FEATURED COLUMNIST
Get Comfortable with Productive Solitude by John P. Weiss
A
re you familiar with flotation isolation? It involves floating on your back in a specially designed sensory deprivation tank of water. The tank is soundproof to prevent noise distractions. Floaters experience minimal sensory stimulation, including the sensation of gravity. It’s completely dark inside the tank. Just you and your thoughts. Flotation (or isolation) tanks are used for restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST). The idea is that dark, quiet isolation in near-zero gravity is therapeutic, helping with conditions like anxiety, pain, and stress. Do sensory deprivation floating tanks work? According to some research, yes. An article in heathline.com notes: “A 2018 study showed that a single one-hour session in a sensory deprivation tank was capable of a significant reduction in anxiety and improvement in mood in the 50 participants with stress- and anxiety-related disorders. A 2016 study of 46 people who selfreported generalized anxiety disorder … found that it reduced … symptoms, such as depression, sleep difficulties, irritability, and fatigue.” As a writer and artist, what I found most interesting about flotation isolation research was the findings of improved creativity. Per the healthline.com article: “According to an article published in 2014 in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine, floating in a sensory deprivation tank has been found in a handful of studies to increase originality, imagination, and intuition, which can all lead to enhanced creativity.” An article in medicalnewstoday. com echoed the findings above: “A 2014 study compared the advertising claims of sensory deprivation centers with clinical research. The authors found that several studies supported the idea that a person may experience a boost in creativity.” Isolation Supports Creativity hile these study results are not universal or definitive, they bend toward the view that isolation supports creativity. After the pandemic lockdown of 2020, I tend to agree. Even though I work from home and was already somewhat monastic in my
W
creative habits, the pandemic lockdown afforded me greater free time. The cancellation of travel plans and weekly get-togethers with friends meant more time to read, write, and create artwork. I took online classes, read more books, exercised more, and was more productive. Fewer commitments and distractions allowed more time to be with myself. More time to daydream, reflect, brainstorm, and focus on deep work. All of which improved my creative development and output. If you want to reach new heights of personal and creative breakthroughs, do the following: Get Comfortable With Aloneness and Productive Solitude eep in mind that solitude and aloneness are different than loneliness. They are not inflicted on you. You choose them. Yes, a healthy life includes family, friends, and positive social interactions. Human beings are social creatures, and we need one another to various degrees. But a busy social life devoid of solitude can hurt your creativity and wellbeing. I have found solitude to be a crucial state of being for my creative and artistic success. I first learned this in grade school, and years later when I found a seemingly abandoned toy in the woods. My Imagination Becomes the Universe was a shy and introverted boy in school. One of the things I hated in the classroom was group learning. In my experience, being split into groups meant the loudest and most aggressive students lorded over the rest of us. Pairing popular and awkward kids in groups seldom produced the vaunted student engagement and active learning teachers sought. My best school work was achieved alone in the library or at home in my room. There were moments of collaboration with a student friend or teacher, but mostly, I performed better on my own. “Closed in a room, my imagination becomes the universe, and the rest of the world is missing out.”-Criss Jami, Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality Even in adulthood, I hated professional meetings. They consisted mostly of unnecessary banter, grandstanding, and
the assignment of unproductive, timewasting subcommittees. My best professional work was achieved alone, where I could focus deeply and undisturbed by the tyranny of the group. I’m not alone in this celebration of aloneness and productive solitude. An article in Inc.com reports: “In
physics, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, and James Clerk Maxwell, three of the greatest creative contributors, worked almost entirely alone. They profited from other people’s ideas not in direct collaboration, but by reading research papers and books.” “Productive Solitude” page 23
Back to School
K
I
ACROSS
1. *____ mater 5. *Graduate degree, acr. 8. Opposite of stereo 12. Defense ditch 13. Fishing rod attachment 14. More sure 15. One’s final notice 16. Dutch cheese 17. Golfer’s traction aid 18. *Half-year terms 20. At the summit of 21. Water nymph 22. Actor ____ Mahershala 23. Be a busybody 26. Metrical foot in poetry 30. Earlier in time, archaic
31. Become bony 34. Shakespeare’s tragic monarch 35. Labanotation founder 37. Theodor Geisel, ____ Dr. Seuss 38. Threshold 39. Relating to the ear 40. Weather advisories, e.g. 42. + or - atom 43. Widely esteemed 45. Most mature, as in fruit 47. Indian dish 48. Dashboard window 50. Female sheep, pl. 52. *”The Breakfast Club” punishment 56. Flower holders 57. Singles 58. High school breakout
59. Acoustic output 60. Overwhelming defeat 61. *Gym class test? 62. Catchall abbr. 63. *Geography class staple 64. Not talker?
11. Table scrap 13. Laces again 14. Milan’s La ____ 19. Manicurist’s office 22. Is it ____ wonder? 23. Hard on outside, juicy on inside 24. One of the Muses 25. Payment option DOWN 1. ____ of cookie fame 26. From a great distance 27. Chill-inducing 2. Stud site 28. Type of palm tree, pl. 3. Cripple 29. Council of _____, city 4. *Go to class in Italy 5. Mythological princess 32. *Back-to-School retail of Colchis event 6. TV cooking show pioneer James ____ 33. WWII general who became President 7. Contributions to the 36. *Faculty member poor 38. “Peace” with fingers 8. *Kind of choice 9. Black and white treat 40. TV classic “____ in the Family” 10. Less than average tide
41. Superlative of true 44. Lowest male singing voice 46. Small bomb 48. Christopher Columbus’ birthplace 49. Consumed (2 words) 50. Small ladies’ handbag 51. What one does at the altar 52. *College freshman’s new digs 53. International Civil Aviation Organization 54. Half as much as twice 55. ____-do-well 56. Every American’s uncle?
© Statepoint Media
Answers on 23 »
www.tpgonlinedaily.com Scotts Valley Times / September 2021 / 19
