There are many who see philosophy as an activity that belongs only to academics, to great scholars, as if it were completely alien to anyone. The reality is that it is within the reach of anyone who is interested in reflecting in depth on something.

Philosophy is everywhere. In almost any situation or idea that approaches us, there is an intrinsic reflection that we can elaborate, and therefore, some consequences that we can arrive at later. For this reason, we are going to present here 5 philosophy exercises that anyone can do at any time. We have learned all of them in the book 101 experiences of everyday philosophy, by Roger-Pol Droit, published by Blackie Books. 

1 Find your Self

• "I" is undoubtedly one of the words we use the most in our day to day. Think about it, how many times do we find ourselves pronouncing it or inserting it into the sentences of our thoughts? With it we express our desires, emotions, projects, hopes, fears, decisions... There is not a single lucubration or step that we take that has not been accompanied by Me. And the most curious thing is that we all do it like this. This pronoun, which is the hook of our most intimate and personal singularity, becomes, however, an impersonal word, since we all use it the same.

• Let's try to find the I. Let's identify it... if it is

• For starters, what is it? Our body? His habits, his weaknesses, his physical qualities? No. We will never find it there. Our thinking? Its form, group or organization? Probably not either. In any case, they will be thoughts and associations impregnated by that idea of ​​I.

• Surely we will have realized that the Self is not, deep down, something or someone. It seems more like a habit, a relative accessory. We could almost say that it is the mortar that holds together all the pieces of "what we truly are", but that we cannot clearly identify it with something concrete. In this sense, his search becomes something profoundly introspective, which allows us and forces us to delve into the depths of ourselves, who we are and who we think we are, in order to unravel ourselves.

• Now, let's say that we have found it, that we already have an answer that we could say is adequate. What impact has the discovery had on our lives? We have changed? We are equal? It has disappeared? And if it has, how will we live in the future after making it disappear?

2 Walk in the dark

• Let's say that we have suffered a blackout and the light has gone out. Or that we have woken up in the middle of the night sleepwalking lost in a place that is not our bed. Or maybe we are moving around the house in the dark and in silence because we don't want to wake up or disturb someone who is sleeping. It doesn't matter. The fact is that we are in the dark in a room, known to be able to be, and we have to go to another. Ideally, it would be unforeseen, but it is not vital either.

• We will soon realize that the rules have completely changed. Without light, our points of reference disappear and neither distances nor obstacles seem to be subject to the rules they previously accepted. The room seems different and all we have left of it are our memories and a feeling of deep uncertainty.

• Security disappears. Before everything was fluid, easy and effortless, now each step is a question mark. Our calculations have lost the accuracy they once had. In the dark we no longer move quickly, but with small impulses, with outstretched arms, fearing at all times a blow that – and we are convinced of this – is just around the corner.

• Most likely, a feeling of deep frustration assails us. How have we become so clumsy? Is a blackout enough to live such helplessness? Is the loss of one of our senses so decisive for us? To add insult to injury, by now we'll have hit our foreheads against the door frame..

• Curious, isn't it? In reality, hardly anything has changed. The real world, as we know it, remains the same. Everything is in the same place and in the same position. And yet everything has become a hostile and threatening environment. In darkness we live in the same world as when there is light, but our experience changes radically in its absence. And we understand, sooner or later, that what we call "reality", "world", "normality" is nothing more than a very thin varnish that is terribly easy to remove

• An important part of meditation is remaining a "spectator" of one's own thought.

3 Live Many Lives

• We usually say that you only live once, but the truth is that many others fit in one life. If we get to it, we can multiply our experiences and memories. In fact, many do... without realizing it.

• To begin with, and even if it hurts, we have to lie. A lot. Systematically. We will have to make an effort even if we don't want to (it's for a good end). If we talk to a stranger, let's invent past experiences. If it is with a friend or family member, let's decorate the story, introduce unusual scenes or ideas.

• But we have to do it right. If we lie, let it be big. Let's add plots, subplots, characters, details, objectives, etc. Let's delete what doesn't contribute anything and take care of the narrative. And finally, let's repeat it countless times, to different people and different contexts. Let it develop by itself.

• After a while you will realize that the anecdote is part of you (it is possible that when you read this a similar case has already come to mind that you were not aware of at the time). We have told it so many times that if we tell it to someone again, they will not even doubt its veracity. It seems to be totally true. And it wouldn't be unusual for the same story to come alive outside of you when others tell it to each other. Those will no longer see your real self, but the false story that you created in the first moment.

• The point we have to reach is that in which we even doubt ourselves, when we are not able to ensure 100% which story was real and which was fiction. At that moment we will realize something deeply liberating: that the reality we say we have lived, our life, once it has passed, is nothing more than one more story. With some memories, some affirmations, some sentences and some associated feelings that are born from our own mind... the same as in our elaborate lie.

4 Shower with your eyes closed

• Don't worry, it's not about having epiphanies, or extrasensory experiences, or anything like that. Quite the contrary, the idea is to focus all your attention solely on the water, on the sensation of it on your skin, on its sound as it falls on your head. Try to keep that feeling.

• If your mind wanders, force it to come back. No thinking about your worries, no thinking about what you have to do next, no getting sidetracked and distracted by a fleeting idea. Comes back. Focus your mind on the here and now.

• Difficult? It certainly is. What you will have experienced is an example of meditation similar to what we currently call in the West mindfulness or "full attention". It is not about emptying the mind –as some believe–, nor about letting it wander freely –as others believe–. On the contrary, what we want to do in this exercise is to master it, practice to control it at will. In this way, we will avoid falling into thoughts that we do not want and, incidentally, develop that capacity for a few minutes until we easily achieve that our entire mind is focused on what it feels (in this case, the shower water). No past depressions or future anxieties. Just the present. The moment that passes

5 Reject an emotion

• If we do a bit of memory we will remember that, for a long time, the ideal of the wise man was to get away from emotions, to eliminate them. They were seen as a burden, a nuisance to get rid of, as they distanced them from a happy life, which at that time was nothing more than life without pain.

• With the advent of romanticism everything changed. Emotions were no longer considered bad, but the most important thing in life. They were great adventures, interesting experiences. Emotions were everything. Today we continue to live under that idea, but is that okay with us?

• Let's try to imitate the philosophers of Antiquity. Let's dare to change a life of emotional explosions and implosions for another more like a calm lake. Let's get away from the noise and the torment. Let's try by all means not to fall into the spell of sentimentality.

• More than one of you will already have realized that it is not easy at all. But it's not impossible. Faced with the scourge of feelings, it is difficult to think of anything else, but if we persevere, we can do it. When an emotion arises, let's not get carried away. Let's imagine it as an itch or swelling, which will disappear if we ignore it (as it happens many times in life). Let's look at it from the outside, let it pass and settle into oblivion. Let's not try too hard either, the less attention we pay, the better.

• Actually, the key to everything is deciding what ideal goal is the one we set ourselves with this. Do we want a life with joy and, therefore, with sadness? Ups and downs in mood? Pleasures and disappointments? One does not exist without the other, so if we choose this option we must accept the conditions. Or maybe we want option B? Peace, tranquility, reflection..., but renouncing, in exchange, enthusiasm, joy and happiness. One of two, there is no more.

• In the worst case we will learn to value both conceptions of life properly. At best, we will be able to consciously shift from one to the other when the time comes. Although, we warn, few are those who have achieved it.