Mindfulness

“Know Thyself”

– Ancient Greek aphorism –

Socrates and many other philosophers in Ancient Greece stressed the importance of knowing the self.  It was thought ridiculous to do study anything obscure without first understanding how you operate.  Without understanding how your own body and mind functions, how can you get the most out of yourself and your life?  If you don’t know yourself, you will be reacting robotically to any events that occur and victim of your own biases.

Have you ever:

• Been convinced that you are right, only to find out later that you were wrong?
• Witnessed someone interpret the same situation completely differently from you?
• Changed your beliefs over time?

We all have our own upbringing, education, experiences, social groups, etc., which contribute to our values and belief systems. We all have a unique world view or ‘frame’ with which we see the world and process information from the environment.  Our ‘frames’ are like filters which takes the raw data from the world and interpret it to make meaning.

As we grow up, we develop our frames, but we also develop patterns of thinking and emotion.  These patterns of emotion are what psychoanalysts might call a ‘complex’. They are learned mental and emotional habits which are largely unconscious.  These complexes will take raw information and connect it to other thoughts and emotions, but in a misleading or distorted way.

Have you ever:

• Found yourself angry or emotional and you can’t even remember why any more?
• Had one thought ‘set you off’ and completely shift your mood
• Had thoughts that trigger an emotional state?

Emotional states are perhaps the most neglected and unconscious part of human experience.   Our emotional states are affected by everything that happens to us and are in a constant state of flux.  One way to think about our emotions is to see them as the body’s warning signs, which tell us whether something is a good or bad idea, whether to be cautious, where our boundaries are etc. Often we have triggers which could come in the form of words or actions which ‘set us off’ on a particular emotional or mental path. If we are unaware of our own complexes and triggers, then they can take us on an emotional roller coaster ride to somewhere we may not want to go.

Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life, and you will call it fate

– Carl Jung –

Learning to understand yourself is never a completed task, as there is infinite complexity to every person.  However, as you develop the skill of mindfulness, you can  bring more awareness into your life and gain more and more control over your reactions to life events.   This is not about punishing yourself for having feelings, or striving to have no emotions. It is about preventing yourself from being governed by misguided patterns of thinking and feeling.

Through mindfulness we can be less attached to our frames and complexes, understand ourselves better and ultimately make better decisions and life choices.