How does meditation affect creativity?
If you meditate, then you cannot create anything:
You'll become like a zombie, so don't meditate!
I'm just joking!
But many people think like that, I think.
Because many people think that the idea of meditation
is to think of nothing, you know. "Just sit there! Nothing!"
"Concentrate!"
Or…
"Peace!"
You know.
The meaning of meditation may be "to think of nothing,"
"to block thoughts and emotions," or "to bliss out."
But it's not like that.
The main meaning of meditation
is to develop awareness, mindfulness,
so that you can be present.
The mind and the body together. The mind and your actions together.
When your mind and your senses act together,
then you can see objects clearly, without making up stories.
Without making up unrealistic stories, you know.
But, then how does that affect creativity?
You can…
It helps to make something new,
something different, something unique.
Because, by applying awareness, or mindfulness,
your mind becomes what we call "pliable and workable."
Because our normal mind is like a flag in the wind.
It always, moves, moves, moves. It's dependent upon the wind, you know.
If the wind blows this way, it goes this way.
If the wind blows that way, it goes that way.
So you have no freedom, and no control.
But, as you practice meditation,
your mind becomes more pliable and workable,
and in this way you gain freedom. You have more control.
So, if you want to use your mind in a different direction,
for example, you develop meditation,
and then your mind becomes calm, peaceful, and pliable.
And you can use your mind that is now pliable to develop compassion.
It's easy! You can develop more compassion.
And you can also use that mind to develop wisdom.
For example, to understand impermanence,
interdependence,
and to see your true nature, the nature of phenomena.
Your mind becomes more powerful.
And also, to use your mind to study, to learn new things,
is now easier.
That's why meditation is almost like developing
strength, and capability.
Power - like a battery - you have to charge it, yeah?
Then you will have energy or power you can use to do different things.
It's like that.
So if you want to make something creative, like art,
or whatever you want to make, you can use it also.
It depends on your motivation.
OK. You meditate, and after your meditation,
whatever you want to make becomes clearer.
Normally it's not like that, because your mind is narrow,
and you only see in one direction, and then there are so many thoughts,
and there's no space for new ideas, new knowledge, new wisdom.
Your hard drive is already full. Full of junk, you know.
So when you meditate, release and you'll have more space.
You'll feel more open and have more new ideas.