Postmodernism and "Beginner's Mind"

I guess that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Being increasingly immersed in postmodern thought particularly since that is what has taken over the counseling field and much of progressive academia since the 1990s, during one of my regular meditations I recently stumbled upon a realization (the famous "aha" insight!) -- that all the hot new perspectives into constructivist thought and hermaneutics are really just new twists on old themes.

Ancient Taoist and Zen masters wrote about something called, "beginner's mind," or translated, the Japanese word shosin. In contemporary counseling the revolution taking place is finally catching onto their ancient message. Until around the 1990's a therapist was considered expert, authority, and guide until diverse voices challenged that position, including feminist thought, multiculturalism, person-centered thought, and an emerging preventive and wellness paradigm in healthcare. These challenges were based upon (supposedly) new ideas from social constructivism that said the traditional Western notions of "truth" were rigid, egocentric, and frankly, arrogant. It said the outdated model was erroneously based upon an "absolute truth" which was simply a false construct agreed upon by dominant social groups.

Social constructivism says, alternatively, that no social group has a monopoly on truth; that each individual has access to his or her own individual shard of truth, in essence what helps make up our unique individuality. Ahh! Didn't the ancient Zen and yogic masters already know this? They taught that the more one developed wisdom or enlightenment, that the less one actually knew in a certain sense. An old Zen saying grew from this: "If you meet a Buddha in the road, kill him!" The Zen masters taught that the teacher was facilitator, and meditation practice was a powerful tool to develop one's inner knowing and inner voice; that, mindfulness meditation was a powerful tool for constructing the self. So, the student could learn from a teacher or master, but the real master was within. Isn't postmodern thinking and social constructivism in counseling merely another name for "beginner's mind"?

The way one practices beginner's mind is to empty oneself of all thoughts (if only that were possible!). This means empty of all preconceived judgments, labels, concepts, techniques, and methods. It is a main purpose of meditation - there is still nothing better than quiet stillness to wipe the miror clean; to free the mind, and to bring space and clarity.

Does Mindfulness Actually Increase Stereotyping in the Workplace?

I found the following quite fascinating. Many who study and practice mindfulness are of course inspired by the wondrous lifestyle changes they experience through regular mindfulness practices; which I would add, often includes the development of cultural awareness. On the flip side, listening to a recent radio broadcast about the pros and cons of diversity training in the workplace on Talk of The Nation (National Public Radio) I found comments made by Elizabeth Levy Paluck, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Princeton University, extremely interesting and cause for further inquiry.

Paluck put forth that becoming more mindful and conscious of diversity actually may increase stereotyping in the workplace! According to Paluck, "One topic that's been brought up is that when training and education may activate bias rather than reduce it, and so this is something that psychologists study quite a bit. So when you make these explicit and conscious attempts to regulate your thoughts - and that's not necessarily what all the diversity training does, but we do know that this can sometimes exaggerate stereotyping and raise issues that might otherwise not come up in the workplace. And oftentimes, women and minorities are, you know justifiably upset when this happens."

In light of this, should we thus make attempts to become less mindful? If we know that our attempts to become less judgmental, less biased, and more humane and more civil only serve to make the workplace situation worse, should we therefore curtail attempts to educate workers about diversity? Should we discourage workers to practice enlightened thinking around issues of diversity? My own inclination is to say absolutely "no"; yet based on the above, an important question is raised: is it even possible to consciously increase our emotional intelligence quotient (EQ)? Or, are we merely opening a new can of worms - in the form of increased judgments and critical thoughts - when we attempt to do so?

What Paluk identifies is a fascinating occurance: when we practice conscious thinking, we also paradoxically somehow send off more harmful vibes - the exact opposite of positive EQ.

What she describes may actually make some sense. We all know iritating people who seem to do and say all the right things, yet underneath, (their sometimes facades) seem full of moralistic judgments and toxic thinking. I would like to believe, though, it may only be a temporary phenomenon. That over time any person's diligent, authentic efforts to shape EQ and character eventually pay off for the best, and, ultimately can serve to contribute to a more compassionate and socially conscious workplace.

Audio link to broadcast
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=124495770&m=124495767