Have you ever entered a Zen-like state of productivity? You know, where your thoughts and execution seem to operate in perfect harmony with one another? It’s a place where you are literally thinking less and accomplishing more, and I’m sure that given the choice, most of you would choose to live on that edge rather than simply experience it every once in a while.
In reality, these Zen-like states are not nearly as unpredictable or as unattainable as you might think. In most cases, they occur as natural fallout from a well-constructed creative process. If you want to live on that free-flowing edge, then you must learn how to force your brain through the sequence of triggers that will result in your own cognitive Zen.Understanding Your Brain
Ever read an instruction manual?I’m sure you’ve noticed, then, that the process described therein was stepwise in nature. By design, we humans are quite comfortable with processes like this — we can easily move from step one, to step two, and so on.
It just makes sense.
Instructions, steps, order, and reason are all characteristics of the left brain. They are sensible, practical, and in many cases, obvious.
We’re so accustomed to going through life in a regimented, left-brain-dominated fashion that we seldom realize there’s an entire half of our brain being left out of the equation.
The Zen-like state feels so harmonious because that’s exactly what it is — it’s a method of operation that results from a balance between left and right brain function.
Your left brain is able to follow a process seamlessly, but the problem is that it cannot divine this process on its own. This, of course, is where the right brain comes into play.
The right brain provides the creative direction, while the left brain takes orders and executes them. If you want to operate in the Zen zone, then you’re going to have to balance right and left brain activity in order to find that harmonious flow.
What you need is a good, right brain workout, and I’m not about to leave you hanging!
