Using Your Brain Waves to Enhance Your Creativity

The brain normally operates at different frequencies, depending on the type of mental activity involved. These frequencies are divided into four main types of brainwave patterns:

· Beta waves (between 13-40 HZ) are associated with peak concentration, heightened alertness and visual acuity.

· Alpha waves (between 7-12 HZ) are associated with deep relaxation and are considered the gateway to our creativity

· Theta waves (between 4-7 HZ) are associated with the twilight state that we experience fleetingly as we drift off to sleep and are strongly linked with creativity and intuition.

· Delta waves (between 0-4 HZ.) are associated with deep sleep.

As we slow the brainwave patterns from beta to alpha to theta to delta, there is a corresponding increase in balance or synchronization between the two hemispheres of the brain. Scientists have noted that these slower brainwave patterns are accompanied by deep tranquillity, flashes of creative insight, euphoria, intensely focused attention, and enhanced learning abilities.
Several audio programs are available that make it easy to control brainwave activity. The programs work by using a series of tones at precise frequencies to induce the desired brainwave activity. The tones are masked by soothing classical music or natural rainfall sounds. Many of these programs use a “binaural beat” where different frequencies are delivered to each ear.

When listened to using headphones, the two hemispheres of the brain work together to integrate the two sounds & guide the brain into specific frequency patterns.

These synchronized brainwaves have long been associated with meditative states. The reason that binaural beats work to induce these states of consciousness has to do with the physiology of the brain. Each hemisphere of the brain has its own sound-processing center that receives signals from each ear. When a binaural beat is presented to both ears, it causes an increase in the communication between the two hemispheres until the brain synchronizes the different frequencies into one.

Binaural beats that are embedded in music or background sounds can be used to enhance creativity and intuition as well as for related applications such as promoting relaxation, meditation, stress reduction, super learning, telepathy, out-of-body experience and lucid dreaming. The binaural beats can also be used with positive affirmations and visualization techniques to increase their effect.

The response to binaural beat stimulation may differ between people. For instance, its effectiveness can depend on the person’s ability to relax and focus their attention. However, this resistance can often be overcome by practices such as humming, breathing exercises, and biofeedback techniques.

A highly regarded binaural beat program is the Insight CD which provides great value at approximately $35 for the basic program (compared to hundreds of dollars for some other programs). An even better value is the combined Insight CD and Focus 2-CD set for about $48.

The additional Focus CDs promote different brainwave activity levels for different applications such as brainstorming, working on the computer or exercising in order to enhance concentration, clarity and problem-solving skills.

http://www.creativityboosters.com

David Allen is an award-winning inventor with a strong interest in simple and practical methods to enhance creative thinking. Visit http://www.creativityboosters.com for more easy ways to increase your creativity.

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Creative Thinking versus Critical Thinking

The process of creative thinking is often, mistakenly, intertwined with critical thinking. There is a tendency to write and edit simultaneously, couple hypothesis generation and evaluation, combine problem identification with solution.

To increase effectiveness, one should first apply creative thought, which is meant to be daring, uninhibited, free-spirited, imaginative, unpredictable, and revolutionary. The trick is to ignore content and maximise the size and richness of the idea pool.

Second, critical thinking is exercised to achieve applied creativity. This is reductive, logical, focused, conservative, practical and feasible. During this stage, the idea pool is reduced to achievable, appropriate ideas.

Now onto the Idea Pool itself:

Maximising the size and richness of the idea pool is a conscious process that has a lot in common with a) lateral thinking and b) the elicitation of tacit knowledge. It is the pre-critical thinking phase and some elements include:

a) Coming up with ideas for the sake of generating ideas.
b) Using a variety of stimuli and frameworks to open up as many pathways as possible.
c) Not having a conscious direction.
d) Not stopping when a goal seems fulfilled.
e) Consciously stimulating change in direction.

In short, the key principle is to produce first and scrutinize second – writing and rewriting are two separate processes. This applies across the board, from business problem solving to arts such as screenwriting. The more people try to understand meaning, the less they produce.

Kal Bishop, MBA, http://www.managing-creativity.com

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK and founder of http://www.managing-creativity.com. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led improv workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. Kal regularly conducts workshops and presentations in London and can be reached via kalB@managing-creativity.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Top Ten Brainjuicers For Creative Thinking

By: Linda Naiman

In order to enhance your creativity, your body and mind should be operating at peak efficiency. Try these brainjuicers to boost your brain power.

1. Make sure you exercise.
Exercise juices up the brain with nutrients in the form of glucose. The more glucose it uses, the more active the brain. It increases oxygen in the bloodstream that is delivered to the brain, releases endorphins into the bloodstream (the runner's high) and increases nerve connections to the brain.

2. Use rhythmic activities to give your brain a chance to incubate.
Any rhythmic activity such as running, walking, swimming, scrubbing, chopping quiets mindful chatter, allowing your imagination to flow. Einstein got so many ideas while showering he installed waterproof material to record his ideas.

3. Listen to music, especially music from Mozart's era.
Music forges new neural pathways that stimulate your creativity. Research shows that music trains the brain for higher forms of thinking. In a study at U.C. Irvine, researchers studied two groups of three year olds. One group studied piano and sang daily in chorus. The other group did not. In eight months the musical three year olds were adept puzzle masters. They scored 80% higher in spatial intelligence than the non musical group. (Newsweek Feb.19, 1996)

4. Try Aroma Therapy to activate your brain.
One day, as I was falling asleep, while listening to endless speeches at a conference, my brain suddenly perked up when I caught a whiff of lemon from someone's cologne. I immediately felt alert and found it much easier to pay attention to the presenter. I discovered aroma therapy really is useful and I have used it ever since revitalize or to relax.

Energizers include peppermint, cypress and lemon. Relaxants: ylang ylang, geranium and rose. A few drops of essential oils in your bath or in a diffuser will do the trick. You can also put a drop or two in a cotton ball or hanky and inhale. One caveat for the workplace; make sure no-one is allergic to the oils before you use them.

5. Eat foods high in Vitamin B.
Vitamin B is essential for brain power. Sources include peas, beans, liver, kidney, chicken and eggs.

6. Get your minerals.
Boron is essential for memory and attention. Sources include apples, pears and green leafy vegetables.

7. Instead of coffee breaks try gingko biloba and gotu kola herbal teas.
Gingko biloba and gotu kola increase blood flow to the brain. (Check with your doctor first before taking these herbs.)

8. Capture your daydreams.
Daydreaming is a way to incubate the components of a problem and uncover solutions. How can you apply the images and thoughts of your daydream to the project you are working on? How could the image be a metaphor? Can your daydream show you a new perspective?

9. Play with passion!
You can't do great work without personal fulfillment. When people are growing through learning and creativity, they are much more fulfilled and give 127% more to their work. Delight yourself and you delight the world. Remember what you loved to do as a child and bring the essence of that activity into your work. This is a clue to your genius; to your natural gifts and talents. da Vinci, Edison, Einstein and Picasso all loved to play and they loved to explore.

10. Build a brain trust.
Surround yourself with inspiring people from a wide variety of fields who encourage you and stimulate your creativity. Read magazines from a wide variety of fields. Make connections between people, places and things, to discover new business opportunities, and to find solutions to your problems.

There is a famous story about the inventor of Velcro, who happened to have an interest in botany. One day he was walking through a field, when he noticed burrs sticking to his socks. He wondered what made them stick and picked one up to examine its structure. Well you know what happened...

About the Author:
Linda Naiman is a Corporate Alchemist who uses the arts as a strategic tool to help organizations turn leaden thinking into gold. She provides training consulting and coaching focused on creativity leadership and innovation. She is co-author with Arthur VanGundy of "Orchestrating Collaboration at Work" (Wiley 2003) and publishes a popular newsletter on her website at www.creativityatwork.com. Linda can be contacted at 604-327-1565.
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