How our journey to self-actualization led us to Jim Paredes

MANILA, Philippines - We hate to admit it but stress seems to be the new black. In this day and age, people assume multiple responsibilities and the demand for your time extends ‘til the weekend. Holidays do not exist. Burnouts occur on a daily basis. The endless possibilities in new technology expect us to speed up and accommodate a humongous workload. Tweeting and updating your Facebook have become obligations, especially for media and marketing professionals. For the new status quo known as the “workaholic,” personal life takes a backseat and that’s when issues begin to multiply.

Ironically, even therapists, psychologists, wellness professionals and journalists who write about coping are not exempt from the fact. But don’t blame it on Mercury retrograde if everything goes haywire. The good thing is we live in a time when remedies are meant to be developed.

Young Star  channels Deepak Chopra in our goal to find sane solutions to these problems. “In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you,” the renowned New Age physician puts it. Furthermore, our journey led us to stumble upon Jim Paredes, one-third of Apo Hiking Society, who has found a rather unique way to self- actualization. “Danny Javier gave me a book called the Artist’s Way which I decided to run as a workshop. Through the years, I dropped many concepts and evolved a lot of my own.” The artist talks about the beginning of his “Creative for Life” classes, which have been running for nine years. And it was right on time as the workshop “had relevance and addressed their fears and their blocks to their creativity and joy in everyday life.”

“[It is] a potent and dangerous workshop to awaken you,” he says. “And if you find yourself stuck in between careers, dreams, loves, or can’t even seem to identify the source of the gridlock in your life,” then your days of whining might be over. How does it work? Paredes allows you to uncover, identify and set aside the blocks that stand in the way of creativity in everyday life. “By actively engaging self-defeating attitudes and instilling practices that will help the participant overcome them, it hopes to awaken a new way of seeing that will bring back the inner joy and natural creative impulse each person possesses,” he adds.

On its 55th run, Paredes is bringing his new perspectives to Meridian International (MINT) College, a cutting-edge school that allows its students to go wild and get creative. What makes this partnership interesting is how Paredes and MINT emphasize on the use of creativity. “Vandals are allowed,” the school claims. The campus at McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio plays host to Paredes’s six-day program that partly employs his practices as a multi-faceted artist over the past 36 years. These have proven to be effective in dealing with blocked individuals, most especially those who find themselves in a creative rut. Paredes shares his life experiences and influences through thought-provoking discussions and activities. Expect it to extensively deal with issues of creativity in everyday life through personally assigned tasks and interactive exercises that will get to the core of the creative blockage. New disciplines and practices for everyday use will also be introduced to overcome them and remain unblocked.

Says Paredes, “I have had students of all types and kinds of backgrounds — nuns, priests, CEOs, students, career people, lawyers, housewives, you name it. I especially remember personal stories of how they conquered themselves. There was a nun who wanted to leave her order and do something else. There was this woman who was left by her husband who bloomed after the workshop. There was this successful business woman who was having a bad case of midlife because she realized that she gave up her most cherished dream of being a painter because there was no money in it.”

Our conversations with our very own new age guru led us to this quasi-crash-course to self-healing:

1. Ponder on this: creativity is infectious.

2. People are blocked by many things throughout their lives. Very often, these blocks manifest themselves at different stages in people’s lives. Awaken to who you really are without the “blocks.”

3. Let your natural creative energy flow unimpeded.

4. Shed some old skin.

5. Be in touch with your essence.

6. Face your blocks when they appear.

7. We live in a time where the world is telling us to be someone other than who we are. There is so much stress in modern living that one forgets the real meaning of why we are here, and that is to enjoy the privilege of who we are, as Joseph Campbell succinctly put it. We need to re-establish a personal relationship with our innermost selves. There lies our power.

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The “Creative for Life” series runs on Sept. 20-27 at MINT College, 1030 Campus Ave, 2F CIP Building, McKinley Hill, Taguig City. Log on to www.mintcollege.com. For inquiries, call 223-MINT (6468) and look for Melani Genuino, or e-mail info@mintcollege.com.