History Main / ContemplateOurNavels

* [[DarkAndTroubledPast Cloud]] gets into the habit of this during ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' as part of his [[{{Wangst}} wangsting]] phase.

* Terrance, in the WesternAnimation/SouthPark fanfic ''Fanfic/TheBalladOfStootAndArgyle'', combines ContemplateOurNavels with {{Gayngst}} in his internal monologues. It's not a very healthy combination.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' indulges in this semi regularly, due to the paradigm shifts that the story brings about in the world, with various characters speculating on themselves, Harry's role and importance (considerable), the forces interfering in his life (vast) and his occasionally worrying similarities to ComicBook/{{Magneto}}. Thankfully, it doesn't become overbearing, but it is present.

* ''Literature/LordOfLight'': When [[UsefulNotes/Buddhism The Buddha]] (AKA Mahatsamatman, [[DontCallMeSir or just Sam for short]]) is brought [[BackFromTheDead back from]] [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Nirvana]], he initially experiences 'divine withdrawal' after his UnwantedRevival, leading to him spending a lot of time in quiet contemplation and refusing to engage with the world. Yama, Tak, and Ratri end up scratching their heads trying to find a way to get the former revolutionary leader back into the game.

Depending on the show, this can be [[{{Theme}} thematically appropriate]] or a [[ActionFilmQuietDramaScene pause in the action]]. When used as {{padding}}, and if little thought is put into them, these scenes can be annoying -- the poor viewers may find themselves sitting through five minutes of "Who am I? Who is me? I is me, but you is not me. The universe is not real to me, unless it is real to you, but who is you? [[MindScrew Who is..."]] and so on against a ClipShow background. Depending on the delivery, [[NightmareFuel it can be really creepy.]]

* The hesychasts of Orthodox Christianity were disparagingly called "omphalopsykhoi", or "those who have their souls in their navels". Hesychasm is a tradition of solitary prayer and ascetism which has some similarities with the meditation practises of Eastern religions.

* The Operative engages in some contemplation in a deleted scene at the end of ''Film/{{Serenity}}''. Mal, who's not in a good mood to begin with and tends to dislike such contemplation, points out that the Operative doesn't find a better place do do so than right behind Serenity as she's preparing to take off, [[WeaponizedExhaust his contemplations are going to be cut short]].

* Kreia, from ''[[KnightsoftheOldRepublic KOTOR II]]''. Kreia is an excellent example of this, as nearly everything she says argues a [[{{Ubermensch}} Nietzsche-like philosophy]], but her grandmotherly tone renders it profound, not mere filler. Gamespy says [[http://goty.gamespy.com/2005/pc/index23.html "Kreia can teach a player more about basic moral philosophy and the flaws of Nietzsche in one game than a full semester in college -- and make a trip full of heavy-duty thought a whole lot of fun."]].

* ''Manga/{{ARIA}}'' as some elements of this. Mostly a rather [[{{WAFF}} fluffy]] series (in a ''[[{{Iyashikei}} good]]'' way), Akari's mindfulness at times makes it plunge deep into nostalgia and questions about the purpose of life, clearly influenced by the Japanese philosophy of ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_no_aware mono no aware.]]'' This is most prevalent in the ''Arietta'' {{OVA}}, which coincidentally contains even more SceneryPorn than the TV series.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "The Tooth Fairy Tats" has Kyle start to doubt his own existence after discovering the tooth fairy isn't real. He spends the rest of the episode reading various philosophy books and talking about the nature of reality, even when the conversation around him is something totally different. He finally has an out-of-body, one-with-the-universe experience, and comments that it was weird. [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment It's never, ever spoken of again.]]

-->''"You should belong among the sect of hesychasts," said pityfully Jurajda, the learned cook, "they were also watching their navels for days on, until it started to seem to them that they had a [[HolyHalo halo]] around it. Then they concluded that they reached the third level of perfection."''

Not to be confused with [[UsefulNotes/NavalGazing Contemplating Our Navy]]. If the viewers get to contemplate a character's navel, it's BareYourMidriff.

* ''Manga/{{ARIA}}'' as some elements of this. Mostly a rather [[{{WAFF}} fluffy]] series (in a ''[[{{Iyashikei}} good]]'' way), Akari's mindfulness at times makes it plunge deep into nostalgia and questions about the purpose of life, clearly influenced by the Japanese philosophy of ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_no_aware mono no aware]]''. This is most prevalent in the ''Arietta'' {{OVA}}, which coincidentally contains even more SceneryPorn than the TV series.

* Batman 041 featured an [[http://i.imgur.com/qtKiqqJ.png attempt at navel gazing]], done in Scott Snyder's [[DeconstructedTrope now familiar]] [[SubvertedTrope style.]] "Batman" then goes on to try to continue his entire inner monologue in "Bat-syle", literally thinking to himself "Bat-thoughts".

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omphaloskepsis Omphaloskepsis]]. A type of meditation where one stares at one's navel. Navel-gazing has come to mean anyone being extremely introspective or existential.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' Serial "Planet of the Spiders", there is a rather literal example. Sarah Jane is brought in to investigate some strange goings on at a mediation retreat of some sort. Mike Yates tries to explain the meditation to her but she doesn't seem to really get it.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' gets into this a lot in the later seasons, in sharp contrast with the zany humor of the earlier ones. Episodes like The Mountain, Hall of Egress, The Comet and others all revolve around themes of making peace with one's place in the universe and letting go of one's earthly ties (or voluntarily choosing not to), often accompanied by appropriately [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolic]] visuals and the occasional {{Koan}}.
** The early-season episode, Astral Beast, parodied this concept in a sillier way, though it does introduce Finn's spirit animal (butterflies) which are often used for symbolic purposes in the later navel-gazing episodes.

When the moment becomes significant as an energizing, self-motivating speech, it is a WorldOfCardboardSpeech. When a character frequently indulges in navel contemplating, said character is ThePhilosopher.

** Hummiez don't underztand orky navel watching. We boyz know that Gork and Mork are the invincible and the indeztructible, but we'z like to discuss regularly which is which. (Fightning noise)

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'' does this from time to time, usually at the worst possible moments. Towards the end of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', the BigBad actually tied the hero up and spent a good 15 minutes lecturing him on the troubling implications of genetic engineering while nuclear bombers made their approach.

* The [[OnTheNext trailers]] of ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'''s first season are mostly floating text with a vague, [[Series/{{Heroes}} Mohinder]]-style voiceover. Of course, [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome that music]] would make the phone book sound intriguing and mysterious.

** The two SufficientlyAdvancedAlien species repeat the [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Armor Piercing Questions]] "Who are you?" (Vorlons) and "What do you want?" (Shadows) to [[TricksterMentor force the "younger races"]] to contemplate their navels (or biological equivalents). The two races themselves have been asking the questions for so long that they [[LawfulStupidChaoticStupid don't know their own answers]], and have ended up adopting the OrderVersusChaos framework without really understanding it. They have become roughly equivalent to divorcing parents trying to get "the kids" to choose a side. This comes to a head when a third, even ''more'' SufficientlyAdvancedAlien (to continue the metaphor, the Vorlons' and Shadows' parent figure) shows up with his own question: "Why are you here?" This helps the main characters realize it is [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome time to start kicking butt. Philosophically.]]

** A few other [=NPCs=] do this, most notably ''a preschooler'' you can meet early in the game.

-->"Change your perspective — and the reality changes."

* At the very end of ''StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'', the characters find out that their entire universe is [[spoiler: a video game. The man who created the video game destroys it;]] however, the heroes choose their last moments to do some navel contemplating and their perceived universe is forced to spontaneously generate.