The creative process is a path of awakening! Whether painting on canvas, or working in any medium, including the process of becoming your true self…. It’s a mirror for the journey you embark upon every day.
Engaging in the creative process opens us to the “WOW of Now”!
One powerful framework that illuminates the creative process is the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, as elegantly articulated by theologian and mystic Matthew Fox. These four pathways of spiritual development—Via Positiva, Via Negativa, Via Creativa, and Via Transformativa—also represent essential stages of creative expression, psychological development, and soul evolution.
It’s been more than 20 years since I sought and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in Creation Spirituality. I was drawn into the discipline because of the clarity it brings to the human spiritual development process.
Since then, I’ve lived and leaned into this framework personally and professionally. It continues to be a wellspring of guidance, in my work with others and in my own Awakening.
Understanding the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality can help us to:
★ Access a Map for Self Aware, Conscious, and Purposeful Living
★ Support Resilience Through Uncertainty
★ Honor Beauty as a Spiritual Portal
★ Normalize the Creative and Spiritual Cycles
★ Affirm the Sacredness of Every Emotion
★ Encourage Integration Over Perfection
★ Activate Creative Courage and Invite Collective Healing Through Shared Creativity
Let’s explore how each of these pathways expresses itself both in the act of painting (as one example of an artistic creative process) and in the unfolding of our lives.
1. Via Positiva — The Path of Awe and Delight
This is the moment we are struck by beauty. The color of the sky, a feeling of aliveness, the spark of a new idea. Via Positiva is the pathway of YES—of wonder, gratitude, joy, and inspiration. In the painting process, this may be the initial vision or impulse. A blank canvas and the thrill of possibilities can lead to the sensual pleasure of selecting colors, of touching brush to surface. Awe moves us into action.
In life, this is the stage where we feel connected to the magic of existence. We might experience synchronicity, inspiration, or an inner knowing that we are here for a reason. This is the soul’s invitation to begin.
Example: You notice how a ray of sunlight hits your studio wall and it brings tears to your eyes. Something stirs. You begin to paint, not to make something perfect, but to express the feeling that moved you.
2. Via Negativa — The Path of Letting Go and Unknowing
After inspiration, we often hit a wall. The paint muddies. Doubt creeps in. We feel lost. This is the Via Negativa—the necessary phase of stillness, mystery, and surrender. It is the holy darkness, the space of unmaking.
In the art-making process, this might look like “messing up” what you’ve done, sitting in front of the canvas unsure of the next move. This stage can feel profoundly uncomfortable, yet still sacred.In our own awakening journey, this corresponds to the unraveling, the releasing of old patterns and identities.It is grief, shadow, and sacred pause.
Example: You feel stuck. The piece you began with excitement no longer “works.” You step away. You breathe. You listen deeply to what the work wants to become. You wait. Something shifts inside.
3. Via Creativa — The Path of Birthing and Imagination
Then, from the darkness, something new arises. A surprise mark on the canvas leads you in a different direction. Your hands start moving again. You improvise. You take risks. This is Via Creativa.
It is the path of originality, of bringing something into being that never existed before. It is courageous and alive.
In life, this might be the emergence of a new way of being, or the courage to speak your truth, to birth a new offering, or embrace an uncharted path.
Example: You follow a wild hunch and add texture where there was none. It feels right. You start to enjoy the unknown. The painting begins to dance with and within you.
4. Via Transformativa — The Path of Justice and Compassion
Finally, the work becomes whole. It carries its own presence. It speaks. In Via Transformativa, creation becomes an offering. It goes beyond the self to serve the world.
In painting, this is the moment the piece feels complete. It may evoke something in others. It may inspire, challenge, or comfort.
In your life, this is when your awakening contributes to the healing of others. Your presence, choices, and creative acts ripple outward with integrity and impact.
Example: You hang your painting and a friend tells you it moved them. You realize your process of wrestling with beauty and doubt became a source of light for someone else.
Awakening as Art, Art as Awakening
These four paths are not linear. They spiral through us, overlap, and reappear in new ways. We can be in all of them at once. But honoring them gives us a map for understanding and navigating the creative journey of our lives.
To awaken is to slowly, slowly realize the deeper truth of who we truly are—and to create from that place is to bring more goodness, beauty, and wholeness into the world.