Learn to Meditate - Day 5
- Simon Jones DipBSoM
- Jan 12
- 4 min read
Unlock Your Creative Mind. Open Awareness for Creativity
Learn to Meditate Course Navigation: Day 0 | Welcome - Start Here
Day 5 | Unlock Your Creative Mind - Open Monitoring Meditation Day 6 | Connect With Clarity - Loving Kindness Meditation
An Important Note on Your Wellbeing:
Meditation can be a powerful tool for building resilience and managing stress, and it is a complementary therapy. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you are experiencing symptoms of anxiety, depression, or any other health concern, you should always consult your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider. See our full Medical Disclaimer for more information. By engaging with our content you accept our medical disclaimer and confirm that you are not under treatment for pre-existing conditions, or have permission from your care provider to engage with them. Do not listen to the guided audio meditations when driving or operating heavy machinery, it is not safe to do so.
Great ideas rarely come from forcing them.
They often arrive in "Aha!" moments, when your mind makes a novel connection. In the agency world, the ability to find novel solutions to problems can be a core advantage for both you, and your clients. You can create the mental conditions for these moments to happen. Cognitive science identifies two types of creativity:
Convergent Thinking: Finding the single, correct solution to a problem.
Divergent Thinking: Generating many different, novel ideas. This is brainstorming.
A 2012 study (Colzato et al.) specifically tested the effects of different meditation styles on creativity.
The finding was clear:
Open Monitoring (OM) meditation significantly enhances divergent thinking.
Why?
It works by reducing "cognitive rigidity", the tendency to get stuck in habitual thought patterns. Research by Ostafin & Kassman (2012) confirmed this, finding that mindfulness improves insight problem-solving.
Today's practice is Open Monitoring meditation, a technique specifically designed to enhance creativity and innovation. Its purpose is to reduce "cognitive rigidity", our tendency to get stuck in habitual thought patterns.
The benefit, supported by research, is an improved capacity for divergent thinking, which is essential for brainstorming and finding novel solutions.
(Study References:
Colzato, L. S., et al. (2012). Meditate to create: The impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking. Frontiers in Psychology.
Ostafin, B. D., & Kassman, K. T. (2012). Stepping out of history: Mindfulness improves insight problem solving. Consciousness and Cognition.)
1. What It Does (The Performance Benefit)
Open Monitoring (OM) is the "ideation" engine of the course. While Day 2 was about narrowing your focus, Day 5 is about widening it.
It Ignites "Divergent Thinking": This is the scientific term for brainstorming, generating many possible solutions to a problem. This technique is specifically designed to help you generate volume and variety in your ideas.
It Breaks "Cognitive Rigidity": When you are stuck on a brief, your brain is often looping through old, habitual neural pathways. OM practice helps you "step out of history," bypassing your brain's habit loops to allow fresh, novel connections to form.
It Facilitates Insight: Often called the "Aha!" moment. Research shows that by reducing the brain's reliance on past patterns, this practice creates the fertile ground necessary for sudden, non-linear insights to emerge.
2. How & Why It Works (The Mechanics)
The science here is specific. Not all meditation helps creativity. As noted in the Colzato et al. (2012) study, Focused Attention (Day 2) does not significantly improve divergent thinking. Only Open Monitoring does.
Spotlight vs. Floodlight:
Focused Attention (FA) is a spotlight. It narrows the beam to a single point (the breath) to train concentration.
Open Monitoring (OM) is a floodlight. You drop the "anchor" of the breath and open your awareness to everything, thoughts, sounds, sensations, and emotions, without latching onto any of them.
The "Colzato" Effect: The 2012 study by Colzato demonstrated that OM meditation promotes a control state that allows for "unrestricted scanning" of information. By not focusing on a single object, you lower the brain's "gating" mechanism, allowing more distant associations (creative ideas) to bubble up to the surface.
Accessing Theta States: This relaxed, open awareness is often associated with Theta brainwaves (4–8 Hz), a state linked to deep creativity, daydreaming, and the subconscious flow of ideas.
3. Tips for Your Day 5 Practice
If Day 2 felt like a workout, Day 5 can feel a bit like floating. For control-freaks (which many of us are), this lack of an "anchor" can feel unsettling.
No Anchor, No Problem: Unlike previous days, you will not force your attention back to the breath. Your job is simply to sit and "field" whatever comes up. You are the sky; your thoughts and sensations are just the weather passing through.
The "Riverbank" Metaphor: Imagine you are sitting on the bank of a river. The river is the flow of your experience (thoughts, sounds, feelings). Your only task is to watch the river flow. Do not jump in and swim with a thought (getting lost in a story), and do not try to dam the river (blocking thoughts). Just watch.
Expect Chaos: Because you aren't anchoring on the breath, your mind might feel noisier than usual. This is fine. You are practising "non-grasping." You are training yourself to let a thought arise and pass without needing to dissect it, a crucial skill for brainstorming where you shouldn't judge ideas too early.
Stay Awake: Because this is a more open, relaxed state, the risk of "zoning out" or falling asleep is higher. Maintain a straight spine to keep a level of alertness in your relaxation.
Download Your Meditation:
MP3 download. Hosted on the klarosity website, Download to your device. Enjoy the meditation and we’ll see you tomorrow.
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