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Wondering whether mindfulness improves creativity, or creativity improves mindfulness is same as wondering whether the hen comes first or the egg! Because it's a reciprocal process, each improves the other. The more your mindfulness helps you focus & better your creation, more your creativity helps you immerse yourself completely in the moment & be more & more mindful.
As I write this post, I've put on some relaxing tune on an app & plugged my earphones in since there's a lot of distractions around me at the moment. After all, writing is an expression of creativity as well. No matter how facts & figure centric your content is, your style of writing is what reflects creativity.
Today I would like to highlight few aspects of creativity & mindfulness to you & then invite you to join me & try some simple creative activities where you can apply mindfulness very easily & experience some magic!
Self-judgement & connecting with yourself :
Some people state, "Oh, I've never created a single thing in my life, I'm just not creative!", & then with a wave of hands, they quickly dismiss the very thought of trying something creative, the moment it presents itself. Is creativity reserved for only the Picasso-s, Oscar Wilde-s, Michael Jackson-s & Mozart-s? Or only the great designers, photographers & actors? Creativity is free for all. Your work doesn't have to be compared with anyone else's. Letting go of self-judgement, by mindfully listening to your inner thoughts, is the first step to open yourself to creativity. Because when you judge your creative quotient, your work quality doesn't reflect your true self anymore, & even if you want to improve it, you'll be locked within the confines of your own judgements. But by opening yourself to you, you gradually turn down the volume of your negative self talks & just start enjoying the process of creating something that interests you. In fact, practising creativity is something that you should indulge in every now & then to tune in to your soul & spend some quality time with yourself.
Attention over Perfection :
Did you like that beautiful dress you saw in the store the other day? Try sketching what you saw or something similar. Use your memory. And where your memory gets weak, support it with your own ideas & experiment with it. That's creativity right there! It doesn't have to be perfect. It only has to express your attention to YOUR creation. That's all the justice you can ever really do to your piece of work. Your work is your personal property & stays only with you until you want to show it to the world.
Monotasking & Authentic Creativity :
Mindfulness encourages monotasking & when you devote your senses, time & efforts to creating something, no matter how small, simple or big it is, it demands you to monotask. Monotasking helps you be one with your task, focus on it & as I said, your work deserves 100% of your undivided attention. "That's all the justice you can ever really do to it". Monotasking, in turn, brings out the best from you & your creation looks authentic. (Wanted to add in this context that I'm writing this post on my phone's notepad & I actually had to add the word "monotasking" to my phone's auto-correction dictionary! May be you'd like to add it to the dictionary of your life too!)
Artist's Block :
How do you define an artist's block? Some writers experience writer's block & just can't move on with their work. Well, honestly, it is a moment when you cannot connect with yourself deeply, when you can't focus, when your creativity is stuck due to some bumps on the road, when you can't turn down the volume of your real distractions - emotional, physical, situational. So in a way it can be said that artists experience a block when they're unable to be mindful of their blocks & work through them.
Self Care :
It is important to note that no matter how novice or pro your work looks like, when you allow yourself to enjoy the process of something, you are embracing self care.
Do-It-Yourself :
Try to choose something creative and while you do it, be mindful of the process. Cook a special recipe, sing your favorite song & try recording it, give shape to some play dough, choose your favourite letter / the initial of your name & write it on a paper giving it a creative look in as many ways as you can, create a fancy paper boat or indulge in origami, draw easy cartoon sketches to represent how your day has been (you can draw objects that represent or signify your day - bed, ice cream, dress, car, smiles, tears, clock, etc.). Remember, when you're creating anything, do not judge how small or simple it is, it is still a creation & deserves your complete awareness. Also don't judge the results, saying, "oh, this is so ugly..!", or, "told you it's not my cup of tea..!" No matter what you create, learn to appreciate the expression of your work, acknowledge that that's the best you could do in the moment, learn from your own work, & remember, you can always try it again.
So what would you like to create today? Get creative with your ideas & share your experience here in this thread.
I'll share my experience of my mindful writing, now that I'm at the end of this post. I've been able to find the right words for my thoughts, carefully avoided missing words in between or repeating some, added proper punctuations, avoided typos that are usually caused by my phone's weird auto-correct dictionary, & most importantly, I've satisfactorily written a meaningful content keeping in mind how I want to help my readers with it. It still may have some flaws, but I did my best, that's what matters the most to me, no judgements, but I'm open for improvement! So if I can do it, why can't you?
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