Work In Colour - Work. Think. Live. In Colour
Tuesday 16th June 2009 | 1 comment
A Scientific American Mind magazine issue on creativity a few years ago reported on fascinating research showing that creative people less likely to filter out peripheral information or irrelevant data from their minds than the rest of us. (As you are listening to this, you are probably not aware of the contents of the room, the feeling of your bottom on the chair, the temperature, the small background noises... until I draw your attention to them, of course!)
If we didn't screen the volumes of data that reaches us every second through our eyes, ears, taste, touch and so on we would be paralysed into inaction by overwhelm, or go nuts from it. And if we didn't screen our thoughts and impulses before we acted on them, we could end up in serious trouble, seriously fast. It is now believed by scientists that in 'normal' people, the left, logical, linear brain acts as a brake on the right, impulsive, imaginative brain. This has obvious adaptive advantages in daily life.
BUT screening also sometimes leads to missing the anomalies and curiosities that lead to creative breakthroughs.
So, what to do?
Try some selective opening of the stimulation gates. Perhaps not as far as the advice given by Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show to 'Give yourself over to absolute pleasure. Swim the warm waters of sins of the flesh' but it can be very good for your creativity to at least bring your awareness to your surroundings every now and then and to train your mind muscles to really be aware of what's around you for a few minutes a day.
Just pause your life for a minute, come back to yourself with a few breaths, then bring your awareness to your surroundings; notice everything you see, hear, smell, feel. No need to act on it or think about it or judge it, just notice. Now, focus on the information from one of your senses... notice only colours, or smells, or sounds. This can be very interesting if you do it while out walking, too (though perhaps a bit too interesting if you try it while negotiating a busy road...).
You may be surprised by what you find.
I was most impressed at how the background birdsong resolved itself into individual performances. There must have been seven species, all going for it at once. A nice treat for an inner-city dweller. Many thanks! P. :)