Eminem may not often be considered one of the greatest philosophers of our time, but when he rapped about being lost in the music and never letting that moment go, he honed in on the importance of removing barriers during the creative process – and in doing so he struck on some neurological truth.
It’s a sentiment that other creatives over the years have subscribed to, from Taoists in ancient China trying to find wu-wei (effortless action) to Jackson Pollock, who described the process of painting as almost being unconscious: “When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’ period that I see what I have been about.”
