The Wizards and the Engineers
Why a run, shower, meditation or a walk in nature can all help our creative intuition.
I was listening to a talk from Ann Betz yesterday on the neuroscience of intuition. What it is, where it comes from. And usefully, how to tap into it.
Intuition, it can seem elusive and fleeting, a mind of its own. In older times often accessed through a muse.
Personally speaking it’s something I like having access to and wish I had more often. Why only sometimes and not readily? Could it be possible to harness its value more easily?
To start, a little understanding of human intuition can help.
In her scientific work Ann defines intuition as, “Anything we ‘know’ without conscious thought, processing or observation. Brought to us by a highly complex, interrelated and interdependent system.”
That system I went on to understand is the human intuition system — an interplay of our brain, body and the collective consciousness. Each holding different aspects of intuition.
For the brain’s part, those aspects of intuition are contextual, drawn from learned experience; right hemisphere, our global awareness and our ability to have empathy and feelings of others through our mirror neurons; left hemisphere, a focused attention on new information, putting intuition into language; and the default mode network, a network of neurons distributed across the brain that become more active when we’re in a non-attention focused state and can provide those “aha” moments of insight.
For a grasping of these different brain aspects of intuition - and what I found most useful - Ann introduced the metaphor of the Wizards and the Engineers. Starting with the engineers, they are that group of neurons we put to work on task-orientated, attention-to-detail specific activities. They love working on what’s right in front of us, processing new data and new ideas. But they’re not so good at conceptualising, envisaging or creating from scratch. Leave that to the wizards — a highly creative group not known for their structured approach but when set a challenge and left to their own devices can conjure up some real magic.
Given this metaphor, consider the scenario: You’ve got a report to write up. You’ve done the research, got all the data and the materials are ready. You just need to put it all together into a succinct, well orchestrated structure. Recognise a familiar issue here? It just won’t come to you. There’s no flow, no creativity. The frustration builds and the situation worsens.
So you take a break, go for the run, do a meditation, have a shower. And in those moments ideas start to flood in. You’re excited again because you have it, an approach, a structure and way to make it all work. The wizards have done their magic. Now you return to the report, engage the engineers and it’s like plain sailing as they flow through the execution of these new data and ideas the wizards have created for you.
This is working with the different brain aspects of our intuition effectively and it’s why the Pomodoro Technique [1] is so effective: A 20-25 minute time-box of focused endeavour, then deliberately pausing the work, giving the engineers a break and allowing the wizards to do their work in the background while you get up, move around, make a coffee, take a short break. And then it’s back to the next Pomodoro time-box to meet your wizards, see what they’ve come up with and setting your engineers to work it up.
The Other Two Parts of our Human Intuition System — the Body and Collective Consciousness
In addition to our brains, did you know that the organs of our hearts and gut contain a high density of neurons both sharing the same neurotransmitters found in the brain? This sensory information collected by the body gives us a broadening of awareness and brings a scientific explanation to the sensation and expressions of ‘gut feeling’ and ‘a knowing in the heart’. In evolutionary terms this body consciousness came first, before the brain’s.
As an example of this body intuition, earlier today I was in a business meeting and I noticed myself wanting to express a decision. But I felt unsure. I decided to stay quiet and to listen, not just from my head, but my whole body as well. I engaged my heart and gut into the listening. A new idea came to me. It felt right. It became the decision I shared, and it landed well. Time will tell if it proves to be effective or not, but in that moment it felt right and effortless.
As for the third part of the human intuition system, what is ‘collective consciousness’? This is where things -ie, matter and science become a little fuzzy. Aspects of the collective consciousness can be classified in part as, quoting Ann: “a knowing based on where we all come from, the same original mass of matter and what was once together reacts on the quantum level as one” [2]. This is the ‘out of the blue’ awareness that can spontaneously come to us, especially when we’re relaxed. That knowing that can come when we’re in conversation with someone or doing something for the first time yet having access to information that is familiar and relevant which could not have been formulated, but rather, “it just came to me” [3].
So the next time you’re looking to tap into your creativity and intuition, try employing your wizards and engineers, use the Pomodoro technique, practice engaging your whole body, listening to its awareness and the awareness of a wider consciousness.
Experiment and see what happens.
[1] The Pomodoro Technique: https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/pomodoro-technique
[2] Taking account of the fact there are three sets of physical laws that apply to matter at the levels of quantum, medial and complex system. For now there being no unified field theory that unites them all.
[3] Not to be confused with an experience of deja-vu, a transitory sensation of having already lived an identical situation at some point in the past. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/deja-vu-what-it-is-and-when-it-may-be-cause-for-concern/