Creative Being and Recovery

I recently asked our clients what they enjoyed about our music therapy program led by Steve Inganamort, MM, MT-BC. Here are a few of their replies:

“When led by Steve, It combines the creativity of music, with the feedback from the clients in the house, to provide a safe space for healing.” — Alumni M

“I enjoy being given a chance to explore connecting with music through songs, and sounds with different instruments without the fear of being judged” — Alumni J

Steve has been a valuable part of our team at Soberman’s Estate since early May of 2022. He recently shared his knowledge and wisdom through an article he wrote and we are excited to be able to share it with you.

We often think of creativity as an action, a concerted effort to produce something useful or innovative. While innovation and utility are certainly features of creativity, the essence and experiencing of creative connection may go overlooked. Also, the idea that a creative mind-state plays a role in substance abuse recovery may seem esoteric, yet there has been much exploration of this topic.

Think about the times your mind is undirected and non deliberate. This may be standing at a mountaintop, looking out over vistas, and unfamiliar musical melodies start mentally emerging, seemingly out of nowhere. Or lying awake at night, when you're in between the states of wakefulness and sleep, and you feel an inexplicable calling to form a project or network with someone. These “seeds” are not necessarily productive in themselves. These concepts are immaterial. The person experiencing these states are experiencing something transcendental, or beyond one’s self. And with this connection comes inspiration, awe, and a broader understanding.

These experiences and moments may not involve a piano, they may not involve a paint brush. Sometimes, they don’t even involve pencil and paper. It is the simple, straightforward state of being open to what’s around you, without distraction. It is being the essential you, without inhibition, and without mental blocks of any kind.

Accompanied by these states are what Abraham Maslow called “being values”*1 (or abbreviated as “b-values”). These b-values emerge when one is beyond deficiency (having their needs met), step away from psychological defense mechanisms, and become true to who they are (self-actualization). These b-values include:

• -  Embracing spontaneity
  
• -  An appreciation of the here-and-now
  
• -  Finding delight in what one does
  
• -  A heightened sense of gratitude
  
• -  Developing more aesthetic appreciation
  
• -  Cultivating wisdom from people and things around them
  
  Through this lens, “quitting drinking” (or any recreational substance) is just the beginning, the prerequisite. The real recovery process lies in shaping who one is, moving beyond deficiencies and overcompensation, and becoming inspired almost every single day. It is the full embrace of self, and the self engaged in the continual act of creating.
  1 * A concept explored in Maslow’s Toward A Psychology of Being (1968)
  

Rick Rubin, a famed music producer who co-founded Def Jam records, elaborates in more detail.

In each moment, we are immersed in a field of undifferentiated matter from which our senses gather bits of information. The outside universe we perceive doesn’t exist as such. Through a series of electrical and chemical reactions, we generate a reality internally. We create forests and oceans, warmth and cold. We read words, hear voices, and form interpretations. Then, in an instant, we produce a response. All of this in a world of our own creation.2

As we move toward a self that is whole and fulfilled, we pick up on signals all around us. We sensitize to external cues, the “seeds” of inspiration. And as we maintain health, happiness, and connection, we become better equipped to utilize these cues. And when we do, amazing things happen. Family culture becomes richer, we derive a renewable resource of motivation, our bodies become more energized, we find delight in things we didn’t notice before. Oftentimes, in music therapy sessions, I hear people say: “I forgot the fact that I even used to use.”

Creativity is not just producing art. It is a way, a mind state, an openness to the greater universe. When we let go of the need to be productive, we paradoxically become more inspired to become productive. We become attuned and aware. And in this way, the journey of recovery becomes rich. We move past needing a “fix.” We move past needing a drink to expel anxiety. We move closer to who we are, and our place in the world, our point of view. We become beyond whatever we thought imaginable. And from there, true and lasting beauty emerges.

"Music therapy can make the difference between withdrawal and awareness, between isolation and interaction, between chronic pain and comfort — between demoralization and dignity.” - Barbara J. Crowe

Soberman's Estate is a residential men's addiction treatment center that provides discreet, individualized, sophisticated recovery and wellness services for adult men that want to recover from substance use disorders, and or other behavioral issues such as trauma, anxiety, depression, stress, or other addictions.  

If you or someone you know are struggling and wondering about the next step for receiving help, please call our Admissions Director for a complimentary consultation at 480-757-8403, or email info@SobermansEstate.com.