Last October, we hosted the first annual Symposia: An Intersection of Conversation & Innovation, a forum in which alumni of The Seattle School presented the ongoing work they are pursuing at the intersection of text, soul, and culture. Integrative education does not end at graduation, and our alumni are proof of that. Symposia highlighted the ways that our alumni are continuing to wrestle with big questions and big dreams in theology, psychology, and culture.
Here, we are excited to feature Daniel Tidwell (MDiv, ‘10) presenting on “The Pattern Language of Creativity: An Experiential Guide to Understanding Your Creative Process.” Daniel works as the Alumni Programs Coordinator at The Seattle School, where he previously worked as both an Assistant Instructor and the Facilities Manager.
In his talk, Daniel talks about the idea of a “pattern language,” a language of thriving that emerges out of the patterns of our lives. The concept was originally developed in the field of architecture, but Daniel believes it reflects profoundly on how we understand our experiences of creativity.
Daniel invites Symposia attendees to participate in exercises in mapping their creative processes, and we suggest you do the same—meaning this isn’t the kind of video to watch at work while you multitask with a dozen other browser tabs open. Instead, we invite you to set aside half an hour, grab a pen and paper, and have some fun participating in the exercises Daniel offers.
“I would invite you, as a takeaway, to […] realize that you are the foremost expert on your own creativity, and to believe that you can do this work of paying attention to the pattern language of your own life.”
In case you missed them, you can check out past presentations we shared from Shauna Gauthier and Martha Hopler. And stay tuned in coming months as we continue to share videos about what our alumni are learning and creating in theology, psychology, and culture.