The Mind Creative AUGUST 2014 | Page 2

Editors’s ote N The Mind Creative The workings of the creative mind has always been a source of intrigue for me; specifically when one comes across so many of these “creatives” who are often plagued with various forms of mental disorders. Instances of suicides, depression and bi-polar disorders are far too common among many of these gifted individuals. There have been many theories and scientific facts put forward by experts, to explain this state of the mind. There are many questions that have often been the central theme of debates. Are depression and bi-polar disorders the very source of creativity or is it the other way around? Is the physical structure and physiology of the brain not normal for extremely creative people? Does the metamorphosis of the creative mind a gradual process or is the change based on certain triggers? It is hard to answer everything at one go. Quite impossible, in fact. The mind and brain are far too complex to understand; and then express in very simple terms. A lot that goes on inside the human mind have yet to be discovered. The cover story in this issue dwells on this very subject followed by a look at the traumatic and tragic life of the legendary painter Vincent Van Gogh. 2 In this issue, I am very pleased to introduce two new contributors. The first is Shailja Chandra from Sydney (Australia) whose article has been incorporated into a new section called The Essayist’s Corner. The omnipresent Wikipedia defines essay writing as ‘scholarly pieces of writing written from an author's personal point of view’. However, essay writing goes well beyond the standard definition and is, in my opinion, an art. The other new contributor is Ersin Erturk from Ankara (Turkey). I am constantly perusing the web for new talents in every field and I chanced upon Ersin’s work on one of the websites. I think both Shailja and Ersin hold immense promise and it is my pleasure to bring their skills to the avid but exclusive readers of The Mind Creative. Please do pass on this issue to friends who might be interested and don’t forget to send in your creative works to me if you want them to be published. Happy reading!!