WHY CREATIVE MINDFULNESS?
Anxiety, depression, and technology compromise your focus and concentration, which causes stress and dissatisfaction in all aspects of your life. This was evident before COVID-19—which accelerated this decline—and will likely persist amid economic instability, political polarization, and physical and mental health concerns.
There’s good news, however.
The stress, burnout, and distractions you experience can be neutralized with the calm, inspiration, and concentration a creative mindfulness practice can cultivate. By merging the meditative and creative you stimulate the imagination, activate the subconscious, and sharpen your awareness of self and others.
THE THREE PILLARS OF CREATIVE MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness meditation has been used for cultivating physical and mental well-being for millennia. By focusing on the breath, you observe the activities of the mind without reacting to them. You return your attention to the breath while teaching yourself to cease rumination or mind-wandering. You remain present. In control of your emotions. Clear-minded.
Sound meditation releases physical and mental stress through the resonance of singing bowls, nature recordings, and soundscapes. Visualizations are guided meditations for accessing the subconscious through the description of imagery such as light spheres, forests, and oceans, which deepen and enhance meditation practice. These include “body scans” for releasing tension.
Automatic creativity includes writing, drawing, or painting that explores spontaneous, abstract expression. By learning to “let go”, you allow the wisdom of the subconscious to express itself as guided by instinct. You bypass the control mechanisms of the ego (such as judgment/inhibition) and teach yourself to “flow”—with your eyes closed at times.
Combining these activities result in “flow states”, which can:
· Optimize concentration, stability, and focus
· Enhance performance and productivity
· Reduce rumination (mind-wandering)
· Improve problem-solving
· Inspire innovation
THE MAGIC OF FLOW STATES
When combined, these pillars spark “flow states”, the open stretches of focused absorption where calm, clarity, and creativity fuse into well-being. This slows your brainwaves, nervous system, and heart rate, an ideal state for cultivating a lasting sense of openness and relaxation, for thinking outside the box—for exploring and innovating.
Artists and athletes speak of the “timelessness” they experience in flow states, when endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine—pleasure chemicals—are released. The mindfulness and wellness you cultivate follow you throughout your life, from your personal to professional relationships. You build a mountain a pebble at a time through insight and discipline.
Industry innovators such as Intel, Google, Nike, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, and many others have established cultures of mindfulness for these reasons.
SCIENCE AND BENEFITS
Creativity is your superpower, the lifeblood of civilization, commerce, and culture. Human beings have harnessed its power to transform ideas into reality since the dawn of existence—to survive. Artists seek it to bring the imaginary to life, to activate the openness of “flow states” and meditative wisdom. It’s who you are whether you realize it or not.
In 2010, the American Journal of Public Health reported that visual art making, expressive writing, and combined activities contributed to positive emotions, psychological well-being, and social functioning, as well as drops in physical and emotional stress and depression rates. I’ve witnessed this across all the programs I’ve designed and taught.
The same report demonstrated that creative self-expression resulted in reduced stress and anxiety for individuals, while also improving focus on their positive life experiences, self-worth, and social identity. This enhanced sense of positivity can impact productivity.
Other studies have established a connection between middle-aged and elderly subjects who engaged in arts and crafts practices and the positive impact it had on delaying mental decline. The benefits of creativity and wellness are just beginning to be acknowledged by scientists and researchers, though age-old wisdom never expires.
Mindfulness practice can lead to changes in your brain structure and function which can impact your mental and physical well-being by increasing your resilience to stress. It can also improve executive control and emotion regulation which can support your cognitive health and ability to cope with various challenges.
By combining meditative and creative exercises—a discipline known as “creative mindfulness”—you benefit from each approach.
*Recommended reading: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Harper, 2008)
