How often have you sat and wondered about that constant voice in your head? How often have you really paid attention to what it’s saying?
We go through multiple experiences in life on a daily basis, but it’s rarely that we actually let those experiences sink in to the deepest of our core. This ignoring and not acknowledging little things in life usually becomes our new normal.
New normal is actually a good thing if you are looking from a perspective of avoiding a mental turmoil during a phase of depression. Our hard-wired brain keeps bringing us back to what our daily life looks like and it gets easier to not being disconnected from the world.
What’s dangerous here is the fact that, when we keep being in such a depressive or discouraging phase on and off for a certain duration, we are unable to see the gradual process of making such kind of thought processing ‘a habit’.
Such kind of thought processing can only be manipulated by actually paying attention to it. By observing what your daily actions or behaviour is trying to tell you about ‘Yourself’.
We often hear people saying that, ‘We say certain things to others which we want to hear ourselves’.
There are two practices which really help in taking the control of your own life, Observation and Introspection.
Observation in philosophical terms is the process of filtering sensory information through the thought process. Input is received via hearing, sight, smell, taste, or touch and then analysed through either rational or irrational thought.
Whereas Introspection is a totally different term; Introspection is the examination of one’s own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology, the process of introspection relies on the observation of one’s mental state, while in a spiritual context it may refer to the examination of one’s soul.
Introspection is closely related to human self-reflection and self-discovery and is contrasted with external observation.
In my experience, observation and introspection can go hand in hand.
Let’s visualise a little walk around the neighbourhood, observe all that you see, trees, birds, the vast sky or even the humongous buildings. We can observe them and still at the back of our head constantly try to relate the visuals to our daily life consciously or unconsciously.
If paid attention to, we can actually see the symmetry that life offers; more like unity in diversity. You’ll be fascinated to find out how everything even though seems different is connected to each other in some or the other way.
“All you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation.” – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
The knack here is to stop judging and analysing for a while and just observe along with paying a wee bit attention to what your mind is speaking. Practicing this on a daily basis can actually strengthen your ‘mindfulness muscle’.
There is something really beautiful in just being present in the ‘Present’.
As aptly put by Master Oogway, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is a gift…. that’s why they call it ‘The Present’.
So, next time if you are ever feeling a bit disconnected to yourself, let’s just put our social media aside and listen to the words that your unconscious brain in trying to put together. You might end up finding answers to the questions you’ve been asking yourself for too long.
Have a chat with yourself, it’s really healthy.