I have an installation idea that I’m excited about. It’s called ThoughtCounter.
How it works
You walk into a small, enclosed room with a ceremonial feel. You put on noise-cancelling headphones and you are handed a simple, aesthetically designed clicker (like the one a doorman might have, only nicer). Your instructions are very simple: for one minute, click every time you have a thought.
That’s it. Every time a thought arises – click.
An LED screen in the room is hooked up to the clicker and responds somehow, maybe just counting up, or maybe something more abstract. But you’re just there, trying to catch every thought as it happens.
It’s very straightforward but also kind of impossible.
It will naturally take the visitor to a place of witnessing, presence and meditation without seeming like that.
It’s so relatable – everyone has thoughts. But we’re not so aware of our thoughts and how they dictate and shape our lives.
You might notice how many thoughts you have or how you lost count at some point. Maybe you get completely lost in thoughts and forget to count entirely.
I’m into this idea. It connects directly to what I’ve been exploring – consciousness, witnessing, perception, the gap between experiencing and observing.
The experience
The headphones create the silence and focus. The clicker sits in your hand and the instructions are clear. Click when you have a thought.
Except, when does a thought actually begin? Was that three thoughts or one? Did you just spend 20 seconds thinking without clicking once? The simplicity reveals the complexity.
I’m wondering if visitors could also be hooked up to some scientific nodes that actually measure brain activity. So at the end of the minute, you see two numbers: how many thoughts you counted vs. what the brain monitoring detected.
I imagine that our number will be far lower than the scientific number as we always undercount. Thoughts happen faster and more automatically than we realise.
And the difference between those two numbers is the revelation – and where the work lives.
Three questions
After the session, you’re asked to contemplate:
- Where do thoughts come from?
- Where do thoughts start and end?
- Who noticed the thoughts?
No answers provided, just the questions.
Why it works
Everyone has thoughts – they dominate our lives – but we’re so unaware of them at times, we take them for granted, and the endless mental chatter can be infuriating, depressing and worse.
Thoughts are constantly arising and falling away, it’s nearly impossible actually track them all without losing attention. It’s simultaneously the easiest and hardest task.
You discover that thoughts arise automatically – you’re not generating them as consciously as you assumed.
It’s not explicitly meditation or spiritual practice. It’s almost like a game. But it naturally takes people to that witnessing state (Self) that I am after.
Some people might realise how many thoughts they have. Others might notice the moment they completely lost count. It might raise more deeper questions. All are valuable insights.
Next steps
It’s early stages but I’m already thinking about the look and feel of the installation. I’ll do some tests of the actual ‘experience’ myself and with some friends and record what happens. But the core idea feels right and I’m excited by it.
Cover image: Sudden Fright, Annie Besant & C. W. Leadbeater, 1905