Last week’s conversation with a spiritual colleague led me to ponder the nuances between introspection and self-reflection. As someone deeply involved in psychological maturation and personal development, I lean towards ‘self-reflection.’ This article aims to clarify these concepts and illustrate how both play a crucial role in understanding oneself.
Understanding Introspection
Introspection is the initial step into the realm of self-awareness. It involves observing your thoughts, feelings, and sensations in a non-judgmental way, like quietly watching reflections on a lake’s surface.
Introspection has its uses but is not to be the main tool for self-development. Introspection can bring insights through observation. Just by observing your thought and emotions you can see how you react to them and learn to detach from them. There is a lot of power in observing as it shows you to identidy the source of your experiences and allows you to let things go much more easily.
Lots of talk around mindfulness and presence is centered around this concept of Introsepction. Introspection seems to be a much more eastern concept as it is prominently highlighted when discussing meditation. The feeling I get when thinking about introspection is a feeling of receptivity. You observe and allow for insights to come to you from observation.
The point I want to make here though is that self-reflection is more connected to psychology in the sense that it is more active and thoughtful.
The Deeper Dive into Self-Reflection
While introspection allows us to observe our thoughts and feelings, self-reflection takes us further, asking us to engage with and understand these thoughts and feelings. It’s like diving into the lake to explore what lies beneath the calm surface.
When you dive into the lake you can find yourself questioning a lot more. Self-reflection is more suited for self-understanding, as we engage with our psyche we come out with a deeper understanding of why we do what we do.
Self-Reflection in Practice
In my practice, self-reflection is an active dialogue with the soul. During shadow work, I often hear a voice, engaging in inner dialogue. This voice helps me analyze my actions and points toward deeper desires and fulfillment. Similarly, meditation, when approached with a self-reflective mindset, transforms into something akin to active imagination, allowing for deeper exploration of the self.
Journaling, too, plays a significant role. It’s in the flow of writing that I uncover hidden motivations and desires. It’s a method for sifting through the noise, revealing the truths lying beneath.
Common Challenges in Self-Reflection
Many find facing their inner selves daunting, especially when confronting repressed aspects. Self-reflection is a skill, not intuitive for everyone. It requires learning and practice. I’ve written about these challenges and why self-reflection isn’t valued as much in the culture at LucidLiving.
But to keep it brief the 3 main reasons why it can be challenging to self-reflect are the following:
- Self-reflection is a skill that must be learned
- The ego is not built to confront itself as it sees self-reflection as a threat to its existence.
- Self-reflection cuts people out from the herd, and many can find this scary. Many people find it daunting to think for themselves.
The Role of Feedback in Self-Reflection
Incorporating external feedback is crucial. However, it’s essential to discern which voices to heed. Learning to filter opinions through self-reflection and discernment is vital. I’ve learned to rely more on my internal compass, but this requires first developing discernment to avoid being ego-driven.
What I would recommend when dself-reflecting on people’s opinions is this:
Do not try to take people’s opinions into consideration until you have discussed things with your inner self. Your inner self has much more wisdom and a deeper understanding of who you are and what you want in life. People’s opinion can only get in the way of the dialogue with the soul so seek first to quell the noise and then become receptive to your inner voice. This is truly a process of introspection.
Once you have connected to your soul, then you can compare it to other people’s voices and make your decisions from there. I will say this for your sake – as it is something I have learned the hard way. Never become dependent on the guidance of others no matter how well meaning they can be.
Man’s biggest problem is that he seeks the opinion and approval of those who don’t even know themselves.
That is all I have to say on the matter for now.
Benefits of Regular Practice
Regular practice of self-reflection is transformative. It enhances clarity and purpose in actions, crucial for personal and professional growth. For me, weekly self-check-ins have been instrumental in building my business.
My recommendation for those starting their journey in self-reflection is this:
- Practice daily, 5-10 minutes a day of self-reflection can work wonders.
- Do not overwhelm yourself by trying to take many practices all at once, choose one and then add from there.
- The easiest one would be journaling, try to reflect on your day and when it comes to making important life decisions, try to journal all your feelings and doubts and then you will be able to answer your questions.
- You will find that dumping your emotions and thoughts on the page through free-writing allows you to clear your mind and then will give you the ability to find your answer once things have been put on paper.
Actionable Steps to Get Started
Begin by setting aside a few minutes each day for introspection. Gradually, incorporate self-reflective questions into your routine. Ask yourself, “Why do I feel this way?” or “What is this thought telling me?” Over time, these practices will deepen your self-understanding and enrich your journey towards personal growth.
Conclusion
In conclusion I would like to summarize the main points made.
- Introspection and self-refleciton are two different things that can both be used to benefit you in your spiritual journey.
- Introspection is a more passive, receptive practice of observation
- Self-reflection is a more active, engaging practice of dialogue and questioning.
- Self-reflection is important in self-understanding as it allows us to find out the reasons why we do things.
- The reason many people don’t self-reflect are because it’s a skill that needs to be developed and the ego does not like to be challenged.
- When beginning self-reflection, start small.
Thank you for tuning in! I wish you the best in your journey of self-reflection.