Watching Your Mind
Watching your mind may sound strange. Don’t worry, it’s easy. In fact, it’s so easy that you already do it sometimes. The key is doing it consciously and more regularly. Watching your mind is when you observe your flow of thoughts from a distance. You know that feeling you get when it’s like there’s a camera in the back of your brain pointing forward? When your awareness is wide and calm, and you can see what you’re thinking and doing from above? I’m sure you know that feeling. You probably slip into that mode of awareness when you’re sitting around relaxing or doing a mindless task that’s keeping your body busy. Common times for this kind of meta-awareness to turn on by itself is when you’re going for a walk, doing the dishes, or folding laundry.
That level of awareness is appropriately called “the witness mind.” It means that you’re simply witnessing what’s happening in the present moment rather than being distracted by the drama of your thoughts and the performance of your identity. Developing a closer connection with this type of awareness is incredibly valuable. It’s the foundation of mindfulness. Being aware of your thoughts as they’re happening allows you to gain deeper insight into your feelings and increases your mental clarity.
What’s funny is that people usually assume “mental clarity” means that you aim to have a mind without thoughts. That’s not true. Mental clarity is having an awareness of what thoughts and impulses are arising in your mind so you can act with more self-aware intention rather than being blindsided by your conditioned reactivity.
Let’s do a quick experiment to help us get in touch with our witness mind.
Close your eyes, relax your body, and take a few calm breaths.
Simply start noticing everything that you’re aware of. Don’t try to force anything. Allow whatever that wants to come to your attention to do so. Open your senses.
Then, let it go and allow the next thing to arise.
Breathe calmly and gently. Imagine there’s a camera in the back of your head aiming forward. Notice the fragments of thoughts appear and disappear.
Feel the muscles in your body that are sending you random signals. Hear the sounds in the space you’re in.
Let it all flow by without trying to engage with it. Like you’re sitting on the beach, watching the waves of the ocean crash.
Be a point of awareness that exists in the present moment.
Do nothing but watch it all happen.
The more time you spend settling into this place of awareness, the deeper, more grounded, and self-aware you’ll feel.
Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed playing with your awareness, and now, I’ll tell you why I wanted us to do that experiment. Once you’re aware of the witness mind, it has a real habit of sticking around. That’s a good thing. When you’re more aware of what’s happening in your mind and less attached to the drama of it, you can go through life with a kind of “open awareness.”
Self-growth is self-discovery. By having an outside view of your thoughts, feelings, and actions, you can see yourself more objectively. That’s valuable because it increases your awareness, which gives you greater personal insight and allows you to discover what’s inside of you that you need to focus on. Being tuned into your witness mind will increase your awareness in the present moment, which helps you notice your behaviors, thoughts, and actions as they happen. That way, you can move through life with open awareness and notice in real time what you’re doing and thinking that may be out of alignment with who you want to be. By noticing these small nuanced things, you can hone in on them, clearly define them, and consciously work through them by revising your behavior patterns.
I’m excited to offer a new paid version of Clarity with Cory. I’ll send you an exclusive weekly newsletter, offer Q&As, and more. Plus, you will get access to a members-only chat group where we can connect, share, and grow together. See you in the chat!
