Meditacija i kreativnost / Meditation and Creativity

Meditation and creativity are closely connected: the creative process mirrors the meditative process, and meditation can serve as a creative technique to enhance creativity. The paper defines creativity and meditation, noting that meditation techniques fall into two groups—concentration meditations and mindfulness (vipassana) meditations. Special attention is given to higher states of consciousness or flow, the optimal state where cognitive functioning peaks. Skills for entering flow are developed through meditation. The conclusion holds that meditation directly improves one's ability to assess content quality, whether observing, using, or creating it. Although scientific studies are lacking, case studies of meditation masters indicate a clear link: regular meditators increase their creative abilities and output.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This paper is a pioneering attempt to draw attention to the connection between meditation and creativity. The author compares the creative process to the process of meditation. Meditation, just like the creative process, results in a piece of creative work, which informs us about the possibility of using meditation as a creative technique with the aim of improving our creativity. The first part of the paper defines the basic concepts: creativity and meditation. The paper goes on to inform us about the place that meditation takes in contemporary psychology. The author explains that various kinds of meditation techniques can be divided into two groups: concentration meditations and mindfulness (or vipassana) meditations. The paper gives special attention to higher states of consciousness or the so called flow that can be described as the optimal state of consciousness in which levels of cognitive functioning are at the maximum. There are also examples illustrating how the skills that help us get into the flow state are developed. The conclusion is that meditation directly increases one’s ability to assess the quality of the content one is dealing with, whether it is by observing, using or creating it. Although this area has not been the subject of scientific studies so far, based on some case studies (involving meditation masters), it can be confidently stated that there is a clear connection between meditation and creativity, meaning that people who meditate regularly are at the same time increasing their creative abilities and creative output.