The 8 track tape: Narrative of the Mind

Before the ease of streaming music we have now, we had CDs (compact disks). Even before that we had cassette tapes. And prior to that was the 8 track tape. Oh my how we have emerged in our access to music!

Each one emerged in its ease of use, accessibility, and ways of engaging. The 8 track though was very simple in its use. 8 songs that continuously played over and over. No need to eject, flip, put on intentional repeat — they just played. What a wonderful metaphor for the mind — think of 8 ‘songs’ (be it thoughts, internalized narratives, beliefs— whatever fits) that play over and over non-stop. Often times rooted in versions of shame. Examples may be ‘I’m not enough’ or ‘I am not worthy’ or ‘Nobody cares’. Of course fill in your own example.

Plates over and over, we begin to believe them. They become like a soundtrack to our life - our view of self, our view of others, our view of the world. We know the lyrics, the beat, the tempo, the very rhythm. And we learn to dance to them.

We show up in our life, dancing to an internal song we know so well. It’s a dance we don’t have to think about anymore. A bid for love or connection not fulfilled, cue up song 1. A relationship ends, cue up song 2. We experience a perceived rejection, cue up song 3. And the beat goes on, we do the dance. We move to it’s rhythm.

The narrative of the mind is an 8 track in an 8 track player. Even in recognizing this, we have the opportunity to stop the dance. We can give ourselves freedom to move in a different way. We could even tell the DJ ‘play a different song’.

Yes, it’s awkward at first. And yes, speaking up for ourselves and requesting a new song is a huge risk. Yet, it’s our dance. It’s our life. It’s the moment we have to do something different. And the risk that we take if we don’t — is it safer to not?

Together, we can learn a new dance to a new song. Together, we can stop, or at least pause, the continual playback. It’s a risk, absolutely. A risk that left unengaged could result in the same song, the same dance, the same way of being.

Let the journey begin- together! Let’s dance to a new beat. The dance floor is wide open