***Brain Structure Impedes Creative Thinking, How You Get Out of the Box

The structure of any species' brain predisposes it to certain kinds of thinking. The recent scientific brain mapping experiments in which the same certain area of brain is stimulated in random humans, or is stimulated in a given category of human individuals, suggest that anything any of us think has likely been thought up by a member of our species before. Our uniqueness has its limits, in other words. We are programmed not only by environment, education and our psychology, but by anatomy. This fact is an excellent meditation for the development of humility; it makes self-analysis a lot less self-congratulatory. This thought of the ways we are programmed can also serve as a handy-dandy all-purpose excuse for not excelling or not developing ourselves. One of the findings of these brain mapping sessions is that the area associated with religious thought and feeling is also associated with delusion. That's OUR brain they are talkin' about!

Here our brain, the very organ that informs us about our reality, comes pre-programmed with chapter heads that are less than ideal. This is the 'box' we would like to 'think out of,' isn't it? Deprogramming oneself: That project is oceanic in scope. Drugs, psychiatry and mystical experiences are some common approaches to the impossible task. And of course some diseases of the brain or mind manage to deprogram and reprogram with no effort on our part, but not much choice either.

Are you one of those people who would like to be able to experience being out of this box at will? You need to know what the box is made of, if so.

ASSUMPTIONS ARE PART OF 'THE BOX'

A main ingredient of the box is assumptions and the purpose they serve, or that they originally served when forged. No tarring of assumptions with the 'bad-guy' brush here: Rethinking afresh each instance of one's life at each occurrence, instead of learning from experience, is the only alternative to not assuming! But sometimes we assume 'when we are not looking' and hurt ourselves. We would like to think creatively. So it is useful to identify and classify assumptions. Psychological assumptions are especially suspect as obstacles to creative thinking.

UNCONSCIOUS PARTS OF CONSCIOUS THINKING ARE PART OF 'THE BOX'

Another main ingredient of the box is the chains of sequences in our thinking that have become reflexive they have been welded together for so long. You could call these the unconscious parts of conscious thinking. Loops. Shortcuts. Concepts. Going back to the structure of the brain that the scientists are mapping, the brain's electrical impulses trace pathways that ARE our thoughts, pathways that use open spaces (synapses) as crossroads. The well-traveled pathways are like highways, and the extremely well-traveled ones, the chains-of-sequences ones, are like limited-access highways. The loop or reflexive process is real, not theoretical: It is happening in your mind as you read these words, because reading is of course a reflexive process you learned in grammar school.

We humans can become aware of our thought processes, especially with practice. We can, if we make the effort, sense when the electrical trace of our thought goes into unconscious overdrive, the signature of 'the box' and choose a different turn at that synapse intersection instead of following the usual pattern. That 'different turn' is creative thinking. This practice of steering the thought off the track is of course a meditation, and it has a very private thrill associated with its realizations! You may find yourself, for instance, blinking your eyes as your thinking zips through one of these concept loops, a nice tell-tale symptom to look for. Taking your brain out and playing with it can be entertaining as well as informative.

CLASSIFYING PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS BY THE FEELINGS THEY GIVE OFF

We humans can, by making a similar effort, get a feel for the assumptions in our mindsets. The psychological assumptions have earmark emotions associated with them. Some of these to get you started are:

* A self-serving assumption emits a righteous powerful feeling. Think Nurse

Ratchett or Mother Angelica. Think 'self-congratulatory.'

* A self-defeating assumption exudes that twinge of guilt-plus-getting-away-with-something that kids experience when they dodge a chore and excuse themselves by whining. Think politicians' comments when they are caught in one of their shenanigans. Think 'sleazing out.'

* Another feeling is associated with falsely reassuring ourselves Pollyanna style. Think the tone of voice we associate with campaign promises.

Conversely, there is also a 'vibe' or atmosphere associated with objective thought.

Assumptions that enable us give off a solid reassuring strength sensation.

The process of identifying psychological assumptions by sensing their emotional signature requires the kind of internal integrity and honest insight that puts a person on a spiritual path. Personal power arises from 'busting' assumptions that impede and appreciating ones that enable.

Being the passenger looking out the window as your thoughts drive along creates, eventually, an ability to critique the moment as you live it, which adds a depth dimension, a detached dimension, to your personality. You care less about the immediate scene because there's a buffer of analysis between you and it. You can shrug off petty stresses as well as you can avoid being overly impressed with your own achievements.

Being able to sense when you are 'in the box' and being able to step outside of that box clears the ground for creative thinking.