”Don’t just look; see.”

Sitting with oneself is much more than just being alone; it’s about being present with your thoughts, emotions, and sensations without judgment or distraction. This practice not only creates space for introspection and renewal, it’s a moment of calm.

Don’t just look at the world; learn to see beyond what is apparent to the eye. There lies an immense wisdom in-between the words, the shapes, the stars. Oh, dear human, if you only knew everything you already are.

How to Practice Sitting with Yourself

Starting this practice of ”sitting with yourself” may feel uncomfortable, especially if you’re used to a constant stream of activity. But like any skill, it becomes easier and more rewarding with time. Here’s how to begin:

1. Start Small

Set aside just five minutes a day to sit quietly. You don’t need any special equipment or a perfect setting — just a space where you can be undisturbed for a few minutes.

2. Focus on Your Breath

Let your breath be your anchor. Pay attention to its rhythm as it flows in and out. When your mind starts to wander (and it will), gently guide it back to your breath without judgment.

3. Observe Without Judgment

Notice your thoughts and emotions as they arise. Instead of trying to suppress or change them, observe them as if you were watching clouds drift across the sky.

4. Be Patient with Yourself

At first, sitting with yourself might feel awkward or even unsettling. That’s okay. The discomfort is part of the process. Over time, you’ll build a deeper sense of self-compassion and acceptance.

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At times freedom has little to do with the outside world, and circumstances. Man becomes free the moment he becomes free of thought. When he does not longer obsess over the constant chatter in his mind, but instead turns towards the heart.

Freedom from compulsive thinking, desire, addiction, outside validation, and constant approval.

How does one become free of all that?

One needs to stop. One needs to allow himself to slow down, to listen. When one is constantly bombarding himself with stimuli from outside sources it becomes nearly impossible to hear, or see anything.

How is one able to listen to the whispers of the soul if one is continually caught up in the outside circus? How is it possible to become aware of the song of the heart when the sirens of the external environment is set on full volume?

One does not typically feel comfortable sitting alone with one’s thoughts. To realise just how dysfunctional they have become. How embarrassing to notice all the bitterness, jealousy, self-loathing, judgment caught up inside. To notice how the ego has a tight grip around one’s soul. Trying everything in its power to defend its weaknesses, to numb out its cries for love.

To have oneself rise above one’s thoughts is, however, the challenge. To know that one isn’t at the mercy of one’s thoughts, but actually the witness of the same. To be able to step outside them – observe them for what they are.

Merely thoughts.

This, however, can be very daunting.

One does not want to be the person, filled with all the negativity inside. One does just anything to shut it down. Yet, one does not get rid of the negativity by turning away from it, by numbing out the pain with drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, shopping or whatever one wishes to turn to.

Rather, one turns towards it. One allows it in, accepts it. And in that moment of acceptance one notices that it actually has no power. But that one indeed has the power to release it, to let it go.