The creative mind Series

What happens in the Brain?

As instructors what should we know about the brain? Why? Simply because it will give you insights about the people you wish to help. Some of the people you help might have brain injuries for example or it may be they have a disorder. The brain is a unique “thing” and that is where the mind is. The brain communicates with the rest of the body telling it what it needs to know. When we are being creative it is working away behind the scene. How? Let’s explore some of what happens.

My reference source at this time is “Creating Mind, How the mind works” by John E Dowling. My goal is to understand how the brain works, and how it applies to creativity. It applies to the actions we take, These include the five senses.

Movement is key to creating, as is developing abstract ideas meaning the putting together of complex ideas and carrying them out. Making choices of materials. Understanding language and having dialog is key to being creative.

Understanding what happens in the brain then? It’s very interesting, and when we understand it we understand our uniqueness, this is miraculous,____that cells do what they do and neurons do what they do____amazing! The mind has the potential to heal depending on where it is damaged.

What is wonderful about Shibui is that it requires focus to problem-solve its creativity. This means the persons applying the techniques finesse their abilities to stay focused to solve the foundation. Their brain is being triggered by what it sees, and it calls upon what is familiar to it by calling up color and shape clues. Shibui uses imagination. It is also built upon, the more data we file away the more the mind will predict what we want. This helps people stay in their pleasure center. The pleasure center is where healing begins. The thoughts of the mind change, the body reacts, and lets go of the things like anxiety, depression____ When these happen the neuron send out a very different message than the ones it sends when someone is happy with what they are doing. Changing the subject on the self does help.

Today’s tidbit about the brain from John E Dowling’s book? “We are aware of many activities the brain controls; walking, talking, laughing, doing art, writing! The brain initiates these activities and also controls and regulates them.” But as we move through the day we are not likely to think abort this. Can you imagine a day where you tell yourself how to do everything? People who have brain damage may need to think of such things so they can function, and until they relearn the activity so well it happens in that seamless way.

The brain uses regulation when it comes to the heart and vascular system running as it should, it ensures we breathe, and that we can digest foods. We need to function as human beings to be creative. The big question is how can we help other people become creative, hold their attention so their minds become in tune with something that will leak over into helping them in other ways? How can life feel worthwhile and interesting through a creative process?

Shibui adapts to craft-like venues where objects can be attached to it. Words can be written as a part of its creation. opaque mediums can be applied. Shapes made can be cut out and glued.

If a child has Autism he may not like getting wet. It may be that the action art part of creating a Shibui might help him or her get past wet things. Success can happen if someone loves cutting and pasting. The resulting action art can be turned into something more. Something the brain will remember and store, then bring out in some unique way. It is how can I marry this to someone’s needs.

In my drawing class, the professor talked about and taught us to train our hands, and eyes (the brain) to work together through trusting what we were doing. The process improved. We did what were called contour drawings. The idea was to not focus on what the hand was doing but on the paper and trust the eye to follow the edge of what you looked at, and the hand to record it on the paper. It improved the more I stayed with it.

The more a Shibui student stays with finding the edges of what is found, he or she will find these much quicker. The mind will become trained to puzzle out a shape, and how to follow the edge of the wet medium action art, as well as to see finer usable lines within the initial shape. For example. When I find a flower I find its center, and then work the out edge. I can create pedals, sometimes the foundations help as there are fine lines within the initial object (the flower) I have found. Whatever those fine lines are I will work them until I need to do intentional work.

John E. Dowling writes, “Of most interest, and most mysterious, are mental functions referred to as the mind. Feelings. Emotions, awareness, understanding, and creativity are well-known aspects of the mind. Are they created in and by the brain?” The answer is yes!