These days I am free from the pressure of being at the cutting edge of thinking about “Changing minds” (aka Education). But, by hanging around in cyberspace, I am not totally cut off.
My earlier field of accredited expertise was Education generally and, in particular, curriculum development, teacher training, and the use of plain language in material production.
But, underlying the focus on education was a longstanding fascination with Zoology and, more broadly, with Evolution in its cosmic, biological and cultural forms.
Towards the end of my four year Zoology degree (which included a year of Psychology) my interests were shifting informally to sociology and anthropology. And this in time would guide attention towards development theory, politics and economics. My personal ‘politics’ were left of centre and tending towards anarchy and subsidiarity because “small is beautiful.”
My present interests are in how the emerging fields of ‘evolutionary psychology’, ‘neuroscience’ and ‘mindfulness meditation’ might work together to inform the task of ‘changing minds’.
My evolving point of view is informed by (a) social interactions in real time, (b) ideas that I come across in cyberspace and in books, and (c) whatever happens to emerge from ‘my’ unconscious. Obviously the third set of thoughts and feelings is heavily influenced by the first two, and the roots of the ongoing process are to be found in nature, nurture and serendipity.
Neuroscience points to modules in the brain, and evolutionary psychology considers their adaptive advantage. And it becomes clear that the vast majority of mental work is done by the unconscious. The much lauded self-consciousness is a bit player made of crumbs falling from the table of the unconscious – often after the meal is over.
When I think and write like an objective scientist there is the need to be rational and to let the facts speak for themselves. Ideally this evidence-based work would be done in ‘flow’ which is non-egoic. Attention is focussed on the main task at hand. The normal mental chatter dies down, rationality rules and science progresses.
When I think and write like a subjective citizen there will be much reliance on instinct, intuition and habit. Most of the thinking, speaking and acting is done on automatic pilot. Attention will skip quickly from one thing to another and there will be lots of mental chatter.
When I think and write with Mindfulness ‘I’ deal objectively with ‘my’ subjectivity. The process is easy to describe – (a) bear witness to your thoughts and feelings; (b) know that they are mind-made and not ‘real’, and (c) let them go. The aim is to cultivate non-attachment to views and to so called eternal verities. Use them if it seems appropriate to do so in a given context; but treat them lightly. Know the underlying peace. Go with the flow.
No comments:
Post a Comment