/ Meditation
Reading Time: 9 minutes
Meditation can help boost your relaxation, help you feel more connected, and give you a fresh outlook. But can meditation make you creative too? The short answer is yes.
Can Meditation Make You Creative?
New research, published in the Frontiers in Psychology suggests that engaging in meditation can boost your creativity. The researchers identified that there are two key ingredients needed to be creative—convergent thinking and divergent thinking.
During the experiment, participants were asked to take part in a meditation practice and then complete a couple of tasks. Each task was designed to test their thinking, as follows:
Convergent Thinking Test
This type of thinking happens when a person generates one solution to a shared problem. For the purposes of the experiment, participants were given three seemingly random words and had to find a word that linked all three of them.
For example, if the words were ‘hair’, ‘time’, and ‘stretch’, one answer that would work is ‘long’. Finding the common linking word takes convergent thinking—a style of creativity.
Divergent Thinking Test
Divergent thinking is perhaps what we commonly associate with creativity. It’s all about generating new ideas. Within the experiment, the participants were given an Alternate Uses Task to test whether they could come up with brand new notions.
As part of the task, the participants were given a random object—for example, a pen—and asked to come up with new uses for it. The more viable functions a person could come up with, the more creative they were.
The Results
The results of the research found that practicing meditation made participants more creative. When people had taken part in meditation, they scored better on the thinking tests. That may mean that this mindfulness activity is the key to unlocking your creativity.
How to Get Started with Meditation
Now that you’ve learned how meditation can make you more creative, what’s holding you back? There are plenty of ways you can get started today. Here are some top tips:
Create a Space for Meditation
Meditation takes calm and focus. If your home environment is chaotic, you may find it hard to lock into a meditative state. Creating a space in which you can be alone is the first step.
Try Some Quick Sessions
Believe it or not, you don’t have to spend a long time meditating each day. One of the easiest approaches is to start small. Try a quick, three-minute meditation first of all.
Stop Believing the Myths
The truth of the matter is that there are many different myths surrounding meditation. You might think that this practice is hard, for example. Change your mindset before you start.
Set Aside Time Each Day
Making the time to meditate is one of the biggest challenges that people face. Set a reminder each day so that you can fit some meditation into your everyday schedule.
Continue Your Practice Today!
Ready to meditate more and become more creative? This is just one of the many ways that your Kundalini Yoga journey can support your everyday lifestyle goals. Why not learn more about the countless practices and continue your journey today?
