Blog 9: Hughes, Ch. 11 & 12

I like the Hughes book foremost because it sufficiently explains things like “creativity” in a neurological sense. I find the neurological creative process in the brain to be particularly fascinating. It’s a tough thing to understand because we understand it as it relates to us subjectively. At times Hughes’s explanations can be a bit difficult to follow, but the general concept comes through.

I wonder if this neuro-scientific analysis of creativity can explain why some people are (or seem to be) more creative than others. The ability to be creative is different for everyone, but does our individual brain chemistry determine our capacity for creativity? It would be comforting to think that creativity is an ability that can be learned and evolved through the disciplined mind.

I’d like to look further into the idea of meditation as an altered state of consciousness and a gateway to the creative process. It’s what John Keats explains (on pg.150) as “negative capability,” or unfocused attention in which a person intentionally withdraws from normal consciousness into a state of alertness and relaxation. In my experience, it’s sort of like the early stages of sleep where you are still receptive to your environment, but you can feel your mind drifting off. The act of meditating holds great religious and spiritual significance to those who practice it, specifically in Eastern religions. Certain types of meditation, such as Transcendental Meditation, became popular in the West after The Beatles traveled to India in the late 60’s to study under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This technique involves chanting a mantra while sitting with closed eyes and it is one of the most commonly practiced. The chant, or sound vibration which Hughes points out, is traditionally considered to be the first sound vibration of creation. In Hindu meditation, “OM” is the mantra syllable that is chanted in prayer. The idea is that with disciplined practice over a long period of time, one will be able to reach spiritual enlightenment. Perhaps this enlightenment can also lead the way to creative consciousness.

Chapters 11 & 12 maintain the concept that creativity itself lies within the translation of the vision or experience into unaltered reality or what we consider to be “normal” reality. Whether or not one’s experience is achieved through the use of drugs or other means such as meditation, it shapes the ideas that we are able to express and communicate with the world.