#self contemplation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

know-the-self · 6 months

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The thinker of thoughts is merely

Another thought.

The one who knows this is

No longer in his own way.

-Wu Hsin

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mise-n-abyme · 6 months

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「 We owe it to ourselves to live a good life, one of prosperity; one of integrity, of honor and devotion. To be a pupil and steward to the Brothers and Sisters still struggling to make it out of the dark. 」

"Through the journey, the Work is never completed; for it sheds layers upon each new beginning, pushing through the begrudging embers which we feel surrounds us, as greatness is made out of the most vulnerable of Man; to those whom are brave enough to have chosen to make this journey walk alone along the darkness where the end is seemingly nowhere in sight, and the shadows scream around one, dancing; flickering with illusion. This journey lies awakened in a constant battle of mere tribulation, where Man shall indeed witness the test of ones Might streak across a dimly emblazoned path of self–sacrifice; narrow, with subtle stability. Man wearingly proceeds along a tightrope to the path of ones destiny; the path of ones Will, reflecting illusions of shadows.

Shall one allow it to consume the formidable essence of their being, or shall they proceed to initiate an illumination of ones light; to cast a shadow of a few, yet be a fractal of many? It is there at the crossroads where it lingers once more, upon a stillness, performing it's dance amongst the darkness as it begins to dissipate; for it sees the light of Man now touching the edge of an ephiphany, one which greets an open field to the light of a new dawn. The realization of one who has survived tribulations of the night. A moment of rest insues; insight upon the danger of what could of been at a moment nearly out of sight. Through the rings of darkness, it lays dormant at the edge of the forest haze; giving its decrepitory gaze upon Man, as they shall too meet once again; but for now, beyond the face of a new phase, one begins their trek closest to the riddles end of its maze."

~Mise-n-abyme

Artwork: Alex Grey –'Nature Of Mind', 1995

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your-heart-is-a-treasure · 6 months

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Man sacrifices his health to make money, then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. He is so anxious about the future, that he doesn't enjoy the present. And he lives as if he's never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.

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claryteatoetwo · 1 year

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To understand any part of the world, reality, or existence, you must understand the totality of existence itself, for the total field of spacetime is one being and all within it effects all other parts, as well as the whole itself.

To separate an idea, concept, or object away from the reality in which it interacts, and say that you can know anything about it without recognizing what you have done, is humanity’s greatest shortcoming.

Science attempts to understand reality by observing the objective. Religion attempts to understand reality by observing the subjective. Both fall short in the attempt to put the observations into words, thus pitting both perspectives against each other. These ideological pathways have their relevance, merit, and, when practiced, contain the possibility of enhanced living standards, but with that they both also contain the possibility of limitation.

If they are used as the sole practice of an individual to the extent that they contradict, ignore, or shun other possible ideologies within existence then the overarching ideology is assumed to fall short in its ability to explain all of existence.

This self-limiting implementation of science, religion, or any other ideology is what will keep it from becoming a path that exposes the reason for, or meaning of, life.

#books #literature #musings #dark academia #insights #philosophy #reading #life #consciousness #psychology #ideology #existence #existentialism #reality #science #religion #self contemplation #writing #writing ideas

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gatewaytojannah · 8 months

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annekesthoughts · 1 year

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the existentialism of mindfulness

my self-conceptual journey has been a chaotic one. starting last year, i've been trying to be who i am; moreover, trying to find who i am. throughout my childhood, i've based my core beliefs and goals on a defined set of attributes upon which i've formed my personality. back then, i thought this would be enough. if i stuck to these core principles and outlooks then i would be true to myself. in reality, personality runs much deeper than this.

i first started contemplating this when, after covid and subsequent hours a day spent on tik tok and other social media platforms for over a year, i noticed my friends and i acting the same way. not because we spent time together, but because of the personality traits made "popular" on tik tok and instagram. this almost immediately catapulted me down a spiral of trying to figure out who i was outside of social media's sphere of influence.

as a person, i'm very hesitant towards and aware of society and its' all-consuming nature. how it seeps into our opinions and affects how we view certain things. how we presume we have one idea, but upon hearing the opinion of the masses we immediately change our entire belief system. this stretches many aspects of life, from fashion to things as vital as laws and ethical justifications.

while trying to figure out who i am, i thought: "why don't i just do whatever the fuck i want to do and say whatever the fuck i want to say". i started to incorporate the idea of optimistic nihilism into my life and thought that if i acted as if nothing mattered, then the way i behaved would surely be authentically me. and oh baby, if only it were that easy. because at first look, even when one thinks they're doing this, there's a good chance they're still doing what they "want to do" in the context of other people and society's judgmental eyes. this is at least true to me, a people pleaser, in how i believed i was doing what i wanted to do when in actuality i was acting in a way that was best received by others. studying psychology has only cemented this retrospection, as i've been learning that our sense of self is formed by unconscious feedback received by the people we interact with. this led to me outwardly posing opinions i didn't truly believe in and saying things i didn't actually mean. this was made clear in an interaction i had the other day, where a friend presented one opinion to which i agreed, and upon my agreement, he reminded me that earlier i had said the exact opposite. later that night, i traced the steps of the opinion i had first stated and discerned that it was one i never even believed. this exchange made me question the nature of the ways i behave and the things i say in social interactions.

following this, i've become determined to be more mindful, and instead of defining who i am with concrete characteristics, simply take the time to respond according to what i actually think. however, when throughout your life you've formed opinions in light of others, it can be extremely difficult to think of yourself outside of society's grasp. this may present one with an existential conflict, the dreaded question of "who am i, really?"

in my educational track, we have to take a history of psychology class where we learn about the philosophers and their philosophies that lead to what we now know as modern-day behavioral and cognitive psychology. descartes is a dominant figure in this, and his axiom "i think, therefore i am" has never been more true to me than it is now. this axiom has more history behind it than i'm able to cover in this essay, so i'll let britannica summarize it: "because even if an all-powerful demon were to try to deceive him into thinking that he exists when he does not, he would have to exist in order for the demon to deceive him." and i think this applies almost exactly to the impact of society on our self-concept. in this case, society is the demon "tricking" you into thinking a certain thing, but the mere fact that you can think proves that you are your own entity, capable of existing out of its range of influence.

now, to apply this axiom directly: if you give yourself time to think (outside of the range of society, which i acknowledge is more complicated than simply stepping out of its reach), then you give yourself time to form your own ideas on the situations you find yourself in. instead of being a perception -> response robot, responding the way that you've learned is best received by other people, you can think: "how do i actually feel about this? how do i think is actually the best way of handling this?" and that is how you can begin to handle things in ways that best suit you, as a unique entity.

going a step further with this, i propose the buddhist truth of the ever-changing self, anatta. this belief states that we humans don't possess a non-changing soul, and the personality that we think is solid, we only cling to out of the fear of change. clinging to this assumed personality is what begins our spiral away from our actual beliefs, whether they're conscious or unconscious.

to clarify, i'll provide an example: say you've been raised to believe that stealing is wrong. this is what your parents have taught you, and what you've grown to believe in yourself. now, after years of believing this, it's now developed into a core ethical principle. this is, until you find yourself in an ethical dilemma. in a store, you catch someone stealing food, and they explain to you that their family is starving and they have no money for a meal. this leaves you feeling a cognitive dissonance. you've been raised with the idea that this is wrong, but you still maintain your empathy for this person. a person who was afraid of changing their personality would go down the route of judging this person, or even more extreme and reporting them. a person aware of the ever-changing soul would lean on their empathy and let them go, changing their belief to now accommodate situations such as these, or even reframing their principle altogether.

of course, this is only one situation among the many that we encounter daily. but, this ideology can transfer to any situation in which one may find themselves needing to reevaluate themselves or their attitude.

so, after the many months of introspection i've oh so neatly laid out in this short essay, i've come to a (still very open-to-adaptation) conclusion that to be true to yourself outside of the influence of others, it is best to employ all of the methods i mentioned. optimistic nihilism, the axiom of "i think, therefore i am", and the buddhist belief of anatta, all together. i've found that adopting these philosophies/ideas in isolation has led to confusion and feeling like a knotted ball of yarn that just gets more knotted as you try to untangle it. however, that's not to say that i'm untangled, in the slightest. the journey to self-discovery is lifelong and requires thought and consideration, but it's worth it.

i've decided to write an essay on this because i've been seeing that many people are confused with who they are and who they want to be, especially on social media. i hope this essay provides some comfort that it's okay, and your journey is in the hands of the wind now. let it carry you.

disclaimer: i am in no way deeming myself an all-knowing figure. this is only what i've concluded from my own research and contemplation.

okay, maybe by the end of this essay you feel a bit of information overload, especially if you've never considered these things before. so, i'll wrap it up in a nice little bow.

TL;DR:

society is an all-consuming beast who, to reach who we are, we need to escape.

utilizing optimistic nihilism to achieve an accurate self-concept is only useful when utilizing it in a mindful way.

descartes' axiom "i think, therefore i am" is applicable even now in the perspective of society, and to be yourself you have to think before you speak.

the buddhist truth of anatta frees you from gripping onto your self-assumed personality.

#self concept #self contemplation #descartes #who am i

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heresmyjourknee · 1 year

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Noise

Just like any other night, I tried so hard to sleep as usual. It's hard for me to initiate sleep, and as a doctor, I diagnosed myself with early insomnia disorder. Just like any other night too, the moment I try to fall asleep was also a brief getaway from the burnout feeling, exhaustion, tension, headache, and any other negative emotions brought on by the events of the day.

I shut my eyes in that pitch-black space.

“This tranquil feeling," I thought, "is definitely calm" /sure it is calm, as it's past midnight at the moment/

“Everyone has slept, putting off their burden“, repeating me in my mind. Today's noises were finally stopped, as it is swallowed by the earth. Several hours later, they will reappear tomorrow in new yet quite identical forms.

"It's calm", I repeat in my mind.

“But, is it truly calm?”, I asked myself in a monologue. I believe everything is relative. So, "Is it truly calm?", with my closed eyes, I feel the surroundings.

“Or, Some undetected noises were present along with the noises we made throughout the day. The noise of worship from the things I never imagine could be “busy”. The plants, animals, falling leaves, stones, wandering winds, or even the air that moved at every inch of my skin. They are busy, the whole day until that night when I attempted to sleep off my exhaustion through the sleep. They are busy, as always.

"'Everyone/thing' is busy the whole day but me", argued me within my closed eyes.

"I was pursuing this and that all day, but I neglect to include Him. I'm frantic with ambition. While I was drowning in the hustle, I interrupted my day by going to sleep so that I could restart the same pattern and hustles the following morning. And the world remains there, solemnly, praising Him with an inaudible sound. On this peaceful night, despite my best efforts, the world continues to make unabating noises in praise of Him.

- Widya Gladiantari, Bekasi, Indonesia, 25/2/2022, 11.41 WIB -

#self contemplation #thoughts #reminder

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therapy-bites · 1 year

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TherapyBites Podcast NOW AVAILABLE on your favorite pod player!

It’s all about the Psychology of EveryDay Life & Relationships.

BRAND NEW episodes + BONUS:

E10. The MAGIC of Making Matters Worse: The Psychology of Catastrophizing

E9. Hallows, Haunts, & Scary Places: The Psychology of Halloween (p. 2)

E8. Ghosts, Ghouls, & Scary Faces: The Psychology of Halloween (p. 1)

E7. Myths, Monsters, & Scary Stress

E6. Spirits, Unsafe Spaces, & Other Tales of Terror

E5. Zombies & Depression Quicksand

E4. Barking Werewolf Ruins the Day

E3. Spooky Tales, Scary Therapy, & Staying Psychologically Safe

E2. Scary Stories from the DARK RECESSES Beneath the Therapy Couch

E1. Bonus Intro Episode

*NEW EPISODES WEEKLY*

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#therapybites #couchcrumbs #psychotherapy #relationships #neuroscience #docheath #bitesizedtherapy #cognitive science #neuropsychology #forensic psychology #depressionhelp #depression #self esteem #self worth #selfhealing #self contemplation #self help #zombie #quicksand

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tempcour · 1 year

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Cuán importante son nuestras promesas? Cuánto peso se le da a un voto? Si en la impermanencia de las cosas, se es arrastrado a cambiar de ideas y objetivos que se ajustan a la necesidad del momento, se puede entonces ser capaz de mantenerlas? o sólo hasta que Dios en su misericordia infinita abra una puerta dentro del tiempo mismo, como una oportunidad que te guiña el ojo e invita a cumplirlas? Cuál es la frecuencia con que vemos esas oportunidades? Realmente las advertimos?

#oracle #reflection #the vow #promises #kairos #cards #self contemplation #moonday

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queenalliadvypuss41 · 2 years

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Days of contemplating really hit me hard sometimes! I often wonder, how did I get right here, in this place, right now?

#sensitive #witch #psychology #self contemplation #right jere #this place #right now #poetry #aesthetic

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your-heart-is-a-treasure · 2 years

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Do we need to be at the end of our lives, or be faced with our own mortality, to appreciate time, to seek wisdom, truth, and knowledge?

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claryteatoetwo · 1 year

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here’s a quick question,

what do you do when you’re bored?

take a nap. scroll through reels, binge that one series, sway to your playlist, perhaps even blow the dust off that old book you once read and fell in love with and now that you try again it feels different, unrecognizable, like your ex-friend. listen, i tried all of it. even writing; or the same things in different combinations.

but what do you do when you’re still bored?

hit up a friend, drown yourself in nostalgia, meditate on death, contemplate life, what are we even alive for— yeah, philosophize. you know, i tried all that too.

so what do you do when you’re still bored?

life. that gentle breeze you never consciously feel on your skin, until it ceases, and you’re confronted by an eerie stillness. you recall all you’ve lived through but never felt absolutely alive. an accumulation of past, mysterious and impending future, and between the two is your breath, right now.

inhale, exhale.

one cycle at a time.

hear yourself breathe,

hear yourself die, slowly.

so life is nothing but— ah, f*ck it, i just took a dump out of pure boredom, listening to tool. too graphic? well, then i’m sorry you’ve to go through this now, after my years

of philosophizing. i’m just trying to explain the extent of my boredom.

now, what do you do when you’re still bored?

you just waste other people’s time.

and i just tried that.

thank you for reading.

#literature #writing #poets of tumblr #poetry #poetries #musings #reflection #insights #reading #life #self contemplation #philosophy #dark academia

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hazynostalgicbuttercup · 2 years

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People we love

These days I've been wondering a lot about the people that I love, loved and will love in the future. How does one say that they love somebody? How do we know that we love this person for who they are? Do we really know them? Or are we just in love with who we think the person is?

Do we fall in love 'with someone' or just this idea of them that we make up in our minds over time?

#literature #poetry #dark academia #love quotes #love thoughts #pastel #moon #taylor swift #folklore #chaotic academia #self contemplation #love and other words #self realization #selfless #creating #perception #understanding #feelings

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meowlovers · 2 years

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#cat #tiger #felines #water #power #water reflection #cats #self contemplation #pets #pet

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