The Shadow at Work

The Shadow at Work

Thinking about thinking

On discovering the difference between my maniacal inner roommate, focused attention, and the still small voice.

Oct 23, 2026

Thought is not reality, yet it is through Thought that our realities are created - Sydney Banks

When I observe my own thinking, I notice that it comes in three different varieties.

  1. Thoughts that arrive uninvited and drag me down rabbit holes.

  2. The kind of thinking I’m doing as I write this: focused attention directed by me, with a purpose.

  3. The small, quiet nudges that turn up when everything else has gone still.

It’s all thought.

It’s all in my head.

But it’s not all the same.

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