Development

Development, Recognition, Measurement and signposts of a creative mind By Anup Vishnu Bagla We shall treat this discussion under three heads by dividing into 3 categories: • Identifying the qualities of creative mind. • Devising a method of measuring the index of creativity. • Developing/devising a method/model/technique for it's further rise i.e., the index of the creativity/capability (essentially removing inaccurate, wrong and erroneous thinking). First, we shall discuss what are the indications, traits of creative mind behavior; it's signs, identifying symptoms etc. in this first part. Generally creative behavior traits are thought of as: • Fluency • Flexibility • Originality • Elaboration These are broad classification. Some of the mental tendencies of a bright creative mind are:

High level of effective intelligence, applied intelligent imagination and openness to experience.

Very high sensitivity to feel, know, gauge and grasp human situations, energies in the neighborhood/atmosphere. The thought as energy wave is received, perceived, as it is, instantly as agreeable or unagreeable, pleasant or unpleasant.

Inimical/harmful and unfavorable wave energies tend to spontaneously disturb and lower/sink the life energy sapping and emptying it of life light (brilliant, bright light emitting goodness- feeling), by activating the downward motion/momentum. The mind being highly sensitive with high power receiving antenna is vulnerable and subject to intense feelings….agitation and flux/flow of energies unless checked by strict discipline, understanding at the relational level, exposure to environment and people.

• Aesthetic sensitivity towards beauty in all external things. • In course of interaction, they are free from crippling restraints and impoverishing inhibitions —This freedom is essential which has to be cultivated, nurtured to remove unintelligent substance from life energy by overcoming erroneous thoughts and tiring / unhealthy thinking & feeling.

• Cognitive flexibility. • Independence in thought and action. •High level of creative, illuminated energy. • Unquestioning commitment to creative endeavors. • Unceasing striving for solutions to more and more difficult • Problems which he constantly sets for himself. • Creative people are lovers of nature, outdoors, rains etc. • Although they are just, honest and always look for justice, they do not get hurt if the circumstances are adverse.

• They are courageous, treading unknown paths. They do not appreciate unnecessary or non-useful / stupid laws in social dealings.

• They are independent in working without having any expectations or need for approval seeking, as their approval comes from inside, in proximity to spirit. They, generally, have a helping nature.

• They love humor and are uncomplaining, accepting/adjusting with people / situations / circumstances as they are and also correcting which needs to be corrected.

• Always, being doers, they do not always demand or are concerned with orderliness, organization. At the same time, they are self-disciplined with lot of energy and will. This aspect has to be regularly empowered. • As a natural outcome, they never play games to impress others for favors or promotion / raise.

Some other traits are:

1. Conceptual fluency- to create large number of ideas quickly.

2. Originality- To generate unusual ideas and separate source from content in evaluating information…to be motivated by interest in problems… follow wherever it leads to.

3. Suspending judgment- avoiding early commitment & spending more time in analysis / exploration.

4. Non / less-Authoritarian - to have relativistic view of life and to accept own impulses as a part of playful / undisciplined exploration.

5. Independence of judgment & less conformity.

6. Deviant or deviating /different - to see self as different or unique.

7. "Bizarre" and rich fantasy life & superior reality orientation and controls i.e., down to earth.

8. To take life and every activity as part of sport.

It is very important not to get affected / immobilized emotionally or feeling wise with win / lose situation. It presupposes living life for just living and being creatively active, alive.

It is quite possible to be misunderstood as rebel, selfish, uncaring etc. as creative person is trying to be independent and allowing others to have / choose their own independence. It is very important to ignore other people's opinion, if it is unqualified. All this automatically points to non-approval seeking / non-dependence and not going to extremes to please others for favors.

A creative person is internally directed and all his ideas come from inner / spiritual brilliant…. bright light base.It is quite possible to experience lot of trials and tribulations, failures due to condemnation, non - understanding by other fellow beings, as a creative person is also non-showy, non-buttering type.

And so, it becomes natural for him to take everything in its stride. This may result in a feeling of letdown and lowliness / down in tiredness and depth of despondency.

At the same time a creative person has a fighting spirit to change the tides depending on his ability and also upon the surrounding universe / environment & prevailing conditions which may be difficult at times and has to be practiced in sincerity. In reality or actuality the Infinite TRUTH works through the creative person. Action in inaction / spontaneity is the hallmark of a creative action.

One important quality of a creative mind is the ability to free oneself of the binding attachment to pleasant / unpleasant experience and situations.

A creative mind dislikes & discards domination / control of any / every type and may create lot of enemies for itself because of non-relenting to unfair means.

It becomes a controversial figure because it is a catalyst for social or technological / scientific change.

9. A creative mind finds it difficult to adjust to classroom teaching, instruction of rigid text book learning and may feel frustrated, impatient by slow pace.

10. It finds itself many times fixed or caught in social dos and don'ts, customs, traditions / taboos of social pressure groups, which create domination / subjugation etc.

11. A creative mind is simple natured, working to bring cheer / joy in everyone's life and do not particularly work for self-glorification.

Rather, it glorifies the infinite / divine principle i.e., natural / scientific principles or ideas and their workings / manifestations.

Experiential TRUTH sense is the mark up indicator / symptom of the creative behavior.

12. Insight into the behavior of others is another important quality of a creative brain. What may seem complex and indecipherable to others, a creative brain sees clearly understood.

The problems that immobilize so many others are often viewed as only minor annoyances by these enlightened minds.

This lack of emotional involvement in problems makes them surmount barriers that remain insurmountable to others.

They have insight into themselves too and they recognize immediately what others are attempting to do to them. They can shrug off and ignore while others are angered and immobilized. They just ignore them. Summary:

A creative scientist or engineer has an extremely low threshold of discomfort. He sees problems where others are happy to continue undisturbed. This shows their penetrating visual abilities. At the same time he is equally extremely long in his "mental stamina". The rest of the people have the opposite traits. They do not see problems in the obvious and suffer no discomfort in the midst of intellectual and material incongruities. And finally, when, they are made to see the problems, they are too soon exhausted and are ready either to shelve it as insoluble or pass it to others because they are too busy or pretend, they have solved it by ameliorating the symptoms.

Creative mind is oriented towards setting and solving meaningful problems, using an inner drive to recombine his storehouse of experiences in new ways.

In attacking his problems, he does not behave as a conformist or a follower / a second copy. Instead, he pioneers, often, sets his own specifications and is not afraid to fail frequently. Because, he is not afraid to fail frequently, he is productive in the long run.