Voices in my head is a term that you may have used to describe your experience of your mind. I can’t get it to be still, you may find yourself saying. But have you ever wondered if there is one voice? Or are there many voices? In simple terms, do you have competing entities in your head, or is it just one mind?
Of course to answer that, we would need to ask – who are you? When we speak of competing voices among them, is one entity the real you? Or are there many real you’s? For the sake of this conversation, let us assume the “you” reading this is your soul. Then let the mind be a seperate entity doing the thinking.
It turns out, biologically speaking, you do not have one voice. In fact, there are many voices competiting to win. The way this plays out is fascinating. Take food. There is a biological signal going from the bone in your leg. The signal is telling your brain that you are short on calcium. If you do not eat, your body will have to leach the calcium in your body. For this signal to make any sense, neurons fire in your brain, recognizing the sensors that tell it that your calcium levels are low. Lets assume that is one voice.
There is another voice. This time, it comes from your liver. There is a situation developing tending toward a fatty liver. The signals have been there. Recently a doctor confirmed to you in words that it was. Language is more easily understood by the mind. Though of course, the mind knew all along anyways. So this voice is telling you that you really need to be mindful of what you eat. The excess food may tip the fatty liver toward cirrosis.
Both these voices are fighting for mindspace. They are recruiting neurons so that they reach a critical mass and become the dominant voice. So if you have experienced conflict in your head, it is because there are actually many voices in your head. Each competiting to become the “you” in that moment.
I will write again about how you could better regulate these multiple voices in your head.
