Flavors of (Creative) Mind

Abstract

Not always found in psychology books, our altered consciousness seems afoot here. Meditation, dreams, hypnagogic imagery, and more. We spend time with our muse, perhaps in a reverie by the fire, or on a walk. Wallas's stages of creative process are helpful, e.g., re incubation. Neuroscience brings another viewpoint. Word puzzles invoking insight have evoked distinct neuropsychological states, brain profiles, and subjective experiences. Is such experience familiar to you? Can people come to feel such states, even voluntarily "turn it on"? Might biofeedback or other technologies help? Add evidence for neural shifts, brain idling, a creative flash. Or views of unconscious and subtle mental states in balance with executive functioning. Careful. Do not pathologize these.