Dedoublement

I just finished reading "The Thirteenth Tale" by Diane Setterfield. Ms. Setterfield did her PhD. on Andre Gide and uses a lot of his ideas in her writing. One is dedoublement, which is the ability to split oneself in two--one "self" that interacts and feels the world they live in, the other to stand back and observe. The observer-self can analyze in a detached way what is happening around them. It reminded me of a technique advocated in Sarah Susanka's book, "The not so big life," of developing a "watcher." Susanka says, "The watcher is your partner in seeing through the obstacles to the calmer, more contented you that you've always known was there." I have found this much easier to do lately because of this blog. Everything I do now, I find myself taking a step back and thinking, "Could I blog this? What would I say about it?" It's an interesting concept that helps one be more in control of emotions and situations and make more rational, positive decisions.