What I have found is that we tend to toss around concepts like "creativity" & "out of the box" thinking and yet we do so while in a box and that box is the mind.
Sit back for a bit and see if this makes as much sense to you as it does to me, if it just seems logical:
The Mind is the Box and we have to get out of it for true creativity, innovation and a different perspective to actually be possible.
Whether we are:
- seeking a new approach to an existing problem
- a resolution to some sort of conflict
- a previously untried approach to something
- a new product or service to offer the world
- a new way of navigating the complexities of life
Or just a new way of thinking about a troubled relationship or personal issue in your life - it all requires one to step outside our current way of looking at this, our current state of mind; it requires one to step outside the mind itself - the ultimate box! If you think logically what other box is there really?
The mind and our mindset about anything and everything is the box. So if this just makes so much sense right now and finds you nodding your head as I am doing in this moment - how do we get outside of this box? How do we get out of our minds? Awesome question!
Well, it requires an active tool or practice for this to become possible for us - otherwise we are essentially stuck in the box - the mind. It requires this now even more so as modern life & work just keeps getting busier and more complex.
Meditation is an active practice/tool that gets you out of the box - out of the mind.
If you truly want to change the way you look at things - change anything, you need to get out of this busy "non-stop" box of a mind that most of us are in almost all the time.
Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change - Wayne Dyer
If you want creative thinking, a new perspective on something or out of the box thinking to go from a nice concept to something tangible and real then one needs a tangible practice to get out of the mind - which is the box itself - I know I'm repeating this but I think it's worth repeating because I find we are not really "getting" this. We read about it somewhere, it makes sense to some extent but we are not necessarily integrating an active practice that helps us get out of the mind - the box!
I get so excited about this and it always blows me away at how simple and logical it really is and it's why it fuels my work with meditation and the mind.
Any practice that helps you step back and and step out of the busy mind is a practice of creativty and out of box thinking itself. Whether that is:
- a total retreat or removal from the busyness of daily life
- a walk in nature
- a meditation practice
It's why great authors, chefs and thinkers remove themselves to gain new insights and fresh ideas - it's not a nice to; it's essential especially as the world gets busier and busier. However we are not always and everyday able to remove ourselves so it's why more and more great minds and also great workplaces that have great minds integrate active practices like meditation and mindfulness as a way to train creativity and "out of box" thinking - it just makes sense.
What if in your next brain- storming zoom meeting, where everyone is hopping on with their minds already massively busy and full from the last 10 meetings and focused more on what's for dinner or how the commute home is gong to be, everyone just took 5 to 7 minutes, maybe 10 to actually to get "out of the box" - out of the mind?
Is it just me or doesn't this just make so much sense...to harness the power of the mind - one needs to get out of the mind - out of that box...
Hope this has inspired you today and maybe I'll see you on the seat or your next creative meeting...
Angela Kontgen
Meditation Coach & Creator
