Although meditation is an ancient therapeutic practice, it has been steadily gaining in popularity in recent years. There are many documented benefits from meditation, however a recent study from The Netherlands has reported new evidence that regular meditation can promote creative thinking and may ultimately offer long-lasting positive influence on human cognition. Importantly, the researchers found improved creativity even for the meditation novice, so you don’t have to be experienced in meditation to gain immediate benefits. The study asked participants, who were both seasoned in mediation and those new to the practice, to meditate for 25 minutes before doing specific thinking tasks. Key gains in creativity were seen for divergent thinking, which involves participants being asked to come up with as many solutions as possible for a given problem.