Abstract
In accordance with the distinction made by Bloom (Dev Sci 10:147–151, 2007) between two distinct cognitive systems—“one for dealing with material objects, the other for social entities” (p. 149), we propose two forms of mindfulness—non-relational and relational. Non-relational mindfulness is exemplified by Ellen Langer’s cognitive mindfulness, whereas relational mindfulness is best articulated by Chinese aesthetics. In this chapter, we invoke the physics notion of symmetry to explain relational mindfulness and also show that this framework is compatible with the Langerian formulation of mindfulness. We conclude with a study in which relational mindfulness was experimentally induced to test the hypotheses that (a) the capacity of the human mind to see its double beyond the social arena can be primed and (b) attunement with a virtual mind can reap unique mental health benefits such as tranquility and a sense of well-being associated with affiliative fantasies.
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Sundararajan, L., Fatemi, S.M. (2016). Priming the Mind to See Its Double: Mindfulness in a New Key. In: Fatemi, S. (eds) Critical Mindfulness. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30782-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30782-4_9
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