Mindfulness Creativity Model

A majority of chief executives identify creativity as the single most important quality needed to lead in today’s volatile and complex business environment. Companies, however, largely view creativity either as a fixed ability to be acquired through personnel or a situational consequence of certain HR policies. As mindfulness-based interventions become increasingly common in firms, a third possibility is emerging: that specific mind-training practices may increase creativity in the workplace. This chapter reviews the literature on creativity and mindfulness and highlights mechanisms by which mindfulness may improve creative ability. In doing so, it seeks to ground mindfulness practices in their original context as a tool for cognitive change. It concludes by suggesting areas for future research and guidelines for practitioner implementation of workplace mindfulness and creativity training.

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 2023

Findings relating to the impact of mindfulness interventions on creative performance remain inconsistent, perhaps because of discrepancies between study designs, including variability in the length of mindfulness interventions, the absence of control groups or the tendencies to explore creativity as one unitary construct. To derive a clearer understanding of the impact that mindfulness interventions may exert on creative performance, two meta-analytical reviews were conducted, drawing respectively on studies using a control group design (n = 20) and studies using a pretest-posttest design (n = 17). A positive effect was identified between mindfulness and creativity, both for control group designs (d = 0.42, 95% CIs [0.29, 0.54]) and pretest-posttest designs (d = 0.59, 95% CIs [0.38, 0.81]). Subgroup analysis revealed that intervention length, creativity task (i.e., divergent vs. convergent thinking tasks) and control group type, were significant moderators for control group studies, whereas only intervention length was a significant moderator for pretest-posttest studies. Overall, the findings support the use of mindfulness as a tool to enhance creative performance, with more advantageous outcomes for convergent as opposed to divergent thinking tasks. We discuss the implications of study design and intervention length as key factors of relevance to future research aimed at advancing theoretical accounts of the relationship between mindfulness and creativity. Keywords Mindfulness • Creative performance • Moderator variables • Review • Meta-analysis Mindfulness is defined as paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). It has received considerable interest based on its apparently advantageous effect on cognition, which has prompted much research aimed at investigating the nature and extent of the benefits of mindfulness-based interventions on cognitive task performance. Most mindfulness-based interventions include core mindfulness techniques of focused attention and open monitoring, which aim to bring awareness to the present moment without feelings of judgment or any sense of being overwhelmed (Kabat-Zinn, 1982). Importantly, research has indicated a key role for mindfulness in enhancing performance on attentional tasks (e.g., the dichotic listening task; Chin et al., 2021), which is perhaps unsurprising given that a good degree of attentional control is required to stay engaged in mindfulness (Norris et al., 2018). Effective attentional processing is also claimed to be essential for successful performance on various high-level cognitive tasks, including creative problem-solving (Zabelina, 2011), which raises the question of whether mindfulness-based interventions can benefit creative cognition. This question forms the focus of the current review. There is agreement that mindfulness and creativity share several important processes, including attention and working memory. This has led researchers to investigate this relationship, yet the literature remains confusing and in need of simplification (cf. Lebuda et al., 2016). Public significance statement The present meta-analyses demonstrate that mindfulness is an effective intervention for improving creative performance, more so for convergent compared with divergent thinking tasks, suggesting different cognitive control states are at play, resolving discrepant findings in the literature. Importantly, the main moderators are study design and intervention length, the implications of which we discuss to aid further research. These findings provide a foundation to explore theoretical explanations, leading to a clearer understanding of the mindfulness-creativity link.

The paper takes cudgels against the view that contemplative practices are not conducive for creativity. Since contemplative practices often require discipline and controlling the tendency of mind to wander from one thought to another, the received wisdom often militates against giving any place for contemplative practices in nurturing creativity. At the same time there are studies indicating how practices such mindfulness enhance creativity. This paper argues that this paradox concerning the relationship between contemplative approaches and creativity can be resolved by looking into the role that open attention and passivity play in facilitating creativity. Engaging in non-judgmental open attention can be conducive for nurturing the beneficial aspects of mind wandering. The paper concludes by suggesting that making our attention more in the open, receptive mode can nurture, what is called, the creative mode of life.

PsycCRITIQUES, 2007

2006

Creativity is a complex multifaceted human ability which despite much investigation remains elusive. It involves all the senses and motor functions as well as the subconscious and conscious domains of the brain. This paper does not attempt to approach the subject from a psychological or neuro scientific viewpoint but from the experience of creative practice. The established and proven techniques within creative practice are seen as offering general potential for opening pathways into the subconscious and intuitive mind which can deliver enhanced creative performance.

Creativity is a powerful force that each human being is born with. Social Psychology, Buddhist Psychology, and Cognitive Neuroscience have been emerging as intriguing interdisciplinary fields that come together to measure that force. Creativity can be fostered through the surroundings of the social environment. Through that social environment one should possess not only the basic needs to nourish themselves mentally and physically, but spiritually reach a level of impermanent happiness and eudaimonic well-being (EWB). Mindfulness Meditation is considered an effective means to reaching that level of happiness. Creativity per se is a dynamic process that can be viewed from many angles: In Part I, I look at the social environment of four individuals, including myself, to examine the similarities and differences of upbringing. In Part II, I focus on the meditational practices that have proven to increase a greater sense of attention, emotional regulation, and happiness—all of which impacts a quality of creativity in the human mind. I survey the wide array of literature as well as experiment on the most available research subject—myself.

2013

In the field of design education, the term 'mindfulness' has been criticised as a mystification of the creative process and derided as a 'holy grail' (Moore 2009). I will argue against this criticism, try to establish some general rules for the chaotic diversity of individual creativity and highlight the role of flow and mindfulness in connection with the creative act. These reflections are rooted in my own experiences teaching croquis drawing with a live model, as well as many years as a practicing artist and pedagogue. My main focus is on elucidating the relationship between context and mindfulness in a teaching situation. It is my hope that this presentation will contribute to a wider understanding of the act of drawing, including cognitive, psychological as well as philosophical aspects.

2018

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

Journal of managerial psychology, 2024

Purpose -Despite widespread recognition of the importance of mindfulness in organizational science literature, little is known about how mindfulness motivates individuals to configure information processing and team member exchange relationships to increase creative process engagement. Drawing on motivated information processing theory, this study conceptualizes and empirically examines whether and how mindfulness motivates individuals toward creative process engagement. Design/methodology/approach -The authors collected data through an online survey from 311 respondents working in the Research and Development (R&D) departments of organizations in multiple industries in Pakistan. For analytical purposes, the authors have applied the structural equation modeling technique. Findings -This study advances a different view of individual mindfulness on the creative process engagement in the following ways. First, mindfulness enables individuals to self-regulate in specific situations and become Mindfulness and creative process engagement

Rose+Croix Journal, 2021

The way in which natural environmental stimuli can maintain or increase health is not fully understood. This paper suggests that an essential aspect of the medicinal effect is due to stimuli that encourage a psychological state termed "flow" in relation to individuation (or maintenance of a self), and that creative reflection on nature is a transformative practice as defined by author Michael Murphy. A synthesis of current ideas from the literature on environmental psychology and self-development can provide a cyclic model that offers an interpretation of a fundamental reality behind integral and transformative practices. This paper also explores the question of why and how it is important to develop a linkage between an individual's inner constructs and outside stimuli to maintain health. A theoretical explanation is offered with an example of reflection that illustrates how linkage can occur and how it may generate flow. The major research on the relation of natural environmental stimuli to human health is discussed, and the work of theorists that supports the development of a model based on a synthesis of their ideas is examined. This model was not explicit in any of their work, but it contains aspects that they all share. In this paper, concepts of environmental psychology are placed into the wider context of human health and the natural environment with an example using the artistic process. The development of an artist's work after the initial vision is discussed from ideal to real. To demonstrate a reflective cycle of self-development that maintains health and that is perpetuated by flow between mental constructs and outside stimuli, it is necessary to identify what those constructs are and how the cycle works on them in a transformative manner. The author's model allows individuals to become more conscious of this process, and in so doing, to resolve any previously unconscious biases or barriers to flow states. Synthétiser les concepts : augmentation sous-jacente du flux, de l'auto-développement et de la réflexion, et son application au processus créatif Daniel Harris, MRes Résumé On ne connaît pas tout à fait la manière dont les stimuli environnementaux naturels peuvent entretenir ou augmenter la santé. Cet article suggère qu'un aspect essentiel de cet effet est dû à des stimuli qui encouragent un état psychologique appelé « flux » relié à l'individuation (à savoir, la prise de conscience de soi), et que la réflexion créative sur la nature est une pratique transformatrice, ainsi que Michael Murphy l'a remarqué. Une synthèse des idées actuelles de la littérature sur la psychologie de l'environnement et sur l'auto-développement, peut fournir un modèle cyclique qui offre une interprétation d'une réalité fondamentale sous-jacente à certaines pratiques intégrales et transformatrices.