Your Brain on Art- Day 18

 

As important as routine and rituals are, our brains crave novelty. 

It’s easy to become bored with the same repeated routine. I have found I’ve fought a battle between these two over the years.

I am naturally drawn to routine. Each time I have moved over the last several years, it doesn’t take me long to establish my new routine. 

I usually earmark certain days of the week for certain tasks. I find my favorite stores and even my favorite route through those stores. 

Inevitably, though, I begin to find myself bored with the same old same old. 

It’s at this point that I tend to search out novelty to keep life interesting. 

It has been found that when we experience something new and different the hippocampus of our brain is stimulated resulting in a release of dopamine. 

Dopamine is the hormone that regulates our motivation. That’s why you might find yourself having more energy or being excited about a novel experience.

Novelty is responsible for triggering surprise. Even if we saw the Grand Canyon every day, eventually the awe and wonder would lessen. Your brain, in an effort to conserve energy, would habituate even something as majestic as this. 

Your brain is wired to pay attention to new things. Especially, if they are vivid and interesting. 

It’s actually quite easy to incorporate novelty in your life by doing simple things like trying out a new route, cooking a new recipe,  or visiting a new museum. 

Novelty can spark your creativity resulting in more expansive thoughts. It acts like a type of neurological primer. 

It can also help you look at the world with fresh eyes. Look beyond the obvious and see how familiar objects can be used in different ways. 

I remember an activity I used to do with my students. We would take a common object, like a paper clip, and see how many different ways it could be used. 

This became quite fun as we brainstormed ideas as a class, and often resulted in giggles. Be as silly as you like. 

How do you respond to novelty?

Your Brain on Art- Day 17

 

Often, when we think of the word ritual we think of it in the context of religion. A ritual is actually just a “repeatable series of actions with social, psychological, or symbolic meaning.”

This could be as simple as your morning cup of coffee. Rituals benefit your brain. Remember the habits we discussed yesterday and how the neuroplasticity of your brain plays a key role in making and breaking habits. 

Rituals help reduce anxiety, can increase your focus, and give you a sense of control. The predictability and repetitive nature of rituals are calming to your brain. 

Rituals help regulate mood and can release both dopamine and serotonin. In fact, rituals can help the brain shift into the prefrontal cortex, which aids in rational thinking.

Cultural rituals can set standards and expectations. They can mark milestones and help people move on from difficult circumstances.

In the long run, rituals help the brain to build up the resilience it needs to manage anxiety. 

Of course, the arts fit in beautifully with daily rituals. I know for me sitting down to watch TV has become a time to break out my colored pencils. Some people include daily journaling to help process emotions. Others utilize aromatherapy to regulate mood. Listening to music or taking a daily walk are all examples of rituals. 

What rituals are a part of your life?

Your Brain on Art- Day 16

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Annie Dillard

According to Your Brain on Art, neuroplasticity can work for you in helping create new neural pathways, but it can also be what keeps you stuck in a rut. 

I like to think about the paths the cows have made in our pasture. They seem to prefer traveling the same familiar way. How often have we been guilty of doing the same? 

Our day-to-day routines form neural pathways. These are the habits we develop, regardless of how good or bad they are for us. 

As we continue thinking about flourishing, we have to be open to the idea of creating new pathways. If we keep doing the same thing over and over in the same way we really can’t expect anything to improve. 

It wasn’t until I gave up eating sugar daily that my weight began to drop almost effortlessly. I no longer craved sugar and found that fresh peaches or a mandarin orange fit the bill.  I needed to reset my body's ability to naturally regulate my weight. Giving up the sugar made a big difference. 

Magsamen and Ross tell us that, “Practice and repetition rewire the brain. Our repeated patterns can help our brains to be agile, to conserve energy, and to flourish, or they can keep us stuck.”

Give some thought to your habits. Are they helping or hurting you accomplish your goals? There is a lot of research that supports the idea of starting small. I like to remember the adage, “How do you eat an elephant?” One bite at a time. 

Our amazing brain is designed to rewire and adapt to new habits. It is through repetition that new neural pathways are developed. You can purposefully do this by replacing old routines with new more positive ones. 

Your Brain on Art- Day 15

“The creative path is an unfolding process of becoming ourselves and it’s a wonderful journey we get to take.” Nicolas Wilton

I remember taking an art class in eighth grade. I enjoyed it and looked forward to attending. One six weeks I made a B in the class and it kept me off the A honor roll. I never took another art class until college, when it was required as part of my degree. 

Around third grade is when kids begin to pick up on whether their drawings look realistic or not. Up to that point they drew to their hearts' content not really worried about how their drawings looked. In fact, it might have been around this time that a well-meaning teacher began to point out who was or wasn’t talented in art. 

Slowly, but surely one kid after another gave up on art and focused more on getting the right answer on one of those testing scantrons.

The title Artist was only reserved for those few “talented” kids who knew how to draw. Interestingly I learned later in life that drawing is actually a skill and can be taught and improved upon. It wasn’t just based on talent. 

In college, I considered studying interior design, but when I learned you had to be able to sketch I changed my mind. I didn’t consider myself a true artist, although I still liked to dabble in the visual arts. 

According to Nicholas Wilton, founder of Art2Life, “Art-making is, really about feeling more alive in your life.” He states that what holds us back is our inner critic always reminding us that our art is not good enough. 

In turn, our creativity is shut down. We need to reframe the way we look at this. We should focus more on the process and less on the finished product. It is within our human nature to want to be good at what we do, but it’s too easy to demand unrealistic expectations. Don’t let that get in the way.  

Your Brain on Art defines creativity as, “…the ability to imagine and come up with original ideas and solutions.” Now the idea of “original” can be a sticking point. In reality, as the Bible reminds us, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

However, you can certainly combine ideas to come up with a new version. This could be as simple as adding a different ingredient to a recipe, making up a bedtime story, or figuring out a problem using the materials you have on hand. 

Believe it or not, our brains are designed to support this kind of thinking. As far back as the caveman days people’s creativity has helped them survive. 

I challenge each of you to view yourself in a new light when it comes to creativity. Take the words, “I’m not creative,” out of your lexicon and start looking for ways in your everyday life to include creativity. 

For starters check out Wilson’s website art2life.com.

Your Brain on Art-Day 14

 

The other night while closing the blinds I was struck by the beauty of the moon. It sat low in the sky and was a large, fiery orb. I later learned it was a Harvest Moon. All I knew for sure was that I felt a sense of awe, and I kept the blinds open so I could experience the moment a little longer. 

Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at the University of California at Berkeley, describes awe as follows:

“Awe is embedded in our DNA. We are literally hardwired for it. You often feel it when you look up: at the Milky Way, or a forest canopy, or a rainbow. Nature is a wellspring of so much of our awe, and human beings have been aspiring to bring this feeling into their built environment since the earliest drawings decorated the walls of our caves.”

According to Keltner, awe can “heighten your curiosity and creativity.”

When I think of awe in my life, I am reminded of visiting the Grand Canyon, the falls of Niagara, traveling the Shenandoah Parkway in Virginia for the first time, and viewing Renoir’s Two Sisters at the Kimbell Art Museum. 

Perhaps the most awestruck moment of all had to be at the birth of my daughter as I held her in my arms for the first time. I must admit, I'm still pretty awestruck by her. 

Neuroscientist Beau Lotto found that people who experience awe in their lives “…actually seek risk, and they are better able at taking it.” They can tolerate uncertainty better than most. 

The authors of Your Brain on Art, Magsamen and Ross state,  “The awe found in the arts and aesthetic experiences can become part of your practice for expanding flourishing.”

When have you been awestruck? 

Your Brain on Art- Day 13

 

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”

Albert Einstein 

The hippocampus is the part of the brain most responsible for our curiosity.

 

According to Your Brain on Art, “When you explore and ultimately satisfy your curiosity with an answer, dopamine, the brain’s reward chemical, floods your body. This can bring with it feelings of happiness and satisfaction.”

I’ve always been a curious person. I enjoy seeking out new knowledge and information. I especially enjoy spending time around young children whose curiosity seems to know no bounds. 

One characteristic of curiosity has to do with our ability to embrace uncertainty. Todd Kashdan, author of Curious? Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life, states, “Choosing to explore the unknown rather than avoid it is key to a rich, meaningful life.”

The arts are a perfect way to encourage curiosity. There doesn’t always have to be a right or wrong way when it comes to expressing yourself. Allowing yourself to be more comfortable with ambiguity is another feature of the arts. 

I find that I’m more comfortable with a paintbrush than I am with a pencil.   The blank page has always intimidated me somewhat, but when my grandson asks me to paint with him I come away feeling pretty good about both the process and the product. 

I encourage you to become more curious as you age. Asking questions, trying new things, and going on adventures just makes life more fun. 

Add to curiosity a little wonder and you’ve hit the jackpot. Wonder includes surprise and joy. If you can, spend time with a little one and soak in the wonder they have about life. 

Authors Magsamen and Ross remind us that, “Wonder often seeds our curiosity.”

How can you be more curious and bring wonder back into your life?

Your Brain on Art- Day 12

 “Flourishing is about living an authentic and full life.” Your Brain on Art

According to its definition, to flourish means, “to grow or develop healthily or vigorously, especially as a result of a particularly favorable environment.”

In Your Brain on Art, Magsamen and Ross use words like curious, creative, and open to describe someone who is flourishing in life. 

Unlike the expectation of perfection, flourishing doesn’t require this unrealistic goal. “Instead, this approach embraces a lifelong quest to gain insights, to grow, and to thrive.”

We will explore six categories of flourishing over the next week. They are: curiosity and wonder, awe, enriched environments, creativity, novelty, and surprise. We all can cultivate these states of mind in our lives. 

Due to the plasticity of our brains, we can actually train ourselves to flourish. Just like a muscle it gets stronger with use, and then becomes a habit. 

As I think about aging, I love the idea of flourishing rather than lingering. Last night while I babysat my three young grandsons we talked about their future and what they hoped to be doing when they were adults. My four-year-old grandson said, “Mimi what are you going to be doing when you get older?” 

I took that as an opportunity to make plans just like they were doing. They had each told me how many children they hoped to have and got a kick out of me telling them that their children would be my great-grandchildren. 

So here’s to a flourishing future!