Philosophy For A Quiet Mind
Who doesn't want a quiet mind? I think most people do, although many don't even realize it. It's the reason we drink, smoke a joint, binge-watch series on Netflix, and check our smartphones. We want an escape from our overencumbered minds that torment us with repetitive thinking patterns about what happened today and what might happen tomorrow.
A patron named Jacob asked me for philosophical ideas we can use to quiet our minds and basically feel less overwhelmed by daily life. So, I turned to different philosophers for answers. In this video, I will share some interesting things I found. First of all, I want to thank a brand new patron named Norbert for donating to me. I very much appreciate it.
Now, for starters, let's do some backwards thinking. If our goal is achieving a quiet mind, we should find out what exactly causes a noisy mind first. So, let's dive in. The Stoics observed that a noisy mind is caused by desire and aversion in regards to things that are beyond our control. Stoic teacher Epictetus emphasizes that we should unconditionally accept everything that is beyond our control. Also, if we are able to seek good in every situation, it doesn't really matter how life has been and how life will turn out. So, there's no need to worry or ruminate.
That's why we shouldn't encumber our minds with grasping at one thing and averting another. We should fully embrace what comes at us instead. Epictetus explained this beautifully, and I quote: "Remember that you must behave in life as at a dinner party; as anything brought around to you, put out your hand and take your share with moderation. Does it pass by you? Don't stop. Is it not yet calm? Don't stretch your desire towards it, but wait till it reaches you."
The idea of amor fati, which can be translated as the law of fate, is a useful reminder to embrace whatever happens to achieve tranquillity. We shouldn't let our minds linger outside the present moment. So often, unfortunately, people do this all the time, chewing over past events even if they occurred many years ago and worrying about what might happen in the future. The Stoic teacher named Seneca said about this, and I quote: "Wild animals run from the dangers they actually see, and once they have escaped, they worry no more. We, however, are tormented alike by what is past and what is to come."
A quiet mind comes without strain. A philosopher, Alan Watts, who is famous for bringing Eastern philosophy to Western audiences, argued that the act of thinking puts strain on our minds because thinking is a linear process that goes slower than what our consciousness picks up through the senses. So, it takes effort for our thoughts to keep up with reality. He said, and I quote: "The more we tend to live in a world of thought, the more we tend to live in an abstract world that is removed from and has a gap between it and the real world of nature."
What's observed is that as a result of this, we tend to live in a world that is unsatisfying and lacks vitality. A Danish philosopher from the 19th century made a very similar conclusion. Among the writings of tormented soul Søren Kierkegaard is a masterpiece named "Either/Or." In a chapter of this book called "The Unhappiest Man," Kierkegaard stated that the most unhappy man is the man who has the fullness of his consciousness in some manner outside of himself. He said, and I quote: "The unhappy man is always absent from himself, never present to himself. But one can be absent obviously either in the past or in the future. This adequately circumscribes the entire territory of the unhappy consciousness."
The observation of the young Kierkegaard touched on the essence of the noisy mind, which is being outside ourselves, thus in the past or in the future. This is surprisingly similar to Eckhart Tolle’s teachings about living in the present moment. He said, and I quote: "Most humans are never fully present in the now because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now."
If life is never not now, then thinking about anything else other than now is an act of being outside of life. Sometimes it's necessary to step outside of life for a moment to plan for the future or to learn from past mistakes. However, when planning becomes worry and the worry becomes anxiety, and when learning from mistakes turns through repetitive reflections leading to destructive emotions like shame, guilt, and remorse, we know that the mind is lingering in the wrong places.
So, how do we achieve a quiet mind? The solution is amazingly simple: think less. Here's a quote from the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita: "For the one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends, but for the one who has failed to do so, his very mind will be his greatest enemy." Therefore, Eastern traditions are very much concerned with training the mind. The Buddhists call a noisy mind a monkey mind because like our thoughts, a monkey jumps from tree to tree.
The practice of meditation is a way to tame the monkey mind by observing our thoughts in order to let them dissolve like clouds in the sky. Achieving a quiet mind takes practice, but only with a clear mind can we live in the present moment and fully immerse ourselves in the dance of life. Thank you for watching.