State of Mind (689 Words)
Preface
This is not an argumentative essay like many others. I don't even put forward a theory, really. This is an observation of something I experience. I write it for three reasons: (a) I hope that in doing so I can codify and develop my understanding of it. (b) If any readers have additional thoughts to supplement me with, they might reach out and broaden my thinking. (c) It might prove interesting to read!
The State of Mind
There is a certain state of mind I sometimes find myself in. It is, among other things, where I need to be mentally to write, develop ideas, effectively self-regulate (to the degree I want to be able to, or at least in that direction), and other such things. Interestingly, I do not need to be in this frame of mind to deeply engage with writings. I can read papers and essays just fine normally. But getting myself to create new ideas and push myself is, for some reason, different.
It's hard to describe exactly what the mindset is. Or, rather, I don't know how. It might be easy. In fact, now that I think about it, it's probably embedded in a truism. Regardless, it seems to me like it's deeply tied to the idea of "being" I put forward in The Value of Art. That is, it feels as though this mindset is (or is a manifestation of) observing the nature of being. When I am in it, I can thus look at myself and my life in a way I would otherwise be unable to — I can reflect on my experiences from an objective analytical standpoint, and draw conclusions about the nature of being by virtue of observing it.
This certainly explains why I don't need it to read essays and such — that's purely knowledge based. And it makes sense that I can't write without it, at least not about things on being (and it explains why writing about such things will induce the mindstate). Effective self-regulation is interesting — it's not immediately clear why it's related to my frame of mind. The most likely theory to me seems to be that the way I motivate myself to do things is by understanding that they're the things I want to do, even if only in a broad sense. This is easier when I'm more holistically aware of myself, whereas when I'm not, when I'm more "in the moment," my immediate inclinations are stronger.
There are people who are just permanently in this mindstate. I don't understand how. It must be tiring. But I imagine it's a muscle, just like many other mental processes — hopefully I'll get there someday.
How I Get Into It
Given what I've said so far, it should be clear how important getting myself into this frame of mind is. The main way I've found should make sense at this point (and is, in fact, slightly circular — my previous theories were born as a product of this observation): pondering art. I don't mean looking at paintings; rather, I mean appreciating the presence of art in life, as mentioned in The Value of Art. I find it best to go on walks — it provides me with an array of enticing photographic subjects I can mentally frame, allowing me to shift into the framework of approaching life artistically, and thus appreciate the existence of the beauty intrinsic to life, revealing to me briefly the nature of being.
I suspect anything that reveals said nature of being would do the trick. Sometimes a shower provides the mental clarity required. Talking with others about topics which require recalling my intuitions on the topic often does the trick. These are all framed this way to align with the theory put forward, because this is how I think about it. But that doesn't mean they're correct. If you have a more developed (or even just different) idea on the same topic, let me know!
As a final note, I wonder if reading my past writing would induce this mental state. I'll try it tomorrow.
After re-reading: yes, this is the case.