Books by Krystyna Laycraft
Nucleus Learning, 2022
In the book "The I Ching as Seen Through Collages," I present collages depicting the eight trigr... more In the book "The I Ching as Seen Through Collages," I present collages depicting the eight trigrams and the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching. The I Ching is the oldest and most significant Chines classic. It is based on the change and transformation underlying all existence. The fundamental building blocks are the ancient concepts of Yang and Yin.
Even being created in ancient times, the I Ching fully applies to the present. It is like a wise mentor who offers directions and answers many questions regarding our issues. Through a richness of symbols, the I Ching helps us find how to live a harmonious and meaningful life, develop and maintain our inner strength, how vital the moments of silence and concentration are, and many more.
Nucleus Learning, 2019
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of my work on Dąbrowski’s theory, I have created this small boo... more To celebrate the 10th anniversary of my work on Dąbrowski’s theory, I have created this small book, which contains nine of my articles published in different psychological journals. I was exploring Dąbrowski’s ideas through the prism of my knowledge as a physicist, specializing in complexity science.
In one of the articles, I wrote: “As I read Dąbrowski’s book, Mental Growth through Positive Disintegration, I experienced a profound sense of “resonance.” Moreover, as I immersed myself in the works of Dabrowski, I was mesmerized by the beautiful parallels between the theory of positive disintegration and chaos theory. “
Dąbrowski stresses the importance of “emotional turbulence” in the process of transition from the lower level to the higher levels of mental life, which complies with the core ideas of chaos theory where sensitivity, instability and unpredictability are an inherent part of development. For Dąbrowski, nervousness and psychoneurotic symptoms are signs of the beginning of an advancing process of positive transformations. This idea corresponds to Prigogine’s concept that “non-equilibrium is a source of order.”
Through the perspective of complexity science, I tried to uncover some deep secrets of Dąbrowski’s theory and bring further understanding of human development.
Krystyna C. Laycraft
Lorell Ranch, Summer 2019
Nucleus Learning, 2019
Our book is mother-daughter cooperation, which gave us a lot of joy and satisfaction. We opened o... more Our book is mother-daughter cooperation, which gave us a lot of joy and satisfaction. We opened ourselves to each other’s ideas and, as a result, our understanding of some complex concepts extended and deepened. We have shown in this book, that acceptance is not only an attitude to a specific situation in which we find ourselves but also, an outlook toward our lives. Acceptance, when merged with other emotions, creates meaningful emotional patterns, such as resourcefulness, curiosity, friendliness, love, and mindfulness, which make our lives rich and meaningful.
Nucleus Learning, 2017
Ksiazka ta jest moja intelektualna podroza poprzez wiele filozoficznych podejsc do procesu decyzy... more Ksiazka ta jest moja intelektualna podroza poprzez wiele filozoficznych podejsc do procesu decyzyjnego. Przez zastosowanie tych idei, bylam w stanie przeegzaminowc wlasne decyzje i zrozumiec ich wplyw na moje zycie.
Mam nadzije, ze praca moja zainspiruje innych do glebszej refleksji nad wlasnym zyciem i zastanowieniem sie nad rola decyzji w przebiegu ich zycia.
AwareNow Publishing, 2015
In the book, "The Courage to Decide," I've presented my intellectual journey through the theories... more In the book, "The Courage to Decide," I've presented my intellectual journey through the theories of many philosophers. During this journey, I've contemplated and examines my life through the light of their ideas. This process has given me clarity about decision-making and its importance in our lives.
Through the courage to decide, we're able to experience freedom, novelty, and understanding. We're then able to orient ourselves to the future and change our vision into reality.
Through the courage to decide, we're able to transcend aging and the ravages of disease and replace them with psychological growth. We're then able to develop creativity and become more compassionate
Through the courage to decide, we create ourselves and the world around us. Simply put, the courage to decide is the ultimate act of creation.
AwareNow Publishing , 2014
The book, "Feeling Life," has emerged through the process of reflective meditation. I reflected o... more The book, "Feeling Life," has emerged through the process of reflective meditation. I reflected on and deeply explored my actions, choices, and decisions. My persistence in the process of understanding, interpreting and evaluating led to the discovery of unexpected and surprising aspects of my life. I discovered a richness of emotions I had experienced during these emotions guided me through complex, and very often difficult and challenging situations.
Promontory Press , May 2014
The main purpose of this book is to throw light on the role of creativity during the periods of a... more The main purpose of this book is to throw light on the role of creativity during the periods of adolescence and young adulthood. I present five life stories of young people who are actively involved in creative pursuits such as music composition, circus arts, painting, journaling, and writing. Then I explore how their creativity helps them to interpret, to understand, and to make meaning out of their internal experiences.
The book contains three parts. In the first part, the basic concepts of chaos theory and the idea of self-organization are introduced. Some contemporary approaches to emotions are also discussed. In the second part, the lives of five young people are presented and by applying these theories, their psychological development and creative processes are interpreted and analyzed. Finally, in the third part, a conceptual model of creativity development is discussed.
The book encourages parents and educators to look at the creativity of young people much more seriously as a tool for enriching their lives, opening up new possibilities for them, and greatly extending their vision of themselves and the world they live in.
Book Chapters by Krystyna Laycraft
Nucleus Learning, 2019
What is love? This question has captured the imagination of poets, writers, songwriters, and phil... more What is love? This question has captured the imagination of poets, writers, songwriters, and philosophers for centuries. Since the nineteen-seventies, social scientists and psychologists have studied love and agreed that love is not a single entity but rather a complex phenomenon. However, the simplest definition is: Love is a joyful acceptance of another. We look at love as a dynamic emotional process that goes through five stages and contains a richness of emotions such as surprise, joy, acceptance, surprise, delight, curiosity, anticipation, sagacity, optimism, expectancy, and enthusiasm.
In Veronika Bohac-Clarke (Ed.) Integral theory & transdisciplinary action research in education, IGI Global, 2018
The purpose of this study was to investigate creativity in adolescents and young adults and its r... more The purpose of this study was to investigate creativity in adolescents and young adults and its role in psychological development. For this qualitative research, a methodology combining hermeneutic phenomenology/ontology with narrative/biography was chosen. To interpret the data, we created pattern models of creativity by applying the concepts of complexity science, especially self-organization, with the Theory of Positive Disintegration and the Psycho-Evolutionary Theory of Emotions.
It was discovered that the process of creativity in young people is intertwined with the strong emotions of passion, curiosity, enthusiasm, and delight. These emotions are the driving forces that generate order and complexity not only in the creative process, but also in overall psychological development. The presence of these strong emotions often contributes to lesser tension in young people’s development, including a greater ability to integrate their experiences, to take their psychological development into their own hands, and to find direction for their future.
Published in C. Pearson, S. Mann, & A. Zotti, Art Therapy 7 Creative Processes; A Practical Approach, Ann Arbor, London, Sydney: Loving Healing Press, pp. 67-80
AwareNow Publishing , 2015
AwareNow Publishing, 2015
AwareNow Publishing, Jun 2015
"A Critique of Creativity and Complexity. Deconstructing Cliches," Don Ambrose, Bharath Sriraman and Kathleen M. Pierce (Eds.), 2014
This chapter provides a new approach to the study of creativity of adolescents and young adults b... more This chapter provides a new approach to the study of creativity of adolescents and young adults by combining the idea of self-organization with theories of emotions. To gather data for this qualitative research, hermeneutic phenomenology/ontology linked with the narrative/biography methods was chosen. As a process of interpretation of the data, pattern models of the process of creativity are designed. There are some unique differences between the models of different participants’ creativity, but in general they share common phases such as differentiation/chaos, integration/complexity, and dissipative structures/creativity (products of creativity in the forms of new movements, new writings, and new paintings). Creativity of young people is intertwined with strong emotions of interest, joy, acceptance, which enhance mental activity to global, open, and exploratory modes of attention, stimulate their thinking and enrich their imagination. These cognitive processes then deepen their emotions to complex emotions such as curiosity, enthusiasm, delight, passion, resourcefulness, and love, which, through a reciprocal reinforcement influence their selves. Creative people become more sensitive, more open, and receptive to the internal and external world. They develop into resourceful, imaginative, empathic, and spiritual human beings.
Papers by Krystyna Laycraft
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Books by Krystyna Laycraft
Even being created in ancient times, the I Ching fully applies to the present. It is like a wise mentor who offers directions and answers many questions regarding our issues. Through a richness of symbols, the I Ching helps us find how to live a harmonious and meaningful life, develop and maintain our inner strength, how vital the moments of silence and concentration are, and many more.
In one of the articles, I wrote: “As I read Dąbrowski’s book, Mental Growth through Positive Disintegration, I experienced a profound sense of “resonance.” Moreover, as I immersed myself in the works of Dabrowski, I was mesmerized by the beautiful parallels between the theory of positive disintegration and chaos theory. “
Dąbrowski stresses the importance of “emotional turbulence” in the process of transition from the lower level to the higher levels of mental life, which complies with the core ideas of chaos theory where sensitivity, instability and unpredictability are an inherent part of development. For Dąbrowski, nervousness and psychoneurotic symptoms are signs of the beginning of an advancing process of positive transformations. This idea corresponds to Prigogine’s concept that “non-equilibrium is a source of order.”
Through the perspective of complexity science, I tried to uncover some deep secrets of Dąbrowski’s theory and bring further understanding of human development.
Krystyna C. Laycraft
Lorell Ranch, Summer 2019
Mam nadzije, ze praca moja zainspiruje innych do glebszej refleksji nad wlasnym zyciem i zastanowieniem sie nad rola decyzji w przebiegu ich zycia.
Through the courage to decide, we're able to experience freedom, novelty, and understanding. We're then able to orient ourselves to the future and change our vision into reality.
Through the courage to decide, we're able to transcend aging and the ravages of disease and replace them with psychological growth. We're then able to develop creativity and become more compassionate
Through the courage to decide, we create ourselves and the world around us. Simply put, the courage to decide is the ultimate act of creation.
The book contains three parts. In the first part, the basic concepts of chaos theory and the idea of self-organization are introduced. Some contemporary approaches to emotions are also discussed. In the second part, the lives of five young people are presented and by applying these theories, their psychological development and creative processes are interpreted and analyzed. Finally, in the third part, a conceptual model of creativity development is discussed.
The book encourages parents and educators to look at the creativity of young people much more seriously as a tool for enriching their lives, opening up new possibilities for them, and greatly extending their vision of themselves and the world they live in.
Book Chapters by Krystyna Laycraft
It was discovered that the process of creativity in young people is intertwined with the strong emotions of passion, curiosity, enthusiasm, and delight. These emotions are the driving forces that generate order and complexity not only in the creative process, but also in overall psychological development. The presence of these strong emotions often contributes to lesser tension in young people’s development, including a greater ability to integrate their experiences, to take their psychological development into their own hands, and to find direction for their future.
Papers by Krystyna Laycraft
Even being created in ancient times, the I Ching fully applies to the present. It is like a wise mentor who offers directions and answers many questions regarding our issues. Through a richness of symbols, the I Ching helps us find how to live a harmonious and meaningful life, develop and maintain our inner strength, how vital the moments of silence and concentration are, and many more.
In one of the articles, I wrote: “As I read Dąbrowski’s book, Mental Growth through Positive Disintegration, I experienced a profound sense of “resonance.” Moreover, as I immersed myself in the works of Dabrowski, I was mesmerized by the beautiful parallels between the theory of positive disintegration and chaos theory. “
Dąbrowski stresses the importance of “emotional turbulence” in the process of transition from the lower level to the higher levels of mental life, which complies with the core ideas of chaos theory where sensitivity, instability and unpredictability are an inherent part of development. For Dąbrowski, nervousness and psychoneurotic symptoms are signs of the beginning of an advancing process of positive transformations. This idea corresponds to Prigogine’s concept that “non-equilibrium is a source of order.”
Through the perspective of complexity science, I tried to uncover some deep secrets of Dąbrowski’s theory and bring further understanding of human development.
Krystyna C. Laycraft
Lorell Ranch, Summer 2019
Mam nadzije, ze praca moja zainspiruje innych do glebszej refleksji nad wlasnym zyciem i zastanowieniem sie nad rola decyzji w przebiegu ich zycia.
Through the courage to decide, we're able to experience freedom, novelty, and understanding. We're then able to orient ourselves to the future and change our vision into reality.
Through the courage to decide, we're able to transcend aging and the ravages of disease and replace them with psychological growth. We're then able to develop creativity and become more compassionate
Through the courage to decide, we create ourselves and the world around us. Simply put, the courage to decide is the ultimate act of creation.
The book contains three parts. In the first part, the basic concepts of chaos theory and the idea of self-organization are introduced. Some contemporary approaches to emotions are also discussed. In the second part, the lives of five young people are presented and by applying these theories, their psychological development and creative processes are interpreted and analyzed. Finally, in the third part, a conceptual model of creativity development is discussed.
The book encourages parents and educators to look at the creativity of young people much more seriously as a tool for enriching their lives, opening up new possibilities for them, and greatly extending their vision of themselves and the world they live in.
It was discovered that the process of creativity in young people is intertwined with the strong emotions of passion, curiosity, enthusiasm, and delight. These emotions are the driving forces that generate order and complexity not only in the creative process, but also in overall psychological development. The presence of these strong emotions often contributes to lesser tension in young people’s development, including a greater ability to integrate their experiences, to take their psychological development into their own hands, and to find direction for their future.
Heightened sensitivity, heightened intensity, heightened awareness and advanced cognitive development, compared to chronological aged peers, distinguish the highly-profoundly gifted child and permeate their social, emotional, physical, cognitive and/or altruistic life experiences. This instinctive and often asynchronous development has been historically misunderstood, misidentified, and misdiagnosed by professionals who have not received training on the unique char- acteristics, behaviors, and development typical of this population. As a result, the natural development and potential of highly-profoundly gifted children and adolescents are vulnerable and at high risk. A review of the literature found the characteristics, behaviors and developmental markers of the highly-profoundly gifted strikingly similar to the char- acteristics, behaviors and development of the combination of multiple, higher-level overexcitabilities. Further study of overexcitabilities and Dabrowski’s human development theory found the combination of multiple, higher-level overex- citabilities distinctively different than individual overexcitabilities. Developmental dynamisms explained the multi-facet- ed development of multiple overexcitabilities at the highest level. It was concluded that multiple, higher-level overex- citabilities and the development of dynamisms correlate closely with the heightened sensitivity, heightened intensity, heightened awareness and advanced cognitive development of highly-profoundly gifted children and adolescents and therefore could be an effective tool for identification. Additional research and further development of assessment tools to identify higher-level overexcitabilities, developmental dynamisms and highly-profoundly gifted students are warrant- ed. Education outreach and professional development are recommended for parents, teachers, school administrators, counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians and policy makers to curve misunderstanding, misidentification and misdiagnosis. Mandates to appropriately identify and support the education and development of highly-profoundly gifted children and adolescents, are imperative.
Based on this model, I'll show that the psychological development and creativity of young people are intertwined in a cyclical and dynamical relationship. Creativity is a self-organizing process that originates in a far-from-equilibrium state created and maintained by emotions such as interest, joy, surprise, curiosity, passion, love, and resourcefulness. Similarly, psychological development is a self-organizing process, which implies the increasing complexity of mental structure by incorporating a variety of elements from mental life - emotions, thoughts, imaginations, and memories - and then integrating these elements into a unique perspective. Creativity as a temporary or momentary experience creates the conditions in which emotional, cognitive, and spiritual development take place. Psychological development on the other hand, creates the conditions for creativity to emerge by adjusting the internal environment toward openness, sensitivity, and receptivity.
symmetry breaking. Symmetry breaking plays a major role in self-organzed patterns formation and correlates directly to increasing complexity and function specialization. According to Dabrowski, the change from lower to higher levels of human development requires a mojor restructuring of an individual's psychological makeup. Each level of human development is a relatively stable and coherent configuration of emotional-cognitive patterns called developmental dynamisms. Their main funtion is to restructuring a mental structure by breaking symmetry of a low level and bringing differentiation and then integration to higher levels. The positive disintehration is then a transition from a lower level of high symmetry and low complexity to higher higher levels of low symmetry and high complexity of mental structure. In other words, the positive disintegration is a transition from scarcely conscious and narrow understanding reality (high symmetry) to a highly conscious and broader understanding of reality (low symmetry).
This book can be a very useful tool for parents and educators to teach children how to identify their emotions, how to respond to challenging situations that evoke negative emotions such as fear, rejection, and anger, and how to embrace positive emotions such as acceptance, anticipation/interest, and joy. Illustrations and stories in this book may stimulate children’s imagination, encourage them to explore and to make own decisions, and then accelerate their emotional and social development.
This book can be a very useful tool for parents and educators to teach children how to identify their emotions, how to respond to challenging situations that evoke negative emotions such as fear, rejection, and anger, and how to embrace positive emotions such as acceptance, anticipation/interest, and joy. Illustrations and stories in this book may stimulate children’s imagination, encourage them to explore and to make own decisions, and then accelerate their emotional and social development.
We analyze in details the spontaneous multilevel disintegration described by the chaotic attractor. The spontaneous multilevel disintegration corresponds to the period of adolescence. As an individual makes transitions from childhood to adulthood, from dependence to independence, the changes in behavior are dramatic. As soon as person feels that some modes of thinking, feeling, and acting are higher, conflicts of a vertical nature arise. Emotional, unconscious and slightly conscious forces dominate the spontaneous multilevel disintegration.
We show that the process of spontaneous multilevel disintegration corresponds to dramatic changes in brain of adolescent. During adolescence, brain organization and function enter a unique period of change. The emotional behavior of adolescent is due to increased reliance on the instinctual part of brain (amygdala) while the area of rational thought, the frontal lobes develops. We postulate that the positive maladjustment appears when the brain activity of teenager seems to shift from amygdala to frontal lobes and emotions becomes more conscious and selective.
Assuming that these processes are subjective and multiple as shown by participants in a study, a qualitative design for the research is appropriate. After considering both the potential contribution and the limitation of conducting qualitative research, a hermeneutic phenomenology linked with narrative/biography methods is chosen as the best-suited methodology to this research. Hermeneutic phenomenology, as created by Heidegger and Gadamer, is essentially an ontological approach because it emphasizes that humankind participates in Being and Being has a structure that is capable of being apprehended and understood. The researcher has to take on the role of co-learner and must desire to be educated by the people involved in the study, immersing herself in the circular movement of understanding.
As a process of the interpretation of the data of the research, the pattern models can be generated. These pattern models serve as a conceptual tool to enhance our understanding of the research phenomena. The pattern models are constantly changing, evolving, and transforming, and allowing the researcher to have a new relationship with the dynamics of studied phenomena.
The narrative/biography methods rest on individuals’ subjectively gained knowledge and the understanding of their life experiences. Experiences refer to how realities of a life present themselves to consciousness.
I will show how through multiple stages of understanding and interpretation, it is possible to grasp the emerging patterns of the participants’ psychological development and their creativity.
For this qualitative research, hermeneutic phenomenology linked to narrative/biography methods was applied.
As a process of interpretation of the data, the pattern models of creativity were generated by applying the Theory of positive Disintegration combined with the concepts of complexity science and theories of emotions. The Theory of Positive Disintegration is especially useful for understanding the tumultuous psychological development of gifted and creative adolescents.
In accordance with Dabrowski’s theory, it was demonstrated that the crucial period for creative adolescents’ psychological development is the spontaneous multilevel disintegration (chaotic attractor). It represents a far-from-equilibrium state that is a necessary condition for self-organization to more complex and ordered state of mental structure in young people. Through this process, they become active agents in their growth, responsible for their own lives, and able to channel their tension “upward” through developmental dynamisms of higher levels.
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EA is personal psychotherapy, which allows the therapist to take all possible aspects of an individual's experience into consideration. It puts emphasis on active decisions and commitment. The main objective of EA is to help individuals recognize, understand, accept, and deal with their behaviors and emotions - in general with their life.
While, REBT teaches us how three forms of unconditional acceptance of self, others, and life are essential for our functional thinking that influences our feelings and decision-making. The awareness of two forms of thinking, the functional (rational) thinking and stress-increasing (irrational) thinking gives us powerful methods for self-improvement and becomes a path to psychological well-being.
I have chosen to make collages for two reasons. Firstly, I can tell stories through collages, express myself, and deliver meaningful messages. Secondly, the process of making collages reminds me of the idea of Dabrowski’s theory of positive disintegration, in which the mental structure at a lower level must be disintegrated and then, through some challenging processes, can be transformed into the structure on the higher level of development. It is similar to making collages. First, you must cut or tear the chosen images into smaller pieces and then arrange and connect them into something new and meaningful.
Based on this model, I'll show that the psychological development and creativity of young people are intertwined in a cyclical and dynamical relationship. Creativity is a self-organizing process that originates in a far-from-equilibrium state created and maintained by emotions such as interest, joy, surprise, curiosity, passion, love, and resourcefulness. Similarly, psychological development is a self-organizing process, which implies the increasing complexity of mental structure by incorporating a variety of elements from mental life - emotions, thoughts, imaginations, and memories - and then integrating these elements into a unique perspective. Creativity as a temporary or momentary experience creates the conditions in which emotional, cognitive, and spiritual development take place. Psychological development on the other hand, creates the conditions for creativity to emerge by adjusting the internal environment toward openness, sensitivity, and receptivity.
I also review the signs of troubled and suffering adolescents such as worries, anxiety, distress, and depression. Then I discus in detail the role of acceptance, not only for diminishing their painful and dangerous emotional experiences but also for opening themselves to their external and internal worlds. Young people are able to connect to their interests, talents, and abilities. Next, I examine the roles of interest, motivation, and attention in creativity of young people.
Finally, I show that their creativity is the source of emotions such as interest, joy, acceptance, surprise, love, resourcefulness, curiosity, and delight, and then throughout multiple occurrences of these emotions, young people are forming their self-identities. They are becoming confident, proud, resourceful, and open-minded individuals.