All In the Mind

Much of what we believe is an illusion. Framed by the stories we tell ourselves.

 

“Life is a dream. ‘Tis waking that kills us. He who robs us of our dreams robs us of our life.” – Virginia Woolf 

The more time I spend in solitude, simply being aware of my thoughts, the more I understand this quote from Seneca:

 

“We suffer more in imagination than in reality” – Seneca

Not only is what we perceive to be reality just an illusion, a lot of one’s suffering, unhappiness, angst, anxiety, and stress is self inflicted and all in the mind.

 

“Everything hangs on one’s thinking… A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is.” – Seneca

The rumination of one’s anxious thoughts is often more imagined than real.

 

“Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems” – Epictetus

Control your thoughts and control your peace of mind.

 

“You have power over your mind not outside events. Realise this and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius

However, at the point of depression or deep anxiety, if you allow yourself to drown in the misery your own thoughts, it can be hard to step back and detach and to say, “it’s all in the mind”.

Just like when one is depressed, it is almost impossible to feel any sense of gratitude.

Hence it is important to train the mind before you get into those tricky situations, because if you wait until you need to, it will almost certainly be too late.