I just posted yesterday’s post onto LinkedIn, and as I was writing the intro, some hashtags popped up, one of which was introspection. Today’s post is all about introspection, how to do it, what it is, and 7 keys to Introspection for the beginner philosopher.
What is introspection?
Introspection, (from Latin introspicere, “to look within”), the process of observing the operations of one’s own mind with a view to discovering the laws that govern the mind. In a dualistic philosophy, which divides the natural world (matter, including the human body) from the contents of consciousness, introspection is the chief method of psychology. Thus, it was the method of primary importance to many philosophers—including Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume, James Mill, John Stuart Mill, and Alexander Bain—as it was to the 19th-century pioneers of experimental psychology, especially Wilhelm Wundt, Oswald Külpe, and Edward Bradford Titchener.
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This definition is a little complex, so let me rephrase what Britannica is saying;
Understanding your mind
For the purpose of the 7 keys to introspection, the definition must be simple and contextual. Introspection is a method for understanding your mind, who you are, and your personal experiences.
Key #1 – Leave your ego out of it
When commencing introspection, it is important to see your mind in a trinity; picture a three headed dragon. There are parts of yourself you want to leave out of introspection, specifically your ego.
What is your ego?
The ego is a term used in psychology to characterize your critical self.
The stronger the ego in you, the more likely it is that in your perception other people are the main source of problems in your life.
A New Earth page 119
I highly recommend reading Eckhart Tolle’s book as it is pertinent for the crisis we are facing right now. He talks about the ego more in-depth and discusses the collective human insanity which is incredibly interesting as we are now all facing a crisis that is aiming to heal that dysfunction.
To bring this back to the first key to introspection, we have to leave the judgemental and critical part of ego out of it. Introspection is a form of understanding and reflection with the goal of recognizing patterns of behaviour, or experiences and understanding the role these play in defining who you are today.
Key #2 – Self reflect
As a teenager, I would always write about the situations in my life in order to process the craziness of things. This process of reflection helped me understand how I felt about the stress in my life at that time. Self reflection is a tool from the philosopher’s tool box because it allows us to practice introspection and accept responsibility for our role in situations occurring in our life.
In education, reflection is used as a method of comprehension which is highlighted in Canadian curriculum policy. Asking questions while learning, and then reflecting on the learning process is helpful to understand materials without a critical lense. It also helps to identify areas of strength and areas for improvement.
Key #3 – Follow through by practicing
After self reflection, and without the ego’s critical approach, it becomes more fun to follow through by practicing introspection all the time. The idea is in perpetual motion, the self is constantly being created and destroyed.
The follow through on action proves to be more difficult for someone like me. I enjoy considering possibilities and identifying key areas of improvement, but when it comes to implementing the strategies of improvement, part of me gets in my own way.
The self-reflection process and consistent introspection allow you to overcome that part of yourself. For years, I called my running habit consistently inconsistent and it confused me because I could keep the habit for 30 days, or more, but all of a sudden I would stop for 3 months.
It usually aligned with a trigger, or lack of desire to run, which points to the value of self-reflection as a tool for identifying this area of improvement, and understanding where my language comes from.
Key #4 – Be aware of language
The words we choose are called semantics and are responsible for a large branch of philosophy which looks at language in particular and the different kinds of words. My particular stance on semantics is about the meaning of one word versus another. I enjoy this by finding two words that are alike in meaning and comparing them, concluding with why I choose to use one over the other.
Consider the language tools of tone, voice, mood, and many others that allow the writer to create a certain feeling, emotion, and visualization for the reader. This is the same with the words we speak and the Universe.
We are the speaker, the Universe is the listener.
Key #5 – Seek deep wisdom
I got a new book recently called The Daily Stoic which is clearly a philosophy book. It has 365 days of meditations with a quote from a stoic philosopher from Ancient Greece, or Ancient Rome, and the author gives a little summary of what to focus on for that day.
I started on the date of today, May 19, and couldn’t help but read ahead! Tomorrow the focus is to consider how much knowledge is out there, the consistent amount of new books being published, the vastness of google books and other sources of information. The problem Holiday sees with this is Quantity vs. Quality and we often see this contrasted in society.
What I take from this today, is the push to seek deep wisdom, over surface level information. It’s similar to friendships, where you have deep conversations about what it means to be alive, versus a friendship where the comfort is discussing the latest instagram celebrity fail. The contrast is imminent as with one you know the person’s soul, and there is deep connection, instead of a surface level discussion there is a vast universe for friendship to explore.
Seeking deeper wisdom is a key to introspection because it propels you to learn about the mind, learn about yourself, and ponder the different ways we are a trinity of mind body and spirit.
Key #6 – All you do is for the greater good
I spent a lot of my university career learning about justice, consciousness, and identity, but within that it also focused on the First Nations peoples in all areas. I am blessed to learn how First Nation justice is different from Canadian Justice, and I call it holistic justice because of the idea that one person is part of a greater whole, healing one heals many.
The 6th of 7 keys to introspection is to act for the greater good because understanding yourself leads to understanding how you are connected to everyone and everything in this world. It sounds weird, however, the Universal mind is understood by First Nations people who generally consider 7 generations ahead, and 7 generations past when making decisions. This philosophy of looking back and looking forward requires the practice of introspection because of the reflective approach.
Key #7 – Maintain optimism
The final of 7 keys to introspection is to maintain optimism. When introspecting on oneself, it is important to maintain an optimistic outlook toward oneself, and toward the process of introspection as a whole.
It may be hard to be honest while writing self reflections, with the practice of following through on improvements and seeking deeper wisdom over shallow advice, the process will become easier. It’s more fun if your outlook stays optimistic, as semantics remain important to introspection, so do your thinking patterns.
Leave your ego critic out of the room while introspecting and think positively and without bias as you go through these steps.
Remember…
These are my 7 keys to introspection, other philosophers may have different ideas of how to practice introspection and that’s ok. It’s also important to remember that psychology is based in philosophy of mind, and duality is not a necessary view, but one of the more probable ideas that a large amount of people agree with.
These keys can be used in any order, practicing introspection can also be done through yoga practice, where your being in your body allows for the removal of ego and can be followed by mediation. I choose to use writing as my meditation of self reflection because that is what I taught myself to do.
I’ve also been enjoying using video as a method of extrospecting on myself. I find that videos give me a better understanding of who I am and what I’m trying to do than words can. The combination of seeing my physical self and hearing my own voice helps to boost my confidence because I can see the actions I’ve implemented from introspection taking place through embodiment and action.
I hope you enjoyed reading about the 7 keys to introspection. Leave a comment if I helped explain what introspection is! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Facebook!
With love and light,
~~~ stay true stay weird ~~~
~~ Kristina