How to Activate “Sage Mode”
“Some men have been worthy of a better century, for every species of good does not always triumph. Things have their period; even excellences are subject to fashion. The sage has one advantage: he is immortal. If this is not his century many others will be.” - Baltasar Gracián ¹
For centuries, sages have been the cornerstone of every civilized society. They are not only the masters of wisdom but the primary teachers of how to live—and how to die. Asking and answering questions about morality, the nature of human beings, our relationships with each other, God, and the State are the basis of all social, economic, and political institutions. That is why now, more than ever, the Western world needs a second renaissance—a new enlightenment—whereby we remain open to the best prospects of modernity while still preserving the best aspects of tradition. There is a reason perpetual progress is just as dangerous as regressive conservatism. Progressivists who implement ideas that have not withstood the test of time risk annihilating all the good that came before, while strict conservatists who reprobate new ideas that have the potential to do good risk eliminating a future that could be better.
What is the lesson we can derive from these two extremist positions?—it is that anything done for its own sake is rarely a virtue onto itself. Punishment for it’s own sake is sadistic. Pleasure for its own sake is hedonistic. Love for it’s own sake is inauthentic. Any action that is justified for its own sake, whether political or personal, is not only foolish but tyrannical. Often this pattern of self-justification stems from a lack of self-awareness. Thus, a sage must remain an objective observer and only appoint himself as arbiter when necessary. In the next section, we will look into one of the essential psychological techniques universal among all sages.
Every era in history has times of adversity and prosperity. We don't get to choose when we are born, where we live, or how we die. However, we can decide on how to deal with unforseen circumstances. Life's unpredictability is a given—it's how we live it that makes the difference. But how do we keep a stoic attitude when it seems like the whole world is falling apart? How do we maintain our composure amidst the insanity we see everyday in public and online? The answer is to not react to situations as they arise, but to respond to them accordingly.
One of the most common practices among sages is mindfulness—to think about one's thinking. In a recent science dissertation from Charles L. Miller, he explains that:
"Mindfulness is a concept that is thousands of years old and was until recently constrained to philosophical and religious contexts. Its inclusion into counseling and clinical psychology was relatively recent...The goal of meditative mindfulness is often to experience more fully, and to establish a sense of acceptance of that experience. It is phenomenological in that it focuses on the embodied and the felt, often pairing control of perceptual attention with detachment from goals, values, and other similar constructs...While meditative mindfulness might result in identification of an emotion’s physiological signs and nonjudgmental acceptance of the presence of that emotion, psychological mindfulness would go on to ask what an individual’s emotion might tell them about what is happening in reality and how they developed to feel and respond to that emotion, and to contextualize this information within that individual’s past and present values and goals. The grounding of psychological mindfulness in the justifying mind provides a framework for both fully experiencing and for sharing that experience in a social context." - Charles L. Miller ²
Psychological mindfulness has several benefits. One of which is to activate what psychologist, Gregg Henriques, calls the metacognitive observer (MO) or "sage mode."
"When one is in sage mode, instead of being consumed by one’s negative feelings, one can listen to what they are communicating and find the most adaptive path going forward...When we adopt the MO perspective, we can learn to see more clearly and respond more adaptively. Specifically, it allows us to see (a) the reality of the problem, separated from our distorted interpretations of it; (b) our understandable primary emotional reactions, separated from our secondary maladaptive reactions; and (c) the path toward our valued goals, separated from our problematic defense strategies." - Gregg Henriques ³
Practicing psychological mindfulness is one of the most effective ways to combat neurotic loops and negative emotions. When you reflect on your thoughts, instead of being consumed by them, you can recontextualize your emotions in relation to your situation. For example, when you feel intense anger or sadness, the immediate response is to release those frustrations out on either yourself or others. But by utilizing psychological mindfulness, you can remove yourself from the moment and catch a birds-eye glimpse of what is really going on. From an elevated persepective, you can ask yourself why do I feel or think this way? Is there a solution to my situation? In the grand scheme of things, does this matter? It is a simple but effective way in overcoming many of the neuroses and psychoses that affect much of today's society.
Once you learn how to activate sage mode, you can guide others to do the same. And the more we teach the importance of psychological mindfulness, the more likely we can preserve this ancient practice for generations to come. The sage is, according to philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"[T]he instructor of a hundred ages." - Ralph Waldo Emerson ⁴
Therefore, if you wish to develop self-awareness, you must study the great minds of both past and present. Learn to engage with yourself and others around you by staying attuned to every thought and emotion. Mindfulness is not a technique reserved for intense or traumatic moments, but a mindset you must maintain no matter the circumstances. Embody this technique and you will be one step closer to becoming not only calmer under pressure, but a wiser decision-maker.
