Based on traditional and “new-age” philosophies, the mind is formed from a pile of several layers that each have their own function. Each layer is the result of our own mind construction. Therefore, if we know the right way, we can dismantle the construction again, for example when we feel the need to reconsider and change the motivations, ideals, sadness, and anxiety that have been buried in our hearts. Knowing yourself is the key to breaking through the outermost layers of the mind and unlocking the layers that follow. Knowing various aspects of yourself is a process that takes time. So, be patient and practice consistently to improve the state of consciousness in order to reach this stage.
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Part 1 of 2: Exploring the Subconscious Mind
Establishing the Right State of Mind
The following tips can help you achieve the peace of mind you need for introspection. For those of you who want to directly read how to do introspection, click here.
Step 1. Prepare the place
Diving into the bottom of the mind is not an activity that you can do over breakfast before heading to the office. This careful introspection requires time and focused attention. Before starting, find a place that is safe, comfortable, quiet, and free from distractions for a while. Turn off any distracting sounds or lights, if needed.
- You are free to choose the place as long as it feels peaceful, for example sitting in a comfortable study chair, on a mattress on the floor of an empty room, or even in the open.
- Many meditation courses suggest that this introspection is not connected to sleep activities, for example in bed because you can fall asleep.
Step 2. Free your mind from distracting things
Forget about anxiety or stress that weighs you down. Realize that whatever distracts you when you are fully focused on this introspection are just thoughts. Just like everything else, this thought can be ignored in favor of other, more important thoughts. There is no anxiety that is not created by you, so there is no anxiety that you cannot conquer.
This doesn't mean "pretending there's no problem," but acknowledging the problem and trying to work through the feelings that arise because of the problem so you can think of something else
Step 3. Practice meditation
Sit comfortably, relax and close your eyes. Take a deep breath slowly. Keep your back straight and straight so you don't fall asleep. Correct posture is of no use if you are asleep. Free your mind from harmful patterns of stress and anxiety. If a thought that triggers stress comes up, let it go while trying to realize that these thoughts are the result of the formation of the subconscious that you can control and ignore.
The topic of meditation has inspired many great writings. To learn more about meditation techniques in more detail, read the article How to Meditate or other sources of information about traditional Buddhist meditation
Step 4. Turn your attention inward
Get your mind back in order to start paying attention to yourself. Release all emotions. Realize that all your experiences, sensations, and feelings are the product of your subconscious mind. Everything inside and outside of you is the embodiment of your own mind. For example, the circumstances around you are just pictures that are formed and interpreted by your subconscious. Therefore, you can better understand life in general by recognizing the layers of the mind.
You don't need to watch closely or criticize yourself while doing this, but you just need to be aware that emotional pain or discomfort could be a sign that you haven't been able to free yourself from your emotions
Step 5. Try to get out of your comfort zone, if necessary
Use a different method if meditation doesn't suit you. There are people who more easily reach a state of transcendental consciousness by participating in activities they would normally avoid. In addition to providing long-term benefits, in the most extreme cases, an impermanent personality can change, making it easier to introspect later on. As long as you choose a safe activity, try one of the following instead of meditation:
- Doing some strenuous exercise
- Traveling in the great outdoors
- Public speaking or performing
- Tell someone about hidden memories or feelings
- Write hidden emotions in a diary
- Play paragliding or bungee jumping
Identifying Mental Layers
The following instructions are general guidelines for introspection. Know that no two minds are the same and the following steps may not necessarily work for you.
Step 1. Focus on the aspect of yourself that you project outward
The first layer of thought is the layer you use to present yourself in front of other people (especially people you don't know well). This layer is usually used when building elaborate shields to hide your true thoughts and feelings behind what you consider “good and acceptable” existence. Begin to recognize thoughts about “who you are to other people”. In order to understand the mental layers, you must understand the characteristics of these layers before finding their source.
- Start by thinking about the following basics:
- "My name …"
- "I live in …"
- "I work at …"
- "I like this, but don't like…"
- "I want to do this, but I don't want to do…"
- "I like these people, but I don't like people who…"
- … etc.
- The memories, experiences, and life principles you will discover through this or other means in this section will be very useful. Take note of important things that come to mind during this exercise, especially as you explore mindfulness in depth. A digital recorder will be very useful so that your concentration is not disturbed because you have to take notes.
Step 2. Start observing your routine and habits
By observing your daily activities through a frame of mind during introspection, you can recall the unexpected. Let your mind replay the events that fill your daily life while thinking, “What do I feel because of this incident? Why did I do it?” In this way, it will be seen how far your true self has been trapped in these repetitive behaviors.
- Consider the following examples of thoughts while noting that they are all very mundane. Like most people, your mind is usually more focused on things that are less important.
- "What time do I wake up?"
- “Where do I shop for my daily needs?”
- “What do I eat every day?”
- “What fun activities do I do at certain times of the day?”
- “Who would I find more fun to spend time with?”
Step 3. Find thoughts about the past and the future
How did you achieve today's condition? What is your life purpose? Many things will arise by answering these questions honestly. Experiences, people, goals, ideals, and fears usually affect us not only for a moment, but have lasted from the past, present, into the future while continuing to shape us over time. Therefore, understanding who you were and who you were can give you a better picture of who you really are.
- Focus on the following questions:
- “What activities have I done in the past? What exactly do I want to do?”
- “Who has or have I loved so far? Who will I love in the days to come?”
- “What have I done to pass the time all this time? How do I want to spend the remaining time?”
- “How have I felt about myself all this time? What do I want to feel about myself in the days ahead?”
Step 4. Explore your true hopes and desires
Having outlined some of the important aspects about yourself as discussed above, you can now reflect on who you really are. Start by looking for aspects within yourself that have been no You show others. These could be views that you hide, feelings that you find difficult to express, or perhaps there are many more parts of your “self” that you don't show in your daily life.
- Think about the following examples of questions:
- “How do I really feel about the things I do most of as a daily routine?”
- “How sure am I of my future plans?”
- “What memories or feelings do I think about the most without other people knowing?”
- "Am I keeping a certain wish secret, but I can't fulfill it?"
- “Do I want to have a certain feeling?”
- “Are there feelings I keep secret about those close to me?”
Step 5. Reflect on your perception of life
The way you view the world and life is one of the main layers that make up who you are. In fact, that perspective is the single most important aspect of your personality because it influences how you interact with anything: people, animals, nature and yourself, of course.
- To identify your perspective on life, use the following sample questions that address humanity and life in general, for example:
- “Do I think people are inherently good/bad?”
- “Do I believe that people are capable of overcoming their shortcomings?”
- “Do I believe in that particular belief?”
- “Do I believe that life has a purpose?”
- “Do I have any hope for the future?”
Step 6. Reflect on your perception of yourself
Direct your mind to start paying attention to yourself until you find out what you really think about yourself. This layer of the mind is the deepest layer, but we rarely give time to think about how we feel about ourselves. However, these thoughts can affect cognitive patterns and quality of life more than anything else.
- Don't be afraid of baseless beliefs that can greatly influence you by deeply knowing your thoughts. This will usually be a very helpful experience to have an enlightening experience, although the process can be very emotional. In the end, you will complete the introspection with a better understanding of yourself.
- Try to consider some of the following. After answering the second question etc., remember the answers to the previous questions again.
- “Am I criticizing/praising myself too much?”
- “Are there things I like/dislike about myself when I see it in other people?”
- “Do I want certain things that I see in other people.”
- “Do I want to be the person I am today?”
Part 2 of 2: Improving Self-Image
Step 1. Find the cause of your self-image
Acknowledging the harsh reality of self-image is not the end of the introspection process. You can make improvements by doing deep reflection. First, try to determine the cause of your self-image. You can find the cause, maybe not. You can't necessarily explain why, no matter how hard you try. If so, try to admit that you feel the way you currently feel about yourself "for some reason." Once you realize that self-image always has a reason (even if it's hard to define), then you can correct it.
Step 2. Prioritize the important things in your life
If you're like most people today, a bad self-image may be formed by putting too much emphasis on things that are of no value or benefit to you. In fact, you can live a happier life and have a better self-image by removing attachment to these things. If you no longer pursue it, your life will be stress-free and allow you to concentrate more on the things that matter most above all else, namely yourself and those closest to you.
- Things that are usually considered very important today, but have little effect on true happiness, namely money, material things, social status, and so on.
- On the other hand, many other aspects of life that we often sacrifice just to take care of things that are relatively less important, for example: personal time, worship, personal projects, friends, and family. In fact, strong family ties have been scientifically proven to bring greater happiness than a high income.
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With this in mind, a list of the main things that need to be prioritized based on their importance is as follows:
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- Child
- Couple
- You
- Work
- Friends
- hobby
- Riches
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Step 3. Decide to what extent you want to pursue the things that matter most
Unfortunately, people sometimes neglect the main things on their personal priority list (eg a strong sense of ethics) in favor of something less important (eg owning a private car). The purpose of this step is to determine how hard you are trying to achieve the things at the top of the list, even though you realize that this may mean sacrificing the things at the bottom of the list.
The following examples are taken from literary works that can illustrate this well. In the book written by Shakespeare entitled "Othello", a character named Othello kills Desdemona, the woman he loves, because he believes his friend Iago who says that Desdemona is having an affair. In this case, unfortunately Othello is provoked to give up on what he considers the most important thing in the world, namely the woman he loves. He made this decision because he puts personal honor and reputation above all else. Prioritizing things that really can't bring happiness turns out to be fatal for Othello, and at the end of the story, he commits suicide
Step 4. Find freedom from the things you can and cannot change
Once you've determined what you want to do to get the most important things on your list, get to know what you can and can't achieve. Therefore, there is no longer any reason to maintain a negative self-image because now you have a plan to get the most important things for your own life. So you just need to act! A negative self-image is useless, so you don't need it anymore.
Step 5. Start letting go of the unimportant things in your life
In reality, suddenly letting go of the things you think is important will usually be difficult. To work around this, you need to be able to admit that you're putting your energy into the wrong things and then come up with a plan for improvement. Make a plan to let go of all the unimportant aspects of your life in order to focus on the most important things mindfully.
For example, if you realize that you are in the habit of spending more time worrying about work than hanging out with your family (when in reality, your family is more important to you), you may not be able to change jobs immediately if there are other family members who depend on your income. However, you can start looking for a new job while still fulfilling your family obligations
Tips
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There are several philosophies about the same concept as discussed above. To get a better understanding of yourself, you can study some of these philosophies yourself:
- Ananda Marga: A social, lifestyle and philosophical organization founded in India in 1955.
- Psychology based on Freud's theory: The belief of a psychologist named Sigmund Freud who in his theory divides the mind into three layers, namely the id, ego, and superego.
- In addition, many modern metaphysical movements (eg the "Slaves of Conditioning" philosophy) deal with layers of the mind.
- To broaden your knowledge, you can study mental philosophies that oppose layers of the mind theory. For example, the famous Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas rejected the theory of the existence of layers of the mind because he believed that cognitive abilities are formed by several interrelated ideas in mind, body, and spirit that are united in the heart of every human being.
