Unlocking the Tyranny of Modern Thinking: Keys From Anthropology, Psychology, Neuroscience, and Buddhism

Abstract

One barrier to mental health and a common focus of psychotherapy is the tendency to identify with relentless, often self-critical thinking that searches for faults, becomes easily distracted, and pulls individuals away from the present moment. Identifying with such thinking distances people from each other, the external world, and important aspects of internal experiences that have been pushed out of awareness and relegated to the unconscious. This paper explores some origins of this tendency, drawing on anthropological research of isolated peoples who adopted this way of thinking after being colonized by modern cultures, alongside contemporary psychoanalytic and developmental theories. These sources illuminate the role of trauma and the dependence on language as a filter for reality and a mechanism of repression. Mindfulness meditation is proposed as a method to untangle over-identification with thinking and facilitate a more direct, embodied experience of the present moment. The neuroscience explaining the underlying mechanisms of these effects is also included. Additional support for these concepts is drawn from the author's experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer, clinical psychologist, and meditation instructor, as well as reports from graduate students beginning a meditation practice.