University of Central Florida STARS HIM 1990-2015 2011 Mindfulness and authentic creativity developing a healthy lifestyle Brittany B. Cockrell University of Central Florida Part of the Buddhist Studies Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015 University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIM 1990-2015 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Cockrell, Brittany B., "Mindfulness and authentic creativity developing a healthy lifestyle" (2011). HIM 1990-2015. 1114. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015/1114 MINDFULNESS AND AUTHENTIC CREATIVITY: DEVELOPING A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE by Brittany B. Cockrell A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors in the Major Program in Humanities in the College of Arts and Humanities and in the Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2011 Thesis Chair: Dr. Kristin Congdon ABSTRACT The contemporary society of the United States of America is becoming an increasingly stressful environment to live in. Our rapid advances and developments in virtual, electronic, and high-speed technology have led us to a lifestyle that operates more quickly. However, our attachment to such a face-paced lifestyle has unfortunately led us towards an increasingly stressful lifestyle. This research focuses on identifying our current society‟s perceptual outlook and illustrating how the practice of mindfulness can help reduce the anxieties, struggles, and mental flaws which cloud our perception. The intent of this thesis is to show how the practice of mindfulness is beneficial towards our mental health. The practice of mindfulness originated within the Buddhist tradition and has evolved into a new area of interest in the fields of mental health, psychology, philosophy, and humanities. Also, the connection between the practice of mindfulness, and the practice of authentic creativity, as demonstrated in playing the piano, is illuminated within this research. Authentic creativity thus serves as an enlightening metaphor for the elusive practice of mindfulness, and creates a more vivid understanding of the concept of mindfulness. For this thesis I have conducted a literature review in the areas of philosophy, religion, aesthetics and cognitive science. Also, I am actively participating in my research by personally practicing mindfulness and piano. Part of my methodology involves critical thinking on the personal level as I am writing journal entries about my views and thoughts concerning these processes. ii DEDICATION To both of my loving parents: Daddy, you are more than just a Dad, you are a friend who makes me laugh, you are my biggest supporter and fan; you give me strength when I feel down, and you give me inspiration to stay strong and confident. Thank you for always loving and believing in me, you will always be my hero, and I will always be your little darlin‟. Mama, you are my best friend, you are always there for me when I need to talk or speak my mind, and because of that, we share everything together, whether it be good, bad, or just plain petty; you‟ve helped me to become an open-minded and understanding person towards others and to myself, and that is because of your contagious loving energy. And also, to my brother Steven, you have been the most constant character in my life, a great influence, a great friend, a great inspiration, and an amazing person. I have and always will look up to you; thanks for being such a cool brother. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of those who made my thesis possible. Thank you Dr. Congdon for sharing your wisdom; your interest and excitement towards academics is inviting, encouraging, and inspirational. Thank you Dr. Compson for introducing the practice of mindfulness into my life, it has changed my life perspective and helped me build my character. Thank you Dr. Mouloua for helping me with my research and being open to talking and working on my thesis with me. Thank you to both of my parents for loving and supporting me my entire life; thank you for always being my foundation, thank you for always listening to me, caring for me, and believing in me. Thank you Mike Main for being my thesis buddy; I am glad that we helped each other through this process, and I could not have done it without you. Thank you to all of my friends, family members, and professors for all of your encouragement and support that you have all provided me over these past four years at the University of Central Florida. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 THE MONSTER OF MINDLESSNESS ...................................................................................... 12 The Monkey-Minded Mentality ............................................................................................... 14 The Mad Astronaut Perspective ............................................................................................. 17 Defining Mindlessness ........................................................................................................ 21 OVERCOMING THE CURSE OF MINDLESSNESS ................................................................ 24 Ancient Roots of Mindfulness ................................................................................................. 25 Tiep Hein ............................................................................................................................... 30 Expanding Meaning ............................................................................................................ 32 Illustrating Mindfulness: Understanding Authentic Creativity ........................................... 34 AUTHENTIC CREATIVITY AND THE POWER OF THE WILL ........................................... 37 A Mindless Will ....................................................................................................................... 39 Redirecting the Will ............................................................................................................... 41 The Authentic Creative Will ............................................................................................... 43 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 47 WORKS CITED ........................................................................................................................... 51 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................................... 54 v INTRODUCTION Human beings perceive the world from the physical sensations offered to us through vision, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. Our sensory organs allow us to experience the world around us, and thus serve as our primary tools for achieving awareness. We utilize our sensory input to form mental judgments concerning the reality of the present moment, and we arrive at, create, and mentally form the present moment based on our past, or all the moments which precede now. We form personal beliefs about life and attribute qualities to people and situations based our everyday experiences. Our life is a continuous phenomenological process of self- discovery. As we grow older we begin to see life from a larger perspective, we become aware of our own will, our own existence, our own judgments and beliefs towards life choices and values, and from this we create the narrative of our self. We understand the external world through our unique internal world, our mind. As we mature we begin to realize that we are a part of the external world. Every fleeting moment of the present grants us a fresh opportunity to perceive life in a new way, yet often we do not use this great potential which resides in every tiny moment of our everyday lives. The moment we call “now” seems to be the most real aspect of our lives, while it is “giving birth to what swiftly becomes the past it is simultaneously conceiving the future. It is the matrix of all that was and will be. And all is always now” (Guggenheimer Creative Vision 7). Yet it seems that one of the greatest failures of our contemporary society is the inability to grasp entire implications, meanings, and consequences of situations or events. We fail to see the big picture because we become entrapped within narrow thinking patterns. We understand what we perceive about life and our self, but we neglect to understand how and why 1 we arrive at these perceptions. When we understand the world around us and even our self as a solid idea we neglect the true nature of the world around us, a world that is fluid and not stagnant. Therefore the thoughts, actions, and words we use to understand our own personal world can often become limited, misconstrued, or biased because we fail to recognize the element of change inherent in every present moment. I believe that contemporary society in the United States is becoming increasingly entrapped within a mental state of mindlessness, an unconscious mentality which can show up as the “direct cause of human error in complex situations, of prejudice and stereotyping, and of the sensation of alternating between