recent thoughts

These past couple of weeks have been pretty challenging. Wrapping up the end of term and leaving for an independent study period with so. much. uncertainty.

The feeling of hitting a wall with my research has come and gone many times by now, but I am grateful for my tutors showing me that there is always another direction to explore.

This past week, I got the opportunity to connect with Psycho/Hypno therapist Sara Maude, as we dove into a wonderful conversation regarding consciousness versus self-awareness. The conversation was mind-blowing and left me with a lot of information that I am still processing.

The biggest takeaway for myself is that thoughts are literally just thoughts. We as humans have been living in the misconception that thoughts are our reality, but that is not the truth.

Thoughts are JUST thoughts. It is this sense of psychological attachment we have cultivated within ourselves that makes us believe that our thoughts are our identity, but who is the “I” we are referring to?

For example, today, I am feeling good. Who is that “I” that identifies with feeling good? Today, I am feeling sad. Again, who is the “I” that is feeling sad?

We have been living in the idea that the reality we live in is what dictates our thoughts, but it's the complete opposite. The thoughts we attach ourselves to dictate the view of our reality.

This goes back to the goal of my research. I want people to realize that we are not limited by anything besides ourselves. ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IS POSSIBLE.

Growing up, we are surrounded by people or environments telling us who to be, and even for me, that definitely can add to a loss of identity. “You can’t do this!” or “Be realistic” or “You cannot be that…”. It’s all the conditions that we have so strongly adapted to that we lose ourselves in it all.

Again, this is all something I am still processing. Sara discusses that this realization can be met with many “Yeah, but” moments (Maude, n.d). Thoughts that are trying to get us to attach ourselves to the comforts of the conditions we have been raised in. She describes that comfort means safety. And isn’t safety a big desire for all of us? Both internal and external safety.

Our conversation has been an ongoing reflection; it did help reframe my research question.

Instead of “How can conscious awareness of alternate universes enable us to explore self-positionality?”, I have revised it to “How can awareness of our state of mind enable us to embrace radical visibility?” I am very excited to see where this transition takes my research.

Until the next one.

Until the next one.

-P

References

Sara Maude (n.d.) The difference between self-awareness and consciousness. The Mind Solution. Available at: The Mind Solution article

Maude, S. (n.d.) [What’s The Difference Between Self-Awareness & Consciousness? (And Why It Matters)] . YouTube. Available at: YouTube video