Tag Archives: thought

Sitting in silence

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We almost never sit in silence anymore. Music, podcasts, tv, social media, and even humming or singing to ourselves, we fill the silent void.

There is no room for boredom, no space for quiet contemplation, no moments of solitude. Only noise, distractions, and attention to external inputs. What can we fill this quiet space with? What can we pay attention to? And what else now?

Sit in silence for a while. Sit with your own thoughts. Let them linger, let them settle. Let them get past the sensation that you should be doing something, anything but this. And breathe.

Sit in silence for a while.

We are One

There are two ways that we separate ourselves from ourselves that I think does more harm than good:

  • Body and Mind
  • Conscious Mind and Unconscious Mind

We are one person. We have one mind, (one conscience). One.

There is tons of evidence that suggests our body influences our mind, from obvious feelings of pain distracting us and making it hard to think, to evidence that our gut biome can influence our thoughts. Our mind and body aren’t just connected, they are One.

There are also huge debates about whether we have free will or not because you can connect someone’s brain to sensors and determine the answer to a question you ask them before they are consciously aware of an answer. That’s not actually proof of some sort of determinism, it’s only significant if you separate the conscious mind from the unconscious… if you suggest they are not the same person making the decision. Our conscious and unconscious minds aren’t just connected, they are One.

Have you ever heard, “Your body is your temple”? No it isn’t, your body is you, your mind is you, it’s all you. When your body is sick, you are sick, heal all of you. When your mind is spiralling to dark places, it’s all of you that is spiralling. That’s why exercise can make you feel better. That’s why looking up (literally lifting your head up) or going for a walk can make you feel better. It’s why physical touch, like a hug, or emotional support from a friend can make you feel better mentally and physically.

Ever notice how a friend or a team can push you to physical feats you couldn’t do on your own (in the gym or in a high stakes game)? Mind and body are One.

We break ourselves up into separate objects and I think that does more to harm us than to help us… and I haven’t even spoken about spirit or spirituality, but you can guess my thoughts on this unnecessary separation… we are all One.