What is Creative Mindfulness
Traditional vs Creative Mindfulness
In traditional mindfulness meditation, we use non-judgemental present moment awareness of the breath and body, thoughts and emotions, as our focus. We become more aware of our bodies, minds and the world around us.
The simple difference with creative mindfulness practice is we bring this mindful non-judgemental awareness whilst engaged in a creative activity. To focus and notice what thoughts and emotions arise as we create.
In case you have urgent creative matters to attend to, here’s a brief summary:
TL:DR
In creative mindfulness practices, we bring mindful, non-judgmental awareness whilst engaged in a creative activity.
We learn to enjoy the process rather than focusing on the end result.
This is what sets creative mindfulness exercises apart from other art-making activities.
We learn not to silence the voices of perfectionism, the inner critic or imposter syndrome. Instead, we listen, learn to live with them and maybe even laugh at them a little.
Learning to accept ourselves through the process of mindful creativity helps us become more fulfilled in our daily lives and enjoy a healthier, more creative mind.
The benefits of mindfulness and embarking on creative activities include decreasing stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, making you more open-minded and innovative, improving concentration and focus, and helping develop healthy habits.
Both mindfulness and creative activities are easily accessible at any time of day and in most situations.
To be creative is to be human! Embracing it helps us survive and thrive in a fast-paced world.
Creative Mindfulness Mindset
Most notably, with creative mindfulness exercises, we soak up the process rather than fixate on the end result. This mindset sets creative mindfulness exercises apart from other art-making activities.
We'll inevitably face thought habits such as limiting beliefs, perfectionism, self-doubt, the inner critic and imposter syndrome during the process. In creative mindfulness practice, we learn not to silence those voices but to live with them. To maybe even laugh at them a little and stop taking ourselves so damn seriously!
Accepting ourselves warts and all, like this, has the effect of helping us become more fulfilled in our daily lives and on the road to a healthy, creative mind.
Who Is Creative Mindfulness For?
For some, sitting on a cushion and meditating may not be your bag. Perhaps you find it challenging to calm your mind or sit still in meditation. In that case, creative activities are a fantastic way to begin to enhance your capacity for focus, concentration, inner peace and calm through a naturally mindful activity.
I want to stress that you don't have to meditate to be mindful. At Swap The Scroll, I combine art techniques and mindfulness. But you can be equally mindful when you're at the gym, washing dishes, watering plants, running or walking. You can do anything mindfully. It simply requires paying attention moment to moment.
Importantly, creative mindfulness is accessible for 5 or 25 or 125 minutes at any time of day. It's up to you.
The Creative Benefits of Mindfulness
The well-documented benefits of mindfulness practice include:
Reduced stress and increased focus in daily life.
An ability to manage symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Enhanced ability to deal with chronic pain or illness.
Help with overcoming addiction or unhealthy habits.
But the benefits don't end there, my friends!
The creative benefits of mindfulness will be particularly welcome to the creators, artists, crafters, scientists, entrepreneurs or adventurers out there for 3 significant reasons:
By developing a more relaxed, focused, receptive mind, we literally become more open-minded to ideas and ways of interpreting the world around us.
As we move through our days with greater awareness, we begin to look with fresh eyes and a beginners mind. We open ourselves to innovation and see the potential of new ideas and solutions.
Mindfulness practice also helps us accept limitations and setbacks as part of the creative or problem-solving process. This has the effect of making us more resilient in our life or creative quests.
If nothing, remember this:
Creativity is not about becoming the next Picasso, Plath, Spielburg or Sondheim. We were ALL born creative. In case you still have any doubts, repeat after me:
“I am creative!”
We think creatively for all of life's ups and downs. We have to find solutions to our problems to survive and thrive. It all requires our creative minds, from deciding what to wear in the morning, planning a house renovation, working on a business plan, figuring out how to tackle the climate crisis, or working on our relationships.
To be human is to be creative.
The Benefits of Creative Mindfulness
Have you ever experienced being so immersed in an activity that you have lost all sense of time or space? Zoned out? Your mind becomes clear, and you're not thinking about anything else. You're simply suspended in the joy of the activity.
This experience is known as 'Flow*'. Flow often happens when we're engrossed in creative activities such as drawing, painting, writing, sewing, dancing, singing or playing an instrument.
(*The term Flow is a term coined by the late Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It is achieved by embarking on activities that have clear goals, immediate feedback, and challenges or skill levels.)
Studies have shown that the way the brain responds when engaged deeply in periods of creative activity is similar to meditation, traditional mindfulness meditation practice or yoga.
Other research studies show that everyday creativity:
Nurtures your overall well-being and makes you more optimistic about the future.
Opens your mind and makes you more innovative
Slows our brains down, so original thoughts can better form. This encourages more creative ideas - have you ever found that you have ideas for other creative projects whilst engaged in different projects?
Being creative helps regulate emotions and increase happiness, leading to better mental health.
Reduces stress and makes you more resilient when facing life's challenges.
Studies have shown that regularly engaging in creativity can boost the immune system and even prolong your life!
In my humble opinion, coupling mindfulness practice and creative exercises is a supercharged combination that will put you on the road to blissed-out heaven. Well, OK, I can't promise nirvana. But still, I'd lay my hat (a rather splendid green beret as it happens) on you, being a happier, more resilient, more creative, fulfilled human being in the long-run.
Better able to notice the small joys that surround us all. And make living on this hectic, tech-driven planet a little more lovely.
Have an inspired day.
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