About Cultural Psychology

The concept of mindfulness provides an intriguing viewpoint on both individual and cultural psychology. According to Andy Puddicombe, mindfulness can help people become more self-aware. He was able to establish a high level of mindfulness through meditation, which relieved significant tension from his brain (TED, 2013). Brown and Ryan (2003) emphasize the similar benefits of mindfulness by introducing private self-consciousness to explain how a person can intentionally disconnect from specific ideas that often run automatically in the brain.

Similarly, mindfulness can help people recognize the worth of different cultural perspectives that differ from our own.If an individual has the power to apply mindfulness to elevate his or her thought, then the same can be applicable in examining the thoughts of others in the society. According to Chiu and Hong (2006), the many conflicts that exist in our society, such as racism and terrorism, are caused by cultural intolerance. Divergent views fail to compromise because each individual in the community assumes a position of superiority in the argument.

Hence, it would be possible to apply mindfulness to overcome cultural biasness, as mindfulness allows individuals to achieve a wider perspective of cultural issues. They understand their position through the process of reflective consciousness and are able to understand others by application of public consciousness. Eventually, people from diverse cultures are able to relate well in the society because they understand their differences and their mind focuses on the strengths as opposed to the weaknesses in the relations.

References

Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822.

Chiu, C. Y., & Hong, Y. Y. (2006). Social psychology of culture. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.

TED. (2013). All it takes is 10 mindful minutes | Andy Puddicombe. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzR62JJCMBQ