Forget your mind and you’ll be free… This great advice and lyrics, by David Bowie, feels especially poignant in our new era of much change and uncertainty.

 

Whether you endure fragile mental health, or not, most of us consider our internal narrative when making decisions. Actually, the deep-seated voice we frequently hear, is that of our parents, carers, or other relatives, from way back when we were children, which tends to help formulate our decisions in adulthood. An example might be:

 

“Shall I get a train down to Norfolk for Katie’s party, or would it be easier, and cheaper if I drove?”

 

And your internal reply could be something like:

 

“Well I’d drive if I were you, you can share the petrol cost with Sarah, and this way you’ll have more flexibility. Oh and do wear your thermal vest, it’s so cold down there!”

 

We don’t need to pick up the phone to hear the advice or discuss our decision with our parents/relatives, we can actually guess what they’re likely to say: we can hear it in our minds – eye.

 

But, of course, this simple example is only available if you’ve enjoyed a healthy upbringing, with love and nurturing. The internal voice, if you haven’t will more likely be critical or unkind, unhelpful at the very least; or a “blank numbness” offering no gauge, for those of you who endured a tough childhood.

 

And, there are many other factors such as work and money worries, which add anxiety and stress when formulating decisions. Our minds can so easily become cluttered if we overlook the fact that we alone control our minds and thoughts. Our minds can be wayward like a naughty child.

 

But, when we forget our minds and allow our intellect to lead us instead, we automatically enjoy a more fluid life. We can think with far more ease when we remember that we are an intelligent race, and we help ourselves to clear the debris from our minds:

 

“Right, Katie’s party, I can’t wait to see her. I’m going to suggest to Sarah that we share the driving, it’ll be far easier, and cheaper, plus it’s a great chance to catch up with Sarah on the way down”.

 

I’m not suggesting this is easy, but I can say it gets easier with practice. We would not scold a naughty child. We would use our intelligence to try to understand why a child isn’t behaving well in the first place. We would be kind to them, lead by example, talk to them softly, and this is exactly how we need to be with our minds.