The Power of Creativity

Often times when you look into mindfulness, or meditation, you are brought to practices that require stillness and silence. This particular approach reflects ancient eastern philosophies that teach the mind to enter into a state of observance. This form of meditation, or stillness, is a very passive practice.

 

There is no doubt that this approach has helped many people find clarity, mental peace, and self-awareness. However, this passive approach can be difficult for some who are kinesthetic and active learners.

 

I am one of those people. I have tried sitting in silence and at times, it is exactly what I need to bring me back into a balanced state and a calm mind. But sometimes, I need a little more input to feel connected in a mindfulness practice.

 

So, on my quest to find an approach that “works for me,” I looked deeper into ways I can be more present to the moment. And I know that sounds cliche, but one thing I found that really helps me is exploring creativity.

 

Now, let me just address something quick about creativity….. whether you consider yourself a creative person or not, we all have creative skills and abilities that appear in some way. Because creativity isn’t always prioritized or encouraged due to misconceptions from society (starving artist or the music junkie), we may not see creativity as important within our day to day life. So, I invite you to remove any preconceptions you have about creativity and consider ways you are creative in your own way…

 

Anyway, things like dancing, singing, listening to music, making music, making art, painting, crafting, drawing, taking photos, and even cooking are all creative tasks that require mental attention. To me, creativity is an active “mindfulness” practice. Of course, there are several other things under the umbrella of “creativity” that can enhance mental presence and stillness (in fact, one could argue that creativity is involved with everything we do).

 

Regardless, participating in a creative hobby gives you the opportunity to shift your unnecessary worries, doubts, fears, and insecurities to the task at hand. The present moment. 

 

For me, it was actively learning and practicing a new art skill. I have always been artistic and I decided to learn how to draw mandalas. Now, mandalas themselves have been around for thousands of years. They have been utilized in ancient traditions for spiritual purposes as well as symbolism for unity, harmony, and infinity. (The world mandala means “circle” In Sanskrit). This seemed like something that would support my desire to more present-minded and at peace.

 

As I mentioned, I am artistic. But, I’m also a perfectionist and very detailed-oriented. So not only did this offer me a new art skill, it offered me the time and space to practice self-acceptance and non-attachment. Instead of getting hung up on a few mistakes, I offered myself compassion and compliments. Instead of planning what I wanted it to look like, I offered myself freedom and curiosity. 

 

Overtime, I realized that this “creative hobby” is a teacher in itself. It is an active practice where I am able to observe my reactions to simple mistakes, doubts, or judgments. It is the space for me to focus my mind on the process, rather than the outcome.

 

What I have learned through my creative exploration is that the mind is always trying to “conceptualize” things… and put meaning to everything. But, creative exploration lets the mind accept what is and move forward. Having a creative outlet or hobby can inspire growth in self-awareness, making you a more patient, present, and peaceful person.

 

And to me, that is what most of us are looking for when we seek out “mindfulness” or meditation. We are looking for ways to calm out mind to be more present and attentive to the things that matter to us. So, if traditional meditation or stillness isn’t your jam, don’t worry about it. Try considering an active approach by getting involved with a creative hobby where you can build mental presence and peace throughout the process.

 

Thank you, and Mahalo to my dear friend Brittany for this opportunity to write about the power of creativity for your wellbeing. 

About Molly:

Molly is an occupational therapist and wellness advocate, who strives to bring awareness to individuals on how they can live a more meaningful and enjoyable life. Molly is originally from Western New York but as worked as a therapist in North Caroline, Virginia, Texas, and Hawaii. However, after several years of working in a traditional health care model, Molly realized that something in her life was missing. Not only did she lack a purposeful connection, but her physical health was also compromised by her daily distress. So, she went on to study holistic wellness at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. During this time, Molly had moved to Hawaii to focus on improving her overall wellbeing. Since then, she has found interest with yoga and is currently training to be a yoga instructor. Molly hopes her journey can inspire others to find a more balanced and creative approach to life, too. To learn more about Molly, you can email her directly at mollywillsonholistics@gmail.com or visit her Instagram page for a dose of inspiration and reflections at @Molly_lama_

It's All Contagious

One thing as a teacher (and those of you with children probably understand this too) I learned is that my attitude propelled what kind of mood my class was in.  If I was upset or edgy, they would take on some of that and the undercurrent of the class would be edgy.  If I was happy, they would get happy, if I was calm, they would calm down.  Even if they didn’t come into my class that way, my mood would usually encourage a similar one from them.

 

Moods are contagious, what we feel can be caught by the people we are around and likewise, we can catch the mood they are in as well.  In stressful situations, the first thing someone of authority usually says is “please remain calm” which always intrigued me.  I can just picture the captain of the Titanic making an announcement “Good evening everyone, we have just encountered an iceberg and I need you to calmly make your way to the lifeboats, there is no need for panic, please remain calm”.   Yeah right sir, we are all sinking and going to drown!

 

But if you think about it, when something stressful is happening, what do you tell your students? Kids? Coworkers? You tell them to calm down, it will all be fine.  That is because chaos is contagious, and it spreads like wildfire.  When we are in a chaotic state, our logical thinking process becomes overrun by emotion and the fight or flight instinct.

 

However, calmness is contagious too.  If we stay calm, our logical thinking has a chance to work, our emotional response becomes under control, and we are less motivated to act by instinct.  This is not easy, and I would never proclaim that it is, but in moments of stress, stop and think about what you want to be contagious: calm or chaos?

 

What do you do to encourage the calm versus the chaos?

 

Communication is Key

I like to think of myself as a Master Planner: I have a pretty good understanding of my husbands’ schedule (as ever-changing as it is), my schedule, our dogs’ needs, vacation schedules, etc.  When I make an action plan, I usually take everything into consideration, I try and look at it from all possible sides and like a box of 500 puzzle pieces, dump it out and try and make it work.  This was the case earlier this week.  I have a couple of opportunities for conferences abroad this year (one in the summer and one in the fall) as well as vacation goals as a family.  So, in true fashion, I dumped all the pieces out and went about sifting through them until I could find a way that we could experience all the events this summer/fall season and not have to sacrifice or miss much.

 

My husband is in and out of the field, so when he called that night, at 10pm, I couldn’t wait to tell him my brilliant plan that I was super proud of and have him remind me of what a great wife and human I am.  Well, that isn’t really what happened….at all.

 

Throughout our relationship, we have always communicated well (we learned to), and my husband relies on my ability to handle things when he is unavailable.  It works!  However, the thing I usually forget, is that sometimes my husband likes to be involved in the planning of things.  So, whereas I took his schedule into consideration when I made the Master Plan for our summer/fall, he likes to ask questions, give his input, and be involved.  

 

Not going to lie, I was a bit annoyed that he didn’t just hail my brilliance, and he was a bit annoyed that I was a bit annoyed with his questions.  Instead of continuing to grind our way through it, we tabled this talk: it was after 10pm and I am not at my best that late, and he would be home in a day or two and we could hash it out then.  Perfect.

 

When he got home, we did talk it out: we talked about how he is frustrated that I have these great conference opportunities and he isn’t sure he will be able to attend both and support me like he wants, we talked about how we want to do vacations and places we want to go, we talked about how I wanted him to be impressed with my plan, we talked about it all. 

 

So, what is the point of my story?  

 

Sometimes you need to know when to hit pause on a conversation if it will only end up in an argument and talk about it when you can be face-to-face and not be so emotionally attached to the subject of the discussion (for me it was my plan, for him it was his ever-changing schedule).  It is easy to argue, and sometimes it’s good to get it all out, but it can also be more beneficial to prevent the argument and revisit the topic when you can communicate effectively without the added emotion.

 

What are some ways you have learned to communicate with your spouse/partner?

 

MUSTER 013

 My husband and I listen to audiobooks on leadership together and then like to have discussions about them: how we can implement strategies, what our biggest weaknesses are, what might be difficult about the strategy we are listening to, etc.  One of the leadership books we listened to was Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin who are both former Navy Seals.  Well, those two incredible gentlemen took what they learned from the military and their book and started their own leadership consulting business called Echelon Front.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend their MUSTER conference in Dallas, Texas.  It is a two-and-a-half-day leadership conference where you are immersed in extreme ownership and get to meet other leaders from various industries around the country.  In my honest opinion, this was the best leadership seminar/conference I have ever been to.  Their principles of extreme ownership are impactful and one of the parts that really made me think was "tactical victory, but strategic loss".

When we are thinking strategically, we are thinking big picture: the purpose, goal, or mission that you have in your work or home.  When we are thinking tactically, we are thinking about the little things that pop up and cause chaos in our lives, and they are not necessarily key in advancing the overall mission/purpose.  They even gave an example of this happening in your personal life: when you bring work home and focus on it so much, that it is at your family's expense: hard work pays for a good and solid lifestyle, but if you are doing that at the expense of missing out on your kids' life, is it a strategic or tactical win?

For some reason, that just hit home for me and it made me analyze what I do and work on that help propel me to the goal (graduate with my doctorate and take over the world...kidding on that last part) and what are things that are white noise and distractions.  

Overall it was so empowering and I made not only great connections but great friends!  Below are a few photos from the event; I normally do not post photos, but when you take pictures with former Navy Seals, it is worth sharing.

Me with Jocko Willink

Me with Leif Babin

*They look super intimidating but were some of the nicest people I have ever met*

Time Management

I have always been under the assumption that multi-tasking was the way to be; I can focus on and complete multiple things at once and get twice as much accomplished in half the time.  Even if I am not performing multiple tasks at once, I am usually thinking about more than one task at a time.  I attended the Women's Assembly Zoom from Echelon Front this month and this was actually one of the things they recommended steering away from...color me shocked!  But why?  Why focus on one thing when I can focus on two?

One hostess of the Zoom talked about how she would have 15 things on her list to get done and only manage to get 3 of them accomplished; she couldn't believe it!  So she did an audit on her time and found that she spent the majority of her day wasting time versus actually getting after her to-do list.  She said that one of the reasons she wasted her time was that she wasn't prioritizing tasks, she was multi-tasking and trying to get everything accomplished at the same time.

This made sense to me and made me reflect on my own To-Do list that I have; and in thinking about priority, I re-wrote it to have the higher priority items towards the top and then rank the rest of the list.  Normally, I don't even list them numerically, I just put a dash and write and item and do that for the entire list.  Basically, all levels of priorities are a jumble and there wasn't any formal organization-everything was listed in the order it came into my brain.  

For this upcoming week, I am going to try and be more intentional with my To-Do list: I am going to break it down by day of the week and prioritize my items by importance and day.  This way I am not overwhelmed by completing all necessary and high ticket items on one day and fluffing the rest; my goal I to have more order and structure to my lists and therefore, less wasted time.  

We shall see how it goes! Does anyone else find that they get scattered when they try and multi-task?  Any other good planning tips?

For more information on the Women's Assembly, please check out their website here

“Mindfulness” Has to Go

Mindfulness is a transformative quality—I truly believe that. I have seen what mindfulness can do firsthand in my work with college students, teachers, and others. It can bring focus, peace of mind, productivity, agency, calm, stress-reduction, and other positive change.

            I use the term in my teaching (I teach an undergraduate course called Mindfulness & Learning), in meditation workshops, and in my writing (dissertation, journal articles). I’m guilty of relying on the word since society has become so familiar with it. It’s purely for marketing reasons, I suppose.

            But I don’t like the word, “mindfulness.”

First, things are often lost in translation. The word, mindfulness, a practice originating within Buddhism in about 500 B.C.E. comes from the Sanskrit word, smrit, which means to remember.  Funny how that word is never associated with current notions of mindfulness. For instance, remember what? One’s cell phone number (good luck with that). 

Popular definitions of mindfulness generally describe it as a quality of present-moment, centered awareness or as mindfulness pioneer, Jon Kabat Zinn added, “paying attention on purpose” and in a “non-judgmental manner.” I particularly like Buddhist psychotherapist Miles Neale’s version, the idea that mindfulness gives us “recognition and choice.” This has an empowering ring.

            Maybe so many definitions have emerged around mindfulness because the word itself was not a good one to begin with in the West. Consider how it sounds: mind—ful. The mind is full of something, it’s occupied. That’s actually not it at all. 

A meditative mind is open, completely present—what Zen masters might call, no mind. 

But if we start calling it no-mind that doesn’t work either; people start thinking “hey, why would I want to go around without a mind. That doesn’t sound intelligent.”

Complicating matters is the word, mindfulness, has become pop-cultured thanks to capitalism. There are face creams, candles, dice, necklaces, pet food, and snacks—using the word “mindfulness” in some form. I’m personally not sure how eating bags of organic popcorn makes me more mindful (compared to eating something else), though I do enjoy it.

So what do we call this quality? What do we do about this word?

I think if we trace “mindfulness’ back to its roots, the Buddha’s significant contribution to the world was the practice of “watching.” He taught to watch the breath, to watch the sensations in the body, to watch when walking, eating, doing daily chores, to watch emotions arise and fall. To increase awareness, we develop the skill or quality of watchfulness.

The late meditation master and controversial guru, Osho, used the term, witnessing. For example, when meditating, simply sit and witness the breath, witness the thoughts without evaluating. That seems to be more of what we are doing when we practice “mindfulness.” 

We are watching or witnessing our inner dimension—without judgement—so we can know ourselves, be centered, and less reactive.

Maybe as time goes on, we will adopt a new word, a new way of describing this quality. Maybe I need to change the titles of my courses, my trainings, my future book—who knows? Let’s just watch and see what happens.

-Steve

To chat with Steve more about mindfulness and not mindfulness, please email him here.  Thank you Steve for talking with us about this topic!

Change of Scenery

 One of the prominent tips I have come across is utilizing movement in mindfulness practice.  Now that can look super regimented by a scheduled fitness class you attend weekly, a dog walk, weight lifting, etc.  However, I have found that we need movement in our work schedules as well as our off schedules, but how do we fit that in while at work?

Incorporating movement into your life sounds a little intense, and kind of like a job or chore that must be done.  Instead, I like to think of it as changing my scenery.  On your lunch and weather permitting, go outside and breathe in the fresh air and the sunshine, take a ten-minute break to walk a lap around the building, get a stand-up desk, even walk to the bathroom.  These are little ways that break up your day and give you a chance to get the blood flowing and change your scenery, even for a few minutes.  

Changing your scenery gives you the chance to mentally (and physically) step away from what you're working on and gain perspective.  When I have a problem that I am working through, I like to step away from it and think about it without it staring me in the face.  Even if that is just walking a lap or two around the kitchen table; it gives me the space to regroup and start again.  Doing this when you don't have a problem is just as effective; we all need to step away for a minute and give ourselves the chance to regroup, breathe in different air, and have a new perspective.

How do you utilize changing your scenery?

*Next week we will have a guest on the blog!  My friend Steve will be joining us and talking about what mindfulness means to him!  Make sure you stop by and check it out! 

Here is a little about him:

Steve is an assistant professor of education at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. His scholarship involves embedding meditation and mindfulness practices into teacher education and higher education. His current research focuses on introducing brief meditation with college students prior to instruction as a way to prepare the mind for learning, de-stress, and build community. Personally, Steve has been a meditator for 26 years.