Enhancing Creative Thinking Through Open Awareness Walking Meditation
Abstract
A documentary which follows 8 novice meditators as they engage in a 20-minute walking open awareness meditation practice for 6 weeks. The goal of the documentary is to explore if open awareness walking meditation enhances creative thinking. This project is important because it brings together several budding research fields: creativity, mindfulness, and walking. The topic of the documentary is inspired by several studies that demonstrate a positive correlation between walking, open awareness meditation, and increased divergent thinking ability—a key element in creative thinking. The participants report many positive experiences and some surprising benefits for doing this practice. Participants report that this practice not only enhanced their creative thinking but also had other personal benefits such as greater self-awareness of thought patterns, relaxation, general calming effect, insights into the direction of their life and work, and less stress.
