That Voice in the Head
Keep this question in mind ... now that I notice the voice in my head, just who is it that hears that voice in my head? The answer is given.
Most of us have come across "crazy" people in the street incessantly talking or muttering to themselves. Well, that's not much different from what you and all other "normal" people do, except that you don't do it out loud. You have a voice in your head, but you don't notice, because you believe you are this voice, and that you are thinking your thoughts right now. "I don't have a voice in my head" says the voice in your head.
The voice comments, speculates, judges, compares, complains, likes, dislikes, and so on. The voice isn't necessarily relevant to the situation you find yourself in at the time; it may be reviving the recent or distant past or rehearsing or imagining possible future situations. Here it often imagines things going wrong and negative outcomes; this is called worry. Sometimes this soundtrack is accompanied by visual images or "mental movies."
The good news is that you can free yourself from your mind. This is the only true liberation. You can take the first step right now. Start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns, those old gramophone records that have been playing in your head perhaps for many years. This is what I mean by "watching the thinker," which is another way of saying: listen to the voice in your head, be there as the witnessing presence.
When you listen to that voice, listen to it impartially. That is to say, do not judge. Do not judge or condemn what you hear, for doing so would mean that the same voice has come in again through the back door. You'll soon realize: there is the voice, and here I am listening to it, watching it. This “I am” realization, this sense of your own presence, is not a thought. It arises from beyond the mind.
—Eckhart Tolle
No comments:
Post a Comment