Jacob Spinks

I was very active as a child and participated in many sports. But I also spent a significant amount of time staring off into space and letting my mind wander. I was always fascinated by tracing my thoughts back, seeing what lead to what and how new thoughts would emerge. I believe this was the beginning of my inquiry into the human mind and experience, but I didn't recognize it at the time.

Fast forward a decade or so and I was fumbling around in my first few semesters of my undergrad, not really sure what I wanted to do with my life. Around the time I became interested in contemplative practices and in related contexts had a few experiences of awe that began to open me up to the mysteries of existing as a human being. This led me to the seemingly obvious conclusion that I wanted to study the human mind for a living.

I applied to graduate school and got accepted into the combined masters and PhD experimental psychology program in my home town of Albuquerque at the University of New Mexico. The first couple years has mostly consisted of conceptual exploration, leading me to the field of phenomenology and more specifically to the sub-field of micro-phenomenology (receiving formal training in the latter). In a nutshell, this mode of inquiry revolves around studying the mind and experience introspectively through interviews. The farther I've dove into the endless rabbit holes of my own and others' experiences, the more I come to realize that we know, and tend to recognize very little of what is seemingly most intimate to us all, our own lived experience. I am deeply curious to see where this lifelong pursuit takes me!

June 2022