What is philosophical meditation?

Philosophical meditation is a technique that helps individuals confront and untangle their thoughts, based on Western philosophical traditions.

How long should I practice philosophical meditation?

Ideally, set aside at least twenty minutes at least once every few days.

What questions should I ask during philosophical meditation?

Focus on three main questions: What am I currently anxious about? What am I upset about, and with whom? What am I currently excited and ambitious about?

What is the purpose of philosophical meditation?

The purpose is to clear the mind, confront unexamined feelings, and gain clarity about one's thoughts and emotions.

How does philosophical meditation help with anxiety?

It helps by allowing individuals to articulate their anxieties and confront the worst-case scenarios, making them feel more manageable.

What should I do if I feel overwhelmed during meditation?

It's important to write down your thoughts without overthinking and to take your time sorting through them.

Can philosophical meditation improve relationships?

Yes, by addressing unresolved hurts and misunderstandings, it can help improve communication and emotional clarity in relationships.

What are the benefits of philosophical meditation?

Benefits include reduced anxiety, clearer understanding of emotions, and a better sense of direction in life.

Is philosophical meditation a replacement for traditional meditation?

No, it is a complementary practice that can be used alongside traditional meditation techniques.

How can I start practicing philosophical meditation?

Begin by setting aside time, preparing a pad of paper, and asking yourself the three main questions.

Philosophical Meditation

00:06:45

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VJI0ecVO6c

Summary

TLDRThe video introduces philosophical meditation as a method to address and untangle thoughts that contribute to mental distress. Unlike traditional meditation, which focuses on quieting the mind, this approach encourages individuals to confront their anxieties, upsets, and ambitions through structured questioning. By dedicating time to reflect on these areas, individuals can gain clarity, reduce anxiety, and better understand their emotions. The process involves writing down thoughts, analyzing them, and confronting fears and resentments, ultimately leading to a deeper self-awareness and a clearer direction in life.

Takeaways

🧘‍♂️ Philosophical meditation helps untangle thoughts.
📝 Set aside time for self-reflection.
❓ Ask yourself key questions about anxiety, upsets, and ambitions.
🧠 Writing down thoughts aids in clarity.
💭 Confront worst-case scenarios to reduce anxiety.
🤝 Address unresolved hurts to improve relationships.
🌱 Gain insights into personal desires and ambitions.
🔍 Understand that fears and resentments can be named.
🕊️ Create a calmer, clearer mind.
🚀 Start the journey to knowing yourself better.

Timeline

00:00:00 - 00:06:45
The video discusses the concept of meditation, particularly focusing on a technique called 'philosophical meditation' that stems from Western philosophical traditions. It highlights that many mental troubles arise from unexamined thoughts and feelings, leading to anxiety and insomnia. The practice involves setting aside time to reflect on three key questions: what one is anxious about, who one is upset with, and what one is excited about. This process helps to untangle thoughts, confront anxieties, analyze interpersonal conflicts, and explore ambitions, ultimately leading to a clearer understanding of oneself and a calmer mind.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

What is philosophical meditation?
Philosophical meditation is a technique that helps individuals confront and untangle their thoughts, based on Western philosophical traditions.
How long should I practice philosophical meditation?
Ideally, set aside at least twenty minutes at least once every few days.
What questions should I ask during philosophical meditation?
Focus on three main questions: What am I currently anxious about? What am I upset about, and with whom? What am I currently excited and ambitious about?
What is the purpose of philosophical meditation?
The purpose is to clear the mind, confront unexamined feelings, and gain clarity about one's thoughts and emotions.
How does philosophical meditation help with anxiety?
It helps by allowing individuals to articulate their anxieties and confront the worst-case scenarios, making them feel more manageable.
What should I do if I feel overwhelmed during meditation?
It's important to write down your thoughts without overthinking and to take your time sorting through them.
Can philosophical meditation improve relationships?
Yes, by addressing unresolved hurts and misunderstandings, it can help improve communication and emotional clarity in relationships.
What are the benefits of philosophical meditation?
Benefits include reduced anxiety, clearer understanding of emotions, and a better sense of direction in life.
Is philosophical meditation a replacement for traditional meditation?
No, it is a complementary practice that can be used alongside traditional meditation techniques.
How can I start practicing philosophical meditation?
Begin by setting aside time, preparing a pad of paper, and asking yourself the three main questions.

View more video summaries

Get instant access to free YouTube video summaries powered by AI!

Subtitles

Auto Scroll:

00:00:00
Our minds give us trouble.
00:00:02
And one of the leading ways people nowadays deal with them, is meditation.
00:00:07
Sessions where you quieten thoughts, empty the mind,
00:00:10
and focus on just a few things outside of you
00:00:13
like, the rustle of leaves, or the flow of water.
00:00:18
But, at the School of Life, we want to put forward an alternative,
00:00:22
or, rather a complementary idea.
00:00:24
We've devised a technique, based not on Eastern thought,
00:00:28
but on ideas that come down to us from the Western philosophical tradition.
00:00:33
We call it, a "philosophical meditation"
00:00:37
The basic premise is that a lot of the trouble in our minds,
00:00:41
comes from thoughts that haven't been untangled, examined, and properly confronted.
00:00:47
And that because life moves so fast, we accumulate a lot of un-thought thoughts
00:00:52
on a daily basis.
00:00:54
Insomnia, for example,
00:00:55
is chiefly the revenge of thoughts we havent had in the day.
00:01:00
Muddled, unfocused thoughts generate a static of anxious electricity,
00:01:05
or else give rise to clouds of nonspecific gloom.
00:01:09
If we've been out of touch with our thoughts for too long,
00:01:11
we can get snappy or suddenly enraged.
00:01:15
This, is what philosophical meditation is designed to help us with.
00:01:19
It's a tool for systematically clearing up our minds,
00:01:23
and making sense of our disavowed feelings and ideas.
00:01:27
The first priority, is to set aside a bit of time.
00:01:30
Idealy some twenty minutes at least once every few days.
00:01:34
You should sit, probably in bed, early in the morning,
00:01:36
or late in the evening, with a pad of paper,
00:01:39
and ancher your investigation of yourself around 3 large questions.
00:01:45
Firstly: "What am I currently anxious about?"
00:01:49
Secondly: "What am I upset about, and with whom?"
00:01:54
And thirdly: "What am I currently excited and ambitious about?"
00:02:00
At first, when asked to respond to question like these
00:02:03
the mind tends to be inarticulate and a bit scared.
00:02:07
Generally, something comes to mind, but often you can't quite tell what it is yet.
00:02:12
It might, just for now, be a word, or a mental image, or a place, or a persons name.
00:02:18
This doesn't matter.
00:02:19
Grab the ideas when they're there without thinking too much, write everything down,
00:02:23
however minor, and don't worry too much about it's ultimate sense.
00:02:28
Philosophical meditation can be compared to cleaning out a large, clogged-up cupboard.
00:02:33
You have to take everything out and pile it up on the bed first
00:02:36
before starting to sort it out.
00:02:39
So, to kick off, under: "What am I anxious about?"
00:02:42
You might accumulate a list of concerns you haven't looked at head on,
00:02:45
but have glimpsed in the course of the day.
00:02:48
It'll be nonsense to anyone else,
00:02:50
and perhaps almost to yourself too, but keep going.
00:02:53
With all the thoughts taken out, then past and through the sieve of a set of questions.
00:02:58
Ask: "What is this anxiety really about?"
00:03:02
Tell the story of the coming anxious period or challenge in great, almost tedious detail.
00:03:09
Then, confront head on everything that could go wrong
00:03:12
with the worrying situation or idea.
00:03:15
Now tease out how you might still be OK, even if the worst happened.
00:03:20
Don't cheer yourself up with false optimism.
00:03:23
Make yourself at home with the darkest possibilities.
00:03:26
Realize that almost everything is ultimately rather survivable.
00:03:31
Then, it's time to move on to the second part of the philosophical meditation;
00:03:36
the bit where you ask the second big question:
00:03:38
"Who am I upset with and why?"
00:03:42
The theory here, is that we often don't allow ourselves
00:03:44
to analyze the hurts that we receive from other people
00:03:48
because we're humiliatingly vulnerable and pretend we're not.
00:03:52
Yet we pay for this false stoicism dearly.
00:03:55
For undigested hurts generate bitterness, confusion,
00:03:59
and misdirected aggression.
00:04:01
We might go cold on our partners, with whom we're unknowingly furious.
00:04:06
So, empty the cupboard of the mind of all its multiple hurts.
00:04:11
Take all you've written, and pass it through the following set of questions:
00:04:17
Retell yourself all of the upsetting incidents you've faced,
00:04:20
in great detail, as if you were telling them to an extremely kind, interested
00:04:25
and patient friend.
00:04:28
Then ask:
00:04:29
"How might a nice person have end up doing what this person did to you?"
00:04:33
If they weren't actively mean,
00:04:35
What other explanations could there be for the hurt they have caused?
00:04:40
Lastly, if this would happen to a friend, how would you advise them?
00:04:45
Next, it's time to take out of the cupboard of the mind all the thoughts
00:04:48
that relate to ambition, and excitement.
00:04:51
This needs a range of positive emotions,
00:04:53
tremors of interest, tentative enthusiasm to lights and so on
00:04:58
that are hovering on the edges of consciousness.
00:05:01
Ask: "What recently made you feel excited, envious or desiring?"
00:05:06
There's then an another set of questions to sieve these feelings through.
00:05:10
Describe your excitements as if to a sympathetic, interested friend.
00:05:15
You need to change your life in certain ways,
00:05:17
so, what would it be, to change your life in the light of this?
00:05:22
This exciting thing holds clue to whats missing in your life, what might be missing?
00:05:27
If this thing could talk, what might it tell you?
00:05:31
If this thing could try to change your life, what changes might it advise?
00:05:36
If other parts of your life were more like this, what might they be like?
00:05:40
Answering all these questions starts the vital work
00:05:43
of decoding the scrambled thoughts, that normally clog up our minds.
00:05:48
The longer we've gone without doing one of these mental audits,
00:05:52
the more there will be to go through.
00:05:54
Philosophical meditation doesn't magically solve problems,
00:05:58
but it huuugely helps us, by creating an occasion
00:06:01
where we can identify our thoughts, and get them in some kind of order.
00:06:06
Fears, resentments, and hopes become easier to name.
00:06:09
We get less scared of the contents of our own minds
00:06:12
we grow calmer, less bitter and clearer about our diection in life.
00:06:16
We start, at last on the journey to knowing ourselves properly.