STRüCl'URAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL TECNNIQUES

o take these little voices seriously o believe what they are telling us o take the comments personally

o believe that the voices are who we are Crazy, isn’t it?

We suffer because we take the voices in our

heads seriously and believe what they tell us.

This ‘collective insanity’, as Anthony de Mello describes it, is considered normal. According to him, the only reason we are not all locked up is because there are too many of us.

He also suggests that the main difference between a patient in a mental hospital and an apparently sane person is that most of us keep the voices to ourselves. If we were to openly share them with those around us, we would quite possibly become candidates for the lunatic asylum!

Let’s take an imaginary look at these characters in action.

Imagine a guy on a first date with a girl he likes.

The Coach: “OK, be natural and remember to pay attention and not to butt in as you usually do.”

The Critic: “Man, what were you thinking wearing that bright orange shirt! You should have worn the black one.

It makes you look thinner.”

The Dreamer: *sigh* “I used to be so slim.”

The Coach: “Right, the gym …starting Monday.”

Cheerleader: “Nice joke! You got her laughing. That’s a good sign! I think she likes you.”

The Judge: “Smart move, Dumbo – inviting her to Granny’s 90^th birthday party with all the family there. Way to pile the pressure on.”

The Coach: Breathe, relax, don’t appear too keen.”

Phew! I feel exhausted just from writing the above dialogue, never mind living it. Imagine if you actually had an entourage of

characters in the flesh who followed you around every waking moment, whispering, in turn, comments in your ear. Or even worse, imagine if they were all talking at the same time.

You would quickly be exhausted, not to mention extremely irritated. And yet, it is not so far removed from the truth of what we experience each day.

In the above example, the woman would also be subjected to a running commentary from her own cast of characters. It is a wonder that we are able to be at all present in our communication with others with all these voices distracting us.

I once heard that the reason we are given two ears and only one mouth is because of how important it is to be a good listener.

Most of us are very good listeners. We are very good at listening to the voices in our own heads and often give them far more attention than what the other person is saying. One of the greatest benefits of kicking the thinking habit is the emergence of true communication.

REWINDING AND FAST-FORWARDING

During a meditation retreat a few years back, one of my teachers came up with a wonderful way of illustrating how disruptive unconscious mental commentary can be to our enjoyment of life.

One day, it was announced that the following evening there was to be a movie night, complete with popcorn, ice cream and other treats. Having sat meditating for several weeks on end with very little distraction, we were excited by the idea.

The evening arrived and we were all gathered, eagerly anticipating the film. As promised, buckets of popcorn and

bowls of cake and ice cream were doing the rounds. Our teacher was seated at the front with several of the senior teachers. The movie began.

A few seconds into the movie, the commentary from the front row began. They were deliberately speaking in loud voices so we could barely hear the movie.

A: Wow! That was really cool.

B: Shall we rewind and watch again?

C: Yes, lets have another look.

We were barely 8 seconds into the movie when it was rewound back to the beginning. The opening scenes were reviewed several more times before the movie was allowed to continue.

A few more seconds into the movie:

D: He really shouldn’t have said that.

A: I agree. What’s up with him?

B: But it wasn’t his fault.

C: Let’s fast forward and see what happens next.

Again the movie was rewound and then fast-forwarded.

I could feel myself becoming increasingly irritated by all the fast-forwarding, rewinding and incessant commentary. Why couldn’t they just be quiet and let the movie play?

The commentary continued – likes, dislikes, desires, aversions, hopes, fears, doubts, looking back, looking forward, judgments, assumptions – with much rewinding and fast-forwarding.

Eventually they stopped. We were spared the torture of further commentary and allowed to enjoy the rest of the movie in peace.

This beautifully illustrates how many of us go through life.

How are we supposed to relax and fully enjoy the movie called

“My Life” with all the incessant mental commentary going on in the background and the endless rewinding and fast-forwarding?

When the voices in our heads are not providing us with a moment-by-moment analysis of every aspect of our day, they are busy re-running mental movies of past events or anticipating an imagined future. And it is all habitual. We are largely unaware that we are doing it.