In order to answer this question I think it’s helpful to define the “box” that you wish to think outside of. The way I see it is the “box” which many people are confined to is their belief in the supremacy of reason and logic, the world of facts and details, the world of “seeing is believing.”

Obviously, to understand something that lies outside of that box, we cannot use reason and logic alone. We must allow for the possibility that the box of reason and logic is contained within something greater, the realm of the spiritual.

Self chatter or internal dialogue is action of our mind. As long as that action is constantly taking place, there is no room in our consciousness for anything that is new to enter. So in order to allow for new thoughts from outside of the box to enter our consciousness, we must do what we can to quiet our mind.

Meditation is the way to do this, but do not be fooled into thinking that meditation necessarily implies sitting with back straight, eyes closed and legs crossed for ‘x’ minutes per day. That is one way to meditate and if you feel attracted to that it will be beneficial for you.

But rightly understood meditation is being fully immersed in the “now” moment, which means paying attention to what’s happening in your life right now – in this moment – and staying with that. Just observing, not judging or justifying or condemning or wishing it was something other than what it actually is presently. This kind of meditation can be practiced anywhere at any time and eventually your life can be meditation.

I practice by sitting quietly by a waterfall near my house and listening to the trickling flow of water or by riding my motorcycle along quiet country lanes and feeling the breeze. Or just sitting on my balcony and listening to birds, insects and the sounds of nature. It’s easy just to stop in any moment and take 3 deep breaths and really pay attention to the inhale/exhale movement.

Once your mind is quiet, you’ll notice thoughts coming in with ideas and suggestions that feel good and you’ll just know that taking action on them will be beneficial. I believe they come from my higher self - the part of me which conceives my future and knows the best way for me to achieve it in the fastest time.

So really it’s not a matter of thinking differently, it’s more a matter of quieting your mind and allowing the messages of your higher self to come into conscious awareness.

What if Thinking IS the box?

Remember those moments when you get brilliant ideas?

GET brilliant ideas?

"GET"

Get it?

Ok, Fine!

I have an "outside the box" question!

You are an electrician that was just hired to correctly label a switch that is at the beginning of a long corridor in an underground passage of a recently purchased medieval castle.

There are THREE switches and NONE of them have been identified. (No labels)

At the other end of this long and meandering passage is a single room with a single light.

When you are standing at the three light switches you can't see the room or confirm if the light is on. (Because the bends in the passage block your view)

The only thing that you know is the "ON" and "OFF" positions of each of the three switches.

But you don't know which of the 3 switches is responsible to turn on the light in the room at the end of the passage.

You are allowed to do whatever you want to the light switches prior to proceeding down the passage but you are not allowed to use any modern devices.

All you have is your bare hands and your "out of the box" mind.

BY MAKING ONLY ONE SINGLE ONE-WAY TRIP DOWN THE PASSAGE, HOW DO YOU MANIPULATE THE THREE SWITCHES PRIOR TO YOUR JOURNEY, SO THAT WHEN YOU GET TO THE ROOM AT THE END OF THE PASSAGE YOU CAN CORRECTLY IDENTIFY WHICH SWITCH CONTROLLS THAT LIGHT BULB?

Some clarification: All 3 switches look identical, but only one is connected to the electrical system (and you can't cheat by taking it apart)

See if you can "GET" the answer!

This is where thinking out side the box came from.

In order to solve the puzzle you must goto the outside of the box. Most people look at points as boundaries when connecting the dot's. As you can see all we need to know is right in front of us. Just try not to be confined by "fixed" ideas.

This question " how can you think outside the 'box' ? " implies that there is a 'box' ... we are all capable of communicating with our unlimited creative energies and we often do it spontaneously through intuition ... moreover we often exchange thoughts with other people on conscious and unconscious levels whether we realize it or not ... so what can this limiting box consist of ?

The 'box' is surely made up of our own belief systems, mental and emotional barriers ... i would suggest that eliminating these limiting factors allows the natural and spontaneous creative energies to flow more easily.

Try reading hare brain tortoise mind by Guy Claxton. This book explores how some problems are not solved by the analytical mind but by the subconcious. This part of the mind benefits from slow thinking, with no concern about finding the answer. He gives examples of problems that benefit from this type of thinking and its quite exciting when the answer pops into your head.

I don't think there is really any magic formula or method for this, you just need to take note of the thoughts you think and find out where they are coming from!

And by that I mean every single thought, be it negative or positive... why do you feel this way when someone talks to you in a particular way? Why do people try to put you down and what is your reaction towards them? Why do you feel happy at times for no reason? etc.. etc..

Over time, you will be able to reject thoughts you do not want freely and only accept the ones that you want.. the brain(or should I say the mind) is indeed an amazing thing.

well to think out side the box learn about everything concerning the subject and annything similar or in relation with it. then find what every one else have not seen. and you are out of the box. but the hard part is explaining that to someone else.

i will give you example: you are trap in a box someone has tried all the walls to find exit to get out but cannot get out of it. so what you could do to get out of the box is climb, dig, destroy the walls, find if there is a lock somewhere and open the lock,leave your body and go look at it from outside.

experience and enjoy.

I recommend books of Roger Von Oech (like the Expect the Unexpected (or You Won't Find It): A Creativity Tool Based on the Ancient Wisdom of Heraclitus) and Edward De Bono (like Po: Beyond Yes and No)

By not thinking.. full stop. The mind can't think outside the box, because the mind IS the box. All creative genius comes from beyond.

When I want to think outside the box or find something out I dont know I start with an answer and work my way back to the question. Usualy I find what I'm looking for that way. If not I leave it and sooner or later I will just know for the answer will be there. I also ask a question expecting an answer and it will allways appear although it might take some time and will be there when least expected.