Why is it that we spend so much time paying attention to our thoughts and ignoring what is happening within and around us? To find out we need to dig a little deeper into the nature of the human mind.
Essentially, we experience the world in two ways: through our senses and through our thoughts. When we experience the world through our senses we’re using what we might refer to as our observer mind. When we experience the world through our thoughts we’re using our thinking mind.
The observer mind receives sensory information – those things we can see, hear, taste, smell and feel. The observer mind can only observe. It’s our attention. This state of mind is sometimes referred to as the ‘witness state’ or ‘consciousness.’ It is awareness itself.
The thinking mind is the part of the mind that reacts to what we perceive. It judges, analyses, comments, critiques etc… It’s the running commentary: the voice inside our heads.
| Observer Mind | Thinking Mind |
| Experiences the world through our senses | Experiences the world through our thoughts |
| Pure awareness of phenomena | Thoughts about phenomena |
| Direct experience of reality | Meaning-making: fantasy, opinion, ideas, judgments, commentary, rationalization |
| No commentary or judgement | Decides if things are good or bad, right or wrong, big or small etc. |
| Allows all thoughts and emotions to arise, play out and pass away | Can attempt to rationalize, avoid or get rid of unpleasant thoughts and emotions – to experience only pleasure by avoiding pain |
| Always present, in the moment | Ideas about the present, past and future |
| Experiences the future only when it becomes the present moment | Dwells in ideas about the future (speculation) and the past (memories) |
| Accepts (experiences) this moment as it is | Pretends things are ok or wishes they were different |
| Watches the ups and downs of life as they happen | Wants the ups without the downs or vice versa |
| Sees opportunities as they happen | Misses opportunities as they happen |