The Voice in My Head… and the One Listening to It

I’ve noticed something curious about my mind and likely yours. Actually, “curious” might be a polite way of saying relentless.

There’s this running commentary going on up there almost all the time. A kind of internal talk show that never seems to go off the air. It replays old conversations, invents new arguments, worries about things that might happen, and occasionally congratulates itself for insights it believes are rather brilliant.

Helpful?……sometimes.

Other times it’s like having an overcaffeinated narrator living in your skull.

But here’s the interesting piece.

I noticed that while the chatter can go on… something else -in the background- if you will- is quietly observing. Just noticing.

Example: My mind would say something like, “You could have handled that conversation differently.” Then comes an awareness of the thought be observed.

This raised an interesting question for me.

If I can observe a thought… then who exactly is doing the observing? Because the observer feels different than the chatter. The chatter is restless, opinionated, often repetitive.

The observer is quiet. Doesn’t argue with the thought. Doesn’t judge the thought. Simply notices the thought passing

through …

Like watching clouds drift across the sky. The sky doesn’t chase the clouds away. It doesn’t cling to them either. It just allows them to pass.

The mind, on the other hand, tends to grab a cloud and start building a weather system around it. One thought becomes ten. Ten becomes a whole emotional storm. Before long we’re standing knee-deep in an internal drama that began with a single passing idea.

But when that observing presence is noticed, awareness opens. The difference is subtle yet powerful. You begin to see the thought without immediately becoming or being enveloped by the thought.

The mind might say, “Something’s wrong.” Instead of automatically believing it, the observer simply notices:“Interesting… the mind is producing a worry.” There’s a pause there. In that pause-space the thought loses some of its authority.

The commentator may never completely go silent. That seems to be part of the human package. But recognizing that there’s also a listener behind the commentary changes things.

For most of our lives we assume that the voice in our head is who we are. But what if that’s only part of the picture? What if the more stable part of us is actually the one watching the voice?

It’s a bit like stepping out of a play and into the audience for a moment. The drama is still happening on stage. But now you’re watching it unfold instead of believing you are the entire script. Perhaps, when the observer is present, chatter may soften a little.

Almost as if the mind realizes it’s being watched. Which, when you think about it, might be the beginning of real self-awareness.

Not eliminating the voice. Just recognizing that it isn’t the whole story. There’s also the quiet presence… listening.

Check out your listener, see for yourself.