Quieting the Voices

“Quieting these voices is at least half the battle I fight daily. But this is better than it used to be. It used to be 87 percent. Left to it’s own devices, my mind spends much of its time having conversations with people who aren’t there. I walk along defending myself to people or exchannging repartee with them, or rationalizing my behavior, or seducing them with gossip, or pretending. I’m on their TV talk show or whatever.” - Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott, PG 25.

The creative brain is always in motion, and for some it feels like a mild form of insanity. That may explain why so many artists fall into despair and addiction. It is a constant effort to still the mind. Rather than still the voices in your head, write down what they are saying. Use it as material. In having these imaginary conversations, your mind is processing ideas, and like a precious metal it may be there is something that needs to be unearthed.

Exercise: Spend 15 minutes free-writing the comments the voices say to you. Express them nonjudgmentally, no good or bad, just the words.