Mind wandering promotes connections in our brain, stimulates creativity, and influences our mood.
Understanding the default mode network can help us access mind wandering effectively and improve our ability to navigate the world.
Deep dives
Mind wandering promotes connections, creativity, and mood
According to cognitive scientist Moshe Bar, mind wandering is a valuable mental process that promotes connections in our brain, stimulates creativity, and influences our mood. Bar suggests that understanding how mind wandering works can help us access it more effectively when needed. Mind wandering allows us to make associations, create remote ideas, and think beyond narrow associations. This expansive thinking is key to promoting creativity. Additionally, mind wandering plays a role in shaping our mood, and being aware of our state of mind can help us match it to the situation at hand.
The role of the default mode network
Bar explains that mind wandering occurs within the default mode network, a network of brain regions that is active when our minds are not focused on a specific task. This network is responsible for the continuous activity of our brains during mind wandering. The default mode network is also involved in other processes, such as thinking about the self, thinking about the minds of others, and creating mental simulations. These simulations allow us to make predictions and decisions based on our past experiences, improving our ability to navigate the world.
The benefits of mindfulness and meditation
Bar highlights the benefits of mindfulness and meditation in understanding our thoughts and states of mind. Engaging in mindfulness practices helps us observe our thoughts and become aware of the patterns and noise in our thinking process. This awareness can lead to a better understanding of our own minds and how our thoughts affect our experiences. Bar also discusses the concept of immersion, where we fully engage in the present moment and become completely absorbed in an experience. Immersion allows us to fully enjoy and benefit from the unmediated experience without being caught up in our thoughts.
The relationship between curiosity and creativity
Bar emphasizes the connection between curiosity and creativity, seeing them as two sides of the same mechanism. He believes that maintaining curiosity and embracing creativity can lead to personal growth and satisfaction. Curiosity and creativity go hand in hand, as curiosity drives us to seek new knowledge and experiences while creativity allows us to generate novel ideas and solutions. Bar encourages embracing curiosity and creativity to enhance our personal and professional lives.
Most of us are productivity junkies. We pride ourselves on how much we accomplish and how long we maintain our focus.
But our brains know better. Sooner or later, they start to wander. To the tune of nearly half our waking hours.
Moshe Bar, cognitive scientist and author of the book, Mindwandering: How Your Constant Mental Drift Can Improve Your Mood and Boost Creativity, argues that we need these daydreams. They promote connections that inform our sense of self, lift our mood and stimulate creativity. Bar also believes the better we understand how mind wandering works, the more effective we’ll be at accessing it when we need it most.
This is a mind-expanding book. It’ll give you a peek into the thought process of a brilliant cognitive scientist and a new appreciation for what you may have thought of as an annoying mental habit.
Episode Links
Raising the Bar: The Brain Scientist Who Studies the Past to Predict the Future
Think Less, Think Better by Moshe Bar
Karl Popper
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Reculturing by Melissa Daimler
The Team
Learn more about host, Gayle Allen, and producer, Rob Mancabelli, here.
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