Meditation and Creativity Dilemma

[EddyC]

Hey everyone,

My name's Eddy and I'm a 20 year old stand-up comedian from Washington D.C. 

I've been meditating for about 6 months now and it has done wonders in terms of quieting my "monkey mind." This was great for lessening my stage anxiety.

Although, I can't help feeling that my "monkey mind" plays a significant role in the formulation of spontaneous creative ideas, and now that my mind is becoming more and more quiet, creative ideas are surfacing less and less.

But I have heard from many of my idols, including Leo, that meditation is supposed to have the effect of strengthening creativity. 

I was hoping I could get some input from fellow writers (or any creative individuals) that have tried meditation, and that you all could tell me if you think meditation has either strengthened or inhibited your ability to think creatively.

Thanks!

-Eddy

[Victor Mgazi]

@EddyC this probably depends on what type of mediation you are practicing. 

For me, raising consciousness is the aim of silencing the mind. This has helped me to become more observant, not only as a writer but as an individual in whole. So now I'm more aware of the stories that surround me and I get more ideas from my environment. 

Safe to say that this has helped me with creativity. 

[cirkussmile]

Don't take this as Truth, explore this for yourself BUT!

I heard that some stand up comedians quit meditation because of this reason

[Nahm]

@EddyC Spend some time with spiral dynamics and maybe writes jokes rooted in the perceived differences. 

[Bill Eichman]

You can have both. 

The power of attention is the key.

If I were you, at your age, I would probably use two things. The first would be to pick a physical context in which you tell yourself "This is the place and time for my minds to twist back up into funny mode and create jokes and work on my performance. In this place I intentionally go wild." 

The second would be to use some memory triggers to help anchor the ability to open and close that type of creativity at will. A chant, mantra, or triggering keywords, a physical movement (think yoga - but active, or martial arts. Maybe something like what you do to greet the crowd? Or something with elements like what you do to meet the crowd.  but also distinctly different. I have done similar things. They worked for me. After a while you will find you've built a new attention infrastructure, and you won't need any of those aids anymore, you will just have the ability to move back and forth.

Like Victor says, the type of meditation you are practicing has an effect on such things. 

And, the longer you practice ANY kind of mediation. the stronger it's side effects and additional effects become. This works a lot like physical exercise. You become stronger in general in terms of the functions of mind and attention. That general increase of strength has many wonderful effects, and by itself would probably solve many of the issues you describe, or at least improve them.  

[lmfao]

@EddyC

8 hours ago, EddyC said:

Although, I can't help feeling that my "monkey mind" plays a significant role in the formulation of spontaneous creative ideas, and now that my mind is becoming more and more quiet, creative ideas are surfacing less and less.

But I have heard from many of my idols, including Leo, that meditation is supposed to have the effect of strengthening creativity. 

For me personally, meditation has made me more creative and spontaneous. Reading and trying to prove formulas for myself when studying maths and physics is creativity for me. After meditating my thinking is a lot more sharper, and although I can't exactly explain how, I get the feeling that my intuition for the subjects I'm studying is greatly strengthened. 

There have been times however where I think that meditation has had the effect of shedding away my old personality and habits to a degree, and I become a blank person who is boring to talk to, because I don't feel the need to say anything. I just want to enjoy the present moment and do my own thing alone. But perhaps this is just me being an introvert. 

[dorg]

@EddyC Further to what Victor and Nahm have said, meditation has helped me see that 'where I am' is only a self created position, and this is the same for everyone.

Hence all the 'situations' we have created in this world are of our own making; and I see that comedians are in a good position to 'point out' the ludicrousness of 'what we have been, and still are' creating. I mean why create horror and unpleasantness when it is just as easy, and much more pleasant to create enjoyment? There are endless creative possibilities here.

[tsuki]

@EddyC There is no creativity unless you express it.
There are lessons to be learned from the still mind, but the still mind is not the end of the journey.
The mere fact that you can learn without thoughts is a very profound lesson.

Once you understand that, there is no point in stilling the mind any further.