By Paddy Kamen, Publisher, BetterBrainBetterLife.com
Here are three tantalizing riffs on creativity and the brain. I’m presenting these as a jumping off point for those who are interested in pursuing the links. I, personally, am fascinated by the many lenses through which we can consider this subject.
The first comes at creativity from the physiological perspective, the second from the point of a view of an artist and ancient wisdom, and the third posits consciousness interacting with the field of all possibilities in the Zero Point Field (the hive of subatomic energetic activity that is everywhere and at all times; the basic substructure of the universe).
Here are three tantalizing riffs on creativity and the brain. I’m presenting these as a jumping off point for those who are interested in pursuing the links. I, personally, am fascinated by the many lenses through which we can consider this subject.
The first comes at creativity from the physiological perspective, the second from the point of a view of an artist and ancient wisdom, and the third posits consciousness interacting with the field of all possibilities in the Zero Point Field (the hive of subatomic energetic activity that is everywhere and at all times; the basic substructure of the universe).
1. It used to be referred to as a ‘left brain – right brain’ dichotomy, but no longer. The relationship between the analytical mind and the creative mind is given a biological explanation in today’s publication of ‘Beautiful Minds’ in Scientific American. Author Scott Barry Kaufman writes:
“In a recent large review, Rex Jung and colleagues provide a “first approximation” regarding how creative cognition might map on to the human brain. Their review suggests that when you want to loosen your associations, allow your mind to roam free, imagine new possibilities, and silence the inner critic, it’s good to reduce activation of the Attentional Control Network (a bit, but not completely) and increase activation of the Imagination and Attentional Flexibility Network. Indeed, recent research on jazz musicians and rappers engaging in creative improvisation suggests that’s precisely what is happening in the brain while in a flow state.”
(Note: As I understand it one can relax the Attentional Control Network through relaxation and meditation.)
“In a recent large review, Rex Jung and colleagues provide a “first approximation” regarding how creative cognition might map on to the human brain. Their review suggests that when you want to loosen your associations, allow your mind to roam free, imagine new possibilities, and silence the inner critic, it’s good to reduce activation of the Attentional Control Network (a bit, but not completely) and increase activation of the Imagination and Attentional Flexibility Network. Indeed, recent research on jazz musicians and rappers engaging in creative improvisation suggests that’s precisely what is happening in the brain while in a flow state.”
(Note: As I understand it one can relax the Attentional Control Network through relaxation and meditation.)
2. In a compelling TED talk that mixes the pragmatic with ancient insights, author Elizabeth Gilbert talks movingly about creativity as something, “on loan to you from some unimaginable source for some exquisite portion of your life”. She harkens back to ancient days when creative power was not ascribed to the individual expressing it but rather as ‘this diving attendant spirit that came to human beings from some distant and unknowable source, for distant and unknowable reasons. The Greeks famously called these divine attendant spirits of creativity ‘daemons’. Socrates, famously believed that he had a daemon who spoke wisdom to him from afar.”
3. The book, The Field, by Lynn McTaggart, comes at creativity (the book is not strictly about creativity) from the point of view of physics and an exploration of the nature of consciousness. She posits that the brain “is not a storage medium but a receiving mechanism in every sense….Some scientists…suggest that all of our higher cognitive processes result from an interaction with the Zero Point Field. This kind of constant interaction might account for intuition or creativity — and how ideas come to us in bursts of insight, sometimes in fragments but often as a miraculous whole. An intuitive leap might simply be a sudden coalescence of coherence in The Field.”
What is the link between these sources? For me, it is the element of relaxation, letting the mind relax and open to inspiration. Whether it comes from the daemon, the Field or is just intrinsic to the biology of the brain, who really knows? The main thing is that we allow creativity to flow within us and that we learn to drop expectations and ego at this wonderful door. I feel most fully human when I participate in creative expression. What about you?
For an interesting take on a brain that remained creative despite advanced dementia check out my blog post, “Art Remains in the Damaged Brain”: http://www.betterbrainbetterlife.com/blog/.
What is the link between these sources? For me, it is the element of relaxation, letting the mind relax and open to inspiration. Whether it comes from the daemon, the Field or is just intrinsic to the biology of the brain, who really knows? The main thing is that we allow creativity to flow within us and that we learn to drop expectations and ego at this wonderful door. I feel most fully human when I participate in creative expression. What about you?
For an interesting take on a brain that remained creative despite advanced dementia check out my blog post, “Art Remains in the Damaged Brain”: http://www.betterbrainbetterlife.com/blog/.
