MEDITATION: 2. How to Sincerely Nurture Your Personal Philosophy
A personal philosophy is a set of beliefs that define a person and grounds their being. This set of beliefs is formed as a complex and organic mix of environment, genetics, and personality.
Everyone has a personal philosophy that they formed either as an organic but unconscious result of living life or as a conscious effort at understanding their core drives. Your personal philosophy determines your choices and your happiness. It is your moral compass and therefore a disconnect with your personal philosophy leads to internal conflict.
Meditating is looking deep within yourself to find the innate peace within. Therefore, for a fruitful meditation, you must examine yourself deeply to understand your personal philosophy and whether the notions you have formed align with your life view. This is a challenging task since you are likely to discover that you have been acting against your personal philosophy or that your personal philosophy is built on a shell of notions you do not believe.
This post covers:
- What is a personal philosophy?
- Why is challenging your personal philosophy hard?
- Why must you challenge your personal philosophy for serenity meditation?
- How do you start?
What Is a Personal Philosophy
A personal philosophy is an umbrella term that refers to all notions and beliefs that an individual holds true. What ideas, notions, and attitudes do you embrace to guide how you live life?
A personal philosophy is closely associated with an individual’s values because personal values influence your personal philosophy and vice versa. However, a personal philosophy means more than an individual’s values; it is the non-negotiable set of beliefs that a person comes up with to guide their life.
Human beings are intelligent creatures, and the curse of intelligence is constant mental rambling and analysis. We are thinking beings; therefore, we analyze and rationalize the purpose and worth of our existence.
Moreover, everyone’s thoughts are unique to them because thoughts are generated as a product of a subjective experience. In other words, what we think is personal, therefore, two people will have two different reactions when faced with the same set of circumstances.
As a result, your personal philosophy is likely subjective and often unconsciously built around false assumptions. Therefore, you must introspect to discover what and why you believe.
Why is challenging your personal philosophy hard?
It is hard to challenge your personal philosophy because it defines who you think you are and hence it is a challenge to the beliefs that ground your peace, hope, and future aspirations. Without a sense of self and hope in your future, your life will crumble.
To lead a life with some semblance of peace, we must come up with a set of notions that ground our being. Since we are thinking beings, we experience most of our reality through thoughts and ideas. We cannot concentrate, let alone bear with our existence, if we do not have the notions about our life in order.
A personal philosophy is formed as a complex mix of environment, personality, and genetics. This process starts from childhood, therefore most people subconsciously form a personal philosophy and stick to it even without critically analyzing it.
Challenging your personal philosophy involves rigorous introspection to discover whether you truly understand your core life beliefs, like your religion and morals. Challenging your religion is considered blasphemous by most religions and therefore a person would have to not only battle with rethinking their God but also fear divine punishment.
Therefore, this process is difficult and most people avoid it. Most people would rather just hold their wrong beliefs than introspect to discover the extent of their fault. They do not wish to discover the depth of their deception and would rather die in their ignorant bliss, however fragile it is.
Why must you challenge your personal philosophy for serenity meditation?
You must challenge your personal philosophy to rediscover who you truly are. Challenging your personal philosophy is similar to challenging the notion of who you are. It is a painstaking task that may leave you a totally different person.
Meditation for serenity demands you connect with your inner self, free from superficial standards and notions. You cannot achieve such a meditative capacity if you have not nurtured a sincere personal philosophy.
When you meditate, you are guided by your personal philosophy to the root of inner peace. You then discover that all you need to be happy is within you and not somewhere external.
Having a personal philosophy that reflects a sincere and objective search for truth is key to a fruitful meditation.
How do you start?
You can only challenge your personal philosophy by sincere introspection. You must gradually but steadily observe your behaviors and ask why you behave how you do. The following is a list of how you can start your rigorous introspection:
Adopt an attitude of objectivity
You must strive for truth, and the truth is not subjective. The problem with a subconsciously developed personal philosophy is that it is based on assumptions and secondary sources of information. You must question all your assumptions with extreme skepticism.
Nothing should be taken for granted. Question your religion, your morals, your sexuality, your political affiliations, and even whether your path to enlightenment is important. This is a critical stage in enlightenment because once you question these core notions of yourself, you decide whether you want to follow the path of truth or whether you would rather continue living a lie.
Follow these doctrines to adopt an attitude of objectivity:
- Nothing is sacred
- Question everything
- Research the relevant topics
- Do not be afraid
- Maintain objectivity
Remember that this is a skill you will hone to improve your introspection.
Embrace Criticism
You can never be completely right; therefore, you must accept and embrace any positive criticism you encounter. Embracing criticism is difficult, especially when your sense of self is under attack. You should recognize that your reaction to criticism is a defense mechanism of the ego.
You should navigate your irrational reaction in the face of criticism by taking a step back from the situation and analyzing it objectively. When you objectively assess your situation, you will realize that the criticism is direct at your false perceptions rather than you as a person. In addition, you will begin to understand that you have a misconstrued perception of reality that you have subconsciously identified with.
When in the sincere search for a personal philosophy, you must understand that other people can easily notice your faults than you can. Encourage an atmosphere of honest feedback, and cultivate an attitude of detaching from your ego to benefit from interaction with others.
Find a Spiritual Leader
You will need a spiritual guide on the spiritual journey you are about to embark on. Find a spiritual guide with a philosophy that most aligns with your personality, and start from there. As you question the core beliefs of this newfound philosophy, do deeper research to find answers.
You can never achieve ultimate self-knowledge because it is a lifelong journey that you must sincerely undertake. Finding someone you admire or respect who has been on this journey longer than you will cut your learning time in half.
A spiritual leader will show you what to avoid and how to strengthen your resolve. But, most importantly, a spiritual leader is a living testament that you can achieve true self-awareness with practice and discipline.
Connect With Nature
There is something about nature that soothes the mind and leads us to peace. Find time to consciously observe and connect with nature by going for a walk, sitting quietly at a park, going to the beach, or star gazing.
Being present in nature takes your mind away from your problems and lets you ponder the marvelous natural beauty.
Disconnect from your smartphone and introspect in the woods, park, or close to a water body. When you take a step away from the hustle of modern city life, you will instinctively feel calmer and ready to introspect. Reconnect with your natural self.
Start Right Away
There is no formula to meditation. Do not hesitate; waiting for divine inspiration or a life-changing experience to get started. Start and correct your mistakes and false assumptions along the way. Good luck with your journey.
