I once asked a classmate if humans could think like cats. She replied, “How would a human know what a cat is thinking?” Perhaps we can never truly know what a cat is thinking, but we can still try to “feel” what it might be thinking. The outcome of this “feeling” is largely the same, but the ability to acquire it truly varies from person to person. Some might find deep resonance just by reading certain phrases, while others, even after prolonged exposure or immersion, find it difficult to gain such an understanding.
The book The Power of Now is now typically found on self-help or emotional well-being shelves. When I first encountered it in college, I was quite profoundly affected. Years have passed, and certain phrases from the book, such as “think like trees and flowers” and “most human thought is just the tip of the iceberg,” still occasionally come to mind.
At that time, I lacked any specific knowledge on the subject. Reading these books simply brought me a sense of inner peace, and their phrases could calm my anxious or negative moods. However, the book didn’t offer much explanation regarding the underlying principles and reasons. As an engineering student with a practical and truth-seeking mindset, I remained somewhat bothered by this lack of detail.
It was in the book Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Improving Moods, however, that I discovered many theoretical underpinnings supported by experimental findings.
