The Psychophysiological Basis of Creativity and Intuition: Accessing "The Zone" of Entrepreneurship

Successful entrepreneurs are innovators and risk-assessors who have an extraordinary ability to know where future business opportunities will eventuate and how to profitably actualize these ventures. Entrepreneurial decision and action is thus informed by an unusually high degree of both creativity and intuition. Research has identified a distinct psychophysiological state that appears to facilitate creativity and receptivity to intuitive insight. This state, termed psychophysiological coherence, is naturally activated during the experience of sustained positive emotions and is characterized by a global shift toward increased order, synchronization, and harmony in an individual’s physiological and psychological processes. This article describes the physiological and psychological correlates of coherence and discusses how this state facilitates the processes underlying creativity and intuition. In examining creative and intuitive processes as whole-body phenomena, particular attention is given to the important role played by interactions between the heart and brain. Also described is a research-based system of techniques used to increase psychophysiological coherence and thus to systematically enhance intuitive receptivity and creativity at will. By providing real-time, objective validation of the coherent state, heart rhythm feedback technology facilitates the shift to an optimal psychophysiological “zone” for enhancing creativity and intuition. Coherence-building techniques and technologies have important applications in both entrepreneurial research and practice.