognize that it is our same old resistance story, the faster we can powerfully create from Spirit, at this new level.  Over time, levelling up becomes more natural.  We are more attuned to the indicators that show we have reached the ceiling of our current level and are ready to break through.  This is what author Gay Hendricks refers to as our ‘Upper Limit’ in his book, The Big Leap.

The Fibonacci spiral reminds us that we must crawl before we can walk, walk before we can run, and run we can before fly.  Trying to skip steps doesn’t serve us--but this doesn’t mean we need to progress through the spiral slowly!  The more we flex our tension-holding muscles and increase our self-awareness to pacify our resistance, the faster we will move through our own Fibonacci spiral and create the most amazing things in our Lush Life.

Over time, you can learn to enjoy this feeling of reaching a new level!  It’s always nice to realise that you’re handling a situation in a completely different way than you would have before.  When we’re in a new level dealing with all the old stories resurfacing in new ways it can feel like we’re going nowhere, so it’s important to remember to look back at how far we’ve come and realise that, although the story may be the same, you’re creating at a whole new level

Downloads

• Rising Up Your Creative Fibonacci_UK.pdf