Have you met the voices in your head? Do they have distinct identities? Have you given them names?
I have three voices that I encounter regularly. They love showing up during meditation to distract and voice their opinions about the world around me. Let me introduce you to my friends.
The Mindful Monkey was the first one I got to know. He was always there, but I never saw him clearly until I tried to meditate. He likes to drag me to the past and the future, anywhere except right now. He also wonders – “I wonder if there is more pie in the kitchen?” “I wonder if I need a haircut?” “I wonder if I should go to the library?” Aimless thoughts like these appear – from where I don’t know. The monkey grabs my attention any time I am not focused. He is the voice of my daydreams.
The Inner Critic, known as Picky, is my second loudest voice. She criticizes and complains. For her, I am never enough or too much – depending on the topic. Nothing makes her happy as she picks apart plans and projects – projecting doom and gloom. She’s the one who says, “your butt looks big in those pants.”
Finally, there is the Inner Child, Baby Girl. I know people do inner child work, learning to parent this internal child, but my inner child is a whiney, complaining voice. She loves to have meltdowns when I am meditating. She screams that she’s tired. She pouts that she is bored. She complains that meditation is not fun.
Many people come to meditation, expecting their minds to go quiet and still. Many people claim they can’t meditate because their minds won’t stop. These voices will not vanish – they have a role to play. Meditation does not make them go away. I tell my students to get to know these voices. Journal about them. What are their themes? Give them names – learn about them. We’ll talk about handling them in a future post.
Be Still and Listen to the Voices in Your Head.
Be Still and Know.