Introduction:

Paul E. Plsek studied various models of creative process for many years and concluded that the basis for creativity is « heuristic ».

The word « heurism » comes from Greek and means "self-discovery" and that happens to be the approach we favor. The basic idea behind our teaching method - after explaining the details - is to guide participants in a series of activities that will provoke an "aha" in their own thinking.

Plsek found 8 heuristic principles - supported by extensive body of research - that reveal creativity's heuristic aspect. Creative breakthroughs don't just happen, they can be consciously provoked with certain "doings" and "not-doings".

Creation's basic tenet is a law of creative economy. Infinity is arranged as simple (+1) + (-1) = 0 binary system when 0 represents nothing as “not one thing” and therefore limitlessness. (+1) is the subjected thrust, the known, (-1) is the assembled unknown. The process unifies the thought in a creative “AHA”... as understandinf FOLLOWS experience.

METHOD

#1 Given that you know what you want, make it a habit to purposefully pause and notice things. Write them down.

The first principle says that we should make it a habit to pause and notice things because our automatic perception processes miss a great deal of what goes on around us. The importance of seeing the world in a fresh way is an accepted part of all theories of creative thinking.

If you pause and notice, don't look for anything in particular; you needn't know how you will ultimately use the information, just be on the lookout for manifestations of the UNKNOWN. As creative thinking makes novel association from existing concepts and new input, then it follows that it is useful to create a storehouse of original concepts by experiencing new and different things, or old things new ways.. Noticed, some things will leave clear impressions that should be written down in a note book for closer examination. If an idea isn't noted, it soons disappears into the known.

#2 Focus your creative energy on a few topic areas that you genuinely care about. Work on these purposefully for several weeks or months.

The second principle is based on research into the lives of great creators. Creative breakthroughs rarely come "all of a sudden” but creators work diligently with many ideas, in specific topic areas, over an extended period of time, before they see their conclusions gel. Understanding follows experience.

#3 Avoid being too narrow when defining problems or areas for creative thought. Purposefully think in terms of broader definitions and see what insights you'll gain from the perimeters. Jump to the next level...

Heuristic principle number three says to define the topic of our concern broadly. This encourages us to maintain maximum space for maneuvering and for making novel connections. It obliges us to explore the territory at the edges of thought... but detachedly, loosely, fluidly.

#4 Come up with original and useful ideas by making novel associations with what you already know.

The fourth heuristic principle is to make new mental associations with ideas. It based on the mental action that underlies all creative thought - fusion. Differenet streams of light converge and - quantum - a higher magnitude of Light ...more intelligence emerges.

#5 - If you need a creative idea, remember: attention, intent, and movement.

The fifth heuristic principle is called AIM - Attention, Intent, and Movement. It further directs basic mental mechanics to escape mental patterns so we keep moving our thinking and avoid premature judgment.. The rock 'n roll song says take a walk on the wild side! - but that's radical as any new experience adds new neural pathways. Get innovative to be more creative... just change!

#6 Pause and carefully examine ideas that make you laugh when you hear them.

Heuristic principle # 6 encourages us to pause on ideas that make us laugh. Because it effects cognition in areas where the brain organizes and disorganizes patterns, it appears that laughter might be a physiological reaction to novel connections made by assembling neurons in the brain in unexpected ways. This heuristic principle asks us to resist moving away when someone suggests a radical concept or far out ideas. Working with such ideas can be one of the most productive things you can do if we are looking for innovation. In the world of creativity, laughter is serious business.

#7 - Recognize that streams of thought and patterns of judgment are not inherently right or wrong; they are just what you think now, based on patterns from your past. In another pattern those ideas may be perfectly logical. Universe and universal laws change at each of 8 levels of SELF-organization.

The 7th heuristic principle suggests that judgments are not inherently right or wrong but only to remind us that mental processes and judgments are emotion-laden. This heuristic idea calls on us to keep an open mind and to cultivate flexibility and openness - essential ingredients in creative thinking.

#8 - Make a deliberate effort to implement at least a few of the ideas you generate.

The 8th heuristic principle is to try your ideas. It is based on the important distinction between innovative thought and productive innovation. The true innovator is action-oriented in order to distinguish what works from ideas that might seem good. In fact - be it business or in daily life, creative ideas have little value until they are put into action. Experience lets you quickly separate the gold from the slag...