The Voices in Our Heads... Friend, Foe or False?

One of the women in our support group wrote:

"Good morning, ladies... When I step on the scale I have a number I want to see. When I look in the mirror my eyes are scanning for a certain amount of definition and muscle tone. What I notice is, even when the scale number is "right", my mind jumps to something else that is "wrong." In my opinion, that is how the addict brain works... it is irritable and discontent no matter what. It is a fault finder. More than anything it is angry and sad and scared and wants my attention... so it makes a lot of noise and throws a fit." 

My response: 

I love our group!!! It is so rich. Thank you so much, everyone.  I treasure our conversations as the provide so much fodder for contemplation.

I also love the gentle approach to dealing with the voices AND

                                               Illustration borrowed from The Footprints Hearing Voices Group site

I wish to offer yet another perspective. 

Have you noticed that which we give our attention to becomes larger and more ‘real’ in our perception?  Perhaps by continuing to objectify and personify the voices (Especially after having seen them for the conditioned noise and nonsense that they are.), they are made more tangible and more real. 

Dis-identification (separation) from the imagined horror movie is what we’re eagerly learning to do in our Tuesday meetings. Befriending the voices for too long, however, personifying them and having a relationship with them, might eventually inhibit seeing the ‘non-reality’ and nonsense of them. 

As far as I can see it’s a very insidious aspect of the bondage of self.

The more we learn to relax the way attention is being paid, the more the ghost-like nature of those voices and images becomes more evident, seeing indeed they have no ‘real’ substance or validity. 

It’s a very convincing, invisible movie that becomes less and less ‘real’ as the lens of attention learns to relax.

After awhile (and I do not profess to ‘be there’ - I just see what’s possible...) those ghost images and voices no longer capture our attention and the present moment becomes apparent and available without any imagined horror movie about the future or past obstructing its view. Can you imagine how each moment might be different if no attention was paid to the imagined time line of events. 

Boy, that sounds like peace to me.