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I Think Therefore I Am

Rene Descartes the famous philosopher was not 100% correct when he said ‘’’ I Think Therefore I Am ’’. When you think you are the mind, the mind is a thought or a thought-form. A thought is an illusion and therefore when you think you are the illusion. An illusion is not real. An Illusion is a perception of yourself. But that perception may or may not be true. For example, if you believe you are not creative but others like your paintings, are you then creative or not? Yes, because you painted but your mind may think you are not creative (how many times do we criticize ourselves for something?). If you believe you are creative, and others say you are not creative, are you creative or not? It all depends on the perception that you have about yourself and the perception others have of you. Perception is an opinion or thought that may or may not be true.

Therefore the quote should be revised to ‘’I Think Therefore I Am NOT’’ because you are NOT your THOUGHT, you are not your mind, you are not your perception.


You are your spirit, your heart and your mind is a tool that you can use that helps your spirit to operate in the external world.

I Think Therefore I Am Not
I Think Therefore I Am Not


One of the problems we face in the world today is how we can go from thought towards the spirit and have them work in alignment. For example when you need to make a decision about your career. The common pattern is that you look into the external world for answers about what you should do next in your career. You think about contacting headhunters, or becoming a freelancer or becoming an entrepreneur and start your own business because that’s what you think you should do. The challenge here, however, is that your ‘’thought’’ who you think you are comes first and not your spirit. The consequence is that you may pursue a career based on thoughts or expectations, not in line with your values, your purpose or what brings happiness but just a means to bring money on the table. Money is important and we need it, but if it is not aligned with your spirit you will experience suffering.


 

 


In order to bridge the gap between your internal spiritual self and external world, your spirit needs to come first and your thoughts need to come second.

 

In my words of the Suited Monk, I call this, you need to develop your Monk and build a good Suit around it.

The way you can develop your inner Monk is through 3 ways:

  1. Values: Identify which values are important for you. Make a list of top 5 values. Then look at each value and identify in which area of your life are you currently making decisions not true to that value. Then brainstorm ideas on what changes you can make to get closer into alignment with those values.
  2. Intuition: When you apply for jobs and you are not sure if the company you plan to join is right for you, use your intuition. Your intuition is the inner compass that will guide you to make the right decisions.
  3. Purpose: Finding your life’s purpose is not a quick fix or an easy task. It is a process of self-discovery. The best way to go out about finding your purpose in life is to identify which natural gifts and talents do you have and how you can use those talents to make a career out or it.  


If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.

Rene Descartes


Going back to ‘’I Think Therefore I Am’’, once you found your purpose or path in life, then you use the thought or Suit or ego or mind to implement what your purpose or spirit is telling you. First, you need to go inwards, then outwards. For example, if you are passionate about nature and plants and you feel the passion inside you, then you use your thoughts on ‘’HOW’’ you can implement that passion into a career or job in the external world. For example, setting up your own flower shop, work in a park, develop food and nutrition products for plants, etc…

All wisdom and quotes require context, in the case of I Think Therefore I Am, the context is that the thought is how you operate in the external world and I Think Therefore I Am Not is the realization of spirit, who you really are.


If you enjoyed this article, in this 2-minute free quiz, you will find the answers you need to move forward in life to close the Suit – Monk Gap towards more happiness and purpose. Free Quiz ”How Happy Are You”. You will receive a report to help you identify how big is the GAP between your internal and external self today and provide strategies to close the GAP. Take your Free Quiz here 

Let’s connect on Instagram, where I’ll be sharing tools and insights on how you can live a happier life.

 

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About the Author

Raf Adams


Raf Adams is an entrepreneur, executive coach and author of The Suited Monk (El Monje Con Traje) and Suited Monk Leadership. He is the co-founder of GLO (Good Leaders Online), a boutique consulting firm specialized in recruitment and leadership workshops with a specific focus on helping people manage change and improve collaboration.

 

Originally from Belgium, Raf has been working in China for 12 years, from 2006 till 2018, working for an international shipping company and in 2008 changed careers towards training and coaching.

The Suited Monk is an International Trademark. I have a successful track record of 10 years delivering Suited Monk workshops and books in the Asian market. I am a speaker at International Universities such as CEIBS (China Europe International Business School) and work with global corporate clients including, British Petrol, GAP, BARCO, OCBC Bank, BASF, Philips, Mead Johnson, Bayer, Henkel on self-awareness and authenticity in leadership.  My articles have been published in The Economist Intelligence Unit, Forbes India and Korea Times. My book The Suited Monk is translated in English, Spanish and Chinese. It is successfully published in Spain in 2019 and will be distributed in Latin America through editorial Amat. I now live in Barcelona.

If you liked this message, you’re going to love the Suited Monk Community Group on Facebook. Want to learn more about the Suited Monk? Click here to get one of Raf’s books

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