How to KRE8

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address

In her book, YOUR CREATIVE BRAIN, Dr. Shelley Carson shares the psychology and neuroscience of creativity. A Harvard psychologist, Dr. Carson defines creativity as something novel or original and useful or adaptive to some portion of the population. She focuses on the distinction between originality and creativity. Carson indicates that many things are original but aren’t particularly creative. She cites the “word salad” speech of a schizophenic as highly original but it does not appear to have a utility, even to the person uttering the words. 

Psychologists used to believe the left brain analyzed with an involvement of sequential thinking and the right brain handled creativity. The a movement developed toward the front-back brain division. The front brain became the gatekeeper and controlled the input from the back brain. Now we think it’s more complicated that either model. It depends upon which stage of the creative process you’re in.

Dr. Carson feels contentment is the enemy of creativity because the creative mind constantly hungers for stimulation.

Creativity involves novelty-seeking. Studies of cognitive behavior have shown you can change brain activation states, alter neurotransmitter levels and the receptors for those neurotransmitters and receptors. Dr. Carson believes, “if we have the ability to change our brains with cognitive behavior therapy, why not use that power to become more novelty-seeking and more creative?’

She adds, to increase creativity, “keep learning new things. Take courses, read widely, and learn how to play a new instrument or how to cook Tuscan food. Learn, learn, learn! Second, try not to judge the things you’re learning. Keep an open mind. Everything you learn is a possible element that may make its way into some future creative idea that you can’t even imagine today. And the more open-minded you remain about what you learn, the more likely you are to see how it can be combined with other information to form a novel and original product or idea." 

What could you do to develop a novelty-seeking ability in your life today? 

Explore the Connections

"A permanent state of transition is man's most noble condition." - Juan Ramon Jiminez

"Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit . . . People wish to be settled; only so far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"In the presence of eternity, the mountains are as transient as the clouds." - Robert Green Ingersoll

"What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset." - Crowfoot

"Asymmetry and irregularity allow the possibility of growth,

 but perfection chokes the imagination." - Donald Keene"

"Have no fear of perfection, you'll never reach it." - Salvador Dali

"When weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of the blanket to let the should out." - Martha Graham

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." 
- Leonardo da Vinci

"It is only when we silence the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts." 

- K.T.Jong

Explore the connections to develop the fun beyond frustration. 



*Views from the sculpture garden on the University of Oregon campus.

Take a Journey

And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles,
no matter how long,
but only by a spiritual journey,
a journey of one inch,
very arduous and humbling and joyful,
by which we arrive at the ground at our feet,
and learn to be at home.
- Wendell Berry

Consider your day's journey. 

Imagine that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

Find the sunshine and make your Optimism shine. 

Make family, friends, and strangers feel significant. 

Disregard mistakes of the past and formulate achievements for the future. 






Rise too tall to worry and flexible for all approachable events.  

Send a smile. Encourage its return.

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end." 

-Ursula K. Le Guin