Art is renowned for its relaxation abilities – helping people feel at one with their creativity, from picking up a paintbrush to relax to writing words down on paper to deconstruct thoughts and feelings. But, what about those whose job is to create art? For artistic individuals, the strain of not knowing what to produce, working to tight deadlines, and feeling unfulfilled can cause feelings of stress and tension to develop. Stress can negatively impact both the mind and body. So, minimizing stress can help creative individuals excel – expressing their art in the most beautiful ways.
Artists constantly strive to create new, unique work. It is vital artists identify ways to help keep them feeling at ease and as creative as possible.
Being mindful that creativity will not flow easily all of the time and looking to learn how to challenge your creative mind in the right ways – ensures that artists do not come down too hard on themselves. Instead, they understand how to optimize their creativity and increase it through new methods and channels.
Meditation can be an effective method for artists to channel their focus, notice their inner mind, and de-stress – increasing their creativity. Meditation focuses on your inner you. The thoughts and feelings that will essentially influence all that you create. Let’s take a look at how meditation matters when increasing your creativity as an artist.
Become more mindful
Often when people think of mindfulness, their initial reaction can be to believe it isn’t achievable. They wouldn’t be able to shut their mind off and think of nothing, too busy, too much to worry and think about – it would be a waste of their time. What people fail to realize is that mindfulness is the first step on the journey to improving creativity.
Mindfulness is the whole point of meditation, allowing you to connect your innermost thoughts and feelings and acknowledge them objectively without judgment. Often artists will doubt themselves and their ideas, worrying that they are perhaps not good enough or are too out there, that people won’t understand their work. Mindfulness can help you acknowledge thoughts as they come – accepting ideas as worthy and good enough and assisting you in deciphering how to be an artist.
Improve your attention span
We have all been there, trying desperately to think of creative ideas – something to write about, draw, play. But, no matter what we do, our mind keeps wandering elsewhere – what’s for dinner? Have I double booked myself this weekend? Did my boss like my idea? Our attention span will not cooperate, and when this happens, it can deter us from allowing our creativity to flow. Creative minds, in particular, can often fall victim to the restless mind (a short attention span).
Meditation helps us increase our attention – focussing only on the things that matter and consciously moving forward. By paying attention to details, finishing projects on time, and noticing little things that could help improve your work – you’re sure to see a rise in your creativity levels.
Increase your positivity
It is fair to assume that at some point in a person’s life, they will experience some challenging times – during these times, our creativity can dwindle. Instead of getting stuck in a downward spiraling rut – use meditation as a tool to pull you through the more challenging times in life.
You will gain more resilience and a more positive outlook on life, which will help you in your creative failures. Some of the best successes come after several failures. Learn how to find the good in these failures, work through them and come out bigger and stronger – your artwork will thank you.
How to practice meditation
Now that you understand the ways meditation can help increase your creativity, you are probably wondering – how do I incorporate this into my life?
Firstly, it is usually best to set aside some time for meditation in your day. Try opting for a time when you know your creativity tends to take a bit of a plummet – perhaps later in the afternoon or after dinner – whenever works for you, set aside a time and show up.
There is no amount of time set in stone that constitutes a ‘ good’ meditation session. Start small and build up the time you spend meditating as you get more comfortable and confident. Setting an achievable time goal will be more effective in ensuring you stick to your meditation practice.
Pick a place that you know you will be able to concentrate fully on your meditation. So, no loud noise, and try picking somewhere with some nice natural light that will help you focus with little distractions. Most importantly, make sure you’re comfortable, go to the toilet before, find a pillow to rest on, or perhaps lie on your bed. Nobody wants to suddenly become aware of how much they need the loo or that their back is aching mid meditation.
Once you are comfortable and ready to meditate, you can always try guided meditation if the thought of trying to meditate alone is still a little overwhelming. There are plenty of guided meditations on the internet, from videos to podcasts and even apps!
When used correctly, meditation can help you boost your creativity and grow as an artist – the potential of your art can be limitless with just a little inner focus.
https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/
https://pegfitzpatrick.com/striking-tendencies-creative-people/
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/resilience.htm
https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/best-time-to-meditate
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