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Why We Get Creative Insight Right Before Sleeping

 

What is the solution when you can’t fall asleep and counting sheep doesn’t work?

Don’t resist the gift that was given to you…

Lately I have been getting incredible creative inspiration right before falling asleep. The visualizations, words, and ideas are so powerful that I am forced to turn on the light and write them down in the notebook near my bed. While some people would be perturbed by the inability to fall asleep because of all these thoughts, I try to catch the creative inspiration while I can. Even though I am a professional creative, it is extremely difficult to “turn on” creativity. Inspiration seems to come in spurts and waves. I have learned that I must record these thoughts during those times otherwise I forget and loose the inspiration.

In pondering and researching this phenomenon of increased creativity right before sleep, I have found that we actually experience REM like sleep states right before real sleep. Essentially I am experiencing a form of lucid dreaming. I have also learned there is extrinsic and intrinsic thought. Extrinsic thought is reason and logic where neurons fire with nearby neurons. However intrinsic thought is feelings and intuition where neurons fire with distant neurons in the nether regions of the brain. Intrinsic thought is achieved during sleep and the twilight zone between awakeness and sleep. The twilight zone called hypnagogia is a blend of theta and alpha brain waves.

So next time you can’t sleep at night, use it to your creative advantage.

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Waves Of Positivity By Expressing The Beauty We See

 

I believe in giving people authentic genuine compliments/validation. I believe in listening to people and encouraging people to talk about emotions. I am a very curious person and love to hear people’s stories.

Over the years, I have found that compliments I have personally received have been like fuel to a fire of motivation and personal expansion. I want to give others that fuel. I want to inspire others to be confident, to be happy, to be passionate, to be uplifted, to be optimistic, to live life to it’s fullest. I try to see the best in everyone and I want to mirror back the positives. As happiness increases, waves of positivity spread.

I think about funerals and how people from far and wide come together and say all the reasons they loved that person. Incidentally, I think it is a shame that the passed person could not hear their praise. That they could not hear the positive thoughts other’s had internally but never expressed.

One of the things that gives me great joy is seeing people raise their confidence, their self-respect, their aspirations, their optimism. For people to be true to themselves.

Of course there are many false compliments (aka flattery) that veil ulterior motives and that is unfortunate. But I believe sincere and authentic compliments can be distinguished with awareness.

I only give compliments with honesty, authenticity, and integrity.

Here is a great video I found many years ago that’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face…