This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
How being close to water can boost your creativity
There has always been a strong connection of humans with the water since ancient times. In every mythology, water is included with a great reverence. The science is backing up the correlation between water and creativity, and you should know about it!
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
Humans have always believed and assigned water to have the transformational, healing and the spiritual properties. If you try to dig into any mythology or the religion, you will get to know about the great reverence water has been getting. The science has something to say about it. When we are close to water, it drives us in the new state of mind, in an aura, where we leave everything behind and enter a new zone where we feel the serenity of mind. And it has deep roots with the human brain creativity.
Let's first see what water and creativity have in common before we peek into what experts and science have to say about it. And this is somewhat apt consideration how our daily life depicts water and creativity. Don't you think what we observe firsthand helps us to understand the subject in a clearer way?
Our body is made up of water and our health and well-being mainly depend on how much water our body has. How much water we drink is directly related to how much water our body contains. This goes the same way for creativity. If you make an analogy, you can say that creativity is a muscle which gets stronger and better on its use. We use water to make different dishes, use it to decorate the home, use it to clean ourselves and many bazillion things where we use water which reflects our creativity. This was my perspective on how water and creativity have something in common.
Have you ever felt your thoughts are flowing out of your mind as the flow of water in the shower? It is not the belief, nor the myth that we become more thoughtful in the shower! Do you feel peace being on the shore of the ocean? The gigantic beast, rustling wind and waves, and yet it's so soothing and calms us? I have grown up in the livelihood where sea and oceans are easy to go places and I've known the magical effects of water for most of the life till now.
The author of the book “Blue Mind: The surprising science that shows how being near, in, on, under water can make you happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what you do”, Wallace. J. Nichols Has said,
“That’s what flow is—relaxing into what you know well, and letting creativity happen. Water, literally and metaphorically, allows us to do that and allows you to move in all different directions. It takes away this relentless field of gravity that’s dragging us down, making us feel heavy. When we’re in the water, we get relief from that. If we have physical injuries and barriers in the water, those go away. If we’re clumsy on land, in the water we’re less so."
Also known as 'Keeper Of The Sea', Mr. Nichols is a renowned marine biologist, bestselling author, and expert on the incredible psychology of water. He has always wondered the effects of water on the human brain and what it can bring to us. There are books about the brain on happiness, brain on food etc. but the gap of the book about the brain on water had been yet to be filled and Nichols did it by writing such a wonderful book on water effects on the brain.
What Is His Blue Mind Concept?
When you get into the water, your body doesn't need stout muscles that uphold your body. Water itself will hold it and help you feel more relaxed. And when this happens your brain areas taking care of this muscles get a break.
Somatically, auditorily, and visually your body is getting a break, actually the rest. And the brain goes to its default mode, a contemplative and self-referential perspective. The freed up brain areas now can work on other things, let say your creative thinking, and you feel a different way. This whole new state of mind is called a 'Blue Mind' which is, according to the author is a mildly meditative state to connect with yourself.
One Harvard researcher has the same opinion about getting distracted from the routine life and getting a break. The same thing which Mr. Nichols tried to explain. The reason behind this is the dopamine release in the body. Well, there are numerous situations when dopamine is released but there is not any substantial effect on one's creativity.
In his research, he concluded that when a person gets distracted, his mind gets a break and the dopamine released during this time helps a person to create some new creative ideas. Showering, being near to the water, cooking etc can help you feel good and get distracted for a while and these situations become perfect for dopamine to work for us.
We all are creative, it's just we sometimes need to get distracted from the complex tasks from our daily life. The more we use our creative muscle, more creative ideas will flow. Water and creativity have many things in common and are intertwined.
Our body has a larger part made up of water and that makes sense when we talk about the correlation between water and creativity. More focus, energy, and our mental and physical fitness are a gift of water. Even when you are at your workplace and busy in achieving the day's goal, take a break, drink pure and healthy water. Water bodies resonate with each other, meaning, we need to drink pure water. If you're a manager at your organization then make sure the workplace has appropriate water facilities.