Category: Uncategorized

Tranquility of the Mind

Posted on by jabittan
One of the main ideas in the philosophy of stoicism is the ability to control the mind and the thoughts that we have. When we practice stoicism we are building our self-awareness so that we can reflect on not just our actions and decisions, but also the thoughts that we have.  We are able to use an increased self-awareness to better organize our thoughts and begin to think in a better way.  Marcus Aurelius wrote a note to himself in his book that would be published as Meditations, and in his note he address the idea that we can build our mind up through thought and self-awareness to where we can have an internal place of safety and comfort. “Tranquility is nothing else than the good ordering of the mind,” Aurelius wrote in the middle of a passage about desire and distress.

When I first read and highlighted this quote I left myself a note saying, “no matter what happens around us, the mind can be peaceful and tranquil through the control of our thoughts.” This idea encompasses what Aurelius was writing about in the larger section from which I took this quote.  He is addressing the idea that we are sovereign over our mind and that no one can tell us how to think, what to think, how to react or feel, or how to behave in any situation.  For Aurelius, the idea of mental sovereignty meant that he had the power to control himself in any situation and that he could determine who he was in any situation.

Through meditation and self-awareness Marcus Aurelius explains that we can learn to become more egalitarian and magnanimous in our lives.  He encourages us to live comfortably and simply, and to not let ourselves be guided by passion as opposed to reason.  When we practice self-awareness we are able to recognize parts of ourselves that are not treating others fairly or are allowing other people to shake our mind. By focusing inward and recognizing our emotions and reactions we can change the way we think and the way we behave. Ultimately, this recognition will give us greater control and focus throughout our lives, and it will allow us to become more temperate and peaceful in our actions, decisions, and interactions with others.

The Faculties of the Mind

Posted on by jabittan
In his collection of thoughts, Meditations, Marcus Aurelius writes about how we should think about our thinking. His book was written as tool for him to return to when he felt as though he was not living to his full potential. Changing the way we think and being aware of the thoughts that we have can help guide us in our life and decisions.  Aurelius encourages us to build awareness of our thoughts, and to create robust mental habits.  He writes, “Reverence the faculty which produces opinion, on this faculty it entirely depends where there shall exist in thy ruling part any opinion inconsistent with nature and the constitution of the rational animal.” What this quote shows is the way that Aurelius thought about our mental state and the ways in which we can strengthen our mind.

Aurelius is focused on how we act and govern ourselves, and the choices that we make throughout the day. He understands that we will always be challenged and that making the best decisions will not always be clear, but his quote shows that we can focus on our thoughts to improve our decision making process. When we become determined to be guided by reason and not passion or desire, we can become more rational in our actions, and we can focus better on the things which we can do to build real value in our lives, in the lives of those we care about, and in our communities.  Finding a way to be mentally strong will help us shape our lives to be fuller and more meaningful.

To do this we must begin to think about our thinking in new ways. We have to understand that our faculties of mind can shape the way we interpret the world, and we can see that our mind can give us the power to change not just who we are, but who we want and expect to become.  When we look at our life and understand that our mind can become isolated from factors around us, we put power and control of our life back on our shoulders. This means that we can be guided by reason above all else, and that reason and logic can be the forces which shape our decisions and reactions.  Aurelius would argue that this is critical to life otherwise one will be tossed about by impulsivity and desire.  Looking at our faculties of mind in this way can help us understand how the world affects us, and how our decisions shape the lives we live.

World Views

Posted on by jabittan
Throughout the book Considerations author Colin Wright focuses on the importance of gaining perspective and building new perspectives into your personal philosophy.  Across every area of life that Wright addresses he highlights the importance of your perspective and awareness, and what benefits come from greater perspectives.

 

When addressing world views and our influences, Wright expands the importance of perspective to consider how we should think about the ideas of others.  He explains that our own thoughts and ideas are not completely independent of the thoughts and ideas of others since we are shaped from the time we are born by media, society, our parents, and experiences.  Each of these factors impacts the way we interpret the world, shaping our thoughts and feelings.  Wright continues to explain that as we get older and take in more media or gain experiences, these ideas become more independent of others, and become more unique.  He pulls in the idea of perspective by explaining that we cannot judge the decisions of others based on our perspective and world views for no one else can be expected to share our ideas, thoughts, and experiences.

 

Wright argues that once we understand the influence of our own ideas we can better relate and connect with others.  In his mind it is important to give up the idea that we are solely in control of our thoughts, actions, and perspectives, “we need to be aware that our view of the world is filtered through overlapping lenses made up of different influences. These lenses are so effective that you and I could see the exact same car accident and perceive it in different ways.”  All of the experiences we have and everything that shapes our thoughts and expectations become the lenses through which we see the world. We cannot always perceive what is shaping our perception, but it is important to know that we are driven in certain directions for reasons we cannot always control. Being aware of this helps us to make better decisions.

 

When Wright expands this idea beyond ourselves toward others, he shows how important it is not to judge others or think less of them for their thoughts or actions.  It is very difficult, especially with people we do not like, to pause and consider their background and what may be shaping their decisions and ideas.  However, if we can pause and think about why others have adopted their worldview, we can better understand their decisions and have meaningful conversation with them which will help us adopt new perspectives.

How Understanding Dependence can Lead to Gratefulness

Posted on by jabittan
Philosopher Martha Nussbaum wrote of confidence, relationships, and dependence in her letter to James Harmon to be published in the book, Take My Advice.  On dependence she wrote, “even though we develop a degree of mastery and independence, we always remain alarmingly weak and incomplete, dependent on others and on an uncertain world for whatever we are able to achieve.”  This quote struck me as being very honest about our nature and our inner feelings in a world where we go out of our way to project visions of our best and happiest selves.

As our lives fill up with Facebook and LinkedIn, our online persona becomes a competition to see who can lead the most exciting, the most attractive, and the most impressive lives in both our social and professional lives.  The images we share with the world are our personal highlights, and the goal is to make us look strong, confident, and happy.  What we miss when we compare our lives to the lives of others on social media is the moments between the highlights, when each person must deal with self doubt, uncertainty, and fear.  Nussbaum’s quote helps me remember that I am not the only person who experiences these doubts when I compare myself to others online or in person.

I think it is important to consider how dependent we are on the planet for our own survival.  We are not just dependent on natural resources, but in many ways we are dependent on the systems we have built, people who maintain those systems, and supportive people around us. When we focus on how much we depend on others we can be grateful for the guidance, assistance, and services we receive from others. Cultivating this awareness can help us see how important it is to reciprocate those actions and feelings.  When good things happen in our lives it is tempting to blow up social media with our awesomeness and take credit for our accomplishment or good fortune, but I think Nussbaum would encourage us to instead give thanks, and to recognize the incredible system of support and assistance on which we depended, and from which our accomplishments materialize.

Our Reality

Posted on by jabittan
Paul Krassner is one of the many writers who sent James Harmon a letter for his book Take My Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People who Know a Thing or Two.  In his letter Kressner wrote about our perception of other people, and our perception of the world.  In his last paragraph he wrote, “Always remember that everybody’s perception is their reality.”  This speaks to me because it is so easy for us to judge someone else and their actions from our point of view. When we look at others this way, we are not taking the time to step into their shoes or make an effort to understand their lives.  We cannot criticize another person for the decisions they make if we do not understand the pressures and realities in that persons life. Each person’s unique history and experiences may have driven them to make specific decisions
Near the beginning of his letter Krassner writes,”Watch yourself as though you were observing a Martian. Watch others as though they were also Martians under observation.” What Krassner is advocating for is the ability to look at a situation objectively.  For him it is important that we are aware of how we live and what we do, but also aware of the way that others live. If we are able to build this awareness without ascribing every action or choice that a person makes as good or bad, then we can start to have greater control of our decisions and actions.  In addition, when we view people as if they were Martians, we do not bring our previous biases into the situation to create a background story about the person, (think of how easy it is to see a lawyer in a suit and decide he is a jerk before you watch him do anything) and instead we simply observe their behavior.  To me, this is a great way to begin to reflect on the choices we make to live an intentional life.

Dots

Posted on by jabittan
Continuing with Packing Light by Allison Vesterfelt, I highlighted a section reading, “What if the decision that was good for now was also good for later? What if I just couldn’t see it yet? This quote reminds me of the previous post, and making that decision to get going with something new. It may seem like a good decision, but it may be very difficult, and the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, and the overall fear of starting something new may block our vision of what is good for us in the future and now.
A quote by Steve Jobs is passed around frequently, “It is only until we look back that we see how the dots connect.” and while Mr. Jobs was absolutely correct, I prefer to look to the advice of a writer I really look up to, Paul Jun. Paul is an impresario of sorts, someone who connects people, and he makes connecting the dots an all day practice, not just a reflective exercise.  He wrote a breezy 70 page book called, Connect the Dots in which he talked about how our daily decisions build up to something more.  He talked about being intentional about creativity, learning, and self-awareness to harness the power to connect the dots in our day to day lives. In this way, Paul is being mindful with everything he does to see the way that what decisions are good for now will be beneficial in the future as well. He focuses on understanding himself, and where he wants to be, and brings in an idea of patience to change the focus from worrying whether a decision will be good for now and later, and instead trusts that he can make the right decisions to build bridges that will connect his dots later.

Dynamic Ideas

Posted on by jabittan
This quote from Allison Vesterfelt in her book Packing Light: Thoughts on Living Life with Less Baggage is all about those ideas we get when we are off running, having a good shower, and just relaxed enough to let our mind create. Vesterfelt writes, “That’s the thing with ideas.  They start small, somewhere inside of you, and nothing will happen with them until you finally speak them out loud.  We hold on to ideas for years sometimes, because we think they’re meaningless, or impossible, or that people will laugh at us when we tell them.”  For me over coming the fear and doubts of my ideas has always been a challenge. I have always had plenty of good, difficult, adventurous, and meaningful ideas, but fear, doubt, and apathy have seemingly kept me from even speaking my ideas many times.  A current idea with ideas is to tell everyone you can about your ideas. To open up to people you know, strangers, and the world to tell them you plans, desires, and ideas. This forces you into action because you have already told everyone what you want to do, how you are going  to do it, and why this idea gets you excited. The fear that stops us seems to be the fear of failure and the fear of having everyone see our failure.  We hide in a caccoon with our idea silently working it over in our mind  in the hopes that we become huge successes, but hedging our bets by not telling anyone our ideas and plans so that if things don’t turn out, no one else sees our failure.
I have recently been playing with the idea of opening up to everyone about my fears and insecurities. I have wanted to hang out with a group of friends and say things like, “hey, so I always feel like I should be doing more, and like I am always trying to reach a new level of good enough, do you guys all have this same pressure?” I want to speak to people who I would consider more accomplished then me and hear about their struggles, and I want to talk to people who I consider myself to be more accomplished than, and tell them that I frequently feel like I am not skilled enough to match the idea of success that I have in my head.  Too often we look at others and compare our lives to the awesome Facebook lives of our friends. The refrain I tell myself is not to always compare my every day cuts to another person’s highlight reel, because after all, we only put our best selves out there on social media for all to see.
Getting back to Vesterfelt’s quote, I think the real thing is to just be aware of your ideas and to find a way to act on them. Maybe not all of them, unless you really really want to be the one to produce that toaster-fridge (see the Clockwise Podcast Episode 71), but definitely act on the small ideas that can snowball the change that you want in your life. Tell others about your plans to volunteer, to write more, to start learning about astrophysics, you never know who may also be interested in the same thing, and who can point you in new directions and build new bridges and connections for you. And once you start telling people who share common interests, they will check up with you, and hold you to your word to help give you more motivation to actualize your idea.