Creativity and Transcendence

or experiencing the sublime

So there I was, driving the hour-and-a-half to my daughter’s for Christmas. I had selected my music (my car fortunately having a CD player), Yuja Wang playing Rachmaninoff piano concerti plus the Rhapsody on the Theme by Paganini.

The 36-year-old Chinese pianist, probably one of the best classical pianists of this century, is known not only for her virtuosity but for her provocative dresses and 6-inch high Louboutin heels. She has an interest in fashion, and in a departure from the standard conservative long skirt or dress for female pianists, she wears very short flashy mini-skirts or long dresses with very high slits. She has been criticized for her flamboyant style, but my opinion is that she’s young and has it, so why not flaunt it? I see her as having fun. She is not bound by tradition.

This year, she performed everything Rachmaninoff wrote for piano and orchestra — on one Saturday afternoon and evening — at Carnegie Hall with the Philadelphia Orchestra directed by Yannick Nézet-Seguin. I believe that this had never been done before, much less by a tiny young woman whose size belies her strength and stamina. This was a program that might make stronger men blanch. She went on to perform the same program with the L.A. Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, a Venezuelan darling of the music world, on his way to being the music director of the New York Philarmonic in 2026.

The CDs I had were of the L.A. performance.

Awash and blissed out with the passionate and beautifully played music, warhorses to be sure but performed with such meticulous perfection and mastery, I got to thinking about creativity, something that I think about a lot. Not long ago, I did a small personal survey among artist friends of mine asking the question: “What is art?” The consensus was essentially “Whatever you consider art.” The art market is fickle and inconsistent, so it really does boil down to “I know what I like.” But back to Creativity.

Creativity is ubiquitous, not just in the arts. It is, essentially, making something new that didn’t exist before. We are all creative if we can be open enough not to be constrained by convention or habit.

One of the most creative moments I had was when I suddenly had an insight into how to fold grocery bags in a way so that they wouldn’t expand and take up so much room in the cupboard. My experience was that I got out of the “usual” way of looking at the grocery bag. I was not wedded to habit, and something came through me that allowed me at this moment to see that it could be done differently that would work better. It didn’t “feel” like it was my idea. I was simply the instrument doing it.

I believe that art attracts those who are innovative, creative, and curious. Whether it be music, painting, writing, or sculpture — the creative person is drawn to be creative, I believe because it brings him or her closer to “The Creator,” or “Source,” the energy or vibration or frequency that drives the Universe. Michelangelo said that the statue he sculpted was already in the marble. He essentially liberated it from its marble prison.

Being a recovering Catholic, I pretty much reject all organized religions, with the possible exception of Buddhism. To codify rules in a system based on reward and punishment seems to me to be unevolved and belongs to an early, somewhat primitive stage of moral development. (An American psychologist named Kohlberg theorized that there are essentially three levels and six phases of moral development, from the earliest being “do the right thing to avoid punishment” to the most evolved, which would be “do the right thing because it’s the right thing.”) I did not go so far as to become an atheist, however, believing instead that there is “that-which-we-don’t-know,” a power greater than we are. I choose to live in the “not knowing,” difficult as that might be. Much easier to believe in an Authority who made the rules and all we have to do is obey and everything will be OK.

But back to Yuja, Rachmaninoff and bliss. Thinking about creativity, getting close to “Source,” the term I choose to think rather than “God” which is a loaded word for me.

Rolling along on Highway 101 going north toward the Alexander Valley in California, in the midst of the sublime music, something happened. I experienced Yuja, Gustavo, and the L.A. Philarmonic not just getting close to Source but Source actually coming through the performers.

Their efforts didn’t just get them close to Source, but they became the instruments for the expression of Source. They’d done their due diligence by learning and honing their craft so that when everything was “just right,” it came together.

And what had been necessary to allow this extraordinary thing to happen was Yuja got out of her own way. It was not about her, she was not the sole object of admiration except insofar as she’d done her preparation so that when everything aligned just right, the experience became a glimpse of the transcendent. Not only had she gotten out of her own way, but she had been open to what happened.

Later, I watched an interview with Yuja. She is extraordinarily modest without being self-effacing, obviously having fun and laughing. But one thing she said that struck me and made me realize that I hadn’t had a solitary hallucinatory experience. In talking about performing, she said: “I think it’s a sense of abandoning oneself. . . you do feel you’re connected to a higher being. I guess that’s what happens.”

She also said it doesn’t happen every time.

Having played and performed myself, there have been those times when it all comes together, and it seems as though it’s not me doing the playing but when I can get out of the way, abandon myself, be open, and allow the energy that runs the universe to come through me . . . those are the moments made possible by all the practice, preparation, discipline and hard work so when the time is right, it can happen. And if I get praise and compliments, I graciously say “Thank you,” but I know the praise and compliments aren’t for me.

This connection can be available to everyone, regardless of whether they’re in the arts or digging ditches. What is necessary to have this “pure” experience is to be open to it and get out of our own way. “Allowing” rather than “doing.”

And when it happens, it’s undeniable.

Thank you for reading my story.