This is part of a body of work called Never Mind Your Mind.
The echo chamber of the mind.
Imagine yourself standing in a vast,
Empty cave.
The air is cool and the towering walls stretch high above you.
You call out a word or phrase,
And it echoes back,
Repeating,
Softer each time,
But lingering in the stillness.
Unhelpful thoughts often feel like this,
Don't they?
A single thought.
I'm not good enough.
I can't do this.
They don't like me.
Bounces endlessly in the mind,
Growing louder sometimes with every repetition.
It feels overwhelming as though the echoes are inescapable.
Even though they're just sounds bouncing off the walls.
The louder these echoes grow,
The more convincing they seem.
It's easy to believe.
If I keep hearing this,
It must be true.
But here's the truth.
These echoes aren't reality.
They're just programs.
Returning.
Sounds.
Repetitive and persistent.
Yes,
But not real.
Now imagine standing still in the cave,
Listening to the echoes without reacting.
You notice them.
But you don't respond.
Over time,
The echoes grow quieter.
Softer.
Until they eventually fade.
When we stop engaging with unhelpful thoughts,
They lose their grip on us.
The unhelpful echo chamber quiets.
And in that space,
We can hear something else.
The rhythm of our breath.
The soft dripping of the water.
The quiet peace of the cave itself.
This is the power of mindfulness and self-kindness.
By choosing not to feed the echoes,
We create space for a more compassionate and balanced perspective.
What are some of the recurring echoes in your mind?
Thoughts that seem to repeat over and over.
What might it be like to simply notice these echoes without responding or trying to push away on them?
If you could replace the echoes with a gentler,
More compassionate stance.
Other thoughts might arise.
What might they be?
Dear Mind.
As I sit in this cafe,
I am writing this letter to you and for me.
Sometimes it feels like I'm trapped in an echo chamber.
A single thought,
But an unkind thought.
An evaluation or judgment bounces around,
Growing louder and louder until it feels impossible to escape.
The more real it seems as if these echoes define me.
But I'm learning something important.
The echoes are not real.
They're just sounds,
Repetitive and loud,
But a tiny fraction of who I am.
When I pause and listen without reacting,
The echoes start to fade.
I begin to hear something else.
The quiet rhythm of my breath.
The soft voice of self-compassion reminding me that I am not alone.
This is part and parcel of the human experience.
And so,
Dear Mind,
I know you are doing your job,
Trying to keep me safe with these echoes of fear,
Doubt and more.
But these echoes you provide don't serve us.
I say us,
As I know it's part of the human condition to experience them the way us humans do.
I don't need to believe everything I hear from you.
I can let these echoes fade,
Creating space for clarity and self-kindness.
This is me,
Making this little declaration.
This is me,
Making this little declaration to you and for me.
Thank you for giving me this choice.
Thank you for being there to help me grow.
As I choose not to identify,
I choose not to engage with every thought you send my way.
And here's my commitment.
When the echoes grow loud,
I'll listen with curiosity instead of fear.
I'll remind myself that these echoes are simply mental events.
And I'll choose to allow the echoes from the chamber to be in the background by gently focusing on something in front of me in the foreground.
Yours sincerely,
With compassion and gratitude from me.
I choose to embrace the growth of my consciousness by allowing this affirmation to settle within,
Nurturing me just as I am in this moment.
Every single time I notice an unhelpful thought simply as a thought,
My consciousness evolves just a little more.
The echoes may linger,
They whisper,
They call,
But I am the silence that softens them all.
The echoes may linger,
They whisper,
They call,
But I am the silence that softens them all.
The echoes may linger,
They whisper,
They call,
But I am the silence that softens them all.
