Recent research has apparently demonstrated that creativity is enhanced by mundane activity – something the Zen meditators have long suggested.
Too little activity and the mind stagnates, too much and the task overrides the creative process.
So, unsurprisingly, I get many ideas while jogging – so long as I am not too focused on competing with myself.
It makes sense then that we practice our Tai Chi in such a way that it becomes mundane as this facilitates not only observation but also the creative thought process that enables us to learn for ourselves.
An interesting simile is the idea of water – sometimes it is entirely appropriate to rush toward a goal with much left unconsidered, at other times it is good to just be still but too much rush or two much stillness results in disconnection or stagnation. Just the right amount of energy enables the water to flow gently into all the crevices without losing contact with the main body of the stream. Too much – we get disassociated eddies. Too little then no new connections can be made. Just the right flow and we can be connected and energetic – promoting creativity.
