Left Big Toe

One of my clients mentioned in passing that she had internal critical voice: "You can't do anything right. You always make things worse...."

So I asked her the location of the voice. And, she indicated that it seemed to be coming from the left side of her head. When asked how she'd respond if it was talking to her from the direction of her left big toe, she replied, "I could care less what it has to say".

A week later I saw her for another session, and she complained that the voice was still there in her big toe. So I asked, "What is it saying now?", and she replied, "Nothing. It's sulking". Apparently, it didn't like being ignored.

This is a good example of how a simple shift in the location of an inner voice can make a big difference in its effect. We say a lot of things to ourselves, some of which we believe, and some of which we don't. A simple way to experience this for yourself is to say something to yourself that you believe, such as, "I know how to read" and notice where the mental voice seems to come from. Then say something to yourself that you do not believe, such as, "I'm 12 feet tall" and notice the location.

For most people the second statement comes from a different location. That is because we have to have a way of knowing what we believe and what we disbelieve.

There are variations, of course. For some people the difference may be tone of voice, or some other quality. But, there must be a difference, or we would be quite confused.

Once we learn to make these kinds of distinctions it can be easy to make some dramatic changes in our habitual ways of thinking. Imagine if all your internal dialog was supportive and helpful. How might that affect the quality of your life?