Show notes
Dr. Jeff Mims is a psychologist, creativity expert, musician, and researcher. His work focuses on the relationships between music, health and well-being. He holds a doctorate in humanistic psychology with a specialization in creativity studies, as well as a master's in rehabilitation counseling, and a bachelor's in film and cinema studies. Currently he’s the operations lead at the Music and Expressive Arts Center of Oklahoma. For his doctoral research, Jeff focused on the musical experience of “the pocket.” This term comes out of the jazz world, when a group of musicians performing together come into a collective flow state.
Dr. Mims and Dr. Rothouse were in the same PhD program at Saybrook University, focusing on creativity, but he started the program right after she finished. So we knew of each other, and we were connected on LinkedIn, but we only recently finally got to meet in person at a creativity conference in Oregon. Through our conversations at the conference, we both recognized an opportunity to collaborate, so I’m excited to bring you our conversation today about the pocket experience and the healing power of music.
Once you’ve heard the episode, my creativity challenge is to think about your own experience of flow states, either individually or with others, in your creative or professional work. When do they happen? What does a flow state look and feel like for you personally? What’s possible from that place? How can you facilitate such flow states for yourself and others? Pay attention to your own energetic flows and see if you can create the conditions for them to happen more intentionally, because that’s where the creative magic happens!
Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced by Michael Osborne at 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Creative development and video production by Shuja Uddin and Devon Foster at Tishna Films. Artwork by Dreux Carpenter.
If you enjoy this episode, you might also like our conversations in Episode 3: Creative Polymathy with Musician, Photographer, and Podcaster Michael Walker, Episode 5: Creative Global Citizenship with Filmmaker and Screenwriter Shuja Uddin, and Episode 7: The Syncreate Story with Charlotte Gullick.
Episode-specific hyperlinks:
Dr. Jeff Mims on LinkedIn
The Music and Expressive Arts Center of Oklahoma on LinkedIn
Saxophonist Kenny Garrett
Saybrook University Creativity, Innovation & Leadership Ph.D. Program
Show / permanent hyperlinks:
The Syncreate Podcast
Syncreate Website
Syncreate Instagram
Syncreate Facebook
Syncreate Twitter
Syncreate LinkedIn
Syncreate YouTube
Melinda Rothouse Website
Austin Writing Coach
Melinda Joy Music Website
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