Can we learn to be creative?

This is a question often posed when I tell people what I teach. It implies that some of us are creative and others are not, which I dispute.

I believe that we are all creative in different ways. However it's possible to build creative muscle by regular practice.

Some choose mindfulness and a meditation practice to still the mind and promote more immediate responses to life, rather than conditioned behaviour based on thoughts of past and future.

Others practice a form of exercise that stimulates different pathways and a better sense of balance. Qi Gong shifts thinking and energy.

Creative writing is popular as a way of opening up the imagination. Some write non stop for 10 minutes a day, without editing their output. Others follow a range of exercises.

Will Hewett set himself the challenge of singing for 15 minutes a day for a year. He planned to boost his creativity and help himself to be more outgoing:



Will's dual purpose fits the results I've observed in many people who follow a daily practice. Confidence, balance and internal calm are some of the qualities that seem to flow from time spent with the self on some purposeful activity, that seems to have no material payoff.