The term Monk Mode has been subject to many interpretations.

However, I will attempt to provide one more on the basis of mingling the term’s etymology and its modern use.

The word monk derives from the Greek word monakhos, which means alone. A monk is a person who voluntarily decides to isolate himself from mainstream society and embrace an ascetic lifestyle.

Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures and the pursuit of spiritual goals. It is the abrasion of an impulse-dominated state and the immersion in a reality characterized by self-control and balance.

Monks have been practicing asceticism mainly for religious purposes. Their aversion towards contemporary societal values led them to asceticism as the only way to escape human nature and achieve theosis, or union with God. For God is the manifestation of spirituality and enlightenment.

In our modern epoch, monk mode has been re-emphasized as a way to describe our attempt to cope with fortification of ourselves from ongoing external stimuli.

Our proclivity to exposing ourselves to a plethora of situations, opinions, and activities leads to mental disorientation and lack of control over our emotional state.

We weren’t really ready to embrace the luxuries and possibilities of the modern world. We are still primal creatures with a well-defined set of needs and characteristics. When those are not met, we revert to unorthodox behaviors.

That’s why monk mode becomes imperative nowadays.

Monk mode is a mental state that allows the individual to assume control over his mental well-being and eventually augment his value in an attempt to revamp his life conditions.

Monk mode is not a one-off process. It is a gradually evolving mechanism that needs to be nurtured and refined. Once you understand and apply the conditions required to immerse yourself in its process, there is a great chance that you will get addicted to it. For monk mode promises immense life comprehension and mastery over yourself and your surroundings.

The monk mode framework requires inquisitive analysis and the best way to execute this analysis is to divide the framework into the following areas:

  • Destroying Self-delusion
  • Initiating Observer State
  • Assuming Formlessness
  • Utilizing Exposure

DESTROYING SELF-DELUSION

Lack of self-delusion is the first and probably the most defining characteristic of a person who has successfully internalized monk mode.

Self-delusion is defined as the inability of the individual to objectively evaluate his strengths and weaknesses and pursue ambitious and tangible goals.

It can occur due to many reasons but the most relevant one is the absence of introspection and self-honesty. The idea you have about yourself is affected by biases, remorse, and brainwashing. You are a malleable entity that can be molded according to how prone you are to external influence. People will throw at you different life interpretations and you will unavoidably espouse some and reject some.

This dynamic adoption of influences has its roots in your childhood and your upbringing. Your intellect and the degree of self-reliance you have accumulated over the years will dictate your ability to think critically and properly assess external views.

Becoming fixated on outdated patterns and modes of thinking will inevitably impede your attempt to reach monk mode. That is because a person in monk mode is capable of readapting his views and beliefs according to well-evaluated knowledge.

Self-delusion has two sides. The one side refers to the delusion of superiority and the other side refers to the delusion of inferiority. They have been both cautiously scrutinized by various psychologists and are usually coined as superiority and inferiority complex.

Both complexes result in neurotic behaviors that aim to disorient the individual and lead him to disastrous attitudes and habits. A person in monk mode feels neither superior nor inferior to others. He sees others as actors in a common movie theme who are given different roles and tools to achieve life pursuits.

Proper evaluation of those roles and tools is what epitomizes the idea of monk mode. Every one of us has strengths and weaknesses. Sadly, most of us are unaware of them because we never tried to identify them.

Do an IQ test, a social intelligence test, an emotional intelligence test.

Review the “Theory of Multiple Intelligences” suggested by Howard Gardner and focus on the ones you notice an inclination towards.

Destroy the delusion of “follow your passion and dreams” and be pragmatic.

Learn to follow your skills and if you lack skills in a certain area, have the tenacity to pursue them for as long as they can serve you.

This evaluation is what will eventually shatter self-delusion and give rise to self-mastery.

INITIATING OBSERVER STATE

Wikipedia, in this article, suggests an exhaustive list of cognitive biases we all suffer from to some extent. Biases are also called mental noise since they contribute to the cacophonous mumbling of society.

Take a look at the Dunning-Kruger effect for instance which suggests that unskilled individuals tend to overestimate their abilities and skilled individuals tend to underestimate their abilities. Or the bandwagon effect, which is synonymous to groupthink and describes the tendency of individuals to do and believe things within a group because many other people do the same. Or the confirmation bias – the tendency to search for information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions. Or the framing effect – drawing different conclusions from the same information according to how the information is presented.

And the list goes on and on. By reading through the list carefully and forming a concrete understanding of how all those biases affect your interpretations, allows you to read between the lines of reality.

A person in monk mode is capable of performing regular self-checks with regards to his ability to observe and evaluate. Observer state is the detachment from ego and the adoption of a bias-free mindset. Think of it as a form of “awake” lucid dreaming. You become aware of your “dream” and you are able to assume partial control over it.

Another interesting analogy is to try and view yourself as an anthropologist. The role of an anthropologist is to watch others in their natural state without letting their own thoughts and feelings disrupt their observation. The only difference is that you need to be an observer of both yourself and others while being an astutely aware member of interactions. Clearly, a very demanding task, but that’s what makes monk mode so lucrative.

Another important point to consider when assuming observer mode is that there is no such thing as acceptable universal moral truth. There are just perceptions and different interpretations of reality and morality. Jonathan Haidt, explains that argument in “The Righteous Mind“:

“If you think that moral reasoning is something we do to figure out the truth, you’ll be constantly frustrated by how foolish, biased, and illogical people become when they disagree with you.”

Robert Greene reinforces that point in “Mastery“:

“People around you, constantly under the pull of their emotions, change their ideas by the day or by the hour, depending on their mood. You must never assume that what people say or do in a particular moment is a statement of their permanent desires.”

ASSUMING FORMLESSNESS

The formlessness assertion has been broached by two highly influential figures in the personal development sphere – Bruce Lee and Robert Greene.

Bruce Lee mentioned it in his legendary interview here.

And Robert Greene suggests formlessness as one of his 48 laws of power.

Formlessness is nothing more than adaptation. It is the natural state of man since the Darwinian evolutionary theory suggests that evolution favors the survival of the fittest – species adaptable to change.

In a world headed towards more diversity and multiculturalism, formlessness becomes imperative. With monk mode, a person neither seeks to follow the ways of the ancients nor establishes any fixed standard for all times but examines the things of his age and then prepares to deal with them. Formlessness concerns mainly behavioral adaptation, mobility, and strategy.

Behavioral adaptation – Nothing is certain and no law is fixed. Human nature is wired to adapt in order to survive. It is what it is and thinking that a person can exhibit constantly congruent behaviors is a delusion. Thereby, accepting that notion can allow room for formlessness to thrive. Don’t take anything personally and shape your behavior according to the circumstance. Be nice when people respect niceness and be assertive when people respect assertiveness. Be willing to step back for a noble cause and be willing to contend when immorality 3 is trying to be imposed. Match body language to encourage rapport. Be enthusiastic in high-energy environments and be smooth when you try to negotiate. Conceal most of your intentions and favor anonymity when your image is threatened.

Mobility – A place is only as good as its people and the services it can offer. In monk mode, a person tries to reduce external disruptions to a minimum. If the place you decide to call home or the people involved in that place do not serve your purpose, you need to be able to migrate at a moment’s notice. That includes jobs, relationships, studies and even governments. Do your due diligence before you decide to step into a new territory and be ready to step away when conditions are not favorable anymore. Embrace essentialism and reduce your possessions to a core set of items that can support mobility.

Strategy – Most great strategists stress out the importance of the element of surprise. That can only be favored with formlessness. A strategy needs to be unfathomable and movements need to be unexpected. Most armies, countries, and businesses failed because they were predictable and allowed room for preparedness. Additionally, a formless entity encourages creativity through innovation and expression of new ideas. Society will grant power to those entities because it craves newness. Conservative ideologies and strategies, despite the safety they elicit in times of panic and despair, they eventually get substituted by something more progressive that serves the natural urge for evolution.

UTILIZING EXPOSURE

Monk mode, although it requires a certain amount of isolation in order to allow space for introspection to flourish, thrives with exposure.

When you spend the majority of your time isolated within the barriers of your comfort zone, you become conspicuous and weak. Interaction with the “real world” is inevitable and isolation just makes this interaction more rigid.

Humans are social animals and that is a characteristic that can’t be ignored. The feeling of contentment you experience within a tribe is bequeathed to you from your primal forefathers. Power and satisfaction depend on social exposure and circulation. Even if you don’t endorse interplay with diverse figures, monk mode is what will make this interplay manageable.

Isolation and exposure can both inflict mental pain, but if you think about it isolation can be more destructive. Robert Greene, in “The 48 laws of power” gives the example of Jacopo da Pontormo who was commissioned by Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici the frescoes for the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. Pontormo isolated himself and for 11 years avoided human contact because he was afraid that his ideas would be stolen. He died before completing the whole assignment but even his work depicted the effects of isolation in his mind: “ loss of proportion, an obsession with detail combined with an inability to see the larger picture, a kind of extravagant ugliness that no longer communicates,” as Greene suggests.

Another example that showcases the disastrous effects of isolation is Friedrich Nietzsche. In 1889, at age 44, Nietzsche suffered a collapse and a complete loss of his mental faculties. He died one year later. Nietzsche wasn’t the most socially adept person. His aversion towards human nature led him to isolation. This isolation, in turn, led him to madness.

Instead of aspiring to an idealistic view of the world, monk mode aims towards absolute acceptance of human nature. Relationships need to be categorized according to their versatility. You shouldn’t constantly hope that people can satisfy all your needs. Just because your friend is nice it doesn’t mean that he can become a great business partner and vice versa.

Be constantly in circulation and in search of new social agents. Partake in social activities and use observer mode to evaluate people’s responses and intentions.

IN CLOSING

Monk mode is without doubt one of the most challenging pursuits. Many want to reach it but few espouse the mandatory pain and practice required.

Stepping out of your comfort zone, suppressing your ego, becoming an observer and adapting your behavior might feel agonizing at first. The thing is that remaining stagnant and perpetuating harmful habits and practices is equally agonizing and shows lack of self-respect.

Learn to respect yourself and use monk mode as a tool to manifest self-respect.

You can read the whole post, which was previously published in my blog, here.