Controlling Mental Chaos with Jaime Pineda

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, UC San Diego Library is hosting Professor Jaime Pineda to discuss his new book “Controlling Mental Chaos: Harnessing the Power of the Creative Mind.”

At the event, Pineda will discuss the story of mental chaos, framing it in an understandable narrative of why it happens and what can be done.

• It starts with our exquisite, original mind — adaptable, creative and curious. As we grow, its open nature gets stymied by attempts to protect it from the insults of life. This protective function creates a false sense of self that interferes with our creative problem-solving.
• The unhealthy ego misjudges and misinterprets the internal (interoceptive) and external (exteroceptive) signals we perceive. Other functions, such as language, further distort and create anxiety, fear and an out-of-control mind. The more the mind spins, the more it feels mentally separated from the body, and the fainter the signals from the body become.
• At a minimum, we need to reconnect mind and body; bypass the egoic mind, its distortion field and its autobiographical memory dependency so that instead of acting from what we know, we respond to the contingencies of the moment; and finally, provide space for more divergent (creative, open-ended) processing.
• All these activities occur when we practice mindful or open awareness. This is confirmed by science and the subjective experiences of practitioners who have practiced mindfulness for thousands of years.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

Copies of Pineda’s book will be available for purchase from the UC San Diego Bookstore at the event. A book signing will follow at the conclusion of the lecture.

Jaime Pineda is a professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at UC San Diego. His research interests include the neurobiology of social cognition, attention, face perception, addiction, monoamines and brain-computer interfaces.

Controlling Mental Chaos with Jaime Pineda: A Science and Contemplative Perspective on Well-being is an in-person-only event. Find us at UC San Diego Library in Geisel Library's Seuss Room located on the 2nd (main) floor.

Driving: For directions and parking information for this event, click here. All visitors to the UC San Diego campus are required to display a valid parking pass. The closest parking to Geisel Library is the Hopkins Parking Structure. For information about accessible parking on campus, click here.

Bus: City bus routes Rapid 201 Super Loop, Rapid 202 Super Loop, 30, 41 and 101 all go through UC San Diego. Exit at Gilman & Myers Drive. This stop is approximately 0.3 miles from Geisel Library via Library Walk. Note: the westbound bus stop at Gilman & Myers Drive will be closed for construction until September 2026. See Alerts & Detours.

Trolley: The trolley's Blue Line provides direct, frequent service to UC San Diego. Exit at the UC San Diego Central Campus Station. Geisel Library is approximately 0.3 miles away via Matthews Lane. For more information, visit the UC San Diego PRONTO FAQ or use the MTS Trip Planner.

Contact: Jen Cormier, [email protected]

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Geisel Library, 9500 Gilman Drive, San Diego, United States