How can Creativity be related to relaxation and

meditation techniques in education?

Anastasia BernardiThe University of MelbourneGraduate School of Education

21.11.2013

I have decided to be creative and to take risks, to argue and

document the challenging idea of suggesting meditation and

relaxation techniques as tools to foster creativity potential

in education. I believe these activities along with

creativity are going to become very relevant to teaching and

learning and will, in long term, become part of school

curriculums as essential subjects. In this paper I will

attempt to give a general overview going through

perspectives, meanings, understanding about creativity and

its importance in education. I will touch on a number of

concepts and ideas with the intent of tracing an itinerary

that travels through school curricula, the good intentions in

new curriculum orientations and the reality in the classroom

of our schools. The final destination of this essay is to

concentrate on why the development of the creative thinking

process is so relevant, what the recent neuroscience studies

are and how the concept of brain plasticity is so strongly

linked to creativity. The paper concludes reporting some

reflections about a project of creative relaxation

implemented in fifty English primary schools.

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Perspectives, meanings and understanding about creativity

Creativity is multidimensional and multifaceted and to be

able to give a definition of creativity it is necessary to

contextualize it and overcome the romanticized and most

common image that associates it only with the arts. Boden

(1994) suggests that creative products are either exploratory

or transformational where the exploratory creativity is about

uncovering the potential, finding out the possibilities that

are already there but dormant, unseen or hidden and the

transformational creativity is more about radically changing

the nature of something. Cramond (2002), distinguishes

expressive and adaptive types of creativity to embrace on the

one hand the artistic aesthetic and emotional expression of

creativity and on the other hand the innovative problem-

solving and new-idea-generating in science, economics and

other fields. When those expressions or products are

considered original and valuable they gain the creative

etiquette, but of course this sometimes depends on the

historical, social and cultural context. In Piirto’s view

there are substantial personality differences between

scientists and artists (1992) but Cramond and Connell argue

that the dichotomy between scientific and artistic is not so

radical and in saying that they provide the example of an

architect that can create a building both expressive as in

aesthetically pleasing, and adaptive and in harmony with the

environment.

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Nevertheless it is almost obvious that each discipline has

its own specific aspects and criteria that determine the kind

of language and symbolic system of its creativity style,

although many elements of creativity are trans-disciplinary

(Beghetto, 2004). Still as suggested by Claxton (2003), it is

arduous to make generalizations due to large individual

variations amongst creative people. The conversation about

creativity includes cultural, philosophical, social,

psychological and also neuro-scientific aspects. Within the

field of education Claxton (2004) has given an apt

description; “creativity is an advanced form of learning that

involves a finely tuned symphony orchestra of mental

attitudes and capabilities playing together in complicated

rhythms” (p.2). His suggestion is that there are eight most

important parts of the “learning orchestra” to nurture

creativity; the ability to look and observe, inquisitiveness,

investigation, interaction and exchange with others,

imagination, intuition, the ability to reflect with reason

and imitation (Claxton, 2003, p.3).

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Moreover, Sternberg (1999a) does not see creativity as a

fixed ability but rather as a combination of innate abilities

to which he adds an element of awareness of the individual in

deciding how to use them. Tordif and Sternberg (1988) have

listed 16 cognitive and 16 personality characteristics of

creative people, some of which are logical and metaphorical

thinking, independence of judgement, questioning and

curiosity, openness to new experiences, tolerance for

ambiguity and tendency to play with ideas. It can be observed

that these are also fundamental components of critical

thinking that can be learned, with the implication that

creativity can be taught. Sternberg (1999c) suggests that

redefining problems, analyzing your own ideas and persuading

others about them, overcoming obstacles along with being able

to take risks, believing in oneself and identifying your own

passions can all be taught. Another crucial aspect that

fosters creativity is the motivation to solve problems but it

seems that the interest and the drive to solve a problem is

higher if the problem is self-posed and not presented by

others (Runco & Okuda, 1988). This clearly explains how the

nature of creativity is rooted in the process of critical

thinking. Not all of us can be referred to as ‘Big C’, as

Albert Einstein or Amadeus Mozart, but we are all capable of

“little c’ acts as in everyday or ordinary creativity. There

are different degrees of creativity and a number of factors,

including luck, family, historical and economic conditions,

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personal and social environments that influence the

development of creativity in people.

Furthermore, Kaufman and Beghetto (2009) proposed a four C

model of creativity with the intent to be inclusive of a

variety of different degrees of creativity, stretching from

the simple act in everyday life to the well recognised genius

product or performance but including two intermediate levels

as well. Therefore, without denying a genetic component, it

can be argued that we all possess some degree of creativity

but it is only acknowledged in some of us.

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“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist

when you grow up”; this quote by Pablo Picasso seems to imply

that once children grow up they are likely to lose their

artistic abilities and perhaps it can be assumed that

creativity in not nourished or valued enough to have a

prominent space in adults’ life. As documented by Kyung Hee

Kim (2011) in the article The Creative Crisis; The decrease in Creative

Thinking Scores on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, in America since

1990 creative thinking scores have significantly decreased,

and “The decrease for kindergartners through third grades was

the most significant”(p.293). Kim’s research highlights that

the American school system has penalized creative thinking

for the sake of standardization to be able to measure school

outcomes and her research points out that children are

“less apt to connect seemingly irrelevant things, less

synthesizing and less likely to see things from a different

angle” (p.292). Those are all traits of critical thinking

that, as mentioned, is implicitly linked to creative

thinking. It is clear that the orientation of school policy

can support or discourage the development of critical and

creative thinking .

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Michalko (2011) argues that we are all creative, that each

person is a unique type of artist and that “Every one of us

is born a creative, spontaneous thinker. The only difference

between people who are creative and people who are not is a

simple belief. Creative people believe they are creative.

People who believe they are not creative, are not” (p. 28).

Michalko validates Pablo Neruda’s quote, adds Bandura’s

concept of Self-efficacy and with his words ‘creative,

spontaneous thinker’, overcomes the boundaries of the

equation art subjects=creativity.

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← A good number of studies and research about creativity

come from the world of enterprise and business, industry and

company management as Cramond and Connell (2009) argue “Most

of the research on environments that foster creativity and

instruments to assess the environment have come from the

business world” (p.340). Creating the right environment, the

Place, in terms of physical space, equipment and

organization, is one of the four aspects of the Framework for

Creativity adopted by the Victorian School Innovation

Commission (VISIC) in its “Creativity” pilot program 2004.

The other three elements are attention to the Product in

terms of outcomes, the Process in terms of strategies, and

finally the Personal characteristics as in pre-dispositions,

cognitive and meta-cognitive abilities. As Maureen O’Rourke

from VSIC points out, the goal of the program was to increase

teachers awareness on the relevance of creativity (2004).

The current shift in policies, however and unfortunately does

not always reflect the reality in the classrooms.

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Creativity and school curriculum

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← Despite the copious production of publications by the

international academic community on the importance of

creativity in education, unfortunately what is still

happening in most schools is that creativity is associated

only with subjects perceived to be ‘overtly’ creative such as

art, dancing and music. In fact the reality is that

creativity is relegated to light, extra-curriculum activities

almost as “an enjoyable breather from the rigours of the

National Curriculum” (Claxton, 2006, p.58). This is a myth to

debunk with all the generated misconceptions and distorted

visions of the role of creativity in education. Quoting

Edward de Bono (1990) “Creative thinking is not a talent, it

is a skill that can be learned. It empowers people by adding

strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork,

productivity and where appropriate profits”. The ideas and

the understanding of creativity seem to be present at some

levels in our institutions and as the rationale of the 2004

VSIC pivot program in Victoria well expresses, creativity is

now seen as a key element for learning, for economic growth,

to face environmental issues and for people’s wellbeing.

←

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← There is evidence of a process of re-evaluation of

creativity that is becoming so important to be included in

the actual school curricula. Referring to the historical

roots of the early 1900s, Khatena (1982) said “the

educational approaches in schools then [in the 1900s] had

little to do with creativity”, and added that instead

nowadays a number of countries are taking a stand and for

example England, Canada, Singapore, the Middle East, China

and Hong Kong are some of those countries attempting to

implement a new trend which includes creativity in

educational policy and that indicates a tangible process of

change towards a culture of creativity.

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In the Australian context the Australian Curriculum

Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) not only has

integrated Critical and Creative Thinking in the national

curriculum but has stated that they are the “primary purposes

of education” (ACARA, 2011). Furthermore, ACARA highlights

the necessity to capitalize on what students have in germinal

form as natural tendencies and propensities, as subjective

and personal aptitudes and suggests to cultivate and to

consider them as precious resources. This idea leads to

accommodating different learning styles to support each

unique individual’s talents (Gardner, 1999), to provide

occasions for those personal aptitudes to flourish into

passions and moreover, to promote creative thinking through

educational environments that facilitate creativity and

innovation. A major consideration is also given by ACARA to

the use of taxonomies such as Bloom’s and Dreyfus’ that in a

sequence of steps describe the development of learning

through skill acquisition, from low to higher order type of

thinking; from the basic remembering and understanding to the

higher order steps of evaluating and creating (Bloom 1956).

The four organizing elements, identifying, generating ideas,

reflecting and synthesising, are listed in Creative and

Critical thinking section of the National Curriculum,

purposely mirrors these educational taxonomies (2011). This

is clearly showing a new awareness and a new trend in

education, but it is only the very first step towards its

concrete implementation.

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Good intentions in new orientation and reality in the

classroom.

← Perhaps a distinction between the theory at policy level

and the reality in the classrooms of our schools can help to

understand Sir Ken Robinson (2009) and his affirmation that

school is “killing creativity”. Nevertheless, as Runco noted

“No doubt [teachers] do respect creativity, in the abstract,

but not when faced with a classroom with 30 energetic

children” (2007). To implement innovative ideas and concepts

included those on creativity it is necessary to have the

proper conditions in place, the support and understanding of

all stakeholders, including the students. Furthermore

“emphasis on creativity introduces uncertainty and

ambivalences into a situation where people want certainty and

predictability” (Cropley & Cropley, 2007, p.213). The most

common convergent style of teaching leaves little room for

creativity and the confusion and biases about creativity are

probably the main obstacles to its implementation. One of

such bias is the enduring believe that academic learning has

little to do with creativity (Beghetto & Kaufman, 2009).

Moreover, some teachers, students and parents are so confused

to think that creativity can make teaching less rigorous

despite well documented research that has demonstrated

creativity can even improve school results (Ai, 1999).

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← Moving “creativity from the margins to the mainstream

curriculum” (Beghetto, 2010, p.459), sounds like a

revolutionary idea, but the gap between theory and practice

will be covered only when teachers, students and general

public understand the positive link between learning and

creativity. Furthermore the policy makers need to be in touch

with the practical reality of the classroom consulting

teachers and verifying schools’ conditions to consider and

plan realistic implementation of those innovative and

wonderful projects.

← I am an optimist however, and I feel it is only a matter

of time for this school atmosphere to change into a new

culture of creativity. I believe in this possibility on the

basis of the enormous pressure of contemporary life’s issues

urgently demanding creative solutions. The international

community is already alerted (Cropley & Cropley, 2007) and

the economic world values creativity and innovation as social

capital. More and more creativity is gaining a crucial role

not only for education but for the future of human life.

←

Serendipity and the mystery of hidden powers

What is common to all of the theories, ideas,

conceptualisations and attempted definitions about

creativity? Perhaps the common denominator is the one

element that characterises creativity the most; its mystery,

that sometimes appears to us in genius’ manifestations and to

which we cannot give explanation. Through creativity human

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beings can access a realm that is elusive, fleeting and

almost ethereal. We can create the conditions for the

creative moment to flick, to peep, something to click, to

unexpectedly explode or manifest. However, Claxton argues

that “creativity cannot be ‘trained’ in any simple,

mechanical sense of the word. It can be cultivated, coached

even, but it can’t be engineered, let alone taught” (2003,

p.2). This is only seemingly in contradiction with some of

the previous statements because Claxton is here pointing at a

very subtle aspect of creativity, which indeed cannot be

imparted with a traditional teaching fashion.

Alan Macfarlane writer, scholar of Oxford and Cambridge since

the late 1960s, tells us about the complex nature of

creativity and he says that serendipity is on the path to

creativity and he specifies that in creative work the

solution is not ahead of you but is somewhere on the side.

The solution can suddenly reveal itself and only than you

understand what comes next. Macfarlane has been asked to give

some hints about his incredible prolific production of books,

up to 18 until 2009, because the average number of books

written by college professors is 3 or 4. He argues that the

creative work is to connect two unconnected things, which is

also the definition of Cambridge PHD, but he explains that

our conscious mind really cannot do this, that we need

something at a deeper level, something that can be accessed

by stretching the mind from conscious, concentrated active

work to a relaxed state. This process needs to be repeated

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again and again, concentrating and relaxing like a rubber

band. Macfarlane says that when he relaxes he can see what he

needs to do next and describes his regular walks round the

library and garden near Cambridge, as the gateways to his

creativity. In particular there is a part of his walk, he

says, between two long parallel lines of trees facing each

other and creating the shape of a tunnel with their foliage

in which Macfarlane feels is like walking through the

symbolical entrance to his subconscious. He suggests that if

we can believe in such a thing as moving into a parallel

world, well that is the image of what he thinks creative

writers need to inhabit because that is the path that takes

him in an enchanted land, in fact in a “fairy land”

(MacFarlane, 2009).

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An ancient legend from the Hindu-Buddhist oraltradition recounts that …once, in the golden era, men lived in harmony and happiness andpossessed similar powers to the ones of the Gods. But a time camewhen something happened, the Gods observed that the harmonywas in danger, jeopardized by a cracking social balance so theydecided to hide from men their own powers. All the Gods met toestablish where to hide these powers and some proposed thedepths of the sea, others the highest peaks of the mountains, butevery time Indra emphasized that man would reach all these placesand more, and so it was decided that the only place where manwould not search was inside himself, deep in his heart.

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This says that human beings need to look inward and not

outward to find their powers. I suspect that the powers

similar to those of the Gods, are the supra-rational forces

that can generate insights and ideas and this is creativity.

Khatena has described creativity as “three-dimensional,

consisting of the individual (to include abilities and all

personality dimensions), the environment (in the largest

sense that include society and culture), and the cosmos (to

include supra-rational forces with a variety of names

depending upon differing religious belief systems)“,

suggesting that “the creativity of genius [is] illuminated by

cosmic forces” (1982, p.64). Torrance and Hall are also

supporting the idea that the supra-rational is the highest

level of creativity (1980). Moreover, the well known four

stages model of creativity associated with Graham Wallas

(1926) included Illumination as the moment of popping up of

insights from mysterious places. Claxton too talks about a

three-dimensional mental area that provides different ‘states

of mind’ each one responding to specific needs within a

creative project. The capacity to move attention smoothly

from and in each of the states of mind is partly the reason

of creative success. He argues that we can see “the creator’s

mind gliding, at different rates and rhythms, between

different states within that attentional space” (p.2). The

first of the suggested dimensions is a focused attention,

analytical and concentrated; the second is a relaxed and

receptive mindset; and the third is the social dimension that

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does not necessarily need to have people around as it is more

of an attitude of openness (2006). In saying that the mind

moves at different rates and rhythms Claxton is actually

referring to brain-waves and he specifies that the first

state of mind “corresponds to the relatively high levels of

cortical arousal that appear in electroencephalogram (EEG)

traces as so-called Beta waves” and the second “correspond

to the lower-frequency Alpha or Theta waves” (2006, p. 4).

Let us take a moment to consider what the difference is

between Alpha, Beta, Theta and Delta waves in neurological

terms related to our brain functioning. Beta waves (14-40Hz)

are present when we are physically and mentally awake,

vigilant, logical and able to become alert, capable to

respond to emergencies. The slow frequencies Delta waves

(0.5-4Hz) are recorded during deep and dreamless sleep.

Between Beta and Delta there are Alpha and Theta waves (4-

14Hz). Alpha weaves (7.5-14Hz) are related to a relaxed state

of mind, when the body is usually at rest, the eyes are often

closed and we daydream, we have intuitions and insights. The

Theta waves are recorded during the REM dreaming stage of our

sleep. The Alpha-Theta border, from 7Hz to 8Hz, is the one

Claxton refers to, and it is recognized as a state of

creative power, when we are aware of what is happening around

us but our body is in a relaxed state, in a brink of sleep

and able to access the subconscious mind. This is a state

that can be achieved by deep relaxation and meditation and in

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the last few decades has been studied and research in

neurobiology, psychology and neuroscience. It all points to

the fascinating mystery contained in the creative act and to

the possibility that all human beings could become aware of

it.

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Neuroscience discovery and creativity; brain plasticity

What surfaces from a number of studies such as those of

neuroimaging of Martindale (1995), Howard-Jones (2004), and

the ongoing research of fMRI brain scan at the University of

Pennsylvania by Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman, is

that through particular practices we can permanently alter

both the structure and the function of the brain. The changes

can enhance memory, cognition, consciousness, awareness and

compassion, and can simultaneously suppress the neural

mechanisms of the brain that cause anxiety, depression, fear,

anger and rage (Newberg & Waldman, 2009). Perhaps the heart

mentioned in the Hindu-Buddhist legend where the gods have

hidden the human powers, is actually located in what Newberg

and Waldman suggest to be the true ‘heart’ of our

neurological soul; the Anterior Cingulate, a very delicate

structure of the human brain that helps, among many other

things, to generate feelings of empathy in social

interactions.

To understand the extraordinary impact of these findings on

the creative process it is important to touch on three

elements of our brain; the Anterior Cingulate, the Amygdala

in the Limbic System and the concept of neuroplasticity of

the brain.

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The Anterior Cingulate contains cells called Von Economo

Neurons that have a wide range of connections with other

parts of the brain strictly involved in social awareness

through the integration of thoughts, behavioural patterns and

feelings. These Von Economo Neurons direct people towards

positive emotions and keep them away from the negative ones

but they are extremely sensitive to stress, to the extent

that their functioning can be compromised by stress.

However, if people are in a positive environment,

intellectually stimulating and relatively happy, the Von

Economo Neurons are strengthened in their activity (Bush at

al., 2000). There is evidence that meditation and relaxation

techniques create that positive environment able to stimulate

and increase the Anterior Cingulate’ function that regulates

negative emotions such as anger or fear, contrasting

inadequate nervous system responses.

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A functional counter part structure of the Anterior Cingulate

is the Amygdala in the Limbic system. When individuals deal

with strong nervous systems’ responses to negative emotions

their Amydgala has received significant stimulus from the

Thalamus, a big central station of reality processing, and

has released stress neurochemicals, such as cortisol and

adrenalin, that trigger the alarming reaction called by

Goleman ‘Amygdala Hijack’ and that activates a fight or

flight response (Goleman, 1999). Some of the physical

symptoms of a fight or flight reaction are the typical heart

rate acceleration, sweating, superficial breathing and

pupil’s dilatation (Bruno, 2011). As a result of meditation

and relaxation practices, studies have shown a decreased

activation of the Amygdala (Benson, 1997). This is indicating

that human beings can interact with their physiology and

through conscious choices and practices, can even decide how

to develop their brain’ structure and its functions.

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To draw together the threads of this part of our

conversation, it is now comprehensible that when the Anterior

Cingulate in the frontal lobe is active and strong the

Amygdala in the limbic system is neutralized and with it

rage, anxiety, fear and depression, but when the Amygdala is

activated by receiving continuous significant stimulus, than

the Anterior Cingulate is inhibited at the expense of

empathy, intuition and cognition. Sapolsky (2003) says “It

is apparent that stress can alter plasticity in the nervous

system, particularly in the limbic system” (p. 1735).

However, a number of studies and observations have shown that

the practice of yoga, relaxation and meditation shrink the

Amygdala and thicken the neocortex housing the Anterior

Cingulate. Some researchers consider the Anterior Cingulate

as a specialization of the neocortex therefore relatively new

in the evolution of human brain and clearly indicate it as a

crucial structure for new adaptation to changing conditions,

problem solving and emotional management (Allaman et al.,

2001). Furthermore, Newberg and Waldman (2009, p.90) argue

that in the neocortex the “mature frontal lobe processes are

also responsible for greater imagination, creativity, and

originality” and if new ideas and practices “are repeated,

old memory circuits can be permanently altered and changed”.

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This takes us to the concept of neuroplasticity, today

recognized by the entire scientific community and described

as the ability of the brain’s neurons to create new

connections, to compensate injuries to grow throughout life

when and as much needed. (Roberts, 1999). Apparently, it

takes less than fifteen days for neurons to re-grow and the

process can be very fast and sudden, in fact the rewiring of

circuits can be triggered by events such as competitions,

lecturers, religious talks and “It even appears that our

brain has a mutant strand of DNA that contributes to our

creativity, inventiveness, and individual uniqueness. There

“jumping genes” as scientists are fond of calling them, can

cause cells to change their functioning as we grow “(Newberg

& Waldman, 2009, p. 105).

Importantly, on the basis of these scientific findings it can

be argued that if we are routinely exposed to positive

emotions of love and compassion or simply practice relaxation

and meditation techniques, we stimulate and activate our

neurological heart, the delicate Anterior Cingulate structure

housed in the neocortex. As a result of this activation and

because of the extraordinary neuroplasticity of the brain,

permanent changes can occur that modify both structure and

function of the brain for a healthier and more creative life.

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Considereing all this, meditation also helps in those

circumstances described by Dabrowski when talking about the

struggle of gifted individuals experiencing inner conflicts,

feelings of inferiority, anxiety and self-criticism that are

often and wrongly seen as psychoneurotic. Gifted people in

Dabrowski’s Theory of Emotional Development have expanded

imagination, emotional and intellectual activity due to their

‘overexcitabilities’ and their super sensitive nervous system

with the result of a very high level of awareness (Silverman,

2000). They have accessed to what Walden (2010) calls our

innate potential of consciousness and creativity.

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Barnet and Freeman (2010), talking to Waldman on a radio

interview about the great achievements of consciousness

through meditation, have defined it as a process of "Ultra

Creativity" able of holding paradox and many different,

possibly opposing, perceptions at the same time that gives

people access to a potential, alternative creative

experiences of the world. In the past, people who were tapped

into this level of perception were either deemed "crazy", or

considered genius. The optimism of Barnet and Freeman

predicts the dawning of a creative age, where more people

will be able to plug into this level of consciousness without

being considered crazy (2010). In support of this vision,

Newberg and Waldman report that their studies have shown a

consistency of patterns in every brain scan performed on

subjects practicing various spiritual, cognitive, and

consciousness-altering methodologies such as relaxation or

meditation and the measurements have always shown a certain

degree of changes in the brain regardless of the type of

practice that in fact did not need to be liked to any

particular belief. Moreover Waldman (2010) reports that

during the "resting state" achieved through relaxation and

meditation, all the creative potential shows up and on the

contrary during the “active state”, what we call the awaken

state, that same potential is covered and submerged. Walden

gives the image of an upside down funnel where in the

‘resting state’ we can access creativity, down in the larger

part of the funnel and in the active state we stay up the

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top, unable to reach the larger part which contains all our

potential. Walden (2010) points out that we are all equipped

to be fully actualized and brain scans show that we have a

"consciousness" at our disposal at all times, so he suggests

that the first thing to do is learning how to relax.

What is the next step towards creativity in education?Once upon a time, or so a Cherokee legend goes…

A young boy came to his Grandfather, filled with anger at another boywho had done him an injustice. The old Grandfather said to his grandson,"Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for thosethat have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wearsyou down, and hate does not hurt your enemy. Hate is like taking poisonand wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelingsmany times." "It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one wolf is goodand does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does nottake offence when no offence was intended. He will only fight when it isright to do so, and in the right way. But the other wolf, is full of anger. Thelittlest thing will set him into a fit of temper." "He fights everyone, all thetime, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are sogreat. It is helpless anger, because his anger will change nothing.Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, because bothof the wolves try to dominate my spirit." The boy looked intently into hisGrandfather's eyes and asked, "Which wolf will win, Grandfather?" TheGrandfather smiled and said, "The one I feed”.

As in the above story we too have two aspects to deal with,

we can actually say we have two brains with opposite

tensions; one is all the time on the alert, suspicious and

frightened, while the other is calm and gentle and capable of

cognition. We have a very old brain, in the Limbic system

that has been the leading actor of the show for the last 150

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million years. This old brain is sheltering a very aggressive

crowd of neurological wolves that have supported our survival

as a species. The younger brain, in the Anterior Cingulate

neurocortex and in the frontal lobes, compared to the speed

of reaction of the old one is slow and fragile. This new

brain developed in the latest part of human evolution, is

sheltering a crowd of very playful puppies able of

compassion, logic and creativity. Human beings are in a time

that can elude the Darwinian evolution because there are the

conditions for conscious choices and wise decisions. Which of

the two wolves are we going to feed? It is an ethical

decision as ethical are the choices made in education.

The word Education comes from the Latin educere / educt-us, to

let out something that is inside but it needs the right

conditions and stimulus to be able to manifest. Education is

about the narration that wants to be. The concept of

education is therefore linked to that of the creation. It is

connected to the human creativity in the attempt to defeat

suffering, ignorance, temporality and wants to pass, move on

to other, the story of life experiences in order to preserve

the very act of telling stories, to be in contact with the

past, be in the present and create the future (Bernardi,

1998). Also the word meditation comes from two Latin

particles; meditari, to exercise the mind, and mederi, to heal.

The encounter of education as in educere and meditation as in

meditari is what a number of primary schools in Southend-on-

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Sea in the U.K, have implemented with a research project that

uses a meditative technique called Creative Relaxation. The

goal of the program, run from May 2012 to June 2013, was to

verify the impact of relaxation and meditation techniques on

primary school students. Fifty primary schools, 200 staff

members and more then 1000 children participated in the

program that it reveled to be extremely successful.

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Professor Ann Buchana from the Department of Social Policy at

Oxford University argues that helping children to reach such

stable state as the one obtained with the relaxation

technique, is a precious gift as it stays with them

throughout life, which takes us back to Pablo Neruda’s quote.

The project is feasible as it is not expensive and it is easy

to implement. All the teachers need to be trained and be

sure to broadly do the same sort of intervention. (2013)

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The first stage of the project is the training of all the

staff for their own wellbeing, the second phase is the

training of the teacher on how to teach the technique to the

students and the final stage is the actual intervention in

the classroom. Trevor Folley, Leader of the Researcher

Creative relaxation study says that he has observed real

benefits for the children and that the most exciting aspect

of the project was hearing from them how much they like to

use the relaxation technique when they feel annoyed or when

they get angry and how they are eager to teach their parents

as well. Folley suggest that there is a key relationship

between wellbeing and performance and like many other

teachers he can now argue that children perform better after

learning creative relaxation. In addition children with

stressful home situations acquire with the technique a sense

of wellbeing which support them in any situation either at

school or at home (2010). Jensine Queraa, Learning Mentor at

Blenheim Primary School, says that she works with a variety

of children and whether the issue is a low self-esteem, lack

of self-confidence, tanking us back to Bandura’s concept of

Self-efficacy, or behavioural issues, she uses the relaxation

technique all the time with substantial results.

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Pilar Lillo clinical psychologist, director of Training for

Creative Relaxation, highlights that the most important thing

learned by the children, is the understanding that we are all

responsible for our own wellbeing and that relaxation is a

tool to help us to find our inner resources to make our life

easier and more creative. She says that for children is like

being the captain of their own ship (2010).

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← To conclude a conversation I feel very passionate about,

I can envisage that creativity through meditation and

relaxation techniques, can bring deep social changes for the

people of the future. These future people are today’s

children and some of them have already started to befit from

the change of course in education. Lev Vygotsy had foreseen

this scenario; “we should emphasize the particular importance

of cultivating creativity in school-age children. The entire

future of humanity will be attained through the creative

imagination” (1967/2004). There is now sufficient research

to support the dramatic impact of meditation and relaxation

on the creative process. Nevertheless, all the stakeholders

involved in education need to be informed and to be provided

with concrete experiences to fully understand the relevance

of these practices. It is a big challenge but it is easy to

implement and with only limited training costs. It would be a

wise choice in favour of our new brain as it would foster the

development of the Anterior Cingulate neurocortex in the

frontal lobes that, as mentioned before, is responsible for

greater imagination, creativity, and originality.

←

← Furthermore, in so doing, human beings would look inside

their hearts, perhaps they could even re-discover and re-gain

their original powers, those powers so similar to the ones of

the Gods.

34

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