(Photo: 123RF)
In Part 1 of this two-part series on July 2, I described the iceberg of the creative mind -- the conscious tip, the vast subconscious below, and the superconscious sea the iceberg floats in -- and shared four receptive practices: lingering in the liminal, meditating, daydreaming on purpose, and walking to let the mind wander. You create the conditions, then you listen.Today, let's discuss the other four. These are mostly expressive -- you talk, you write, you imagine entire conversations with people who aren't in the room. The final one is the master practice that has produced both of the biggest breakthroughs of my own life. The same precondition applies: the subconscious activates only when you've given it a real challenge you've lived with long enough that it has become part of you.
5. Take an insight walkie-talkie: In 1905, Albert Einstein had been wrestling for years with what would become his special theory of relativity. One afternoon he was walking through the Swiss Alps with his close friend Michele Besso and began talking -- explaining, complaining, thinking aloud. Besso just walked alongside and listened. Mid-sentence, the breakthrough struck. The next day, Einstein's first words to Besso were: "Thank you. I have completely solved the problem."
