7 Ways to Open Your Creative Mind and Unleash Your Creativity ...

1. Experiment

One of the best ways to open your creative mind is by experimenting. When you think about it, there are so many ways to do something. I read somewhere that there are approximately 247 ways to wash dishes, something routine like that! If any of you have ever traveled extensively, you've probably noticed that each place you've visited has a certain style about it. Human beings are the same but we all have our own style and our own way of doing something. Just do it. Try that something you've been thinking about and see what happens. By using your own unique expression and by doing something which only you can do, the world will become richer and in the meantime, you'll develop your own style, your art!

2. Find Your Muse

For some people, a muse is something that comes easily, and for others it's a struggle. Try exploring your world on your way to work and think about something you know nothing about! Choose an inanimate object or something complex, then learn how it works, moves, how it sits, what it does in relation to something else. Learn all you can about it and explore the world through its eyes. Let the object give you the ideas to build your muse.

3. Soul Search

Our intuitive, sensory, non-verbal intelligence is pretty powerful. While the logical portion of our brain (left side of the brain) processes about forty bits of information per second, the nonverbal portion (right side of the brain) processes about eleven million bits per second. When it comes to creative insight, we “know” far more than we think we do. Flashes of creativity tend to arise out of moments of stillness and silence, when we can quieten the mental noise and soul search. Try meditating, yoga or sitting quietly focusing on breathing. It's often in these moments that some of our most creative ideas spring forth.

4. Do Something You Have Never Done before

There is an expression that I love, "...to achieve something you have never achieved, you must do something you have never done..." and I truly believe this. In order to start doing something new, we need to be able to silence our inner critical voice (you know the voice that tells you that you can't do something), and instead just do it. Do something that scares you, something that is unfamiliar to you. Listen to music that you don't normally listen to, speak with someone you don't usually speak to, go off-road driving, whatever it is, then explore how these activities translate into the expression of you, and your art!

5. Focus

Many highly-creative people wander aimlessly from one goal to another goal without truly immersing themselves in a single point of attention. Desire doesn't manifest itself, so it really is up to you to spend time choosing what it is you want to immerse yourself in, then focus on it as a single point of attention. Remember to use all of you (body, mind and soul) when you're in the process of creating.

6. Combine and Contrast

Combine something that is unusual and make pairs - try with colors at first, then words, pair up feelings, expressions, shapes, people, even artists, and characters, the list is endless. Associate items together then explore them by making contrasts with them. Something that initially seems like nonsense can actually make perfect sense when viewed in a new context. You could pick up a book, open to a random page, close your eyes and put your finger on a word. The word that you put your finger on could be your random stimulus. Allow your mind to associate and contrast things with that word. As a consequence of this process, new ideas will begin to surface.

7. Go beyond the Boundaries

Remember, it is our own minds that place boundaries and limitations on our reality. There really are no limits in life other than those that are self-imposed. I think women struggle a lot with our own fear of failure. We think about starting our own businesses, but then have doubts that they might not be successful, or we think about hosting a party, but then have thoughts that no one will come! However, when we are in the process of creating, there really is no such thing as 'failure,' as we are living 'in the moment', defining our own rules and re-writing them. Go beyond those boundaries!

I hope that you get to try some of these methods so that you can experience life more creatively, deeply and richly. What are some tips that have helped unleash your creativity?