Mindfully Mind-Less
ENTRY 04
An oxymoron, yes. The idea is that we intentionally live less in the mind, through attending more efficiently to what’s important. Getting out of our own head, out of our own way. The alternative is our attention bouncing around uncontrollably. Most would agree a scattered mind is anxious, chaotic, or more generously, confused. In an age of heightened information, how one manoeuvres through the noise keeping their sanity is somewhat of a particular art.
Many sit in the passenger seat of their own life. Things happen to them, they react, and stumble into the next day (mindlessly). Life may as well be a mirage. A dream state. One of which many wish to escape reality. Thankfully, for now at least (in the West), we have the freedom to live and pursue what we want (within a reasonable sandbox). What’s important to note is that there is a battleground of business’, powerful figures, and ideologies competing for your attention and henceforth persuading a line of thought (see Entry 01).
Competing beliefs, political persuasions, and opinions make up the cultural melting pots of the world’s largest cities. This seems to be a net positive – history will tell… Good ideas can be polished into great ones with open discourse. Nonetheless, with so many ideas and thoughts being thrown around, it can be easy to lose sight of who you are and what you believe. Maybe you don’t know this yet. Perhaps that’s a step too deep – but if we all drown in the noise of the crowd, highly ideological and intolerant societies rise to the fore. Those of us uncertain will have no choice but to follow along, or at the very least don’t have a leg to stand on.
So how can one hone their identity and values in an environment that is extremely complex and intrusive? If you’re asking these deeper questions, you’re in the right place. If you don’t give yourself time to contemplate individually, you will never arrive at understanding. You will live a life of clouded judgement, perpetually subsiding in the echo chamber of others. “I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men, than when we stay in our chambers.” – Henry David Thoreau [1]. Look at what is taking up most of your attention. Become aware of what you attend to (in your mind). What do you consume? Not just nutritionally but psychologically. You are what you eat… News broadcasts, political commentators, the type of people you hang around, media (movies, music, podcasts, TV, social media), influencers.
One such medium that is enormously invasive on the minds of our younger generations is social media. It may as well be heroin. Aggressively addictive. When you’re not chronically thinking about the ongoing state of other people’s lives, you’re worried about how you will present yourself to the world in your next post (or maybe that was just me…). Unfortunately, many are so embedded in this network they are not even aware of their own capture. Again, I will caveat and say not all tech is bad news. It is the way in which we interact with it that matters. Utilising the technology for its profound features is groundbreaking, but we must also acknowledge the dangers not to be blindsided.
To breakthrough the distractions requires this awareness first and foremost, and then discipline. How do you know if you have been captured? Well, a good indicator might be if you have a strong compulsion every time you are (even slightly) uncomfortably bored, to reach for your phone and check up on what is going on in the world of Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), Tik Tok etc. We are social creatures. Drawn in by the promise of connection and captivated by ongoing drama and outrage – interpersonal and global events.
A scattered mind cannot bear to sit quietly ruminating in its own thoughts. Oh, the pain! To confront the (potentially troubling) reality of your being. The skeletons in the closet. Deep feelings gone unaddressed. In Jordan Peterson’s book Beyond order, a sentiment held across a large portion of the book is one of confronting those things (in the fog) that deeply trouble you (to reflect and grow) or risk the demons rearing their heads in other parts of your life [2]. Unless you can face up to your deepest insecurities, you may just be haunted by them for the remainder of your days…
You can notice in our culture, which commoditises distraction (i.e. attention) at the expense of more focused activities – forms of pain numbing suppressants such as alcohol, (antidepressant) drugs, and visual media are becoming more attractive to people. Drown out the difficult realities of life via distraction. It’s the easier less frictional choice, so you can’t really blame the people. Short term gratification for long term pain. An endless spiral that will torment your conscious and splinter the relationships with those closest to you. The reality remains, as long as the mind is a cluttered and unattended mess, magnified toward distraction, a certain mindful peace can almost never be achieved.
Wherever you go, there you are, or rather – wherever you go, there you aren’t [3]. A distracted mind lives outside of the present. Alternatively, a healthy mind can be characterised as stable, temperate, and sufficiently capable of withstanding distraction, not so easily lost to the wind. “Living the focused life is not about trying to feel happy all the time, rather it’s about treating your mind as you would a private garden, and being as careful as possible about what you introduce and allow to grow there.” – Winifred Gallagher [4].
Let’s create a gameplan to help fortify your mind. What are some practical adjustments everyone (and anyone) can make in their own life? The best line of defence is to quieten the mind – sort through the mess of thoughts and attend to what is more meaningful (to you). You must create adequate time and space to enquire – hence make sure you don’t burn yourself out from work or a ‘stacked schedule.’ No matter the circumstances you find yourself, there is always the possibility to create non-distracted time in contemplation (get off that doom scroll on your phone…)(see Entry 03).
Begin by careful and thoughtful introspection into your life. Thinking, writing and speaking through deep questions. What troubles you (now and from the past)? Can I learn from past mistakes or pain? In the grand scheme of life, where am I currently? Where am I going? Why am I here? What distracts me and leads me off course? If you can appropriately identify those distractions causing you anguish, work to try and remove them. Can I make tangible adjustments? Write down your answers, discuss with those you can trust. Make bad habits invisible, unattractive, difficult and unrewarding [5]. Implement good habits that create the opposite effect.
A few age old and effective practical habits that can improve attention include meditation and breathwork (often together). If you take a moment to sit (or simply be) quietly in your own thoughts, you won’t be the first to realise how hyperactive our minds have become. Just through the seemingly simple exercise of trying to be present or only attending to your breath, a scrambled brain can become more focused [6]. “A calmness develops with intensive concentration practice that has a remarkably stable quality to it. It is steadfast, profound, hard to disturb, no matter what comes up… You can only look deeply into something if you can sustain your looking without being constantly thrown off by distractions or by the agitation of your own mind… the ability to bring calmness and stability of mind to the present moment are put in service of looking deeply into and understanding the interconnectedness of a wide range of life experience.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn [3].
Read more books. This will often be a substitute for mindless consumption of media. A book is a form of slow media, books cannot hijack your attention to the degree apps, news or videogames can. Reading is also shown to stimulate neural pathways in the brain linked to memory, advanced cognition, and enhanced creativity [7]. You can’t go wrong assuming you read that which genuinely interests you and will keep you captivated. I recommend Digital Minimalism for those struggling to control their digital media use [8]. Meditations [9], Letters [10] are ancient books on stoicism that will help one better manage emotional temperament. Visit my reading list on my website for further recommendations [11].
Curate your environment. Surround yourself with likeminded people. Pay attention to how you feel with certain people. Align yourself with those that have similar values, reciprocate loving respect, and challenge you to be better. If the physical space is distracting i.e. you live in the (loud and busy) city but know you would prefer the (quiet and peaceful) ‘country’ (or vice versa) – make the steps to change your environment; or watch it change you…
I will leave you with a poem I wrote a while back during which my mind was looking for release from the noise in life:
Meditation is taking flight,
In the airspace of the mind.
Navigating clouds of thought,
Observing, accepting, feeling.
Flying between changing altitudes,
Engaging in a mindful dance.
The spark of an idea lights the sky,
Illuminating even the darkest of nights.
A fog at times engulfs the journey,
It can and will lead you off course.
Take heed, my friend, remain clam,
This too shall pass.
Breathe, attend to the senses,
Exercise the navigational wisdom within.
Your motion forward will reveal a path,
A great clarity amidst the noise.
References:
1. Thoreau, H.D. (1854). Walden. See Chapter ‘Solitude’.
2. Peterson, J.B. (2021). Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life. See Rule 3, Rule 9.
3. Kabbit-Zin, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are. See Chapter ‘Concentration.’
4. Gallagher, W. (2009). Rapt. See Chapter 3.
5. Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits.
6. Zeidan, F. Johnson, S.K. Diamond, B.J. David, Z. Goolkasian, P. (2010). Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: evidence of brief mental training. Science Direct. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1053810010000681
7. Wright, P. (2023). A must read: Physical and mental health benefits of reading books. Nuvance Health. https://www.nuvancehealth.org/health-tips-and-news/physical-and-mental-health-benefits-of-reading-books
8. Newport, C. (2019). Digital Minimalism.
9. Aurelius, M. Meditations.
10. Seneca. Letters from a Stoic
11. https://www.thewellszndlife.com/resources