In the Washington Post "Inspired Life" online section a few weeks ago, Brigid Schulte offered some suggestions (supposedly based on "neuroscience", but that part doesn't matter!) re things to do that might help one be more creative and insightful:

• Positive Mood - "... When you're in a somewhat negative mood, a little anxious, that actually improves analytical thought. Creativity flows from a state of feeling safe or secure. When you feel safe or secure, you can take risks. And creativity is intellectually risky. ..."
• Large Spaces - "... if you're in a large space — a big office, with high ceilings, or outside — your visual attention expands to fill the space, and your conceptual attention expands. That's why a lot of creative figures like to be outdoors, to take long walks in nature, and they get their inspiration from being in the wide, open spaces. If you can see far and wide, then you can think far and wide. ..."
• Avoid Sharp Objects - "... We've found that if you have striking objects, ones with sharp edges, pointy features, like a sofa with angular sides, or a letter opener that looks like a dagger, it can cause this subtle, unconscious feeling of threat. When that happens, attention narrows. So the ideal environment for being insightful would be large, airy spaces with soft, rounded features. ..."
• Colors of Nature - "... outdoor colors, like the blue of the sky or the green of the trees, has been associated with relaxation, expansion, which creates a feeling of safety, which helps the attention expand and increases creativity. ..."
• Take a Break - "... When you take a break from a problem that you're stuck on and do something completely different, you forget the bad idea that you were fixated on. It allows other ideas, better ideas, to bubble up to the surface. ..."
• Sleep - "... If you're stuck, take a nap, go to bed, you'll more thoroughly purge the bad idea you're stuck on, and you'll be more attuned to clues that might solve the problems. ..."
• Do Nothing - "... when you're consciously doing nothing, the conscious part is only a tiny part of what your brain is. The rest of it, the unconscious, is chugging away all the time. There's this process cognitive psychologists call 'incubation' — the brain churning over associations. And these associations can pop into awareness as insight. The incubation process is supercharged during sleep, and also when doing nothing, letting your mind wander and having no particular task to perform. ..."
• Take a Shower - "... the water is warm, you don't feel a boundary between your skin and the outside of your body. You feel sort of expansive. There's white noise in the background. What you see is kind of blurry, so you turn your thoughts inward, like sensory deprivation. It allows your mind to wander and your attention to broaden. ..."

Not bad — especially if one wants to be clean and well-rested while wrestling with a wicked problem!

(cf. Creativity Quotes, ...) - ^z - 2015-08-04