Sometimes we may want to lose ourselves in an activity, allowing it to carry us off to far-off worlds like in a dream. Other times we might wish to stimulate our brain and be more active. Is it possible to combine these two? Quite so! Here are 5 peaceful, creative activities to help you relax while also engaging the mind.
Playing an instrument
Listening to music can be quite relaxing. It can transport you to a different world, carrying you along like ocean waves. However, creating music can be an entirely different matter. Playing a musical instrument can unlock the secret to creating a new world. You no longer are simply the ocean’s spectator, but rather the boat’s captain.
Learning to play an instrument can be immensely satisfying. Figuring out how to create the sound of the notes can take much effort, depending on the instrument. Then comes being able to string notes together into recognizable melodies. Once you have a little proficiency with an instrument, it’s such an accomplishment to hear your fingers play the notes.
Along with simply learning to play, you can discover how to improvise songs. Once you know the building blocks of melodies and chords, you can begin to create random tunes. Simply the act of putting together notes without having a predetermined melody, and hearing what results, can be magical. You are creating something that didn’t previously exist. Knowing that this doesn’t have to be played for anyone else can bring relief and help open up your creative juices. Simply enjoy what you play, only for you.
Study a language
So many of the world’s languages are incredibly pretty to hear. All of them require much study to become first an amateur and then a fluent speaker. But think how nice it will be to read and understand in a new language! Learning this can engage your brain like nothing else can.
Learning to be bi- or multi-lingual helps our memory improve, as well as our ability to multi-task and concentrate. Both grey and white matter in the brain are visibly boosted in bilingual people. Grey matter is associated with the number of neurons in your brain, and white matter includes the pathways between neurons. This boost can help slow cognitive degeneration in older adults as well.
The process of learning the language can be incredibly gratifying. Understanding new words, being able to read a menu, and being able to communicate with others make for a deep sense of accomplishment.
Meditation
We commonly associate meditation with achieving zen (do images of a Buddhist monk in the mountains come to mind?). But is it a peaceful *and* creative activity? Well, not only can it help anyone to achieve a relaxed state, it can also engage the mind.
Contrary to popular thought, meditation does not involve emptying the mind. Rather, it involves either focusing the mind on one thing, or allowing the mind to observe everything without analysis. In the first instance, we concentrate our attention on just one object: it could be your breath, your body, or a particular object. You simply focus on this one thing, without analysis or reaction. When thoughts come, you notice them, and make the active decision to let them go. This stops your mind from wandering.
In the second instance, we allow our mind to notice a multitude of sensory stimuli in our surroundings. We hear different sounds. We feel the air. We smell whatever comes along. And we simply observe each of these stimuli. Each moment brings one new stimulus, and then that moment is gone, and we let it go. This fluidity and detachment can help us soften our reflex to react to everything.
In meditation, we are achieving peace by allowing our mind to engage simply, with one thing at a time, and we are allowing each moment to move on, without holding onto it.
Painting or Drawing
Similarly to creating music, this endeavor allows you to create something artistic while losing yourself in it. But unlike music, you don’t have to be proficient as a painter to create something beautiful. Abstract art can be made up of whatever colors, patterns, and shapes you desire. Whatever is meaningful to you at the time. Feel free to have fun with the artist tools. You can splatter paint on the canvas, use flowing strokes or short, crisp ones. You can utilize any and every shade of the rainbow. Feel free to express yourself and lose yourself in your art. Once you’re done, you’ll have a masterpiece where only you know the artist’s true feeling and state of mind.
Walking in Nature
This might not seem like a creative activity, but if you walk with an open eye and an open mind, you might be surprised. Take some time to notice patterns and colors around you. Notice the way the sunlight filters through particular leaves, the patterns in the light. If one leaf is partially in sun and partly in shade, notice how the sun comes through it, the shape the light makes on the leaf. Notice the patterns within the bark on nearby trees: the vertical lines, the slants, the ridges.
If you let your eyes unfocus a bit, you might even be able to imagine figures within the leaves or the twigs. Maybe you see a face in the tree bark. Let your imagination run wild: what do you see in the branches above you? Looking at nature in this way can ease your mind while also indulging your creative senses.
Takeaway
Each of these activities offers both relaxing and creative aspects to stimulate and ease the mind. Both are immensely wonderful for brain health. So next time you’re looking for something to do, check out one of these peaceful, creative hobbies! Enjoy some creative zen!
You might also enjoy:
Cover image photo credit: IStockPhoto.com/golubovy
