The Best Cannabis Strains for Creativity: Creative Reflection

Behavioral Psychological studies reveal that people, on average, believe themselves to be better skilled beyond their actual capabilities. This phenomenon is largely driven by an individual’s ego, the part of the mind that is responsible for reality testing and a sense of personal identity. In fact, without even realizing it, people often go to great lengths in order to protect their ego. This is exemplified most overtly in social media, as people edit and filter their lives for likes, comments and shares, all serving as a short-lived ego boost to protect one’s self-perceived image.

Cannabis, beyond its many medicinal purposes, also uniquely allows for a high amount of self-reflection and introspection. While the ego fuels people’s sense of self-delusion and grandiosity, Cannabis can actually help people tap into the true essence of who they really are beyond the ego. The Cannabis strains profiled here promote one’s capacity for Creative Reflection by helping to peel away at the ego and ask honest questions. Creativity, above all, is questioning. It arises from the need to answer something or to find the solution to a given problem.

One cannot reach their true creative potential without looking within first. Creative Reflection is about observing and encouraging our creative self to continue to discover and reveal what is beneath the surface. If creativity is all about making unconventional connections between ideas, then self-reflection can help people see beyond their normal thought process in order to make these connections.

Because the reasons behind one’s cannabis usage may vary, we’ve broken down creative thinking into four subsections in order to identify the best strains to fit with your creative purpose.

Creative Imagination deals mostly with divergent thinking by removing barriers and judgment for more free-flowing and effective brainstorming.
Creative Awareness, which sees an increase in pattern recognition, allows for a newfound sensitivity to the aesthetic of the world around you.
Creative Reflection involves looking inwards for self-discovery or memory recollections, which can result in deeper connections of empathy.
Creative Focus helps make ‘out of the box’ connections possible while rumination on a specific, complex problem.

Creative Reflection focuses primarily on creative mindfulness, distant memory recall and self-discovery. These calming and focusing strains enhance empathetic skills allowing for not only a better understanding of one’s own emotions but also a better and deeper understanding of the emotions of the people around you. The Creative Reflection strains featured on this list are perfect for a night in or hanging with friends as they increase mindfulness as well as an individual’s capacity for emotional connections.

Our Analytical Process:

Together, with scientists at Abstraxlabs, we have chemically analyzed hundreds of strains that index high for creativity and other related states through survey data. In this process, we’ve identified a matrix of cannabinoid and terpene profiles that contribute to a specific type of creative impact. This is supported by focus groups and feedback from creative leaders in a wide range of fields.

Lastly, it is important to note that cannabis usage does not guarantee that all your ideas or thoughts will be worth-while. The point of Creative Reflection is to look beyond the ego and towards one’s inner truth to improve upon one’s overall life quality and creative process.

How to Dose:

If you know your optimal dosage, then proceed accordingly, but take your time. If you are unsure, start with a small amount and then slowly increase your dosage until you find a level that opens the mind. Research shows that lower doses produce more consistent results salient creative thinking. Cannabis for creativity is meant to enhance the experience, not be the experience...

Here are eight cannabis strains to ease your journey into Creative Reflection:

1. Blue Dream

Potent and pungent, a Blue Dream high is at its core a stimulant. Beginning with a cerebral rush, users can expect to feel a high sense of motivation and productivity without any overwhelming sensations. As the high spreads into the body, thoughts begin to slow down leaving users feeling warm, uplifted and especially in tune with your emotions. The uplifting head high will make any night alone an unforgettable event.

2. Purple Punch

Pop in a visually stimulating movie, sit back, and get ready to space out into your thoughts. The Purple Punch high is largely cerebral and feel-good. The mostly uplifting high often has users slipping into a state of self-reflection without really realizing it. Purple Punch may not help you focus on the task in front of you, but if you’re trying to look within then this is the strain for you.

3. Zkittlez

The Zkittlez high is most noted for its subtle head high and almost psychedelic like effects. A Zkittlez high has immense effects on user’s sensory perception allowing for minor visual and time distortions. As time seemingly begins to slow, users can expect their thoughts to hold a greater weight as they become harder to ignore. This cerebral effect is perfect for working on mundane tasks while simultaneously reflecting on yourself or the world around you.

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4. Pineapple Express

Though not exactly as it was depicted in the movie of the same name, Pineapple Express without a doubt will have users feeling euphoric, uplifted, and surprisingly, talkative. This strain is perfect for anyone suffering from chronic stress, depression or anxiety. Somehow both stimulating and calming, Pineapple Express is essential for a night in with friends as it can strengthen emotional connections and help old memories resurface.

5. Original Gorilla Glue (GG4)

Gorilla Glue will fix any mood after just a single puff. Most noted for its euphoric and uplifting sensations, a Gorilla Glue high will leave users feeling giggly and ready to relax. Gorilla Glue doesn’t send the mind racing with ideas, rather it opens up the mind for a deeper understanding of one’s own thoughts and though process. Though the high results in a body-numbing high, as your body relaxes, you’ll notice that mental clarity is but a small aspect of the Gorilla Glue high.

6. Lamb’s Bread

If you’re looking for an incomparable mood elevator, Lamb’s Bread is definitely the best strain to bring on feelings of happiness and euphoria. Lamb’s Bread won’t make send your mind racing and it won’t make you introspective either, but what it will do is open your mind to be more receptive to engagement. In this way, users often feel better connected to themselves and their smoke buddies as well.

7. Maui Waui

Maui Waui is said to improve creativity, but what it’s really doing is improving its user’s mental clarity. Resulting in an uplifting, euphoric high, Maui Waui mellows the body allowing for users to become introspective as they begin to focus on their buzzing minds. A Maui Waui high is said to be inspiring, perhaps due to its ability to help users look within.

8. White Widow

White Widow’s high is definitely much more psychological than it is physical so don’t expect to be couch locked. Described as a fast-acting head high, a White Widow high will certainly improve any sour mood while simultaneously easing any lingering stress or anxiety. Users can expect to feel energized and largely reflective. In fact, the introspective state of mind commonly associated with White Widow may induce paranoia in less experienced users. Still, White Widow is worth a try as it can spur a reflective journey.

The Science Behind Cannabis and Creativity:

Cannabis’s ability to stimulate blood flow to the brain’s frontal lobe and allow neurons to fire in a more uninhibited way are just a few of the potential scientific explanations for the creative prowess that cannabis appears to bestow upon people. The frontal lobe is the base for creative, divergent thinking or thinking of multiple solutions to open-ended questions. This is also known as “thinking outside of the box.”

Cannabis is also a creative maximizer in how it deactivates a specific aspect of the brain. One of the biggest inhibitors to creative ideation and divergent thinking is in judging ideas as they emerge, or convergent thinking.

There is a region in the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex that is connected to planning, inhibition, and self-censorship as well as cognitive control over emotions. Slowing it down or deactivating that area plays a role in altered states of consciousness such as daydreaming, meditation, and REM sleep (all are patterns of brain activity that can enhance the creative process). Because cannabis can suppress these functions, and allow you to focus more on imagination, ideas tend to flow more freely when using cannabis. For more information check out The Science Behind Cannabis and Creativity.