Ep 8 – We Are All Huge Nerds

Ep 8 – We Are All Huge Nerds

by | Jul 31, 2019 | MossyBrain Show

The MossyBrain Show is nerding out with a lively discussion about homemade hammocks, embracing creativity in children and a clothing idea so revolutionary it could potentially upend the entire fashion industry. Ben and Jess discuss the importance of embracing our inner nerd and being who we are regardless of the weird stuff we’re all passionate about.

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Ben Beresh is a designer, filmmaker and co-founder of MossyBrain. Originally from Niagara Falls, ON, he now happily calls Broken Arrow OK home, along with his wife Jessica, four kids and dog Charlie. Ben likes to have a good time, all the time (Enneagram 7), as well as eating all types of sandwiches.

Connect with him on Facebook or ben@mossybrain.com.

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Ep 6 – Document Your Creative Journey

Ep 6 – Document Your Creative Journey

by | Mar 21, 2019 |

Ben and Jess vividly recount a successful lunchtime run-in with creativity and an improv performance review takes center stage in the FlowJam. The why and how of documenting your creative journey is clearly explained, wrapping up the roadmap to your Most Creative Year...

read more
Ep 5 – Your Creative Community

Ep 5 – Your Creative Community

by | Mar 21, 2019 |

Hosts Jessica & Ben Beresh chat about a bizarre first date, the brilliance of Japanese game shows, the peril of escape rooms and where you might find creative people hanging out. The importance of surrounding yourself with other creative individuals is stressed as...

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Ep 4 – Embracing Change

Ep 4 – Embracing Change

by | Feb 21, 2019 |

A visceral and terrifying dream is recounted in detail along with descriptions of artistic expressions in the Beresh household. The Flow Jam activity imagines a world where solutions are the opposite of simple or practical. The many creative benefits of embracing...

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DISCLOSURE: Some links in this article, and elsewhere on this site, may be affiliate links. While there is not any additional cost to you, purchases made via those affiliate links may earn us a commission. Only products and services which have been vetted and tested by the MossyBrain team are featured and promoted. If you are thinking of purchasing a featured product or service, or have a genuine interest in a linked product, your use of the affiliate link is appreciated and allows us to continue writing these kinds of helpful articles. Thanks so much!

Ep 7 – Kindness is Magic

Ep 7 – Kindness is Magic

by | Apr 4, 2019 | MossyBrain Show

Jess & Ben express a desire to take the podcast to an inter-species audience, and imagine some mythical creatures both wonderful and horrific. They also discuss the magic and importance of kindness in relation to all our creative pursuits and relationships.

Subscribe to The MossyBrain Show

Ben Beresh is a designer, filmmaker and co-founder of MossyBrain. Originally from Niagara Falls, ON, he now happily calls Broken Arrow OK home, along with his wife Jessica, four kids and dog Charlie. Ben likes to have a good time, all the time (Enneagram 7), as well as eating all types of sandwiches.

Connect with him on Facebook or ben@mossybrain.com.

You might also like…

Ep 10 – Just Getting Started

Ep 10 – Just Getting Started

by | Aug 14, 2019 |

In this episode, Jessica and Ben recount their respective recent travels and try and determine how many unorthodox uses a paperclip has. They explain some ways of getting started in your creative journey, breaking down some important things to keep in mind as you...

read more
Ep 9 Let’s Talk About Flow

Ep 9 Let’s Talk About Flow

by | Aug 8, 2019 |

Hosts Jessica and Ben return from vacation to some big changes at home. A delicious, yet respectful salute to the troops is devised in the FlowJam. And finally the purpose and importance of Flow in your creative journey is unpacked and explained.Subscribe to The...

read more

DISCLOSURE: Some links in this article, and elsewhere on this site, may be affiliate links. While there is not any additional cost to you, purchases made via those affiliate links may earn us a commission. Only products and services which have been vetted and tested by the MossyBrain team are featured and promoted. If you are thinking of purchasing a featured product or service, or have a genuine interest in a linked product, your use of the affiliate link is appreciated and allows us to continue writing these kinds of helpful articles. Thanks so much!

What is a FlowJam??

What is a FlowJam??

by | Apr 3, 2019 | Flow

Have you ever felt creatively empty- unable to generate fresh ideas and think outside the box? Have you ever had a hard time getting started on a creative endeavor? If so, join the club of those of us unable to find our creative Flow.

Flow is when the creativity faucet in your brain has been opened. Much like the rush of running water, Flow is the current of your creative thoughts. It is this motion of creative focus that facilitates our best ideas and inspiration.

No one lives in a constant state of Flow; many of us have a hard time experiencing it on a regular basis. You may be wondering if you’ve ever experienced Flow. Well, good news! Flow isn’t magic, and we have some ideas to help with its sometimes-evasive nature.

Here at MossyBrain, we’ve developed an exercise to jumpstart your creativity- the FlowJam.

A FlowJam is an abstract exercise, unrelated to your creative task, that helps get your creative juices flowing. This activity boosts our creativity by propelling us out of our normal thought patterns. It removes barriers like practicality, fear, and feasibility that cause us to self-edit our ideas before we even put them out there. Once these barriers are gone, our creativity is able to flow, unimpeded.

There is a deep well of ideas on the internet to inspire creativity – our list is by no means comprehensive. Rather, this can be a starting point for you to dip your toe in the FlowJam waters.

Here are some of our favorite FlowJam ideas:

  • Write a haiku about your day
  • Choose a song you love and make up new lyrics
  • Draw something without lifting your pen
  • Freestyle rap about something you see
  • Pitch a movie idea
  • Solve a problem in a creative/complicated way
  • Find as many uses as you can for a paperclip in 2 minutes
  • Find a partner and improv a scene (or solo improv in the mirror!)
  • Draw your non-writing hand without looking at your paper while you draw
  • Create an original product
  • Recast a classic movie with new actors
  • Write a heartfelt ode to the next object you see
  • Make up a new dance, complete with appropriate name
  • Come up with 5 never-before-heard-of ice cream flavors
  • Create a new, original game show

Of course, there are many other ideas that can inspire creativity- new experiences, nature, learning a new instrument, and travel. But FlowJams are intended to be something you can do anytime, anywhere, to fire up that creative engine within a matter of minutes. Pardon the competing creativity analogies.

If you’ve ever listened to our podcast, The MossyBrain Show, you know that we do a FlowJam exercise to get things rolling near the top of every episode. If you haven’t listened yet, go check it out to witness the glory and sometimes ridiculousness of the FlowJam in action. We’re happy to make fools of ourselves for the good of creativity.

As always, we want to hear from you; share your best FlowJam ideas with us!

Jessica Beresh is a blogger and co-founder of MossyBrain. Along with her husband Ben, their 4 kids and their sweet puppy Charlie she resides in Broken Arrow OK. She is a 9 on the Enneagram, loves drinking Chai (hot or iced) and also enjoys rainy days.

Connect with her on Facebook or jess@mossybrain.com.

You might also like…

Ep 10 – Just Getting Started

Ep 10 – Just Getting Started

by | Aug 14, 2019 |

In this episode, Jessica and Ben recount their respective recent travels and try and determine how many unorthodox uses a paperclip has. They explain some ways of getting started in your creative journey, breaking down some important things to keep in mind as you...

read more
Ep 9 Let’s Talk About Flow

Ep 9 Let’s Talk About Flow

by | Aug 8, 2019 |

Hosts Jessica and Ben return from vacation to some big changes at home. A delicious, yet respectful salute to the troops is devised in the FlowJam. And finally the purpose and importance of Flow in your creative journey is unpacked and explained.Subscribe to The...

read more

DISCLOSURE: Some links in this article, and elsewhere on this site, may be affiliate links. While there is not any additional cost to you, purchases made via those affiliate links may earn us a commission. Only products and services which have been vetted and tested by the MossyBrain team are featured and promoted. If you are thinking of purchasing a featured product or service, or have a genuine interest in a linked product, your use of the affiliate link is appreciated and allows us to continue writing these kinds of helpful articles. Thanks so much!

Ep 6 – Document Your Creative Journey

Ep 6 – Document Your Creative Journey

by | Mar 21, 2019 | MossyBrain Show

Ben and Jess vividly recount a successful lunchtime run-in with creativity and an improv performance review takes center stage in the FlowJam. The why and how of documenting your creative journey is clearly explained, wrapping up the roadmap to your Most Creative Year Yet.

Subscribe to The MossyBrain Show

Ben Beresh is a designer, filmmaker and co-founder of MossyBrain. Originally from Niagara Falls, ON, he now happily calls Broken Arrow OK home, along with his wife Jessica, four kids and dog Charlie. Ben likes to have a good time, all the time (Enneagram 7), as well as eating all types of sandwiches.

Connect with him on Facebook or ben@mossybrain.com.

You might also like…

Ep 10 – Just Getting Started

Ep 10 – Just Getting Started

by | Aug 14, 2019 |

In this episode, Jessica and Ben recount their respective recent travels and try and determine how many unorthodox uses a paperclip has. They explain some ways of getting started in your creative journey, breaking down some important things to keep in mind as you...

read more
Ep 9 Let’s Talk About Flow

Ep 9 Let’s Talk About Flow

by | Aug 8, 2019 |

Hosts Jessica and Ben return from vacation to some big changes at home. A delicious, yet respectful salute to the troops is devised in the FlowJam. And finally the purpose and importance of Flow in your creative journey is unpacked and explained.Subscribe to The...

read more

DISCLOSURE: Some links in this article, and elsewhere on this site, may be affiliate links. While there is not any additional cost to you, purchases made via those affiliate links may earn us a commission. Only products and services which have been vetted and tested by the MossyBrain team are featured and promoted. If you are thinking of purchasing a featured product or service, or have a genuine interest in a linked product, your use of the affiliate link is appreciated and allows us to continue writing these kinds of helpful articles. Thanks so much!

Ep 5 – Your Creative Community

Ep 5 – Your Creative Community

by | Mar 21, 2019 | MossyBrain Show

Hosts Jessica & Ben Beresh chat about a bizarre first date, the brilliance of Japanese game shows, the peril of escape rooms and where you might find creative people hanging out. The importance of surrounding yourself with other creative individuals is stressed as you pursue Your Most Creative Year Yet.

Subscribe to The MossyBrain Show

Ben Beresh is a designer, filmmaker and co-founder of MossyBrain. Originally from Niagara Falls, ON, he now happily calls Broken Arrow OK home, along with his wife Jessica, four kids and dog Charlie. Ben likes to have a good time, all the time (Enneagram 7), as well as eating all types of sandwiches.

Connect with him on Facebook or ben@mossybrain.com.

You might also like…

Ep 10 – Just Getting Started

Ep 10 – Just Getting Started

by | Aug 14, 2019 |

In this episode, Jessica and Ben recount their respective recent travels and try and determine how many unorthodox uses a paperclip has. They explain some ways of getting started in your creative journey, breaking down some important things to keep in mind as you...

read more
Ep 9 Let’s Talk About Flow

Ep 9 Let’s Talk About Flow

by | Aug 8, 2019 |

Hosts Jessica and Ben return from vacation to some big changes at home. A delicious, yet respectful salute to the troops is devised in the FlowJam. And finally the purpose and importance of Flow in your creative journey is unpacked and explained.Subscribe to The...

read more

DISCLOSURE: Some links in this article, and elsewhere on this site, may be affiliate links. While there is not any additional cost to you, purchases made via those affiliate links may earn us a commission. Only products and services which have been vetted and tested by the MossyBrain team are featured and promoted. If you are thinking of purchasing a featured product or service, or have a genuine interest in a linked product, your use of the affiliate link is appreciated and allows us to continue writing these kinds of helpful articles. Thanks so much!

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