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The Death of the Overvoice

nakazcidnakazcid Somewhere in Dixie, y'all Veteran
edited June 2010 in Buddhism Basics
For a long time, I lived with a separate thread of consciousness (for lack of a better term) that I'll call the Overvoice. When faced with social situations or problems, it would assess the situation, predict possible outcomes and determine a solution. It was ruthlessly logical and pragmatic, presenting a cost benefit analysis of every scenario. I could disregard it, but if I did, felt fearful of trusting my instincts and being irrational. It would also remind me of things to be done, and if I forgot something, would castigate me with a singular ferocity. When I made a mistake, it would also provide stinging criticism possibly along with 'better' ways of handling the now passed situation. It wasn't psychosis, either, because I knew it was just one aspect of my personality, though it may have been approaching the borders of Multiple Personality Disorder.

This 'voice' has subsided into near non-existence in the past couple of years. Despite its absence, I've been better able to remember things and find myself responding to things more spontaneously. In spite of (or perhaps because of?) the seemingly random spontaneity, the decisions, actions and social interactions I undertake have noticeably better outcomes than when the Overvoice was with me. Not second guessing myself and analyzing every move in life also results in less stress. Is this the result of Buddhist practice? A healthier outlook on life? Is there anything in the sutras about any mental delusions remotely like this?

Comments

  • NamelessRiverNamelessRiver Veteran
    edited June 2010
    This 'voice' has subsided into near non-existence in the past couple of years.

    No man, I'm just taking a sabbatical.

    joking :P
  • johnathanjohnathan Canada Veteran
    edited June 2010
    Oh NamelessRiver... You just made me laugh harder than I have in a long time... Sorry nakazcid... I don't know the suttra's well enogh to help you with your question... Whatever the overvoice was it seems your mind has moved on... I would only suggest you do too... Finding mention of it in a suttra will make little difference now... It is gone... Let it be... Stop dwelling on the past... Stop clinging to what once was... For you may find that digging into it further... Continually thinking about it... May just cause it to return...
  • aMattaMatt Veteran
    edited June 2010
    nakazcid wrote: »
    Not second guessing myself and analyzing every move in life also results in less stress. Is this the result of Buddhist practice? A healthier outlook on life? Is there anything in the sutras about any mental delusions remotely like this?

    There are a few terms used for this. "Ego" is one. In psychology, it is often referred to as "the critic" but it boils down to a set of clinging notions that appears thick enough to gain its own substance.

    Trungpa Rinpoche described it as negative negativity, or negative thoughts that inspire us to think more negative thoughts. That it has subsided might mean your world is absent of stimuli that invoke the critic response, or that you have penetrated the false notions that kept the pattern in your mind.

    The solution is always mindfulness, which protects you from buying the bullshit the negative voice is selling.

    Good luck,

    Matt
  • edited June 2010
    I suppose I should first ask if the voice subsiding coincided with your practice in Buddhism.
    nakazcid wrote: »
    I could disregard it, but if I did, felt fearful of trusting my instincts and being irrational. It would also remind me of things to be done, and if I forgot something, would castigate me with a singular ferocity. When I made a mistake, it would also provide stinging criticism possibly along with 'better' ways of handling the now passed situation.

    I am by no means claiming authority here in this matter, but here's my two cents. I think you could consider this Overvoice to be the voice of self-doubt. However rational this voice may have been, it caused you to doubt your instincts, and therefore your intentions.
    In spite of (or perhaps because of?) the seemingly random spontaneity, the decisions, actions and social interactions I undertake have noticeably better outcomes than when the Overvoice was with me. Not second guessing myself and analyzing every move in life also results in less stress.

    The bold part is the key. A true understanding and practice of the Noble Eightfold Path can eliminate the self-doubt that the Overvoice burdened you with. When you have right view and right intent, you don't have to second-guess yourself to know that your intentions are pure. With right intent, you know intrinsically, without the need to question and analyze, that you are taking right action, without having to let the Overvoice confirm it for you. You don't have to do the accounting in your head on every action, you have the complete confidence that your intentions are pure and thus your actions will be as well, even when you make a mistake.
    jonathan wrote:
    Whatever the overvoice was it seems your mind has moved on...

    As jonathan said, it is gone now; and since you seem to be better off without it, you can even let your confidence grow that its absence is an affirmation of your right view. Soo, I suppose a sort of congratulations is in order ;).
  • nakazcidnakazcid Somewhere in Dixie, y'all Veteran
    edited June 2010
    NamelessRiver...good thing I wasn't drinking any milk when I read that! :lol: As far as I'm concerned, you can take a permanent vacation...

    To everyone else...I said it was nearly non-existent, not completely gone. As it caused so much havoc in my life previously, I consider it imperative to catch it immediately when it does crop up. Thus I'm interested in recognizing it and rooting it out.

    Baseball Buddhist - it had started to decline before I became a Buddhist, but rapidly dwindled thereafter. And thanks for the congrats, but it may be a bit premature...there's still a long road ahead.
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited June 2010
    There is a book they may interest you, It seems to speak to this directly. It is called "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind" by Julian Jaynes. Worth checking out.
  • pegembarapegembara Veteran
    edited June 2010
    Overvoice = Monkey mind


    NEW MAMMALIAN BRAIN: MONKEY MIND. This part of our brain, the neocortex,
    could be called our chatterbox, calculator, or computer brain
    because it is incessantly talking to itself (fretting about the past and worrying
    about the future), performing rudimentary cost-benefit analyses,
    and computing the balance of favors and debts in each of Furry Li’l Mammal’s
    social relationships. Monkey Mind is the nickname I shall choose
    here, because that name is already in use by Buddhists, who use it to refer
    to one key aspect of the mental phenomena that I listed above: it is the
    condition of mentally being anywhere except in the present moment. The
    story goes that our Monkey Mind is akin to a monkey who leaps from tree
    to tree, taking a bite of just one fruit, before moving on to the next tree,
    and the next. Similarly, our new mammalian brain has a tendency to endlessly
    toss up bits of thought—leaping haphazardly, wastefully, from one
    thought to the next. Our Monkey Mind will continue to ramble until (a) it
    is disciplined internally by conscious focus (including meditation); (b) it
    is called into service by an external situation that commands our immediate
    attention; or (c) it is engaged in a creative or physically demanding
    task that generates a mental state of flow.

    Thank God for Evolution
  • nakazcidnakazcid Somewhere in Dixie, y'all Veteran
    edited June 2010
    pegembara wrote: »
    it is the
    condition of mentally being anywhere except in the present moment.
    Thanks for the excellent explanation of what monkey mind is. I had heard it used before, and thought I knew what it meant, but this really pins it down for me. However, while Monkey Mind is definitely still with me, the Overvoice is pretty much gone. As aMatt said, it seems if those particular notions (or perhaps stimuli) that kept me in the Overvoice's grip are gone now. Dealing with Monkey Mind is still a struggle, though it doesn't bite back any more. :o

    Richard, I once read a science fiction novel (Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson) that used some of Jaynes' theories, though I didn't know it at the time. I didn't realize there was any scientific literature on the subject. Unfortunately, money is too tight right now to invest in another book...
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