We all have the ability to unleash our imaginative sides, to exercise our right brains and tap into our creative juices.
If that’s the case, why don’t more of us sprinkle a little imagination into our lives every day? Well, between work, home, tasks, projects, chores, homework and life, I think we get trained to lean on the left brain and ignore the right. School and work often forces us into left brain rewards. We build dams to stop the imaginative river inside of us. Sometimes, and I say this as someone who doesn’t have a crafty bone in their body, it’s intimidating. Being imaginative or creative can be perceived as a special skill that only the funky contain. We enter this world with great imaginative dreams and as we grow up we toss them aside for a more practical approach. Parents, don’t let your kids lose such an important part of who they are. All grown-ups, don’t let yourself live a lopsided (ha ha) life without imagination. We all have the right to dream big and dream often.
Wouldn’t it be great if harnessing the imagination was something anyone could do for 30, 20 or even 5 minutes a day? YEEEESSSSS. I’m here to tell you that it’s absolutely possible. In fact, given that you are reading this you have started that journey and I hope you’ll stay with me so that we can reach new places together. I have made it my mission to make living an imaginative life accessible and simple. No crafts, no complicated ideas, no skill required – just easy, fun and engaging ways to help each and every one young and old connect to that river of imagination that flows within all of us. The rewards are plentiful and long lasting: happiness, success, health and so on.
These are the 7 Building Blocks To Living and Imaginative Life (patented and trademarked). On this site you’ll find activities, workshops, games, ideas and inspirations that help you do each of these. They are built on the habits of me, Chief Imaginator, and the great Imaginators of our time- DaVinci, Einstein, Disney, Lucas, Hensen, Picasso and more. It is the guide and foundation for Imaginibbles and all that we do and offer.
1. Dream: purposeful, vivid daydreaming, visualizing, creating stories for past, present and future
Daydreaming allows us to explore new thoughts and ideas without the handcuffs of reality. The landscape of our brains is endless and daydreaming lets us “fill in the blanks” to create new stories, change the past (If I had), look into a crystal ball (what if I) and wonder about possibilities that we can’t comprehend in reality. When we daydream we connect dots from different parts of our memories and thoughts. When we daydream our bodies actually activate, as if we were doing it in real life, the parts of the bodies needed. For example, vividly imagining a bicep curl activates the bicep.
2. Lose: get lost mentally and physically, lose track of thoughts, go out of comfort zone for new experiences
When we let our thoughts go and just wander off our brains actually kick into high gear. New studies have shown that losing our thoughts can lead us to wonderful new places. fMRIs show that the problem solving and executive decision making parts of our brain become highly active even though we aren’t aware of it. Physically, feeling lost by trying new experiences helps us ignite new synapses in our brains. We are efficient creates so for the day-to-day our brains create short-cuts. We need to break free from our experience-dependant thinking and the best way to do that is to try something new, to get lost and get some new synapses firing.
3. Create: write, draw, doodle, journal, scuplt – capture thoughts/ideas/feelings/moments
Journaling, doodling and drawing help us express ourselves. It’s a nonjudgmental way to explore our thoughts and ideas. Not only does writing and drawing increase creativity but it also gives us a medium to express those inner ideas and thoughts. Whether it’s a journal, a blog or a lot of napkins it’s important to capture and explore. Looking back at past drawings and writings can be a tremendous source of inspiration.
4. Trust: build and use your intuition, trust the gut feeling
Recent research has shown that intuition is just a quick way of making decisions or reacting to our surroundings. In fact, it is said that our intuitive thinking is able to tap into memories and experiences beyond the ones we are conscious of, pull all that info together and then giving us that “gut” feeling. Intuition works at this sub-conscious level and is a primitive decision making ability for humans. It does not need the logical theory to perform and is therefore a great source of creative energy.
5. Move: movement, exercise, positive endorphins, positive feelings and moods
Exercise does a lot for the mind and body. When we exercise we “clear the head” so to speak. When the body moves more blood flows, providing more nutrient, oxygen rich blood to the brain. We also release feel good endorphins that tell our mind and body that we can do anything, including be imaginative. One study showed that the group that engaged in some type of physical activity reported higher feelings of creativity than the group that did not.
6. Expand: expand your knowledge, go wide versus deep, explore new information
Often, great imaginative thinking comes from pulling together seemingly disparate pieces of information and molding that into something new. Having a cross-section of knowledge can be a powerful source for innovative thinking. According to the book, The Medici Effect, it is at this intersection of knowledge that we are able to see new commonalities, differences and ultimately create true innovative thinking. The act of seeking out and gathering new knowledge is an act of the imagination in itself.
7. Play: be childish, humor, fun, unadulterated laughter
Getting lost in play can lead to magical things. Studies have shown that kids that engage in true play actually do better in school, are better off socially and show higher levels of happiness than those that don’t. In fact, when studying male sociopaths, Dr. Stuart Brown found that their one commonality was the absence of play. Play is also a great place to discover, test new ideas, and try out thoughts without consequence. It’s just play after all. In play you can leave reality behind and create your own stories, rules and landscapes. It’s interactive, fun and often leads to a loss of sense of time and self. In losing both we open up our imaginative sides for the world. Play increases our sense of curiosity and discovery, key ingredients for a delicious imagination.
Dream big. Dream often. Smile at strangers!
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Filed under: For All, Tamara's Musings | Tagged: building blocks of imagination, creativity for beginners, family activities, habits of creative people, imaginative activities, imaginative games, imaginator, imaginibbles, learning from creative people, right brain exercises, right brain thinking, stimulate creative thinking, tamara kleinberg
