Mind Wandering, Creativity, and the Gift of Awareness

A response to readers' questions from an earlier Dharma Lab post: “Distraction is the New Smoking”

When we shared reflections on the classic 2010 Science paper, “A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind,” several thoughtful questions came back. That study, by Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert, showed a striking association: people reported being less happy when their minds had wandered away from what they were doing.

Ann asked: Isn’t it good to sometimes mind wander? Doesn’t it spark creativity?

Thomas wondered: Isn’t mind wandering important for understanding and empathizing with others’ mental states?

These are excellent questions. The 2010 study demonstrated the costs of mind wandering, but it did not address its potential benefits—or the brain networks that support it. Subsequent neuroscience has filled in this picture, pointing especially to the Default Mode Network (DMN). What emerges is a richer story: mind wandering is not simply “bad.” Its impact depends on whether we are aware of it, and how we relate to it.

Should we try to eliminate mind wandering?

In many meditation instructions, when the mind drifts from the object of focus, we are told to gently return. This can sound like an effort to “get rid of” mind wandering, as if it were an enemy. But contemplative traditions—and research—suggest a more nuanced view.

In practices of open awareness, the instruction is not to fix attention on a single object, but to rest in awareness of whatever arises. When the mind wanders, the task is simply to notice: Ah, this is mind wandering. The crucial difference lies between being lost in the stream of thought and being aware that the stream is flowing.

The river is a common metaphor:

• Being swept downstream is losing ourselves in thought.

• Sitting on the bank, watching the current move, is awareness of thought.

Meta-awareness: the missing ingredient

Scientists use the term meta-awareness to describe awareness of awareness itself. A metaphor helps:

Imagine being in a movie theatre. Sometimes we become so absorbed in the film that we forget we are even watching a movie—we are immersed, fused with the experience. That is awareness without meta-awareness.

Other times, we are equally attentive, yet somewhere in the background we retain perspective: I am in a theatre, watching a movie. That is meta-awareness.

It is meta-awareness that allows us to notice when the mind has wandered, and to decide how to relate to what we find there.

The human mind is built for association

Neuroscience reveals that most of our brain’s neurons—upwards of 90%—are interneurons, designed to link and associate. Our minds are, by nature, creative engines of connection. Mind wandering can therefore be a fertile source of new ideas.

The challenge is remembering them. Much like dreams, creative insights often vanish if we are too distracted to notice or record them. For this reason, I often encourage students to spend time simply observing thoughts—a kind of stealth meditation. Keeping a notebook nearby to jot down phrases can transform fleeting wanderings into seeds for creative work.

Mind wandering, the Default Mode, and mentalizing

Although Killingsworth and Gilbert did not examine brain networks, later research has shown that mind wandering often involves activity in the Default Mode Network (DMN). The DMN is active when we are not engaged in demanding tasks, and it tends to quiet down when focused attention is required. This helps explain why insights often arise during undemanding activities like showering or walking: the DMN is free to roam, forming novel associations.

Importantly, the DMN is also engaged in mentalizing—imagining the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of others. This capacity underpins empathy and compassion, helping us understand why someone might act as they do. Far from being an obstacle, the DMN supports functions essential for human connection.

The Default Mode and meditation

Research suggests that certain meditation practices—especially open awareness—do not simply suppress the DMN. Instead, they change the connectivity between the DMN and other brain networks, such as the salience network, which flags experiences as important. This altered connectivity may underlie the ability to notice mind wandering without being carried away by it.

Meditation, then, does not silence the DMN but helps us relate to it differently—allowing us to witness, harness, and guide its activity toward beneficial ends.

Conclusion: Wandering with awareness

Mind wandering is not inherently harmful. It becomes problematic when we are lost in it, swept downstream without noticing. But when we pair mind wandering with meta-awareness, it can become a wellspring of creativity, empathy, and insight.

Simple awareness practices can strengthen this capacity. In doing so, they give us the gift of not just wandering, but wandering wisely—able to notice, remember, and cultivate the treasures our minds so naturally generate.

Warmly,

Richie

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Reference Notes:

• Original Dharma Lab post on Mind Wandering from Aug 8th:

• For free awareness practices and more, explore the free Healthy Minds Program app