Controlling Mental Chaos:Harnessing the Power of the Creative Mind
Author Talk with Jaime A. Pineda
You are all invited to join me as I discuss the relationship between mind and brain. In my latest book, I show that anxiety and incessant thinking reflect uncontrolled creativity, and how, using time-tested techniques and our own mental “superpowers”, we can begin to recover our innate creative nature.
I will be giving more details, signing books, and answering questions at the following locations:
Mira Mesa Library 8405 New Salem St Sept 30 11 am
Barnes & Noble 810 W. Valley Pkwy Escondido Oct 14 2 pm
Coronado Library 640 Orange Ave Oct 17 7 pm
La Jolla Library 7555 Draper Ave Oct 28 3 pm
Warwick’s bookstore 7812 Girard Ave Nov 12 2:30 pm
Carmel Valley Library 3919 Townsgate Dr Nov 18 1 pm
My passion at this point in life is to share my professional and spiritual insights with others. This podcast is one such attempt. Here is where you can find it:
In my creative endeavors, I try to explore how true seeing, hearing, feeling, and thinking can quiet the overactive mind and how this allows silence to become the fountain of creative thought. From such silence, I’ve experienced the emergence of a new perception and awareness. This awareness of unity is infused with intrinsic joy, love, and empathy towards others, and filled with a deep and uncompromising dedication to what is true and real.
Professionally, I am Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. Having joined the Department of Cognitive Science at UCSD as a founding faculty member in 1989, I remained for the rest of my 28-year academic career. My hope is that my work impacted and inspired generations of undergraduate and graduate students to take on hard questions in the neurobiology of the human mind.
I have authored many widely cited papers in animal and human cognitive and systems neuroscience and edited one academic book (Mirror Neuron Systems: The Role of Mirroring Processes in Social Cognition). This book is a collection of research on the functional significance of mirror neurons, which includes my work on autism. It is one of the most cited and downloaded books in the field.
For the last twenty years, I became interested in spiritual matters as a bridge to a fuller understanding of the mind. This led me to explore Zen Buddhism, train with a master teacher, and develop my creative side. This led to the publication of two books of poetry (Quieting of a Mind and Dawning of a New Mind) focusing on mind-brain relationships with an emphasis on spirituality, mysticism, environmentalism, and social activism. Most recently, I published the story of my journey and the bridging of science and spirituality (Piercing the Cloud: Encountering the Real Me).
