Kim Hermanson's Blog, page 10
April 4, 2023
Greater wisdom comes through when we admit we don’t know and stop trying to figure it out.
The first time I do something, I rarely do it very well. Holding a learner mindset makes all the difference. We humans are designed to be learners. We’re designed to experiment, make mistakes, try new things, fail, fall down, and try again.
A learning mindset is courageous. It takes us into unknown places with unknown outcomes.
Learning is messy. Messy means we’re human, we make mistakes and we have no idea how it’s going to turn out. We never have absolute control. But we can investigate what is before us: What is this situation asking of me? What, or who, do I need to pay attention to right now?
It’s amazing how greater wisdom comes through when we admit we don’t know and stop trying to figure it out.
My love for teaching began when I realized that I could be a learner when I teach. And in fact, I was a better teacher when I held that position.
Excerpted from Getting Messy: A Guide to Taking Risks and Opening the Imagination for Teachers, Trainers, Coaches and Mentors by Kim Hermanson
March 28, 2023
The brilliance of painter Robert Henri
One of my favorite books about art-making and creativity is Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit.
Here are a few passages that stood out to me:
“…we must get rid of this outside feeling of looking in on art. We must get on the inside and press out. Art is simply a result of expression during right feeling. It’s a result of a grip on the fundamentals of nature, the spirit of life, the constructive force, the secret of growth, a real understanding of the relative importance of things, order, balance. Any material will do. After all, the object is not to make art, but to be in the wonderful state which makes art inevitable.”
“All things change according to the state we are in. Nothing is fixed.”
“There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. If one could but recall his vision by some sort of sign. It was in this hope that the arts were invented. Sign-posts on the way to what may be. Sign-posts toward greater knowledge.”
Henri (1865-1929) was an American painter and teacher. Click here to read more of my thoughts on The Art Spirit:
https://www.kimhermanson.com/2008/12/26/robert-henris-art-spirit-part-two/
March 21, 2023
The role of the imagination is to awaken us.
In her book, If You Want to Write, Brenda Ueland wrote:
When we ignore the imagination, we stop living from our center, from the creative fountain, and we live from the periphery, from externals.
Imagination brings possibility. As educator Maxine Greene said, “The role of imagination is to awaken, to disclose the ordinarily unseen, unheard, and unexpected.”
When you open the imagination, its spaciousness will feed you.
March 14, 2023
We need to create space for transformation
Spaces instigate transformation.
During the civil rights movement, black churches were instrumental in creating change because they provided “free spaces” for people to meet. Churches were the places where people could come together to inspire one another, plot strategy, and catalyze change.
Without those free spaces, the civil rights movement might not have happened.
I went to graduate school with the desire to understand how adults learn in life and through my research it was remarkable to me how important space was for learning and social change…for any kind of change, for that matter.
If you’re puzzled, confused or stuck, if there’s an area you’d like to transform, you need to create space for the change to happen.
Then see what arises in the space.
Click here to read the full article, “Spaces Instigate Transformation”:
https://www.kimhermanson.com/2022/02/01/spaces-instigate-transformation/
March 7, 2023
We get to the true heart of who we are when we do our most creative work.
When we do the most creative work that we can possibly do, we get to the true heart of who we are.
Creating requires openness, flexibility, and ‘not knowing’:
Hold beginner’s mind: Step back from what’s happening so you can see what wants to emerge.Work with what’s available: encourage what’s under the surface to come forth. Admit you don’t know: it opens up space.February 28, 2023
“the group is the art form of the future” ~ jacob needleman
The philosopher Jacob Needleman once wrote,
“I believe that the group is the art form of the future. In our present culture the main need is for a form that can enable human beings to share their perceptions…and through that sharing, to become a conduit for the appearance of spiritual intelligence.”
I love that.
When we form a relationship with something that we care about, that thing is no longer an “It.” There’s a depth that is present, a sense of mystery. We’re in relation with something that is “other” and it’s clear that we don’t have all the answers, we can’t figure this out ahead of time. All we can do is put whatever we have to say out there, see what comes back, and use feedback to alter course.
I call this place of mystery “third space” and to my mind, the most captivating aspect of teaching is working with this mysterious place. When we enter a relationship with something we care about, a third space is present–a place of depth and mystery.
Here’s a link to my article, “Creating Third Space When You Teach, Train, Coach, or Mentor”:
https://www.kimhermanson.com/2017/10/01/creating-third-space-when-you-teach-train-coach-or-mentor-2/
February 21, 2023
6 questions to ask when you’re stuck
6 questions to ask when you’re stuck:
February 14, 2023
“Metaphor is the secret of all life.” ~ Martin Foss
“[Metaphor] is the secret of all life. It is the innermost secret of the life of God himself.” ~ Martin Foss
“The present is not a phase in time. It is the tension by which past and future are metaphorically united and overcome.” ~ Martin Foss
In 2007 I accidentally discovered Martin Foss’s profound book, Symbol and Metaphor in Human Experience at the GTU library in San Anselmo, California.
Upon doing a little research, I discovered that at the time Symbol and Metaphor was published in 1949, it was highly acclaimed and prompted some scholars to regard Foss as a greater philosopher than Martin Heidegger (see Armour & Trott’s book, The Faces of Reason: An Essay on Philosophy and Culture in English Canada.) But a few short years later, Foss and his work were largely forgotten. In 1956, the American Scholar listed Symbol and Metaphor in Human Experience as one of the most important and neglected books of the twentieth century.
Several decades later, no one has heard about Martin Foss and his books have been out of print for eons. I created a Wikipedia page for him.
Here’s my article about my experience with Martin Foss’s work: https://www.kimhermanson.com/2021/02/15/metaphor-martin-foss-and-the-creative-process/
Enjoy. 
February 8, 2023
Creativity lets us have a conversation with Something greater than ourselves.
Our desire to create certain outcomes impedes transformation.
For brilliant work (and lives) we need to let go and let Something else work through us.
Our desire to create certain outcomes impedes transformat...
Our desire to create certain outcomes impedes transformation.
For brilliant work (and lives) we need to let go and let Something else work through us.
