Could inner thoughts be our superpower instead of our nemesis?

Turning off the inner critic.

Yes, our inner voice is often an inner critic that we wish - even beg - would shut off and shut up.  But what if it’s actually a superpower?

As with all good stories, it’s best to start at the beginning.  Where does that inner voice come from?  Psychologists suggest that our inner voice was there in the beginning to help us develop language and later, to develop our memory.  Yoga philosophy speaks of Samskara. When we have an experience, it becomes an etched path in the sand of our brain.  The more we have the same experience, the deeper this path becomes.  Eventually the sand hardens and the path becomes permanent - thus an inner pattern is born. 

So where does the nemesis come in?

Inner thought paths are like well-worn grooves.  When we are full energy, we have the mental flexibility to travel in and out of these grooves.  But when life gets tough, we naturally find the path of least resistance and slip right into those well-worn grooves.  That’s when the inner critic rears her familiar head.  

Here is the good news.  When we are in seasons of strength, we can actively work on creating the thought paths that we want and desire.  And we can use these times in our lives to actively work to smooth over and re-route grooves that no longer serve us.  Both psychology and yoga agree that one of the most effective ways to create thought paths is through slow but steady, consistent mindfulness practices (meditation, prayer, journaling, yoga, silent hikes in nature…)

So what if you are in a low? There is good news here as well!  Low times provide unique opportunities to work on our grooves in a completely different way.  We can turn to therapy during low times, and subsequently learn new strategies and uncover old paths we didn’t even realize existed.  The difficult act of digging ourselves out creates new grooves.

Building a thought path that will serve us well - that will treat us well - when we most need it is a superpower.  I started thinking about our superpower samskaras this weekend when watching a movie about Nelson Mandela and his deep belief in the human ability to change our thought patterns. He became a champion for exposing societal thought patterns and then empowering individual people to change them.

We have the superpower.   We all do.  Let’s be brave enough to try.

Until Next Time,

Laura