The Stillness Project is about so much more than sitting still. It is about connecting with nature. Finding silence for a moment and allowing the earth to move around you. Becoming the silent witness of nature for a moment in your day. It’s amazing how much more you notice when you sit still and how it feels like the nature around you changes as it adapts to your presence and resumes its usually scheduled activities. Thru stillness you get to be a part of the natural world in its purest form.
This week I consider the impact of thoughts on the mind. What you invite into your mental space shapes the quality of our lives. Observe your thoughts and direct them towards peace and happiness.
Transcript:
I observe therefore I am
Marcus Aurelius once said, “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” We often overlook this simple yet profound truth, missing the opportunity to shape our thoughts and our life toward peace and harmony. How easily we get lost in our minds, how tempting it is to identify ourselves with our thoughts, to believe that we are our thoughts. So much so that the famous philosopher René Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am,” suggesting that our very existence relies on the ability to think. While I don't fully agree with this statement, I understand why Descartes arrived at this conclusion. Thinking is so deeply entwined with our sense of self, our personality, and our understanding of the world. It shapes how we perceive ourselves and everything around us.But I would argue that thoughts are simply the mind's way of existing. The mind’s job is to think, and as long as the mind is active, thoughts will arise. However, the self-the "observer"-is separate from those thoughts. The observer has the power to choose which thoughts to follow, and in doing so, shapes our reality.On a scientific level thoughts are the brains manifestation of an infinitely complex network of electrical pulses and chemical signals traveling down neurons and across synapses, combining in a specific pattern to form a thought. To define ourselves by a function of the mind is dangerous-it's like saying, “I filter waste from my blood, therefore I am.” Yes, the kidneys filter waste, but that process doesn’t define who we are. Similarly, when we attach ourselves to thoughts, we risk losing sight of our true essence. Instead, we should approach our thoughts the way the kidneys approach their function-process them and let them go. Don’t get stuck on the remnants of the past; let them flow. Take a moment, and just observe your thoughts, separate form them and observe them objectively? Imagine them as leaves floating down a river, passing by without needing to be gathered or clung to. Or think of yourself as an observer on the side of the road, your thoughts are the cars on the road: don’t get in the car and take the ride-just watch them pass. The key is learning to let go-to stop identifying with the endless stream of thoughts and reclaim our power as observers. Only then can we truly shape the quality of our lives, and in turn, our happiness.