Being an observer can mean a couple of things for me. Some ways of being an observer I am trying to cultivate. There are others I am trying to distance myself from.
Eckhart Tolle made me aware of the value of becoming a “watcher.” It was an important element and tool that I began to use to become more aware, more present. I especially became a watcher of what was happening in me. This included my sensations, my feelings, my thoughts. Almost like stepping back and seeing me and parts of me in a mirror. Strangely, by stepping back, being less caught up in my thoughts and feelings, I actually became more aware of them. In some ways I became more of a disengaged watcher.
This, of course, became an important element of my meditation practice. Sometimes I am almost stepping outside myself and observing what I am doing or feeling or thinking. The effect has been to intensify the feelings, the sensations, the experience of being present.
And there lies the paradox for me. By being more of an observer, I can be more engaged in what I am observing. This is true of my own body, everything and everyone around me. As a witness, I become more connected to the observed.
I don’t often like to become a “passive” observer of someone else’s imagination. Entertainment put on a screen is that for me. There are times for that kind of engagement, connection with someone’s imagination. There are times to be a spectator. I like to keep that at a minimum.
Paradoxical as it is, I do like and take delight in being an observer of myself and those around me. Then I am able, with abandon, to fall head over heels into that reality.