Creative androgyny

Despite the immense canon of research on creativity —including its four stages, the cognitive science of the ideal creative routine, the role of memory, and the relationship between creativity and mental illness— very little has focused on one of life’s few givens that equally few of us can escape: gender and the genderedness of the mind. In Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention —one of the most important, insightful, and influential books on creativity ever written— pioneering psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi examines a curious, under-appreciated yet crucial aspect of the creative mindset: a predisposition to psychological androgyny. “In all cultures, men are brought up to be “masculine” and to disregard and repress those aspects of their temperament that the culture regards as “feminine,” whereas women are expected to do the opposite. Creative individuals to a certain extent escape this rigid gender role stereotyping. When tests of masculinity/ femininity are given to young people, over and over one finds that creative and talented girls are more dominant and tough than other girls, and creative boys are more sensitive and less aggressive than their male peers.” Csikszentmihalyi points out that this psychological tendency toward androgyny shouldn’t be confused with homosexuality —it deals not with sexual constitution but with a set of psychoemotional capacities: “Psychological androgyny is a much wider concept, referring to a person’s ability to be at the same time aggressive and nurturant, sensitive and rigid, dominant and submissive, regardless of gender. A psychologically androgynous person in effect doubles his or her repertoire of responses and can interact with the world in terms of a much richer and varied spectrum of opportunities. It is not surprising that creative individuals are more likely to have not only the strengths of their own gender but those of the other one, too.” Citing his team’s extensive interviews with 91 individuals who scored high on creativity in various fields —including pioneering astronomer Vera Rubin, legendary sociobiologist E.O. Wilson, philosopher and marginalia champion Mortimer Adler, universedisturber Madeleine L’Engle, social science titan John Gardner, poet extraordinaire Denise Levertov, and MacArthur genius Stephen Jay Gould— Csikszentmihalyi writes:

“It was obvious that the women artists and scientists tended to be much more assertive, self-confident, and openly aggressive than women are generally brought up to be in our society. Perhaps the most noticeable evidence for the “femininity” of the men in the sample was their great preoccupation with their family and their sensitivity to subtle aspects of the environment that other men are inclined to dismiss as unimportant. But despite having these traits that are not usual to their gender, they retained the usual gender-specific traits as well.” Creative androgyny Why reading makes you a better person Source: Why “Psychological Androgyny” Is Essential for Creativity, by Maria Popova. www.brainpickings.org

Understand yourself

One day a student from Chicago came to the Providence Zen Center and asked Seung Sahn Soen-Sa, “What is Zen?” Soen-sa held his Zen stick above his head and said, “Do you understand?” The student said, “I don’t know.” Soen-sa said, “This don’t know mind is you. Zen is understanding yourself.” “What do you understand about me? Teach me.” Soen-sa said, “In a cookie factory, different cookies are baked in the shape of animals, cars, people, and airplanes. They all have different names and forms, but they are all made from the same dough, and they all taste the same. “In the same way, all things in the universe –the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, rivers, people, and so forth– have different names and forms, but they are all made from the same substance. The universe is organized into pairs of opposites: light and darkness, man and woman, sound and silence, good and bad. But all these opposites are mutual, because they are made from the same substance. Their names and their forms are different, but their substance is the same. Names and forms are made by your thinking. If you are not thinking and have no attachment to name and form, then all substance is one. Your don’t know mind cuts off all thinking. This is your substance. The substance of this Zen stick and your own substance are the same. You are this stick; this stick is you.” The student said, “Some philosophers say this substance is energy, or mind, or God, or matter. Which is the truth?” Soen-sa said, “Four blind men went to the zoo and visited the elephant. One blind man touched its side and said, ‘The elephant is like a wall.’ The next blind man touched its trunk and said, ‘The elephant is like a snake.’ The next blind man touched its leg and said, ‘The elephant is like a column.’ The last blind man touched its tail and said, ‘The elephant is like a broom.’ Then the four blind men started to fight, each one believing that his opinion was the right one. Each only understood the part he had touched; none of them understood the whole. “Substance has no name and no form. Energy, mind, God, and matter are all name and form. Substance is the Absolute. Having name and form is having opposites. So the whole world is like the blind men fighting among themselves. Not understanding yourself is not understanding the truth. That is why there is fighting among ourselves. If all the people in the world understood themselves, they would attain the Absolute. Then the world would be at peace. World peace is Zen.” The student said, “How can practicing Zen make world peace?” Soen-sa said, “People desire money, fame, sex, food, and rest. All this desire is thinking. Thinking is suffering. Suffering means no world peace. Not thinking is not suffering. Not suffering means world peace. World peace is the Absolute. The Absolute is I.” The student said, “How can I understand the Absolute?” Soen-sa said, “You must first understand yourself.” “How can I understand myself?” Soen-sa held up the Zen stick and said, “Do you see this?” He then quickly hit the table with the stick and said, “Do you hear this? This stick, this sound, your mind – are they the same or different?” The student said, “The same.” Soen-sa said, “If you say they are the same, I will hit you thirty times. If you say they are different, I will still hit you thirty times. Why?” The student was silent. Soen-sa shouted, “KATZ!!!” Then he said, “Spring comes, the grass grows by itself.” Source: Dropping Ashes On The Buddha: The Teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn.

Self-filling H2O bottle

There is water in the air around us at every moment. This untapped resource could benefit people living in arid areas of the world. Taking a cue from the Namib Desert Beetle, scientists have developed a water bottle that can fill itself up by harvesting water from the atmosphere. The Namib Desert Beetle has a shell that is covered in bumps, which allows humidity in the air to gradually accumulate on its back until water droplets form. These droplets roll down the beetle’s back and directly into its mouth. Researchers have mimicked this shell to develop a bottle that utilizes the same water collecting effect. This technology can also be used on tent covers, roof tiles and other items. NBD Nano is taking advantage of this technology to create a water bottle that can continually fill itself up. The company hopes to have the water bottle on the market by 2014. “We see this being applicable to anything from marathon runners to people in third-world countries. Water is such a large issue in the world today, and we want to try to alleviate those problems with a cost-efficient solution,” says Deckard Sorensen, co-founder of NBD Nano. Source: Note by Kristine Lofgren. inhabitat.com

Mobile laundromat for the homeless

Two ingenious 20-year-old good Samaritans created a brilliant way to help the homeless –they’ve outfitted a van as a mobile laundromat to give the homeless the opportunity to clean their clothes safely. The two creators of the Orange Sky Laundry project, Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi, started with an old van and a generator. With the help of donations, they were able to secure two washing machines and driers, allowing their van to process 20kg of laundry an hour. The project was launched in July and is now in its trial period, during which the van will operate 5 days a week in Brisbane. If the van is successful, the organization might spread throughout Australia.

You can help them out by donating online –$6 will cover the cost of a cycle of washing for 1 person. “Have a look, we really appreciate it along with your continued support!” Visit their website: orangeskylaundry. com.au Source: www.boredpanda.com

Modern slavery

It is estimated that 35.8 million people are forced to live in slavery around the world today. But we can be the generation to end slavery –if we can mobilise a global movement, making it a priority for governments and business, and investing in the solutions of prevention, protection and prosecution. Walk Free is a movement of people everywhere, fighting to end one of the world’s greatest evils: modern slavery. Everywhere in the world, slavery means injustice, cruelty, and suffering. But in every country it wears a different face, it targets different families, it thrives on different pain. So in every country, in every community, the fight against slavery is unique. That’s why Walk Free works with a network of organisations based around the world. We amplify and extend their efforts, and we help put resources in the hands of people who can make the biggest difference. Visit walkfree.org and learn many ways to take action and support people all over the world. Send e-mails or make a donation. Every action, every gift makes a difference. This is how we will put an end to modern slavery. Nation by nation, community by community, person by person. Until we build the world we dream of, a world where everyone can walk free.