Edison had balls of steel

Thomas Edison had balls of steel… and I mean really, two balls of steel. He used them to induce a transient state between sleep and wakefulness, a state scientists now recognize and call Hypnagogia. When he found himself stuck, trying to solve a problem or struggled to make progress on an invention or project, Edison sat at a chair holding to these balls. He grabbed them firmly but as he nodded-off, his muscle relaxed, hands opened, and the balls dropped on the floor, making a noise, waking him up.

Salvador Dali, the famous painter, did something similar. He did not have balls of steel. He did however use to sit at his chair holding a large metal key between his fingers. Like Edison when he begun to nod-off, the key fell, made a noise and woke him up.

Both Edison and Dali believed (and felt) that this transient state is a source of creativity and fresh thinking and that because of that they were able to solve a problem or have an insight that elevated their work.

More than a 100 years later, scientists have shown that inducing a Hypongogic state boosts creativity. And that it may be associated with an increased capacity to approach problems with fresh perspectives that can generate novice solutions and approaches.

The research suggests that the combination of moderate levels of brain waves at slow frequency (alpha waves associated with relaxation) and low levels of delta waves (associated with deep sleep) boost creativity.

But you don’t need balls of steel to improve creativity and generate fresh thinking. This transient state and the production of Alpha waves is often obtained by simple meditation practice. You see meditation affords a unique access to a fourth dimension of consciousness.  It is different than being awake, asleep or dreaming. In this state both brain hemispheres function together in harmony.

Normally both hemispheres work distinctively. Left brain chronicles past and future, employs critical thinking and cognition. Right brain processes the now and access creativity and abstract. EEG studies have demonstrated that while awake, sleeping, or dreaming each hemisphere works individually, but during meditation, this fourth dimension of consciousness, the activity of both hemispheres is coordinated and acts in harmony.

Meditation has been shown to have many positive effects. Improved mental capacity and increased creativity are two benefits that will help you find solutions to nagging problems, illuminate hidden perspectives, innovate and create new possibilities.

You don’t need balls of steel… Just breathe.