A reader asked me the following question:
How do you begin embodying your philosophy when you've been disembodied for so long--and when there's so much philosophy still to learn?
I understand where he’s coming from. It’s this...
Or this:
My response:
A few thoughts…
Firstly, if you haven’t already, feel what it’s like to simply be embodied before trying to embody a philosophy. Meaning: know what it’s like to truly feel something. Acting classes helped me; somatic therapy or embodiment workshops help many others.
Secondly, once you have that embodied reference point, I recommend creating “based definitions.” Basically, really own your words—not just propositionally, but in a way that fully resonates with your body. If you do this with 100 words, especially foundational ones, you’ll have an “embodied philosophy.”
Thirdly, create a “minimum viable philosophy” (MVP) (see here and here), in which your based definitions form the foundation. Bias it toward the ethics branch of philosophy.
Fourthly, have a regular journaling practice for self-inquiry, where you create throwaway “theory sketches” to meet the moment. Ensure they align with your MVP.
Lastly, rest your mind. Focus on taking care of your body, being present in your relationships, and tending to practical affairs (“getting your shit together”).
I hope this helps.
The following is an educated guess, but I imagine a segment of my readers share certain traits:
Young, earnest in thought, and oriented toward goodness. They wrestle with bouts of shame, feelings of inadequacy, depleted energy, and a persistent sense of stuckness. They've been dubbed “overthinkers” by their peers because they respond to emotional discomfort by thinking it through. But since they care about truth and have a low tolerance for bullshit, they want to get to the bottom of things—so their minds can finally rest on something solid.
This often leads to a kind of scope creep, where thinking begets more thinking. Soon, they feel like they have to understand the entire universe before they can do what they already sense is best—like basic self-care: taking care of their body, being present in their relationships, and tending to practical affairs.
Maybe this isn’t an educated guess. Maybe I’m just projecting, because what I just described was me in my formative years: a young man caught in muddled thinking, loops within loops, weaving between countless academic disciplines, self-help books, and spiritual practices. I had many insights, but nothing to stand on. And, most centrally, I had an anxious body that wouldn’t shut up.
Anxious body = anxious mind, a therapeutic truism that holds up. And therapy, especially the somatic kind, can be a great help. Easing your body does ease your mind.
However, my main issue with therapy is that it often misses a philosophical opportunity. Yes, let us ease the body, but also let us cohere the mind, clean up these messy thoughts, straighten them out, and see what truths can be found.
Philosophizing was once a way for me to escape my body because it was a place too unpleasant to be. Now, philosophizing is a way to return to it. Many today are philosophically homeless, and it’s time for them to come home.
If one does not have bodily awareness, and cannot be with the wild nuance of their inner landscape, they will not be able to discern what is enlivening, salient, and resonant. Their “philosophy” becomes just an escape from feeling unpleasant things, an attempt to control the uncontrollable—namely, life.
To all the overthinkers out there: your overthinking will not be for nothing. Mine has proven to have exaptive benefits. It took years to cultivate a clear mind and arrive at a philosophy, and a way of doing philosophy, that allows me to see the limits of it.
Now, I am increasing my capacity to serve by helping others’ minds become clear, something I love doing.
If you're feeling philosophically homeless right now, hang in there. You can start with one word. Really feel it, and make it yours. Then, word by word, like brick by brick, you’ll build your home.
