"We suffer more in imagination than in reality."

This quote is attributed to the Roman Stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca. It remained etched.

It reflects a fascinating dimension of our mind—virtual. Our brain has the amazing ability to generate thoughts in series. They follow one another, capturing our attention and our body's reactions.

The world is what we think of it

We do not react to the world or events, but how we interpret them.

This interpretation stems from our beliefs about how the world works, which have been forged from our upbringing, values, and life experiences.

What exists in our mind is not the world as it is, but our way of explaining it.

In this mental universe, our thoughts collide with our beliefs so that we can discuss and explain them.

Once they have passed through the filter of our analysis, they acquire this strange ability to "imprison" our attention and our entire being.

To invent a problem

Your brain has already invented a problem that will never arise, and you cling to it while imagining the worst consequences. Then, your blood pressure increases, your heart rate accelerates, your breathing becomes rapid and shallow, and you sweat more. This problem was invented by your brain, which has just taken possession of your attention and your body. It possesses you.

In case you haven't noticed, our brain is connected to the rest of our body through a nervous and hormonal system. The body does not react to events; it is how our brain explains them. When the neurons sound the alarm, the body responds accordingly.

A virtual world

All this commotion takes place in a virtual world. A brain that invents thoughts to which we cling, whose consequences we amplify, leading us to sink into our inner world. Without realizing it, we accept invented thoughts as real.

Our minds can roll all day from negative thoughts to negative thoughts without ever realizing that we give absolute power to the virtual inventions of our neurons.

We believe in our thoughts, nurture them, "cherish" them, and amplify them.

We suffer more in imagination than in reality.

Detachment

The day we understand this, we regain a rarely talked-about power: the ability to observe our thoughts and realize that many are nonsense.

This detachment that allows us to say something like: "calm down, this thought doesn't make sense and is useless," frees us from the stress and mental suffering that we impose on ourselves.

Of course, we will never stop thinking. There will always be useless thoughts that want to cloud our minds. That's why "detachment" must be practiced daily to become an automatic reflex. It's like developing a muscle; it takes regular training.

The power to change our world

The goal is not to eliminate all negative thoughts from our virtual mental world. We must understand that we can remove their power and use it as often as necessary.

Let's aim to become happier in thought and reality. Isn't that what we all deserve?