Focus

.Inside my head is a little voice.

And it never. shuts. up.

(for those of you who are already sick of my incessant talking...try living in my head for a day!)

Often, it's an autobiography voice (example: "When I stepped into my room that day, I was hoping to smell the sweet aroma of the candle I'd bought earlier that week."). Sometimes, it's a blogging voice (such as "Now, if any of you were thinking of buying candles from Wal-Mart, don't. You might expect to smell them, but at $1 apiece, they only look pretty...no good smells involved.")


I don't always think about what I'm doing at that moment, but many times I will. And trust me, this little voice never shuts up! I've tried talking to it, I've tried sitting quietly, I've tried ignoring it--everything you would do to get an annoying sibling to stop. Maybe I was meant to be a twin?


I don't know. I've tried to channel it into prayer, but the fact is that this little voice is pretty sub-consious. I still work at using the little autobiography/blogger voice to pray, of course, but often it's talking while I'm praying (very rude, by the way).


But there are two times that it cooperates: when I'm driving my myself and when I'm playing piano. It doesn't stop talking, but it willingly becomes my prayer voice. That is, by the way, a large part of why I love playing piano and driving myself places.



Well, anyway, guess what...I'm not the only one. I've heard it called having a two-track mind, (great for multitasking, by the way!) and to some extent (from what I heard) it may be a girl thing.

If you have that "issue," I have a study suggestion...

For Bible study, don't run music while you're trying to read your Bible or pray. Also, make sure you have a blog or some sort of outlet for your ramblings. If you start to process them by writing them down in a blog or journal, they can sometimes lead to study focus (that's what I've found).

Memorize verses! This is a great way to start controlling the annoying little voice. Start with 2 Corinthians 10:5: "...we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Recite these verses whenever the little voice starts talking. When you have something "scripted" that you give that little voice to say, especially a Bible verse, it's much easier to start focusing on God :)

And when you're studying for school, try running an old cartoon or movie in the background. Pick one you've seen a thousand times. Your little voice will happily sing along to the Lion King--while you get that seven-page essay polished up.

Hope these help :) Feel free to add suggestions in the comments!