What’s the point of identifying the voice in the head as your roommate who has been there all the time, chattering incessantly day after day?

To grow spiritually is to realise who we are, and one way to do that is by eliminating what we are not. The voice in the head is just a thought and is not you. You are the one who is aware of the voice.

Try saying hello, hello, hello in your head. In the pauses in between, you are still aware of your existence. You are always in there.

But who are you? This question will be the central theme throughout this discourse.

For now, let’s deal with the voice in the head first.

When we manage to put some distance between us and the voice, by simple observation, mindful meditation or whatever means, we will start to wonder why we obey the voice.

Obeying means listening to what it says, believing its suggestions and even deciding that it aligns with our core values, and thus it must be right.

But we know that is not true at all. We all make mistakes, all the time. If the voice in the head tells us the correct way to live our life, surely we wouldn’t make any mistakes? That’s why we cannot trust the voice in the head.

For a more scientifically-based answer, you can find it in the book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”. But the short answer is, by simple logic and direct experience, we can deduce that the “voice” makes mistakes all the time.

Without separation from the voice, without knowing who we truly are, we would be lost in our thoughts, we would believe all the myriad thoughts that go on in our mind, even knowing that some thoughts are contradictory, causing psychological pain to ourselves.

However it is probably safe to assume that most people do not distinguish themselves from their thoughts. In fact, most people would think disregarding their own thoughts is actually pure madness.

I don't mean we have to ignore all thoughts in our mind. What we want to do is to disregard the autonomous “fast” thoughts.

Michael Singer coined the terms analytical mind and personal mind. The analytical mind is simply critical thinking and what allows humankind to send rockets to space and accomplish all kinds of feats. It is directed by our willpower and is unbiased when used correctly.

The personal mind on the other hand is formed by impressions from past experiences, which include our parents, our teachers, our society and our unique life events. No other individual would have the same personal mind. No willpower is needed for it to work. It simply works in the background, where these impressions shape how we view the world and interact with the world.

How is the personal mind related to the voice in the head? We will explore that in the next post and we will also find out why the voice lives in our head.

Next: The voice in your head (Part 3)