Kmacims | Education Annex

Category: Mind Development

Quality invention usually begins in the mind with an idea which is refined over and over to arrive at a solution that is acceptable by all. To achieve this, the mind need to be refined and transformed. This process is what we call mind development. If you wish to be transformed from the inside, be glued to these pages. You will never be the same again.

  • 10 Ways to Develop Creativity in the Brain

    10 Ways to Develop Creativity in the Brain

    Events unfolding at different levels and industries reveal a strong relationship between creativity and success. Cognitive neuroscience has evolved to examine creativity in different contexts and domains. Researches, talks, and experiments on creativity always focus on creativity in the brain.

    Findings on creativity in the brain have looked at the right brain and the left brain hemisphere. Though it has been established that the right brain is not exclusively reserved for creativity, it still gains attention.

    The research on Large-scale brain network in cognition[1] by Bressler and Menon identified that:

    1. Three brain networks are responsible for creativity. These brain networks are imagination, central executive, and salient networks.
    2. The imagination network is the default mode network. This network is activated when you are not performing work.
    3. The central executive network also called the executive attention network. This brain network works with the conscious mind and prioritizes tasks.
    4. The salient network is the intermediary between the imagination and executive networks.
    developing Creativity in the brain

    Scientific discoveries are great and have really opened our eyes to the world of impossibilities. In this article, we shall study three (3) personalities whose inventions transformed the world. Using them as case studies, we shall learn how to develop creativity in the brain.

    Vision is the Purpose of Living

    Let us reflect on our past, where we are today, and what we a pursuing (vision/ dream). In life, learning is a continuous process, because life needs constant improvement to remain relevant.

    If you will be relevant and fulfill your dreams, you must answer this pertinent question:

    How committed are you to fulfilling your vision?

    The genesis of all problems on earth is the man. I mean, you and I. It will also take the man to solve these problems. Just as The Almighty God sent His Son to bring a solution to man’s fall and sinful nature. You are born to bring the solution in your time.

    You are not born to leave your future in the hands of the mediocre. You are born to take charge of the future, to be in control and to make society what it ought to be.

    To be in control, you need knowledge. This knowledge begins within. In other words,

    It is an expression of your internal state of mind to the outside world.

    It comes in the form of imagination which builds up ideas that find expression through creativity.

    Adapted from the author.

    When these ideas manifest in the form of creativity and innovation, we illuminate the dark world. The world finds expression through them and rejoices.

    The author

    Most discoveries and products the world has experienced and enjoyed are products of the imagination. These imaginations found expression through developing creativity in the brain.

    For example, Sir Isaac Newton was asked how he developed the Law of Gravity. His answer was,

    By thinking about it.

    Isaac Newton

    Men who transformed the world had different ways of thinking. This uncommon way of thinking triggered creativity in their brain.

    How to Develop Creativity in the Brain: Case Studies

    Let’s learn from these great men, who have written their names in the space of time. I believe that an understanding of their ways of thinking will help us to develop the creative force within us.

    Albert Einstein

    Albert Einstein is known today as the world’s greatest scientist and a genius. This is because of his phenomenal contributions to science. Some of his discoveries include.

    1. Brownian movement or Zigzag movement of microscopic particles in suspension. This discovery led to the prove that atoms and molecules exist.
    2. Quantum theory of light. In this discovery, he showed that light is made of small packets of energy called quanta or photons. Photons are observed to have properties such as particles and waves. This discovery led to the invention of the television.

    As a teenager, his teachers called him slow and lazy. If a man called slow and lazy rose to become a famous scientist, why can’t you stand out in your generation?

    According to him,

    I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.

    Albert Einstein

    My question is if he was not thinking rationally, why was he so creative? He has a different way of thinking that others neglect. His way of thinking can help you develop creativity in the brain.

    Let’s look at the three ways of developing creativity.

    1. Thinking in Pictures:

    Einstein mostly thought in pictures. He pictured things in his mind and performed experiments in his thought. So, his thought process was predominantly in pictures. He visualizes how things should be. From the image drawn in his mind, he constructed his theories.

    According to Walter Isaacson, he imagined a man falling from an elevator and a woman that is accelerating upward, who assumes that she was being pulled down by gravity, to construct the theory of General Relativism.

    One of his famous quotes is,

    Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand while imagination embraces the entire world and all there ever will be to know and understand.

    Albert Einstein
    Creative force of the brain - Einstein Thinking
    1. The Power of Music:

    Einstein is noted to take music breaks as part of a creative thinking process. According to Elsa, Einstein’s wife,

    Music helps him when he is thinking about his theories. He will come out of his study, strike a few chords on the piano, jots something down, and goes back to study.

    Elsa Einstein

    I want to believe that music helps him to build up inspiration from within. Taking a musical break will help you to relax and open up your brain network in the default mode.

    1. The Combinatory Play:

    It was equally noted that Einstein utilizes combinatory play in his creative thinking process. The combinatory play is a process of combining things that are not related together in other to generate new useful ideas.

    For example, you might be thinking on how to solve a big problem but you are not making any headway. Simply leave the task and do something unrelated to free your mind and have fun. This is called combinatory play.

    Einstein says,

    Combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought.

    Albert Einstein

    According to Victoria Stevens,

    Combinatory play provides a fertile field for a neuroaesthetic investigation into the direct link between play, imagination, creativity, and empathy.

    Victoria Stevens

    Combinatory play can help you release stress, combine diverse ideas to get the hidden solution. It can also help change your perspective to see the bigger picture.

    For instance, in design and advertisement, you could see a cigarette producing flower. In other words, you are producing a cigarette without hazardous smoke or effect.

    Thomas Edison

    Another great inventor the world will not forget in a hurry is Thomas Edison. He was credited to 1,093 patents in the United States.

    Through his thought processes, he was able to see darkness as a great problem in society and decided to beautify the world with light. Today we have light bulbs illuminating and beautifying every corner of our homes and offices. How did he do it?

    Research showed that he had only three (3) years of formal education when he was a child. But as an adult, he was a voracious reader.

    I want to believe that the books he read transformed his way of thinking completely. As a result, he was able to develop creativity in the brain, which made him successful.

    3 ways of developing Creativity in the Brain

    I believe that what made Edison so successful was his creative thinking strategies. Some of which are:

    1. The quantity of Ideas:

    Thomas advocated for the number of ideas other than the quality. This relates to brainstorming, as discussed in one of our posts.

    Edison believed that a quality idea must come out of many ideas gathered together. This is why he was credited with the saying,

    Genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.

    Thomas Edison

    Listing as many ideas, both related and unrelated, makes thinking easy and flexible.

    1. Challenge of Assumptions:

    Edison is known to challenge assumptions. It is believed that he does not use many stipulated assumptions in his experiment. He felt that education has blinded people from seeing nature’s great possibilities. This thought is similar to that of Einstein in his quote, “Imagination is more important than knowledge…”

    Thomas Edison is also known to try out things considered to be incompatible or non-standard ways of doing things. He usually tries out different things before coming up with an ideal solution.

    Creative force of the brain - Edison Thinking
    1. Enthusiasm:

    Thomas Edison is always enthusiastic about his inventions and he never accepts failure. His practical way of thinking is to identify why an experiment fails and to learn from it.

    He never accepted failure, this is why he was credited with the saying;

    I’ve not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

    Nikola Tesla

    Tesla is a great inventor, but he was not well known to the world. He contributed to designing the alternating current electrical system.

    I once read on LinkedIn that he worked continuously all through his lifetime, even when in transit. He was such a workaholic that he gets only two (hours) of sleep per day.

    The good thing is that his works yielded results. This great man was credited with about 300 patents for his inventions.

    What should we learn from his way of thinking and productivity? The following 2 ways of developing creativity in the brain are credited to him.

    1. Visualization:

    According to Tesla, in his early years, he usually saw images and these images are accompanied by flashes of light. When one speaks, he would see clearly the image of what was spoken.

    This scenario continued to afflict him until he devised a means of freeing himself from the torment. This he did by visualizing things that had never been.

    He would go on an imaginative journey to see things in different forms and shapes; things that never existed. He used this method to develop creativity in the brain. As a result, he was able to invent different things.

    According to him,

    By that faculty of visualizing, which I learned in my boyish efforts to rid myself of annoying images, I have evolved what is, I believe, a new method of materializing inventive ideas and conceptions. It is a method which may be of great usefulness to any imaginative man, whether he is an inventor, businessman or artist.

    Nikola Tesla

    Tesla hence advised us to take enough time to think and visualize every idea before execution.

    According to him, this period of thinking and visualizing the problem is called the period of incubation. It does not matter the time frame.

    This period of incubation will present itself with different possible solutions to the problem at hand.

    After incubation comes the period of direct effort. At this time, you will carefully choose the possible solution to the problem. Then, you will narrow thinking, investigation, and research towards that direction.

    Visualization is a great and effective way of developing creativity in the brain.

    Creative force of the brain - Tesla thinking
    1. Solitary walk

    According to Tesla, the best moments he received great ideas were times of solitary walk. From time to time he will take a lonely walk, and this became part of his life.

    One payoff of this method was when he invented the induction motor.

    According to him, he was on a solitary walk in the park when he received a flash of an image. This image after he drew it represented a motor using the rotating magnetic field. This led to the invention of the induction motor.

    Steve Jobs

    I want to end this article with Steve Jobs. For those who do not know him, he was the founder and chairman of Apple. You remember Apple, as in Mac computer, iPad, and iPhone.

    Jobs’ way of thinking revolutionized the computer industry with quality and excellent design. He showed great vision and leadership in his lifetime. We will look at only two ways to complete our list.

    1. Your Instinct does not Lie

    I remember reading a book by Donald Trump, Think Big. In this book, Trump emphasized so well about following one’s instincts. He noted that one’s instincts do not lie.

    Here, Steve is telling us to follow our instincts, which is one of our basic qualities.

    According to him, it does not matter whether others are doing the same thing or not; we must believe in ourselves and follow what our spirit is saying.

    The spirit in us will not lie. But most times, fear cripples this instinct within us. This brings us to the second point.

    1. Be Hopeful and Optimistic

    Fear and doubt can frustrate a man till his death. Steve tells us to be optimistic at everything we are doing. At this, he meant that we should not give up.

    According to him, if what we want to accomplish meant breaking of standard, we should break it. If it meant upsetting people, we should upset them. But we must never let anything put doubt or inflict fear in us.

    Believe, have confidence, be patient and optimistic, in due time, your pursuit will yield a great fortune.

    Conclusion

    Creative thinking can help us discover and put together what we know in order to accomplish the vision.

    In this article, we have discussed 10 (ten) potent ways of developing creativity in the brain.

    We highlighted four personalities and great inventors who maximized invention through creative thinking. These men were Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Steve Jobs.

    Einstein fancied imagination, music, and combinatory play while Edison preferred quantity of ideas, challenging assumptions and enthusiasm.

    Moreover, Tesla utilized visualization and solitude, while Jobs believed in instincts, and optimism to reach success.

    I believe that enthusiasm gives energy to ideas. It also brings excitement. This feeling of excitement helps one not to accept failure.

    Visualization, on the other hand, brings possible solutions into view. When we see the possibility of solving a problem, it becomes easier to choose a better solution.

    In this, Tesla noted that when he had chosen a particular part of solving a problem, he feels the solution. To him, merely chosen a path usually gives him a sense of solution.

    I believe that this feeling is a feeling of excitement, it happens to everyone. When you have that feeling, you are confident that you have reached the solution.

    Taking a walk is always useful when seeking helpful ideas. You can take a walk to see new things or nature. The good part comes when it is solitary.

    At that time, one would have ample time to think and visualize the things he/she sees. Tesla says,

    The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude.

    Nikola Tesla

    Among these techniques of creative thinking, there are some similarities, but we’ve carefully pointed out their differences.

    You should note that what works for me may not necessarily work for you. So take your time and identify the methods that will help you develop that creativity hidden within you.

    [1] Bressler, S.L. and Menon, V. Large-Scale Brain Networks In Cognition: Emerging Methods And Principles. National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20493761/

  • Philosophical Study of the Human Mind

    Philosophical Study of the Human Mind

    The study of the human mind is not only important to the philosopher and the psychologist. Anyone who cares to understand human behavior should endeavor to understand the human mind. The human mind is a complex system that has evolved into what is known as the Theory of the Mind. In this article, you will learn that:

    • The human mind is the non-material part of the brain
    • It is the center of creativity, and the power house of meaningful invention.
    • The human mind is the seat of consciousness or awareness. As the seat of consciousness, the mind is creative.
    • The success or failure of any individual begins within, which is in the mind
    • There is a connection between the brain and the mind. This connection is explained by the cerebrospinal venous system and the sympathetic system.
    • The philosophy of the mind tries to explain how the mind functions. It connects the nature of feeling, perception, thought, and consciousness with personal identity.
    • How does the human mind affect whom we are? To answer the question, monism and dualism schools of thought emerged.
    • Monism states that the mind and the brain are the same. It explains this using three theories: physicalism, idealism and neutral monism.
    • Physicalism or materialism states that there is nothing like the non-material mind. Thus, whatever anyone feels is as a result of the physical occurrence.
    • This means that mental states or state of the mind at all times come from the observable physical state.
    • There are two types of materialism: reductive physicalism and non-reductive physicalism. Reductive physicalism is divided into four theories: behaviorism, type identity, token identity, and functionalism.
    • Behaviourism gave us insight on the importance of observation while type identity aroused our curiosity to the importance of the mental state and imagination.
    Theory of the mind and success

    Theory of the Mind

    Theory of the mind is a maxim used to explain how the mind functions and how it affects consciousness and behavior. A good understanding of the human mind can enhance ones success in life. The human mind has been viewed as the center of creativity, the powerhouse of meaningful invention. In spite of this, discussions on the mind are often overlooked.

    Most study of the human mind center on mind-body problem, and the relationship between the mind and body. Study on the impact of the human mind on creativity and success is scanty. This study attempts to correlate the human mind with creativity and success using the philosophical theory of the mind.

    There are different theory of the mind which studied the relationship between the mind and the brain. Most of these theory originated from philosophy and psychology. While some focus on mind-brain relationship, others focus on the prediction of human behavior and self-consciousness.

    In a later post, we discussed the brain and its processing power in detail. We observed that the brain is:

    Creative Power of The Brain - forebrain
    • the center of thought and creativity.
    • the center of logic and emotions.
    • the most superior organ that differentiates humans from other mammals

    In todays article, our focus will be directed towards understanding the human mind. Our understanding of the human mind and its power can boost our success in any chosen career. The human mind, like the brain, is a very powerful tool of creativity at everyone’s disposal. But the problem is our inability to understand how the mind works. Therefore, we will explore the following:

    • What is the human mind?
    • Is there any relationship between the brain and the human mind?
    • To what extent does the mind affect creativity and success?

    What is the Human Mind?

    The free online dictionary defines the human mind as the faculty by which one is aware of the surroundings and by which one is able to reason, remember, make decisions, and experience emotions.

    In other words, the mind is the seat of consciousness or awareness. As the seat of consciousness, the mind is creative. Scholars who understood the power of the mind through study of the human mind describes the mind thus:

    “Mind is creative. Conditions, including environment and all experiences in life, are the result of our habitual or predominant mental attitude.”

    Charles Haanel, The Master Key System

    Joseph Murphy saw the mind as the treasure house of all human. In The Power of your Subconscious Mind, he says,

    “There is a gold mine within you from which you can extract everything you need to live life gloriously, joyously, and abundantly.”

    Joseph Murphy, The Power of the Subconscious Mind

    Highlighting on the power of the mind, Daniel Webster quotes, “Mind is the great lever of all things; human thought is the process by which human end is ultimately answered.”

    What these people are saying is that thinking, reasoning, emotions, logic and many more takes place in the mind. If so, then the success or failure of any individual begins within, which is the mind.

    Hence, success or failure reflects what we harbor within us. If this is true, then the human mind is critical to every success or failure.

    The sympathetic system

    How does the brain relate to the mind? Is there any connection between the brain and the mind or are both the same? Before we proceed, recall the central nervous system and take note of the following:  

    study of the human mind
    The Sympathetic system

    According to Charles Haanel, the sympathetic system has its center in the ganglionic mass. Which is at the back of the stomach known as the Solar Plexus.

    The connection between the cerebrospinal system and the sympathetic system is made by the Vagus nerve. This nerve passes through the cerebral region as a portion of the voluntary system to the thorax. It sends out branches to the heart and lungs and finally passes through the diaphragm. It then loses its outer coating and becomes identified with the nerves of the sympathetic system. All these form a connecting link between the two and making man physically a “single entity.”

    Scientifically, the fields of philosophy, psychology, and religion are most interested in the subject of the mind. To clearly understand the human mind and its power, we will explore how these fields view the subject.

    Study of the Human Mind: Philosophical View

    Philosophy of the mind studies the relationship between the human mind and the physical body. Philosophy is basically concerned with the nature of a thing. Therefore, the philosophy of the human mind tries to connect the nature of the mind and the following:

    • personal identity,
    • self-consciousness,
    • self-esteem,
    • emotion,
    • memory, and
    • perception.

    To explain further, the philosophy of the mind tries to explain how the mind functions. It connects the nature of feeling, perception, thought, and consciousness with personal identity. It also tries to answer the question; how does the human mind affect whom we are? What influence does the non-material part of the brain, the human mind, impose on the material body which we see?

    To answer the above question, philosophy came with two schools of thoughts: monism and dualism.

    Monism

    Monism tries to explain that there is no distinction between the human mind, and the brain. Proponents of this theory include Baruch De Spinoza and George Berkeley, among others. They explained that the mind and body are a single entity that has the same potential.

    If this explanation should be relied on, then how do we explain the relationship between the mind and the body? To explain this relationship, or resolve the mind-body problem, 3 theories emerged. Namely, physicalism, idealism and neutral monism.

    Physicalism:

    Physicalism is also called materialism. Proponents of this theory believe that only the physical entity or physical substance or matter exist. They argue that there is nothing like the non-material mind. Everything is physical.

    According to materialism, perception, emotions, memory, etc are the resultant effect of the physical processes only. This means that anything anyone feels is a result of the physical occurrence.

    For example, if I love a person, then I love him/her because of what I saw or observe in him/her. This could be beauty, charisma, and many more. This means that mental states or state of the mind at all times come from the observable physical state.

    There are two types of physicalism, they are reductive physicalism and non-reductive physicalism. Reductive physicalism is divided into four theories, namely: behaviorism, type identity, token identity, and functionalism.

    Non-reductive physicalism is divided into 3 theories, namely: anomalous monism, emergentism, and eliminative materialism. Each of these theories shall provide an answer on how the mind affects creativity and success.

    Behaviourism

    This school teaches that the state of one’s mind or the mental state is being influenced by what one observes. This can be true in observable behavior, for example, if I am learning a skill, say, how to play the keyboard, how to dance, etc, then I can learn by observation. But it does not explain some states of the mind such as sorrow, pain, depression, and many more.

    Theory of the mind - behaviourism

    Observation, when enhanced by concentration and interest can arouse the creative mind. Thus, you can enhance your creative ability by observing what other people are doing. From your observation, you can gain ideas on innovation and outright creation of new products. To boost your creative ability, learn from others through observation.

    Type identity

    This theory arose due to the failure of behaviorism to explain the cognitive state of the mind. The theory states that mental state is identical to the physical state of the brain. This means that the state of the mind equals (=) the state of the brain.

    To illustrate further, since mind and the brain are the same, and is physical; then, the state of the mind is the same as the state of the brain. For example, if I feel hungry, then, it is because a particular region of the brain sends a signal to the body to reflect hunger.

    From our discussion on the functions of the brain, we can say that this is true to some extent. However, the brain event that caused a particular mental state in an individual may be different in another organism, especially, if the organism does not have a brain. This is called multiple realizability. This is one thing that is not clearly explained by this theory.

    How will this theory of the mind boost your creative ability? To activate your creative mind, the region of the brain responsible for creative thinking will send a signal for the mind to be in a creative state.

    Thus, to be creative, both the brain and the mind will be in the creative state so that all the brain networks responsible for creativity will be activated. At this point, you don’t need to observe anyone, but you can begin to imagine and visualize things.

    This theory of the mind, though did not explain clearly how it happens, it gives insight on how new ideas are formed.

    Theory of the mind - identity theory

    Token Identity theory

    The token identity theory attempts to solve the problem which the type identity theory could not resolve.

    This theory of the mind states that particular instances or occurrences of a mental state are identical with particular instances of the brain. This theory shifts from the type identity theory that states that brain state correlates with a mental state.

    It rather illustrates that only a particular token or occurrence of the brain is responsible for a particular occurrence of a mental state. These two theories are similar. The difference is a matter of descriptive abstraction, according to proponents of functionalism.

    Functionalism theory

    This theory of the mind reduced materialism to the functional roles of mental states characterized by non-mental functional roles. In functionalism, the physical state is not important, but the role of the mental state at that point in time. For example, what is the functional role of hunger, pain, and love? According to functionalism, the functional role of these mental states is realized in multiple levels. In their description, they equated the brain with the computational power of the computer. They maintained that the brain is a physical device that performs computations based on inputs to produce an individual’s behavior.

    This theory when combined with the token identity theory, I believe, will make one creative. Why? Because functionalism does not focus on the brain state but on the role or output or effect. In creativity, it emphasizes the role of visualization in creative thinking. Put differently, if visualization is a state of the mind, it doesn’t matter what is being visualized. But what is the outcome of visualization? What does it produce? I believe, that acknowledging this theory will make us more productive, rather than daydreamers. It doesn’t matter what you know; what you did with what you know is more important.

    Anomalous Monism theory

    This theory teaches that the mind and the brain are identical, however, it noted that the mind sometimes deviates from the state of the brain. In this case, the mind is not strictly guided or regulated by the brain. According to the theory, every change in the state of the mind is guided by a change in the state of the brain.

    This theory helps to understand the power of concentration in creativity. When the brain deviates from its conscious thought, concentration is lost. And nothing is impressed on the mind.

    Emergentism theory

    This theory attempts to explain the mind-body relationship using a layered view of nature.

    Accordingly, the mind and its causal effects are arranged in layers of increasing order of complexity. Each layer corresponds to its own special science. When these layers interact, there emerges a complex state of the mind.

    To explain how this theory applies to creativity, we can say that when the layers of the brain interact with each other, it creates a variable state of the mind. This variable state of the mind gives room to the influx of new ideas.

    Eliminative materialism theory

    This theory states that one’s common sense might misrepresent or misinterpret what he/she naturally know. That is, what we sometimes believe, “common sense” is false, and these beliefs can be eliminated and replaced with an alternative. In other words, certain mental states are false, hence, can be replaced.

    This theory is very important in creativity. It tells us not to believe the world’s standards. As we are growing, we tend to believe certain standards. Sometimes these beliefs might be false.

    But we might not know except if we critically analyze them. Discarding existing standards and assumptions is a step forward in creative thinking. If I may ask, what were you told when you were little that turned out to be false?

    Conclusion

    Study of the human mind is important because it explains things we do not ordinarily know. But, one problem with this study is that is that most theories are not applicable to everyday life. The theories we examined thus far, are intuitive in understanding the relationship between the brain, the mind, and creativity.

    These theories on their own did not explain these relationships. But by intuition, we can deduce what relationship each has with creativity.

    Behaviourism gave us insight on the importance of observation while type identity aroused our curiosity to the importance of the mental state and imagination.

    These mental states could make us daydreamers; with no guided thought and no direction. This is where functionalism comes into play. Because the functional role of our mental state is important in bringing our thoughts to reality.

    The mind without concentration is unproductive. Anomalous monism exposed us to recognize the importance of concentration in creativity.

    Furthermore, emergentism opened up a scope to let us understand that layers are important in creating room for inflow of ideas. Because, if there is no opening, there is no filling.

    Finally, eliminative materialism underscores the importance of common sense and discarding of existing assumptions.

    This knowledge is important in building a creative mind. However, it does not come in isolation. Proper coordination will help us achieve a greater result.

  • 8 Thought Provoking Creative Theory of the Mind

    8 Thought Provoking Creative Theory of the Mind

    If you plug in the term “theory of the mind” in Google search engine, you will see millions of results. None of these results teach us the relationship between these theories and creativity. And none explains the creative theory of the mind.

    theory of the mind serp

    Google’s SERP

    We know that the mind is creative. We also know that the mind cannot work on its own. Individual consciousness is a prerequisite for the mind to work.

    We know that this consciousness is brought about by the brain through the Central Nervous System.

    We also know that creative thinking begins with the vibration of thoughts. This vibration of thoughts begin in the brain.

    creativity and vibration of thought

    Vibration of Thought Energy

    In discussing the theory of the mind, we attempt to explain the relationship between the mind and the body. Especially, how behaviors are formed. These behaviors emanate from feelings, emotions, perceptions, thoughts, and consciousness.

    However, in this study, we want to highlight the benefits of these theories to creativity and creative thinking. In order words, deducing creative theory of the mind from them.

    Creative Theory of the Mind

    One question you will ask yourself in this study is:

    How best can the application of this theory enhance my creative thinking and creative ability?

    In our previous post, we looked at physicalism school of thought. In today’s study, we shall look at monism. Monism states that the mind and body are the same entity.

    Here, we’ll examine idealism and neutral monism. Then, we’ll discuss dualism school of thought.

    Generally, these theories serve their respective purposes. Our concern is to show you how to apply them in order to boost creativity. Hence, the term, creative theory of the mind. The study will enhance creative thinking and chances of success.

    Understanding Monism

    Before we continue, let us look at the brain from what we have learned so far. We know that the brain is the physical, material or the hardware part.

    This is because it has components such as the thalamus, pituitary gland, cerebrum, and more. These components perform their individual functions to maintain the body system.

    We also know that the cerebrum is the center of emotion, thought, and creativity. However, in labeling the components of the brain, the mind was not defined.

    Also, the sympathetic innervation diagram did not show any labeling of the mind.

    Hence, according to monism school of thought, if the mind is the center of consciousness and thought, then, the mind is the same as the brain.

    Scientists have attempted to differentiate the mind from the brain by labeling it as the non-material, non-physical or software part of the brain. The impact of the mind is felt by the whole bodily system as shown in the sympathetic innervation diagram.

    In other to explain how the mind works, we have those who believe in the oneness of the body and the mind. Others believe that the body and the mind are distinct elements.

    the mind and oneness of body

    Oneness of the Body

    The former is known as MONISM while the latter is called DUALISM.

    We discussed the physicalism school of thought in our previous post. Other schools of thought under monism include idealism and neutral monism.

    Idealism: The birth of creativity

    While materialism relied on the physical explanation, idealism does not believe in the physical substance. Idealism believes in the existence of the mind or mental state only.

    According to idealism, if a physical world exists at all, then it is an illusion created by the mind.

    This theory states that, before any physical manifestation, there should have been a mental conception. Thus, ideas are conceived before they are transformed into reality.

    creativity and product development

    Ideas precede product development

    This theory marks the birth of imagination and building of mental images in the mind. This also is the birth of creativity.

    To illustrate, close your eyes for 5 (five) minutes and begin to form mental images of what you want. Write down what you see.

    Neutral Monism

    Neutral monism postulates that there is no mental or physical substance but a neutral substance that has both mental and physical attributes.

    In other words, there is one substance which is capable of consciousness and manifestation. But this substance is neither mental nor physical. According to this theory, this substance is unknown.

    If we go by this theory, it means that man has another entity within him that is neither the mind nor the brain, but “unknown” which thinks and brings it to pass.

    This theory, therefore, says invariably that man is not responsible for his/ her failure or success but the “unknown” substance in him/ her brings success or failure.

    This theory generally tells us nothing about creativity or becoming creative. If another substance is responsible for thinking and execution, then, man has no business in life. Because he is solely dependent on such substance.

    The question here is, what is this substance? How does this substance find its way into the man?

    DUALISM

    In an attempt to explain that mental states and consciousness cannot be completely reduced to the physical state alone, dualism emerged.

    Dualism separated the mind from the body. According to Descartes, the mind constitutes a different substance. And its functionality cannot be completely explained with reference to physical occurrence alone.

    He separated the functional role of the mind from the brain by identifying the mind with consciousness and self-awareness and the brain as the seat of intelligence.

    Descartes noted that the mind is able to engage in rational thought, feeling, imagining and will.

    There is three (3) major school of thoughts in dualism. They include a

    1. substance or Cartesian dualism,
    2. property dualism, and
    3. predicate dualism.

    Substance dualism has three (3) major theories namely, interactionism, occasionalism, and parallelism.

    Interactionism theory

    This theory explains that mental state such as beliefs and desires have the power to produce material substance. This simply means that you receive what you believe, or that your desires can become a reality.

    Descartes noted that there is a causal interaction between the mind and the body, which usually takes place at the pineal gland.

    creative theory of the mind - interactionism

    Interactionism

    This theory implies that knowledge, desire, and belief can produce material substance.

    How does it help in creativity?

    In creativity, this creative theory of the mind suggests that your knowledge can help you develop ideas.

    But these ideas cannot be actualized except if you believe. But if you fail to believe, these ideas may not materialize.

    Hence, ideas require corresponding desire and believe to materialize.

    This also is the birth of FAITH and the Power of Positive Thinking.

    Occasionalism theory

    This theory states that there is no direct causal interaction between the mind and the body. However, it believes that the interaction between them is the resultant causal effect of God’s intervention.

    According to this theory, there is a third substance that brings the interaction between the mind and the body. And this third substance is divinity.

    Hence, this implies that if you must receive what you believe or desire, God or a kind of divinity must intervene.

    Why Creativity?

    In creativity, this theory tells us that our ideas cannot materialize except if divinity sets it in motion. Yet it permits us to think out new ideas but to trust the divinity to intervene for our ideas to become a reality.

    divinity and motion of ideas

    Divinity sets ideas in Motion

    Parallelism theory

    Parallelism rejects the interaction between the mind and the body but it does not reject the intervention of God.

    According to Gottfried W. Leibniz, God has preestablished harmony between the mind and body, yet, both are independent of each other.

    In other words, mental states result in mental effects while the physical state has physical effects. But because of the harmony established by God, it seems that each one causes the other.

    Substance dualism introduced theology in explaining its theories. It recognized the existence of divinity (God); a supernatural being that brings harmony between the seen and the unseen.

    According to these theories, the supernatural is central. He brings harmony or intervenes to bring our thoughts, imaginations, beliefs, and desires to reality.

    Property Dualism

    This theory is also called Epiphenomenalism. It asserts that a mental state is a resultant effect of physical causes.

    According to the theory, the physical state can lead to physical occurrences or mental occurrences, while the mental state has no impact on physical occurrences.

    By implication, imaginations, desires, beliefs, have no power in a physical manifestation. However, a slap will produce a mental state of pain and anger.

    This theory states that behaviours are formed based on impulses received in the brain, and these impulses are transmitted to the brain through the sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin).

    For example, if you are angry, it is because your brain received a signal. This signal usually comes from what you saw, heard or felt.

    The case of Creativity

    This theory indicates that ideas are formed based on physical occurrences which are usually through observations and feeling.

    However, observation does not bring new ideas but gives insight into improvement and innovations.

    I believe that new ideas and inventions are by-products of imaginations, which are mostly mental occurrences.

    Predicate Dualism

    This theory is simply the opposite of eliminative materialism. It asserts that “common sense” cannot be eliminated when describing the mental states.

    It explains that the difference between what we describe as a mental state and what we describe as physical occurrence depends on language convention. This is because we describe a mental state with functional terms which do not correspond to the natural terms we use for physical properties.

    In other words, we may fail to give the exact explanation of mental state or physical occurrence due to lack of appropriate language to provide the explicit description.

    This means that certain assumptions or standards were right, but due to faulty language, these assumptions could not be correctly interpreted.

    Conclusion

    From the foregoing, we understand that the mind is related to the brain. Even without the theories, ask yourself these questions:

    • What is the foundation of memory?
    • How is a habit formed and broken?

    Whether monism or dualism is right or wrong, we know that the brain is the hardware or body and the mind is software or immaterial, but both functions together for maximum intellectual output.

    This intellectual output could be logical or creative, it could be innovation or invention. It could be material or immaterial.

    When every immaterial intellectual property becomes material, there is an improvement in the living standard of the society.

    Substance dualism says that there is a “substance” that manifests all ideas. Epiphenomenalism believes that physical states have mental occurrences while predicate dualism believes that common sense cannot be eliminated.

    In each of these theories, the most important is to think creatively and bring your ideas to reality.

    If divinity is important in the manifestation of our ideas, then, we should not neglect Him. If existing standards and assumptions are defeating our ideas, we should verify their truthfulness.

    Do not leave any stone unturned, work, be creative, take control of your future.

  • Discover the Key to Success: Build your Mental attitude Now

    Discover the Key to Success: Build your Mental attitude Now

    Success, no matter the angle you look at it, is a function of mental attitude. When successful people talk about success, most ingredients the ‘world’ admire is usually missing. Success could be defined as, “feeling that tingle of excitement about what you do; sticking with what matters through hard times; living a life you can feel proud of in retrospect.” In this article, you will discover how mental attitude is the key to success.

    Laura Garnett compiled different definitions of success from different successful people. In her findings, she discovered that success is not all about money and material well-being. According to her, “I grew up equating money and power with success, and for a time, that framed my definition.”

    She, therefore, defined success as:

    “Spending the majority of my time focused on work or tasks that are fulfilling, leveraging my Zone of Genius, maximizing my potential and helping other people in a meaningful way while providing the freedom, lifestyle, and experiences that I desire.”

    What one man defines as success is different from what another man defines as success. Different entrepreneurs define success in different ways, depending on what drives and motivates them. The definitions gathered by Laura all hinged on one’s mental attitude.

    success the key to mental attitude

    Similarly, Shana Lebowitz gathered the definition of success from 12 successful people and discovered that success is not measured by monetary values. For instance, Richard Branson says that success is about happiness; Arianna Huffington says that money and power are not enough to measure success.

    Furthermore, Mark Cuba says, that one does not need money to measure success, while John Wooden said that success is a matter of satisfaction and Warren Buffett relates success to relationship.

    Maya Angelou believes that success is about enjoying your work, while Bill Gates defines success as making an impact in the society. To Deepak Chopra, it means constant growth while to Barack Obama, success means changing people, but not power.

    What is your own definition of success?

    The definition of success cannot be objective, but subjective. Success can be defined in the way you see life. No one should define success for you.

    From the foregoing definitions, success means one thing; “Your mental attitude.”

    Mental Attitude

    If success is a function of mental attitude, then what is mental attitude?

    Mental attitude could be defined as a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings and values and dispositions to act in certain ways. Mental attitude is your mindset, the way you see, perceive and approach things. Mental attitude could be seen as a function of attention, decision, belief, motivation, and positive affirmation.

    In his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill’s first statement is, “Truly, “thoughts are things,” and powerful things at that, when mixed with purpose, persistence, and a burning desire for their translation into riches or other material objects.”

    Hill is simply referring to one’s mental attitude. In yet another book, Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude, Hill emphasized that success is a function of positive mental attitude (PMA) while failure is a function of negative mental attitude.

    Positive mental attitude

    The power to maintain a positive mental attitude lies within us. No one can determine your success, but you. People may encourage or discourage you, but the end result is your attitude to achieve your greatest desire. That is the beginning of success.

    Positive mental attitude is a matter of being optimistic, hopeful, expectant, confident in every situation. It is believed that having a positive mental attitude attracts positive changes and increases achievement. PMA will place you in a state of mind that will constantly seek ways of winning and obtaining favorable and desirable outcomes in every situation and circumstance.

    Live Bold and Bloom noted that each person has about 45,000 negative thoughts a day. It means that most of our daily thinking is always negative, unpleasant and harmful. People always think negative thoughts; our society is predominantly engrossed with negative thoughts. The author disclosed that negative thinking focuses on the past and the future. Thinking of frustrating and disappointing past, and being afraid of the future will bring.

    negative mental attitude

    According to Adam Sicinski, an average individual has about 60,000 thoughts per day. These thoughts are predominantly negative. He estimated that out of the 60,000 daily thoughts, 95% of them are repeated daily, while 80% of these repeated thoughts are negative.

    In his report, he stated that it is worrisome that:

    “95 percent of the thoughts that people have form the foundations of the emotions they experience throughout the day. This is significant because our emotions form the foundations of our attitude, and our attitude is what shapes our happiness and success in all areas of life.”

    When our thoughts are predominantly negative, we develop a negative mental attitude which impacts on our success negatively.

    Restating on the importance of mental attitude to success, Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General stated that, “If we change our attitude to mental health, we change the world.” According to him, “Although health encompasses both physical and mental well-being, mental health is mostly harbored as an afterthought.

    Research has also shown that positive mental attitude affects longevity and quality of life. Chicago Tribune reported Norvid as saying that,

    “People with PMA are individuals who look at the glass as half full versus half empty. “I see many patients who despite their multiple medical problems are able to deal with life in a positive way and maintain their strong friendships and family relationships.”

    Mental attitude empowers everything in life including health, success, and life itself.

    Therefore, attitude is a function of thoughts, as earlier said. To overcome these predominantly negative thoughts in us, we must develop a positive mental attitude that welcomes success, progress, prosperity, accomplishment, hope, and the likes.

    How to Build Your Mental Attitude

    Building a desirable mental attitude that will guarantee success is easy. It all begins with your thought. Your ability to control your thought is the beginning of success.

    The following are relevant to building a positive mental attitude.

    Key to Success No.1: Choose what to think

    The statistic that 80% of our daily thoughts are negative is staggering. The truth is that you have the power to choose what to think. Hill said that nature has endowed us with absolute control over but one thing, and that is thought.

    No one can impose what to think on you; you have sole control of your thoughts. However, people can help us shape our thoughts if we give in to their thinking. This can be achieved by what we hear, see and read.

    Therefore, to shape your thoughts towards a positive mental attitude, choose carefully what you hear, watch, and read. Read, watch, and listen to thought-provoking, inspirational, and motivating stories, articles, and speeches that will help shape your attitude.

    critical thinking

    Key to success No.2: You are more powerful than anyone or thing

    Thoughts are the greatest thing that can change and shape a man’s future. Declan O’Flaherty advised that we should know how powerful we are. He disclosed that “We create our outside reality through the thoughts and beliefs we maintain about life in general. What we believe in our inner world, we see in our outer world.”

    According to him, what you are is greater and superior to what you can imagine or see.

    Key to Success No.3: Create a mental awareness system

    Live Bold and Bloom discusses a system by which you can create awareness of your thought pattern using a rubber band. This system will enable you to catch what you are thinking each time you see the rubber band. It must not necessarily be a rubber band. You can choose anything that is handy for you.

    I personally love this idea because it helps in calling oneself back each time one is lost in thought. It will help you to ask yourself these questions:

    What I’m I thinking of? What have I been thinking of in the past “how many” seconds? Are my thoughts positive or negative? Are they related to my desire and goal in life?

    If your thoughts are negative, you can easily replace them with positive thoughts.

    Key to Success No.4: Live a life filled with gratitude

    Many times, we do not remember the good things that happened to us. We always dwell on the bad things. If we can form the habit of being thankful for the good things that happened to us, we will easily form a positive mental attitude.

    This can work with the above suggestion. Imagine catching yourself lost in thoughts of a negative past. Quickly switch to your positive past and begin to give thanks to God for what He did. This is one of my major tricks of building a positive attitude. Be thankful at what you gained rather than agitate over what you lost and the disappointments you faced.

    Key to Success No.5: Have faith

    One of the cardinal keys to success discussed by Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich is faith. According to him, “faith is a state of the mind that can be induced or created, by affirmation or repeated instructions to the subconscious mind, through the principle of autosuggestion.

    He also noted that faith can be induced through the principle of persistence. Having faith means believing that you will get what you desire. This means if you desire evil you get evil, if you desire good, you get good. This means that you choose what you believe.

    There are many more ways that can help you create a positive mental attitude discussed by Adam Sicinski. Some of them include empowering your language, shifting your physiology, cultivating present moment awareness, asking effective questions, and associating with inspiring people.

    Mental Attitude Vs Creativity

    Creativity is a mental attitude that can be acquired through learning and continuous practice. We have pointed out in previous articles that our contemporary way of doing things create more problems. So, to solve these problems, we must think within and out of the box.

    The world is a competitive place, if we fail to play our role smartly, we will become a dumping ground for others’ mistakes.

    Kelechi Agomuo, Kmacims

    The same is true for a family, a society and a nation. To avoid being a victim, we must constantly upgrade our potentials. To constantly upgrade our potential, we must fire up our mental attitude, which is a function of creative thinking.

    The Success Equation

    According to Brian Tracy, success is a function of talent and attributes. Put differently, success and human potential is a function of talent, knowledge, and attitude. He represented this in an equation as follow:

    HP = IA + AA x MA

    Where         HP stands for Success or Human Potential

    IA stands for talent or other Inborn Attributes that could affect success positively or negatively

    AA represents Knowledge or Acquired Attributes, including skills, experience and so on that could influence success positively or negatively, and

    MA stands for Mental Attributes which could be negative or positive.

    One’s mental attitude reflects his/her thinking capacity. Tracy noted that the Mental Attribute is the powerhouse which everyone has control over. Indeed, we all have the power to control what we think. Consequently, MA determines the success or failure or anyone if other factors remain constant.

    Boosting your Mental Attribute

    From Brian Tracy’s equation, we can make a little addition to have the following equation:

    HP = IA + AA x MAc

    Where c stands for Creativity which could also be positive or negative

    I am not a mathematician, but from the law of indices, we know that, if c = 0, then MA = 1. This implies that success is a function of Inborn Attributes (IA) and Acquired Attributes only. At this level, one’s success is controlled by his/her genetic attributes and the knowledge or skills gained. He/she will always follow instructions based on what is learned, with zero input. Analytically, such a person could remain a loyal employee, working for others all his/her life.

    It could also be a situation when one is working against his/her will. Many organizations in developing countries are filled with people who are working for the money. They are not passionate about their jobs, neither do they care to improve their skills. They only go for courses if it will fetch them promotion. In this case, c becomes zero, because they are not contributing creatively to the success of the organization.

    A negative c would lead to the negative application of Acquired Attributes (AA). When creativity is negative, it leads to diminishing mental attribute which affects AA. For example, if one thinks of how to steal or siphon funds from an organization or institution, and finally succeeds. A day will come when it will be discovered and such person’s reputation will be at stake.

    Nothing destroys success speedily than negative creativity.

    KmacIMS

    Negative creativity could also mean the acquisition of the wrong skill or knowledge.

    However, if c is positive, there will be the exponential impact on our mental attitude. This alone can boost success to the highest degree. This is when creativity leads to great inventions and innovations. The truth is that success is not what we are now, but depends on what we are becoming tomorrow. It is a function of what we think. This is why King Solomon says that man is what he thinks.

    The above equation is a simple analogy of how creativity impacts on one’s mental attitude as well as success. If creativity is this important, then we must develop it; and help our children develop such way of thinking.

    Learn Creativity at all Cost

    Our last article showed how creative children can be if allowed to process their imaginations. However, our traditional education does not permit this. They basically teach English language, mathematics and basic science in our school systems. Students are rewarded based on their performance on these subjects, but creativity is not rewarded. We don’t encourage creativity, we rather stifle it. But, how can we teach or learn creativity in our schools?

    Studies have shown that creativity is a skill that can be learned and managed. According to Louis R. Mobley, creativity is highly correlated with self-knowledge. Thus, people can be allowed to be wrong, because there is no perfect answer to solving a particular problem. Moreover, wrong and bad ideas can form a building block to the solution we seek.

    Conclusion

    Success depends on your definition. It could be to attain health, material wealth, happiness or peace of mind. But all these begin in the form of thought. Your ability to control your thoughts determines your level of success.

    Conclusion Drawn: KmacIMS

    Your success is in your hands, not in the hand of any person alive. Stop thinking that you need ‘someone’ to succeed. The first thing you need is to have the right attitude every other thing will come to place. Do you want to succeed? The key lies in your hand.

    According to Dr. Condoleeza Rice, “There is nothing standing in your way to do whatever you want to do provided you know what you want to do and love it. Education is of no value, talent is worthless unless you have one unwavering aim. Never find yourself without a compass.”

    Napoleon Hill wrote that,

    “People with negative minds tried to convince Thomas A. Edison that he could not build a machine that would record and reproduce the human voice, “Because,” they said, “no one else has ever produced such a machine.” Edison did not believe them.”

    Napoleon Hill

    Developing a positive mental attitude will help you to shun the believes of others, and pursue your utmost desire in life.

  • The Next Big Idea Behind Global Problems You Must Know

    The Next Big Idea Behind Global Problems You Must Know

    Problems usually originate within. When such problems are not controlled by authorities, communities, government, and institutions, they become global problems.

    Almost everywhere, in our environment and every part of the world, the foundations of established institutions are in disarray. In our homes, schools, churches and government institutions, there are escalating problems.

    Most of these problems are inherited. Some from parents, some from past administrations and many from past leaders of established institutions. These problems have been on the increase, posing greater difficulty to upcoming generations. The present generation, in their pretense to curb some of these problems, is busy creating greater problems than can be resolved.

    These problems are multifaceted, including global terrorism and insecurity to increasing economic uncertainty. These problems do not respect individuals, institutions or nations; they cut across developing, developed and G8 nations.

    Though they are severe in most third world nations, where they have led to increasing poverty, high cost of living, low standard of living, decaying education, corruption, and poor infrastructure.

    Identifying Global Problems

    According to global issues, about 21,000 children die every day around the world. And this figure is equivalent to about 1 child dying every second and 14 children dying every minute. It is noted that these deaths usually arose as a result of silent killers such as poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes.

    There are other global problems which do not make headline and are not often discussed. They include:

    • about 500,000 women dying each year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth,
    • 4 million babies dying within their first month of birth,
    • 22 million children not being protected from diseases through routine immunization, and
    • about 2 million children within the age of 15 living with HIV.
    • Also noted include about 7.6 million children dying before their 5th birthday in 2010.

    The death statistic, according to global issues is depicted in the diagram below.

    Global Problems - infant death rate

    (Credits: globalissues.org)

    What can you make out of the diagram above? Could you see that Africa has the highest share? This calls for creative thinking in the field of medicine.

    Global Problems: The UN Discoveries

    The United Nations, a global organization, identified twenty (20) global problems ravaging the world. The organization identified Africa, which they hope to assist so that Africa can help itself. UN identified that Africa is being ravaged by pressing issues such as climate change, Ebola and corruption.

    Also, include aging. The UN believes that the world population of aging people is growing faster than the population of younger people. They fear that in decades to come, there will be political pressures. These pressures will lead to policy formulations that will center on old population. As a result, policy concerns will center on:

    • health care for old people,
    • pensions for retired old population, and
    • social protections for a growing older population.

    According to statistics, the UN noted that since 2000:

    • new HIV infections have declined by 35% and 58% among children.
    • AIDS-related deaths have also fallen by 42% since the peak in 2004.
    • There is decrease in new HIV infections
    • There have also been increasing access to antiretroviral drugs.
    • However, there is a concern of yet an increase in the number of new infections.
    • And yet about 2.1 million new infections and 1.1 million deaths of AIDS-related illnesses.

    Other key problems identified include:

    • atomic energy,
    • big data for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
    • children,
    • climate change,
    • decolonization,
    • democracy,
    • food, health, & human rights,
    • international law and justice,
    • population & migration,
    • oceans and the law of the sea,
    • peace and security,
    • refugees, water and women.

    Global Problems - cycle of hunger

    (Infographic credit: Pakistan & Gulf Economist)

    In their research, gvi identified among others six (6) global problems. These problems are critical and requires immediate attention.

    These six global problems include:

    1. food security,
    2. global healthcare and primary education,
    3. gender inequality,
    4. needs of Africa,
    5. habitat and biodiversity loss,
    6. ocean conservation and water scarcity.

    The Next Best Solution

    Challenge your Thinking

    Let us come back home. Look around you, what problems do you see? A closer look at the happenings reveal that there are problems in our homes, schools, churches and government institutions.

    Some of these organized institutions are places people could run to for a solution. But they have compounded the problems they should have resolved.

    In fact, to many people, it’s as if the world is coming to an end. Even you, I believe you have dozens of problems that you seek a solution to.

    The fact is that, in all these problems, there is only one PROBLEM. This problem marks the beginning of solution to other problems. And this problem is you.

    Yes, you! You, because no one wants to take responsibility. From individuals to organizations, institutions, and government. No one wants to take responsibility.

    People often run to churches, NGOs and government institutions for solutions. But these established institutions have failed to live up to their expectations.

    We often play the blame game. The government, organized institutions, parents and children. Our best solution is to blame another. This is because no one wants to take responsibility.

    What solution does blame bring? It increases and multiplies the problem at hand. How would blaming your parents, uncles, or siblings help you resolve your problems? It rather compounds it.

    A society like ours is facing high and increasing costs of fuel & oil. There has been increasing terrorism and massive killings of persons, ethnic, cultural, religious & racial conflicts. There is disintegrating and falling moral standards, and many more. We need not shift blame. If we do, we compound our problems the more.

    With all these happenings around us, do we have a reason to die? Should we renounce our existence on earth? Should we remain depressed, because we have overwhelming problems. Has our problems defied solutions? The answer is NO. YOU CAN BE THE SOLUTION.

    The Diamond Bank published in her newsletter, Opportunities in Nigeria Consumer Health Sector. Hidden in this newsletter are macroeconomic trends in the health sector. There are also budgetary allocations and, gaps that should be filled by entrepreneurs.

    What if you are told that the Nigerian health sector is valued at US$2.16 billion. That the health sector contributes US$0.55 billion each quarter. And that the total budgetary allocation for the sector in 2018 is US$0.98 billion. Would it change your way of thinking?

    The problems highlighted above clearly shows the need to invest in this sector. If you are still doubtful of the success-failure ratio, you can read a copy of this report here.

    Why Institutions Fail

    Nations have set up institutions. They have even adopted intellectual, scientific, religious and political approaches in order to solve these problems. Yet their efforts are proving abortive.

    This is because of the inherent defects in our way of thinking. Our way of thinking has been mapped into defective institutions and approaches to solving our societal problems. Our society has immersed themselves in negative thoughts.

    We have developed a negative perspective because that is what attracts much media attention. Most people would prefer to read stories with the following headlines:

    • “President collapsed in the office…”,
    • “An innocent girl was raped to death by 10 men”,
    • “150 persons commit suicide in one month”;

    But stories with this type of headlines do not often sell: 

    • “GDP grows by 5% in the second quarter…”,
    • “Government compensates 10000 farmers…”.

    Most times, when people see good headlines, they will doubt the truth of the story. Why is our thought always negative?

    Because of our predominantly negative thoughts, the solution proffered by our institutions naturally bring a negative outcome. This is because, a negative mindset begets negative thoughts. This invariably lead to a depressed and dejected society.

    How do we bring solution to these global problems? What of our immediate problems?

    • We need a transformed way of thinking.
    • We need a help that is perhaps not contaminated with the present defective institutions and minds.
    • We need a total change in our way of thinking. If this change or mind transformation does not come, we may not be able to solve these self-generated problems.
    • Individuals, families, and institutions need relevant, practical and creative ways of handling and solving societal problems. If individual minds can be transformed and/or renewed, then families will be transformed. Also, villages, communities, institutions, states, and nations will equally be transformed.
    • Individuals, society and nations will device creative ways of solving societal problems.

    The quality of individual minds determines the quality of minds within a society and determines the quality of the solution offered to the society.

    The standards, values, morals, laws, lifestyles, and cultures within a society is influenced by the mindset of individuals that make up that society.

    Conclusion

    The problems thus far identified, rather than be allowed to persist, should provide us with an avenue for creativity.

    If we critically look at the global problems, we will find that Africa is the only continent that was mentioned. This means that you and I have a lot to do.

    This also calls for critical thinking and creativity in the various fields that need immediate attention.

    Why would you want someone to do for you what you can do for yourself?

    Each of these problems create an opportunity for investment and invention, but you must first generate the idea. Ideas abound in each problem. If we can critically examine each of these problems, we shall find lots of opportunities. To unlock these opportunities, we should keep our creative thinking alive.

    What should you do now? You are required to look inwards and explore the options within you. At the core of these options is the human mind. The quality of your thought determines the quality of the solution you will bring to the society.

    Our key purpose is to bring solutions to societal problems without creating further problems. This is possible if we can first change our thoughts. The content of our mind determines the quality of our thoughts.

    What is the content of your mind? Are you ready to be different from others? The celebrated in the society are those who chose the path others refused to follow. If you want to be celebrated, you have the opportunity knocking at your door.

    Our subsequent posts will center on understanding our mind and how we can become creative to be the solution.

    Follow us in our subsequent posts by simply subscribing to our newsletter.

  • What is Brainpower: Creative Power of The Brain (updated)

    What is Brainpower: Creative Power of The Brain (updated)

    Your brainpower determines your creative power in times of emergency. The last time you were under pressure to deliver a task, what did you do?

    We are often ignorant of the creative power of our brain. The brain has an enormous capacity to handle anything. Our understanding of how it functions will distinguish us from others.

    Do you accomplish all your daily tasks? Have you thought of why you couldn’t in most cases?

    Many people could accomplish only 40% – 80% of their daily tasks. This is not because of incapacitation, but because of congestion in the brain.

    What is the Brain?

    The brain is the center of thought, creativity, and intelligence. Many times, we allow issues of life to congest our thoughts and brainpower thereby causing us to lose.

    Scientifically, it has been stated that people use only 10% of their brainpower on daily basis.

    According to Robynne Boyd out of the brain cells, only 10% are neurons. The remaining 90% are glial cells that encapsulate and support neurons.

    This could be the mystery behind our daily usage of 10% of our brainpower. According to Brian Tracy,

    our lives are jam-packed these days with worries, to-do lists, thoughts about work and home. And this clutter gave the brain no room for focus and creativity.

    Brian Tracy: Try Decluttering Your Brain to Find More Room for Creativity (Video)

    I tried to capture the above statement in the diagram below.

    Creative Power of The Brain-clog in the brain

    Let us consider this analogy:

    If a machine has the capacity to produce 100 units per day. Won’t it be a colossal waste and mark of organizational inefficiency to produce at 20 units per day?

    Indeed, it will be. This will not only ruin the profitability of any organization but will undermine its future well-being.

    Why should people waste such an enormous amount of brainpower and still strive for success?

    One reason could be ignorance of the creative power of the human brain. This article has come to the rescue. You will understand:

    • The creative power of the brain, and
    • how to exploit the brainpower for maximum benefit.

    What is Brainpower?

    Brainpower is one’s ability to think out results or solutions at any given point in time. It is one’s intellectual ability and capacity to find solutions to a problem without external interference.

    Brainpower could also be referred to as creative power. Because it exposes one’s intellect and creativity from the inside out.

    Brainpower is a function of time. It is your creative power measured within a time frame. To determine your brainpower, you should answer questions like:

    • How long did it take to arrive at a solution to the problem?
    • Was the solution perfect and fitting to the problem?

    To become creative, there is a need to exercise and develop our brainpower. This creative power should not die before us.

    The Functional Power of the Brain

    The Human brain governs the body system. It is the center of intelligence, creativity, emotions, memory, and thoughts. It connects the human body with the outside world.

    The Human brain weighs about 1.4kg or 3 pounds and uses 20% of the body’s energy. It is comprised primarily of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem.

    During embryonic development, the human brain is divided into three sections, namely the forebrain, the midbrain, and the hindbrain.

    The forebrain is comprised of the cerebrum, thalamus, hypothalamus, pineal gland, and other underlying structures. The midbrain is located near the center of the brain and is part of the brainstem. The hindbrain is made up of the cerebellum and the brainstem.

    Brainstem

    The brainstem is made up of the medulla oblongata, the pons, and the midbrain. It is a relay center that connects the cerebrum and the cerebellum to the spinal cord.

    The medulla carries nerve signals up into the brain and down into the spinal cord. The medulla helps in processing involuntary actions that are related to homeostasis.

    The medulla has a cardiovascular center. This center helps it to regulate the heart rates to ensure sufficient oxygen supply to the body tissues. Hence, it monitors blood pressure and oxygen levels.

    Creative Power of The Brain - the brain

    The Human Brain (Credit: Shutterstock)

    Also, the medulla has a medullary rhythmicity center which helps it to control the rate of breathing.

    Breathing rate is usually influenced by bodily activities. Activities that use up energy speedily increase the rate of breathing. Finally, the medulla coordinates all reflex actions such as sneezing, vomiting, coughing, etc.

    The pons acts as a bridge for nerve signals traveling to and from the cerebellum. It also carries nerve signals between the superior regions of the brain and the inferior regions of the brain.

    Midbrain

    The midbrain is the most superior component of the brainstem. It is divided into the tectum and the cerebral peduncles.

    The tectum controls auditory and visual reflexes. That is, it controls reflex actions that deal with hearing and seeing.

    The cerebral peduncles contain nerve tracts that connect the cerebrum, thalamus, and spinal cord. It also contains the substantia nigra which is in charge of movement and motor control. If this area of the brain is lost or deteriorates, it can lead to Parkinson’s disease.

    Cerebellum

    The cerebellum is inferior to the cerebrum and contains the cerebellar cortex and the arborvitae also called the tree of life. The arborvitae connects the cerebellar cortex to the other parts of the brain and body.

    The main function of the cerebellum is movement and motor control. The cerebellum keeps the body system at balance by coordinating posture, walking, writing, speaking, and other complex muscle activities.

    Creative Power of The Brain - cerebrum...

    Cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem (Credit: Human Brain Facts)

    Forebrain

    The forebrain is the most superior part of the brain. It contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, pineal gland, and cerebrum, among other components. This is the center of reasoning, emotions, learning, thinking, and all activities that affect creativity

    The thalamus acts as a switchboard of the brain. Thalamus receives sensory neurons entering the brain and sends them to the correct portion of the cerebral cortex for processing. The thalamus is essential to learning.

    The hypothalamus is not concerned with learning and reasoning. It is more concerned with the maintenance of a healthy body. It controls the body temperature, the rate of heartbeat, blood pressure, hunger, thirst, and the production of hormones.

    All these work together to maintain a healthy body. Remember, health is wealth.

    The pineal gland produces the hormone that controls sleep. The hormone secreted is called melatonin. Melatonin is believed to have a sedative effect on the brain, which helps to induce sleep.

    Creative Power of The Brain - forebrain

    Forebrain, mid-hindbrain (Credit: SlidePlayer)

    Cerebrum

    The cerebrum is the center of creativity, reasoning, and logic. It is the largest part of the human brain and is divided into two cerebral hemispheres. The right and the left cerebral hemispheres.

    These two hemispheres are joined together by the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum helps to transmit messages between both parts of the brain.

    Each hemisphere controls the opposite sides of the body. That is, the left brain controls all the muscles on the right-hand side of the body system. While the right brain controls all the muscles on the left side of the body system.

    It is believed that one part of the cerebral hemisphere can be dominant. Hence, one can be either left-handed or right-handed. If you are left-handed, then your right brain is dominant and vice versa.

    How to Use the Creative Power of the Brain

    The cerebrum which is the center of creativity is divided into two halves: the right brain and the left brain.

    Each of these halves is subdivided into four (4) lobes, namely:

    • frontal lobe,
    • parietal lobe,
    • the temporal lobe, and
    • occipital lobe.

    The frontal lobe

    The frontal lobe is associated with intelligence, emotions, reasoning, personality development, and behavioral formations. It also controls the sense of judgment, planning, and problem-solving. It has also been found to be associated with speech and expressive language, motor skills, and body movement.

    Dopamine is a chemical messenger in the brain. It is usually released by the nerve cells to send a signal to other parts of the brain. When the chemical is released, it helps to control body movement, motivation, reward, memory, and attention.

    Neuroscientist believed that different levels of dopamine affect motivation and enthusiasm in people.

    Increased dopamine release boosts enthusiasm and motivation while decreasing the release of dopamine reduces enthusiasm and motivation. This feeling of motivation occurs when the dopamine released reaches a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens.

    The nucleus accumbens is an area in the forebrain responsible for the reward and reinforcement of behavior.

    When dopamine reaches the nucleus accumbens, it makes a judgment based on environmental stimuli. This could be reward or punishment. It also enforces a behavioral pattern that suits the stimuli.

    For example, if you are afraid of failing your exam, the dopamine released will motivate you to work harder. You will do all that is necessary to avoid failure.

    The creative power of the brain is usually affected by the predominant stimuli.

    How do you increase the dopamine level to trigger motivation and reinforce a good behavioral pattern?

    According to Erica Julson, to increase the dopamine level do any of the following:

    • eat lots of food that contains protein,
    • eat fewer fatty foods,
    • increase your consumption of probiotics,
    • eat more velvet beans (mucuna pruriens),
    • have regular exercises,
    • always have enough sleep,
    • listen to music,
    • practice meditation,
    • expose yourself to sunlight, and
    • use iron, niacin, folate, and vitamin B6 supplements.

    This shows that the dopamine level affects brainpower. Because the dopamine level affects the creative power of the brain:

    • use your sense of judgment to prioritize your daily activities.
    • to avoid anxiety, simpler activities should be performed first and the difficult ones performed last.
    • ensure that worry does not take a minute out of your daily schedules,
    • adopt good planning tactics, it will help you accomplish all activities.

    The parietal lobe

    The parietal lobe processes tangible sensory information. This includes the sense of touch, pain, and temperature. it also interprets signals from vision, hearing, and movement.

    Creative Power of The Brain - lobes in the brain

    Frontal temp lobes (Credit: Mayoclinic)

    The temporal lobe

    The temporal lobe processes sound. It is associated with memory, hearing, language perception, and organization.

    The occipital lobe

    The occipital lobe interprets visual signals and information such as color, light movement, etc.

    What we hear, read, or see effects the creative power of the brain. To be more productive each day,

    you must be mindful of what you consume through your sight and ear. The senses of sight and hearing are too sensitive that they can make or break your day.

    Creative Power of the Brain

    From the foregoing, we understand that each part of the brain contains these four lobes. In the 1960s, Roger Wolcott Sperry performed experiments to show the functional differences between the right and left brain.

    According to Sperry, the left-brain hemisphere is associated with the following:

    • linear thinking,
    • arithmetic,
    • logic and facts,
    • speech,
    • comprehension, and writing.

    The right-brain, on the other hand, controls:

    • spatial ability,
    • creativity,
    • imagination,
    • intuition,
    • artistic and musical skills.
    Creative Power of The Brain - right-left brain

    Right-left Brain (Credit: May Field Clinic)

    Based on the finding, people who are left-brain dominant are good at reading, writing, arithmetic, and logical reasoning. And people with right-brain dominance are good at art, music, and other creative works.

    From Sperry’s point of view, we can see that our conventional education supports the left brain more than the right-brain.

    Also, we tend to reward the left brain more than the right brain. This is because we believe that they are smarter and tend to be more successful in society.

    Why are most people left-brain dominant?

    Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proposed the theory of use and disuse. This theory of evolution states that organs used constantly as a result of environmental needs are developed. He noted that these developed organs are transferred to the offspring through heredity.

    If this theory is true, then it means that our conventional education is gradually killing creativity. Because it is developing more of the left-brain than the right-brain.

    To maximize the creative power of the brain, we need to develop the right brain. When we fully develop the right brain, it will be transferred to our children through heredity. Could this be the reason most people are left-brain dominant?

    Another theory that could be responsible for more left-brain dominance is the theory of reward and punishment.

    This theory was developed by B.F. Skinner. It states that individual behavior is usually modified by its consequences.

    In other words, when a behavior attracts reward, it is reinforced and becomes a dominant behavior. However, a behavior that attracts punishment is usually discontinued.

    This tells us that reward and punishment will help us maximize the creative power of the brain.

    How?

    If we reward the left-brain dominant people more than the right-brain dominant individuals, then:

    overtime, people will shift towards the left brain than developing their right brain. The same will be true for the right brain.

    These theories tell us how to be more creative and how to enforce creativity.

    We should develop the organs that are responsible for creativity by doing the necessary exercises. We can also increase the reward for creativity (right-brain dominance) more than the left-brain dominance.

    The left-brain dominant people in the society include doctors, lawyers, bankers, and so on.

    In the past, these people received more financial values while the right-brain dominant people were neglected, abandoned, and rejected.

    Most parents would go as far as rejecting their children because of their chosen career. They rather encourage and equip their children to be lawyers, doctors, accountants, and so on.

    But this trend is changing speedily. In our society today, it seems that the right-brain dominant individuals are taking their turn. The artists and celebrities are now hitting it big in the market.

    Why should I become creative?

    I remember in the past when musicians and artists cannot earn a living. This is mostly the reason parents discourage their children from such a vocation. In our society today, jobs are disappearing with millions of graduates roaming the streets.

    The unemployment rate is increasing at an alarming rate. There are no jobs for lawyers, accountants, and bankers. Worse is that those who are employed, especially in the private sector, cannot boast of job security.

    Also, with the decreasing value of money due to the increasing rate of inflation, fixed income earners are becoming poor.

    But the musicians, entrepreneurs, inventors, etc. are being celebrated. In fact, there is no limit to their earnings, except for those who are not open to new ideas. The creative power of your brain is yearning at you now!

    When you develop your right brain of creativity, always be open to new ideas, no matter your vocation.

    Daniel Pink writes to illustrate this shift, in his book titled, A Whole New Mind. According to him,

    The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind. These include creators, empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers. These people will now reap society’s richest rewards and share the greatest joy.

    Daniel Pink

    Conclusion

    Research has proven that the two halves of the brain are not totally divided. Both halves of the brain work together to accomplish a task.

    As we can see from the diagram above, the two halves of the brain are tied together by bundles of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum. These fibers interrelate information between the two halves of the brain.

    Nielsen, Ziebinski, Ferguson, Lainhart, and Anderson (2013), shows that individuals use both sides of the brain, but that brain activity differs depending on the task at hand.

    Roger, et al, showed that the brain of more creative individuals is wired differently. They showed that more creative people engage three (3) different brain networks during creative activities.

    This understanding helps us to develop our creative ability. We should engage more actively the brain networks that are responsible for creativity.

    If we engage more in creative thinking, imagination, and intuitions, we will be developing our creative brain networks. Thus making them more dominant.

    We should also engage reward and punishment to reinforce creative behavioral patterns and discontinue noncreative activities.

    Importantly, creativity without a good sense of organization and logical coherence will be a great disadvantage. Hence, balanced brain development is necessary to make the most out of the brainpower.