Realizations Inc

Achievement

In order to achieve anything, you must first decide it is possible—that you are capable of it. (Dodd, Ray. The Power of Belief. VA: Hampton Roads Pub. Co. Inc., 2003, p 88)

Age

Describes (and provides examples) of creativity not being diminished by aging. In many cases, just the opposite. (Dychtwald, Ken, PhD, and Joe Flower. Age Wave. NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1989, pp 90-110)

Artistic

Characteristics of the creative personality type (e.g., energy, independence, intuition, persistence) are similar to those revealed in a study of art history (e.g., change, pre-occupation, experimentation, fascination for the mysterious). (Henrickson, Paul, and E. Paul Torrance. School Discipline and the Creative Personality. See website.)

Attitude

Study: the single common denominator was that creative people thought they were creative. (Greenwood-Robinson, Maggie, PhD. 20 / 20 Thinking. NY: Avery, Putnam Special Markets, 2003, p 368)

Basic Element

Creativity in almost any arena can involve a new idea, a new bridge between ideas, or a combination of both. (Gordon, Barry, MD, PhD, and Lisa Berger. Intelligent Memory. NY: Penguin Group, 2003, pp 158-160)

Big Five Personality Factors

The biological basis of creativity likely involves a composite of at least three of the factors (explorer, challenger, and flexible) that comprise the Big Five personality factors. (Howard, Pierce J., PhD. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain. GA: Bard Press, 2000, pp 411-442, 599)

Boosts to Creativity

Einstein developed some of his best creative ideas when doing other things such as walking, holding a conversation, or daydreaming (e.g., imagining what it might feel like to ride a beam of light and look back at a clock). (Cooper, Robert K., PhD., and Ayman Sawaf. Executive EQ. NY: Grosset-Putnam, 1997, pp 19-20)

Blocks to Creativity

Outlines more than a dozen factors that may be “obstacles to creativity” (e.g., an overly critical nature, fear). (Howard, Pierce J., PhD. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain. GA: Bard Press, 2000, pp 616-618)

Mof our educational system tries to teach students the right answer. However, most people stop searching if they think there is only one correct answer to a problem. (von Oech, Roger. A Whack on the Side of the Head. CA: Creative Think, 1983, 1992, pp 20-164)

Brain

The brain is the most variable and rapidly evolving of all human organs. Its variability must be divined, however, through unique expressions of intelligence, sensitivity, skills, and creativity. (Schramm, Derek D., PhD. The Creative Brain. P 3-5. CA: Institute for Natural Resources, Health Update. 2007.)

Results from interactions between the emotional brain, and the temporal lobes and right hemisphere of the neocortex. (Pearce, Joseph Chilton. The Biology of Transcendence. VT: Park Street Press, 2002, pp 30-32)

Brainstorming and creativity are compatible brain functions. Brainstorming is a subsidiary of creativity. (Levine, Mel, MD. A Mind at a Time. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2002, pp 211-213)

Brain Quadrants

The four phases of Graham Wallas’ creative process can be correlated with use of the four cerebral quadrants of the brain. (Herrmann, Ned. The Creative Brain. NC: The Ned Herrmann Group, 1989, 1993, pp 191-192)

Brainstorm

Brainstorming is an activity that often makes liberal use of creative thinking in order to (starting with little or nothing) generate a product or a collection of insights. (Levine, Mel, MD. A Mind at a Time. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2002, pp 211-213)

Brainstorming can speed creative thinking about a specific problem. List playful/weird ideas, avoid censoring, select best 2-3, and evaluate. (Siebert, Al, PhD. The Survivor Personality. NY: A Perigee Book, 1996, pp 68-70)

Brain Wiring

Brains that are more feminine in differentiation are more likely to evidence significant musical, creative, and artistic talents. They tend to use intuition in decision-making. Some brains have no bias toward either male or female styles of thinking. They often have increased flexibility in thinking. (Pease, Barbara and Allan. Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps. NY: Broadway Books, 1998, pp 65-70)

Business

Studies on the subject of business creativity: any individual with average intelligence can be creative. It is a function of:

Experience, knowledge, and technical skills

• Talent
• Unconventional thinking
• Confidence to persist when new ideas remain elusive

(Breen, Bill. The 6 Myths of Creativity. 89:75. Fast Company. 2004.)

Components

Novelty and intelligence are essential components of creativity and they must coexist appropriately. Basic intelligence is needed to generate novel ideas; higher intelligence is required to analyze the novel ideas in detail. Wisdom (often considered the balance between creativity and intelligence) is needed to evaluate appropriateness of the novel idea and to discover a previously unrecognized relationship between objects or ideas. (Schramm, Derek D., PhD. The Creative Brain. P 3-5. CA:Institute for Natural Resources, Health Update. 2007.)

Describes three necessary components: domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant skills, and task motivation. Two prerequisites determine our level of creative performance: experience and personality traits. (Howard, Pierce J., PhD. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain. GA: Bard Press, 2000, pp 595-596)

Control

You only have control over: where you put your attention and the decisions you make about what happens to you or around you. (Dodd, Ray. The Power of Belief. VA: Hampton Roads Pub. Co. Inc., 2003, pp 97-98)

Creative Self Model

The Creative Self Model describes the four brain quadrants and embrace the major components of whole brained creativity. Provides many practical applications. (Herrmann, Ned. The Whole Brain Business Book. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1996, pp 222-248)

Creativity and Operations

Discusses how achieve a balance between creativity and an emphasis on business operations. Explains creativity in the context of cerebral brain preference. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind. TX: KBA Publishing 2000, pp 319-326)

Definition

The ability to use old programs in fresh combinations forms the basis of creativity. (Hart, Leslie A. Human Brain and Human Learning. NY: Longman Inc., 1983, p 100)

Creativity is not necessarily making something new. It may rather involve a reshuffling of existing facts and ideas. (Dossey, Larry, MD. Healing Beyond the Body. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2001, pp 143-149)

The ability to invent, or generate, or to approach problems in any field from a fresh perspective. (Healy, Jane M., PhD. Your Child’s Growing Mind. NY: Doubleday, 1987, 1989, pp 324-325)

Creativity is a way of seeing things not perceived before. He compares it to holding an idea or problem up to the light and slowly turning it, like a multifaceted diamond, and letting a shaft of light hit it differently each time. (Farmer, Richard Allen. It Won’t Fly if You Don’t Try. MD: Review and Herald Graphics, 1996, pp 85-94)

Portions of your brain continually make Creativity occurs along a continuum and is a necessary component of prediction. It ranges from simple everyday acts of perception occurring in sensory regions (e.g., hearing a song in a new key) to rare acts of genius (e.g., composing a symphony in a new way). (Hawkins, Jeff, with Sandra Blakeslee. On Intelligence. NY:Owl Books, 2004, pp 88-89)

Descriptions

Creative thinking involves coming up with new ideas and giving up outdated ones, as well. Creative individuals tend to look at the same thing as others might, but perceive the thing differently. (von Oech, Roger. A Whack on the Side of the Head. CA: Creative Think, 1983, 1992, pp 6-8)

Cellular Memory

Refer to Cellular Memory for additional information.

Divergent Thinking

Divergent thinking (e.g., ability to deviate from one or more societal, cultural, or artistic norms) is an integral part of the creative process. This involves the ability to formulate alternative solutions by activating anatomically distinct representational networks that store different types of knowledge. (Schramm, Derek D., PhD. The Creative Brain. P 4-6. CA:Institute for Natural Resources, Health Update. 2007.)

Downshifing

Refer to Downshifting and the Brain for additional information.

Creativity can be negatively impacted when the brain is in a downshifted state. (Caine, Renate Nummela, and Geoffrey Caine. Making Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain. VA: ASCD, 1991, pp 71-73)

Definition: the psychophysiological response to threat, accompanied by a sense of helplessness or fatigue. Downshifting is everywhere in schools. Some memorization can occur when the brain is in a downshifted state but real learning (e.g., creativity, higher-order learning) is incompatible with a downshifted state. (Poole, Carolyn. Maximizing Learning: A Conversation with Renate Nummela Caine. Educational Leadership, Vol 54, No 6 March 1997. Article.)

Dreams

Strong emotions that are not processed thoroughly are stored at the cellular level. At night stored information is released into consciousness as a dream. Re-experiencing the emotions through dreaming can be healing (e.g., integrate the information for growth, take actions to forgive and let go). (Pert, Candace, PhD. Molecules of Emotion. NY: Scribner, 1997, p 290)

Inspiration from dreams can enhance one’s creativity. (Fontana, David, PhD. Teach Yourself to Dream. CA: Chronicle Books, 1997, pp 34-35, 58-59)

Emotions

Refer to Emotions and Feelings for additional information.

Strong feelings of fear can kill ideas. Feelings of fear can be generated by criticism, ridicule or failure, yelling bosses, etc. (Cooper, Robert K., PhD., and Ayman Sawaf. Executive EQ. NY: Grosset/Putnam, 1997, pp 34-35)

Encouragement

Creativity thrives in an atmosphere of encouragement but shrivels up under environments filled with faultfinding and criticism. (Greenwood-Robinson, Maggie, PhD. 20 / 20 Thinking. NY: Avery, Putnam Special Markets, 2003, p 368)

Enhancing Creativity

Offers suggestions for enhancing creativity (e.g., playfully change your perceptions, look beyond the obvious interpretations). (Restak, Richard, MD. Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot. NY: Harmony Books, 2001, pp 179-182)

Enhancing Personal Creativity

Summarizes steps to develop creativity in oneself and others (taken from Csikszentmihalyi’s 1996 book Creativity). Steps include: try to be surprised by something every day and try to surprise at least one other individual every day. (Howard, Pierce J., PhD. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain. GA: Bard Press, 2000, p 615)

Enhancing Skills

Mastering some specific skills can make a huge difference in one’s ability to be creative (e.g., laying groundwork, visualizing a metaphor, allowing ideas to germinate and emerge without judgment until they have been captured in their entirety). (Herrmann, Ned. The Creative Brain. NC: The Ned Herrmann Group, 1989, 1993, pp 275-279)

Exercise

Individuals who are aerobically fit may also have an intellectual edge. Exercise can improve creativity, concentration, and problem-solving abilities. (Bricklin, Mark, et al. Positive Living and Health. PA: Rodale Press, 1990, pp 25-26)

Expectations

Study: teacher who was told she had a class of gifted children, when in fact she had an ordinary class. She tried hard to challenge her students. They scored higher than average on the same tests that had previously classified them as mediocre. They performed to her expectations. (von Oech, Roger. A Whack on the Side of the Head. CA: Creative Think, 1983, 1992, pp 160-161)

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation has harmful effects on creativity. Eventually people begin to perform a given skill only when reward possibilities continue to be presented. Consistently, internal motivators yield higher performance than external motivators. (Howard, Pierce J., PhD. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain. GA:Bard Press, 2000, pp 656-659, 745)

Fantasy

Fantasizing is something that everybody does but relative few people use. Creative adults learn how to use fantasy as a tool and how to control their imagination so that it works for them. (Williams, Linda. Teaching for the Two-Sided Mind. CA: Touchstone Books: 1986, pp 116-118)

Fatigue Factor

Fatigued diminished creativity. Individuals who are tired tend to make errors, accomplish less, do things the long way, and miss seeing efficient shortcuts. (Cooper, Robert K., PhD., and Ayman Sawaf. Executive EQ. NY: Grosset/Putnam 1997, p 27)

Food

Refer to Care of the Brain and Nutrition and the Brain for additional information.

Forms

Contemporary creativity is regarded by some as the exclusive province of the artistic. Creativity is also manifested, however, in ordinary forms (e.g., improvising in the course of an everyday activity). (Dickhut, Johanna E. A Brief Review of Creativity. (Accessed 2007.)

Foster Creativity

Suggests that we can improve our own creativity by taking full advantage of our own brain’s unique functioning. Gives examples, including shifting attention from one hemisphere to the other. (Restak, Richard, MD. Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot. NY: Harmony Books, 2001, pp 90-93)

Gender

The only differences in creative ability are that women tend to excel in verbal areas and men in spatial. (Stump, Jane Barr, PhD. What’s the Difference? NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1985, p 55)

Genius

Describes truly creative geniuses as people who have a passion to create a unique vision of reality and share it with the world. They usually have a tremendous capacity for absorption, concentration, and omnivalence. (Miller, Lawrence, PhD. Inner Natures. Brain, Self & Personality. NY: Ballantine Books, 1990, pp 270-290)

Hemispheres

Creativity has not only made the human race unique in nature; what is more important for the individual, it gives value and purpose to human existence. Creativity requires more than technical skills and logical thought; it also needs the cultivation and collaboration of the appositional (right hemispheric specific processes) mind. Having two modes of thought so segregated is advantageous, depending on the extent to which the corpus callosum mediates the ideational, as well as the sensory-motor gap between the two sides of the brain. Put differently, possession of two independent problem-solving organs increases the prospects of a successful solution to a novel situation although it has the hazard of conflict in the event of different solutions. (Bogen, Joseph, Dr., and Glenda Bogen, The Other Side of the Brain III: The Corpus Callosum and Creativity.)

Humor

States that humor and the creative process are very similar. People who have a good sense of humor are generally more creative, even when approaching life’s problems. (Hafen, Brent Q., et al. Mind/Body Health. MA: Simon & Schuster, 1996, pp 541-550)

Ideas

Describes where and how to find ideas that will feed your creativity machine and keep it running. Lists five favorites: newspapers, magazines, and books; nature; children; hobbies; observation. (Farmer, Richard Allen. It Won’t Fly if You Don’t Try. MD: Review and Herald Graphics, 1996, pp 85-94)

Imagination

The generalized female brain with prefrontal cortex differences and more integrated functions, tends to excel at envisioning future outcomes in innovative ways. (Fisher, Helen. The First Sex. NY: Random House, 1999, pp 22-24)

An active imagination is usually well developed in people who are survivors. It can bridge the conscious and subconscious minds. (Siebert, Al, PhD. The Survivor Personality. NY: A Perigee Book, 1996, pp 68-70)

Intelligent Memory

The same intelligent memory actions that are used to solve problems can also generate creative ideas (e.g., finding new connections). Creative, artistic thinking is usually open-ended. (Gordon, Barry, MD, PhD, and Lisa Berger. Intelligent Memory. NY: Penguin Group, 2003, pp Xiv, 46, 158)

Intuition

Intuition is a quick and ready insight. It involves attaining to direct knowledge or cognition with the evidence of rational thought and inference. (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. MA: Merriam-Webster Inc, 1993, p 615)

Intuition is a perception that is outside typical physical senses, a natural human ability, and a key dimension of both creativity and inspiration. It is closely tied to emotional intelligence. Intuition fuels When highly developed it tends to flow. The person doesn’t have to turn it on, per se. (Cooper, Robert K., PhD., and Ayman Sawaf. Executive EQ. NY: Grosset/Putnam 1997, pp 42-43, 209-214)

Jokes

Suggests that creative problem solving can be jump-started by telling the person a joke. (Goleman, Daniel, PhD. Emotional Intelligence. NY: Bantam Books, 1995, pp 84-86)

Jump-start Using Senses

Provides suggestions for ways to increase awareness of surroundings (e.g., If auditory, open or close ears; if visual close eyes and create images in your head, or concentrate on specifics in the environment). (Greenwood-Robinson, Maggie, PhD. 20 / 20 Thinking. NY: Avery, Putnam Special Markets, 2003, pp 144-145)

Keys to Creativity

It is important to understand the creative process and its component stages, to know what blocks each brain quadrant at each stage. It is possible to heighten one’s own creative awareness by choice. (Herrmann, Ned. The Creative Brain. NC: The Ned Herrmann Group, 1989, 1993, pp 184-185)

Laughter

Refer to Laughter and the Brain for additional information.

Laughter can increase one’s ability to be creative. (Dossey, Larry, MD. Healing Beyond the Body. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2001, p 143)

Studies: after viewing funny movies people were able to consider problems in new creative ways, and tended to find solutions with more innovation and ingenuity. (Ornstein, Robert, PhD, and David Sobel, MD. Health Pleasures. NY: Addison-Wesley, 1989, pp 218-220)

Leisure

Some people are consciously making more time for creative leisure. (Fisher, Helen, PhD. The First Sex. NY: Random House, 1999, pp 102-103)

Left-handedness

Individuals with left-handed preference have a bias toward using the creative right hemisphere. There are a disproportionate number of left-handers among creative innovators and artistic geniuses. (Pease, Barbara and Allan. Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps. NY: Broadway Books, 1998, pp 46-47)

Life

You create every day even if you aren’t doing anything “artistic.” Actions, objects, words, gestures—anything you influence by your choices is part of your creation. (Beck, Martha, PhD. The Joy Diet. NY: Crown Publishers, 2003, pp 68-70)

Magic Tricks

Magic works because the human brain has a hardwired process of attention and awareness "that is hackable." Magicians can hack your brain. At any given moment, most people are blocking out about 95% of what is going on around them.  During a visual illusion, you may see something that isn't there, not see something that is, or see something that differs from what is there. Your brain's pereceptions contradict the physicial properties of what you see. (Macknik, Stephen L. PhD and Susana Martinez-Conde PhD. Sleights of Mind. P 6-10. NY:Henry Holt and Company, 2010.)

MBAs, CPAs, and the Business Community

Outlines natural cerebral mode preferences for individuals who control financial problem solving, analysis, and decision-making in the business community. Includes profile examples of individuals who are creative entrepreneurs. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind. TX: KBA Publishing 2000, pp 91-103)

MBAs versus the Creatives

There are huge differences between the way the business community thinks versus the creative community -- and the different types of work that energize each. Provides examples of how each utilizes different portions of the brain. (Herrmann, Ned. The Whole Brain Business Book. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1996, pp 301-313)

Meditation

Meditation can be utilized as a tool to help one reach his/her innate creativity. (Bricklin, Mark, Mark Golin, et al. Positive Living and Health. PA: Rodale Press, 1990, p 376)

Memory

See Memory and the Brain for additional information.

Memory, Intelligent

Discusses ordinary memory versus intelligent memory, which can be improved by experience and strengthened with age. It can help one to solve problem, achieve insights, and think creatively. (Gordon, Barry, MD, PhD, and Lisa Berger. Intelligent Memory. NY: Penguin Group, 2003, pp xi-xiv)

Mental Imagery

The brain creates its own nonverbal imagery (e.g., sees without external visual input) through the "mind's eye.” (Givens, David B. Human Brain. Center for Nonverbal Studies. 1998-2005. Article.)

Mental Picturing

Watching television and videos tends to encourage mental passivity. The brain passively pictures what another brain has created. Listening to stories can do the opposite as the brain actively creates in the listener’s mind’s eye. (Diamond, Marian, PhD, and Janet Hopson. Magic Trees of the Mind. NY: Dutton, 1998, pp 216-223)

Mind

Your creative ability has in origins in your unseen mind. You can form a thought or picture. Mental-picturing power is in the energy of attraction that is part of all creative processes. (Dyer, Wayne, PhD. Manifest Your Destiny. NY: HarperPaperbacks, 1997, pp 12-13, 72-74)

Multiple Potential

Describes characteristics of creative individual (e.g., interested in many things, may have difficulty staying on track, sense of humor). (Dossey, Larry, MD. Healing Beyond the Body. Boston: Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2001, pp 143-149)

Music

Discusses the use of music as a means of sharpening one’s creativity. (Restak, Richard, MD. Mozart’s Brain and the Fighter Pilot. NY: Harmony Books, 2001, pp 179-182)

Playing a musical instrument exercises coordination between eye and hand. It stimulates both the creative and logical parts of the brain and requires them to interact. (Bricklin, Mark, et al. Positive Living and Health. PA: Rodale Press, 1990, p 402)

Myths of Creativity

Exposes several myths and states that three things are clear: All humans are capable of being creative; it’s not necessary to be a genius to be creative; and creativity can be re-accessed, stimulated, and developed. (Herrmann, Ned. The Creative Brain. NC: The Ned Herrmann Group, 1989, 1993, pp 182-184)

Neurotransmitters

Studies: Alterations of norepinephrine and other neurotransmitters may affect the creative process. The minds of exceptionally creative people may be capable of regulating norepinephrine – to decrease levels during periods of creative innovation and pave the way for discovery of unanticipated associations. High levels of norepinephrine constrict the diversity of available concepts; low levels have the opposite effect. (Heilman, K. M. Creative Innovation: Possible Brain Mechanisms. 9(5):369-379. Neurocase. 2003.)

Studies: people involved in creative activities tend to have a greater incidence of psychopathology (e.g., mood disorders, bipolarity, major depressive disorder) as compared with the general population. (Fairweather, Elizabeth. Creativity and Bipolarity. Accessed 2007.)

Nine-Point Plan

Presents a 9-point plan to stimulate and nurture creative thinking. (Greenwood-Robinson, Maggie, PhD. 20 / 20 Thinking. NY: Avery, Putnam Special Markets, 2003, pp 364-369)

Novel Experiences

Dopamine levels increase in the brain during novel experiences, which can also increase testosterone levels. (Fisher, Helen. Why We Love. NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2004, pp 84-85)

Novelty

Novelty helps to keep the brain challenged and stimulated. Exposure to novelty typically activates the dopamine pathways that are involved with reward areas in the brain. Resulting brain activity can result in new connections between concurrently active neurons. (Quartz, Steven R. PhD and Terrence J. Sejnowski PhD. Liars, Lovers, and Heroes. NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc, 2002, p 245)

Nutritional Neuroscience

Results of cutting-edge nutritional research worldwide in a new medical specialty has shown how nutrients, vitamins, supplements, and other lifestyle factors can be utilized to increase one’s brain power, including creativity. (Carper, Jean. Your Miracle Brain. NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 2000, p xix)

Painters and Magicians

It was painters, not scientists, who first figured out the rules of visual perspective and occlusion. Knowing these rules permitted painters to make pigments on a flat canvas appear like a beautiful landscape, rich in depth. Magicians are just a different type of artist. Instead of using color and form, they manipulate the brain’s attention and cognition. (Macknik, Stephen L. PhD and Susana Martinez-Conde PhD. Sleights of Mind. P 4-6. NY:Henry Holt and Company, 2010.)

Persistence

Emphasizes the importance of persistence in creativity. Tells the story of two frogs that fell into a vat of cream… (von Oech, Roger. A Whack on the Side of the Head. CA: Creative Think, 1983, 1992, pp 182-183)

Play

Reports on studies that showed when adults have something to play with (e.g., something to do with their hands), their minds can come up with highly creative ideas. (Greenwood-Robinson, Maggie, PhD. 20 / 20 Thinking. NY: Avery, Putnam Special Markets, 2003, pp 368-369)

Predictions

Highly creative works of art are appreciated because they break or violate the predictions of the audience and creates a contradictory tension. Creativity involves mixing and matching patterns of everything you’ve ever experienced. (Hawkins, Jeff, with Sandra Blakeslee. On Intelligence. NY:Owl Books, 2004, pp 186-187)

Possibility

Those who say the glass is half empty are dealing with a mental abstraction of emptiness and lack. The optimist is describing a measure of physical reality, a substance that is actually in the glass. (Zander, Rosamund Stone, and Benjamin Zander. The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life. NY:Penguin (Non-Classisc), 2002.)

Problem Solving

Study: participants were better able to solve problems with ingenuity and innovation after viewing funny movies. (Ornstein, Robert, PhD, and David Sobel, MD. Healthy Pleasures. MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1989, pp 217-219)

Professor Contribution

Outlines characteristics of professors who inhibit creativity versus those who facilitate it in their students. (Howard, Pierce J., PhD. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain. GA: Bard Press, 2000, pp 612-613)

Psychopathology Connection

Studies: people involved in creative activities tend to have a greater incidence of psychopathology (e.g., mood disorders, bipolarity, major depressive disorder) as compared with the general population. (Fairweather, Elizabeth. Creativity and Bipolarity. Accessed 2007.)

Rewards

The Intrinsic Motivation Principle of Creativity: People will be most creative when they feel motivated primarily by the interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself, and not by external pressures or inducements. (Amabile, Teresa M. and Leslie A. Perlow. Time Pressure and Creativity: Why Time is Not on Your Side. Article.)

Right Hemisphere

The right hemisphere may be in closer touch with the emotional feeling centers in the limbic system. A positive emotional climate is essential for creativity. (Healy, Jane M., PhD. Your Child’s Growing Mind. NY: Doubleday, 1987, 1989, pp 335-336)

Rule of Nine

Successful people fail more (e.g., 90% of jokes written for successful comedians are discarded). (Beck, Martha, PhD. The Joy Diet. NY: Crown Publishers, 2003, pp 72-73)

Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s metaphors are “the paragon of creativity” (e.g., There’s daggers in men’s smiles, Love is smoke made with the fume of sighs). They are very hard to invent, which is one reason Shakespeare is regarded as a literary genius. (Hawkins, Jeff, with Sandra Blakeslee. On Intelligence. NY:Owl Books, 2004, pp 186-187)

Sixth Sense, Intuitive Flow

Intuitive flow is described as a sixth sense. The signs of flow include a feeling of spontaneous challenge and elation, and even, on occasion, rapture. People can choose to experience this state more often but most don’t. (Cooper, Robert K., PhD., and Ayman Sawaf. Executive EQ. NY: Grosset/Putnam 1997, pp 209-212)

Skill

Creativity is a developed skill. Use it or lose it. It is like any other skill. Practice or it atrophies. (Bricklin, Mark, Mark Golin, et al. Positive Living and Health. PA: Rodale Press, 1990, p 384)

Sleep Loss

A lack of sleep can decrease one’s concentration and block. (Tortora, Gerard J., and Sandra R. Grabowski. Principles of Anatomy and PhysiologyNY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2003, p 795)

Stages of Creativity

Outlines four stages of the creative process, according to Graham Wallas: preparation, incubation, inspiration, and evaluation. (Howard, Pierce J., PhD. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain. GA: Bard Press, 2000, pp 601-604)

Describes Graham Wallas’ four-stage process of creativity:

• Preparation
• Incubation
• Illumination
• Verification

(Herrmann, Ned. The Creative Brain. NC: The Ned Herrmann Group, 1989, 1993, pp 188-189)

Outlines four stages of creative problem solving: Preparation, Incubation, Illumination, and Verification. (Greenwood-Robinson, Maggie, PhD. 20 / 20 Thinking. NY: Avery, Putnam Special Markets, 2003, pp 366-368)

Four recognized stages of creativity include:

• Preparation (information is absorbed)
• Incubation (information coalesces)
• Illumination (a solution appears)
• Verification (solution is expressed)

(Schramm, Derek D., PhD. The Creative Brain. P 3-5. CA:Institute for Natural Resources, Health Update. 2007.)

Source of Creativity

The brain is the source of creativity. Multiple regions of the brain are involved, too. Not just one part, but all of it. (Herrmann, Ned. The Creative Brain. NC: The Ned Herrmann Group, 1989, 1993, pp 186-187)

Spiritual

Life is pure creative energy. Creativity is a spiritual experience: creativity leads to spirituality or spirituality leads to creativity. (Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way. NY: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1992, pp 1-3)

Stimulating Creativity

Summarizes several caveats related to creativity in young children (e.g., ability grouping benefits only higher-ability students, parents/teacher expectations significantly determine creativity, teachers tend to wrongly perceive boys as having the greatest variability in creativity, more information classrooms generate more creativity). (Howard, Pierce J., PhD. The Owner’s Manual for the Brain. GA: Bard Press, 2000, pp 612-614)

Stories

Stories help people make sense out of the world. In fact, people dream stories. They give life to past experience, help build intellect, enable one to grasp and retain information more easily, and can educate heart and mind. (Trelease, Jim. The Read-Aloud Handbook. NY: Penguin Books, Fifth Edition, 2001, pp 56-57)

The experience of stories can lead to the development of imagination that is utilized in a wide range of intellectual activities and required for all types of problem-solving. (Healy, Jane M., PhD. Endangered Minds. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1990, pp 92-93)

Studies: when children listened to stories (e.g., on radio and made pictures in their mind’s eye) they created more imaginative endings and details then when they watched stories on television/video. (Diamond, Marian, PhD, and Janet Hopson. Magic Trees of the Mind. NY: A Dutton Book 1998, pp 220-222)

Stress

Refer to Stress and the Brain for additional information.

Stanford studies: chronic stress can cause neurons to lose their dendritic branches and eventually die off completely with symptoms such as poor memory, fuzzy thinking, and lack of creativity. (Diamond, Marian, PhD, and Janet Hopson. Magic Trees of the Mind. NY: A Dutton Book 1998, pp 80-82)

Synchronicity

All layers of the brain (e.g., brain stem, limbic system, cortex) must be synchronized for the creative and artistic functioning of the human brain. (Source)

Synchronicity can be defined as the experience of two or more events, that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance, that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner. The concept of synchronicity was first described by Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung in the 1920s. (Source)

Jung reportedly coined the word synchronicity to describe what he called temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events. His theory of synchronicity may equal intellectual intuition. (Bishop, Paul (2000). Synchronicity and Intellectual Intuition in Kant, Swedenborg, and Jung. P 17-20, 59–62. The Edwin Mellen Press.)

Teamwork

Offers suggestions for maximizing the results that can be obtained through teamwork by utilizing mental diversity, and emphasizes the importance of the climate in which the team is expected to function. (Herrmann, Ned. The Whole Brain Business Book. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1996, pp 123-130)

Television Viewing

Creative imagination is called into play when the mind goes to work to solve a problem, make up an illustration, or create a drawing. TV Viewing can increase daydreaming and, simultaneously, decrease one’s creative imagination. (Nedley, Neil, MD. Proof Positive. Ardmore, OK: Quality Books, Inc. 1998, 1999, p 283)

3 D Illusions

Explains how the brain decodes 3D information that has been coded into repeating patterns by computer programs. Contains pages of 3D illusions. (N.E. Thing Enterprises. Magic Eye. KA: Andrews and McMeel, 1993, p 4)

Training

Everyone is creative and can enhance skills and talents (whatever the difference between brilliant and average brains). When problem-solving believe there is an answer and ponder for awhile. Then let your brain wander; do something else so your cortex will have the opportunity to find an analogous memory that may shed light on the current problem. (Hawkins, Jeff, with Sandra Blakeslee. On Intelligence. NY: Owl Books, 2004, pp 186-190)

Types

Polish researchers have identified four distinct types of creativity:

• Fluid – most common type, routinely displayed in a variety of situations and in the absence of specialized knowledge
• Crystallized – yields knowledge-based solutions
• Mature – the outcome of specific knowledge or expertise
• Eminent – Manifestations of eminent creativity, which are widely recognized and celebrated

(Kaufman James C., and Robert J. Sternberg, editors. The International Handbook of Creativity. NY: Cambridge University Press, 2006.)

Unconscious

A creative imagination stems largely from the unconscious. Gives examples of ways in which creativity can be stimulated. (Fontana, David, PhD. Teach Yourself to Dream. CA: Chronicle Books, 1997, pp 130-131)

Universal

Creativity is a talent that everyone shares to some extent although the activities that people usually acknowledge as creative are often very narrowly defined according to specific cultural prejudices. (Greenfield, Susan, Con. Ed. Brain Power. The Ivy Press Limited, 1999, p 114)

Visual Creative Artistry

The right hemisphere is more responsible for visual artistry than any other region in the brain. The left hemisphere constributes linguistic and symbolic influences. The term Parietal Paradox is used to describe the visual creativity often exhibited by patients whose progressive cognitive decline would be expected to rob them of the ability to express themselves in this manner. (Balzac, Fred. Sudden Emergence of Visual Creativity in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia. Accessed 2007.)

Visualizing - Imagining

Visualization is a process of actively forming pictures in the mind’s eye. It involves creating a mental picture and energizing it. Imagining something is virtually the same as perceiving it in the external world. (Graham, Helen. Discover Color Therapy. CA: Ulysses Press, 1998, pp 45-46)

Visualizing - Mental Imaging

Internal mental picturing can serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Winners see themselves as winning and losers generally give themselves an excuse to lose. Provides an example of now a competitive swimmer used the technique to be successful. (von Oech, Roger. A Whack on the Side of the Head. CA: Creative Think, 1983, 1992, pp 161-162)

Whole Brain Creative Process

Discusses the whole brain creative process in relation to the four modes of the cerebrum including the steps of interest, preparation, incubation, illumination, verification, and application. (Herrmann, Ned. The Whole Brain Business Book. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1996, p 216)