Meditation,Creativity,and Consciousness: Charting Future Terrain within Higher Education

Abstract

This article explores the role of contemplative practices within an emerging interdisciplinary area that I refer to as “creativity and consciousness studies.” Within this new area, consciousness is studied from an “integral” perspective that brings together insights from a range of wisdom traditions and modern science. Meditation is presented as an essential first-person modality for investigating consciousness, and formal and nonformal approaches to meditation are delineated to establish important guidelines for the introduction of meditation into an academic setting. The role of “first-person” experience helps to develop new notions of rigor and interdisciplinary learning that can lead to an expanded educational experience, which can help to develop qualities such as mental clarity, inner calm, insight, compassion, and creativity. The article closes with reflections on the importance of expanding our approach to education in light of the demanding challenges and creative opportunities in today's world.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alexander

, and Langer

(Eds.) (1990). Higher stages of human development. New York: Oxford University Press.

Andresen

(2000). Meditation meets behavioral medicine. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 7(11), 17—74.

Bohm

(1980). Wholeness and the implicate order. London: Ark.

Chalmers

D. J.

(1996). The conscious mind: In search of a fundamental theory. New York: Oxford University Press.

Crick

, and Koch

(1998). Toward a Neurobiological Theory of Consciousness. In Block

, Flanagan

, and Guzelder

(Eds.), The nature of consciousness: Philosophical debates (pp. 277—292). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Dalai

A. S.

(2001). A greater psychology: The psychological thought of Sri Aurobindo. New York: Tarcher/Putnam.

de Chardin

(1965). The hymn of the universe. New York: Harper and Row.

Druhl

(1997). Consciousness as the subject and object of physics: Toward a new paradigm for the physical sciences. Modern Science and Vedic Science, 7(1), 138—160.

Dennett

(1991). Consciousness explained. Boston: Back Bay Books.

10.

Evans-Wentz

W. Y.

(Ed.). (1967). Tibetan yoga and secret doctrines. New York: Oxford.

11.

Forman

(Ed.). (1990). The problem of pure consciousness. New York: Oxford.

12.

Goswami

(1993). The self aware universe: How consciousness creates the material world. New York: Tarcher.

13.

Govinda

L. A.

(1969). Foundations of Tibetan Buddhism. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weisner.

14.

Griffin

(1997). Parapsychology, philosophy and spirituality. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

15.

Harvey

(1999). Teachings of Rumi. Boston: Shambhala.

16.

Jahn

, and Dunne

(1987). The margins of reality. San Diego: Harcourt and Brace.

17.

Kuhn

(1962). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago.

18.

Mansfield

(2002). Head and heart. Wheaton, IL: Quest.

19.

Murphy

, and White

(1995). In the zone: Transcendent experience in sports. New York: Penguin.

20.

Orme-Johnson

, Alexander

, Davies

, Chander

, and Larimore

(1988). International Peace Project: The effects of the Maharishi Technology of the Unified Field. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 32, 776—812.

21.

Pressing

(2002). Black Atlantic Rhythm: Its computational and transcultural foundations. Music Perception, 19, 285—310.

22.

Radin

(1997). The conscious universe. San Francisco: Harper.

23.

Sarath

E. W.

(2002). Improvisation and curriculum reform. In Colwell

, and Richardson

(Eds.), The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning (pp. 188—198). New York: Oxford University Press.

24.

Sarath

(2003). Meditation in higher education: The next wave? Innovative Higher Education, 27, 215—34.

25.

Searle

(1997). The mystery of consciousness. New York: New York Review of Books.

26.

Smith

(1992). Forgotten truth. San Francisco: Harper.

27.

Stevenson

(1997). Where reincarnation and biology intersect. Westport, CT: Praeger.

28.

Wade

(1996). Changes of mind: A holonomic theory of the evolution of consciousness. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Webster's New World College Dictionary (4th ed.). Foster City, CA: IDG Books.

29.

Weinberg

The first three minutes. New York: Basic Books, 1997.

30.

Wilber

(1999). The collected work of Ken Wilber: Integral psychology (Vol. 4). Boston: Shambhala.

31.

Work

(2004). Brochure for the new master's degree in leadership in social artistry. The United Nations Development Programme.