[[Reflection MOC]]
Reflection through externalization¶
When we are reflecting through externalization we are partaking in activities that allow for thought to flow from within us, outward into the world. These activities allow us to externalize our internal state. This is useful as we are able to transform intangible things like feelings, ideas, moods and dreams into tangible things like words on a notebook, paint on a canvas, sound in the air or a taste in a food.
When these intangible things have been made tangible, they are now in the world. This is miraculous! We have taken something from another realm and made it real, permanent (in some sense), with the ability to now study it. Reflection through externalization allows us to put our internal state into the world so that we can further understand it and expand and refine it.
Examples of externalization activities: - Talking with another person - this is a fast iterative process where we get instant feedback on our reflections. - make sense through note taking - where we try to convert our internal state and thoughts into clear notes. - Drawing/painting/singing - it may be a lot easier to outwardly represent how we feel through artistic means before trying to articulate them into properly formulated thoughts (in Jordan Peterson's Biblical lecture series he speaks about the difference between what we know and what we can articulate).
These activities engage the mind on many levels. When we are forced to choose specific words, paints, songs, we clarify meaning to a closer representation of what we believe and feel. We get to re-experience the internal state, to maybe even process it into an articulate idea.