Inside My Head

This week, while I was washing my hair and participating in two strands of thought going through my mind, one verbal and one visual, I suddenly had the thought that not everyone probably does this. That not just my brain, but my way of thinking – of processing, analyzing, synthesizing and expressing/applying – may be very different from what other people do inside their heads.

Now, let me stop for a moment to say that I have been fascinated for at least ten years with brain research as it relates to education. I believe in and apply the work of Dr. Gardner and multiple intelligences. I have known for a long time that brains are vastly different and yield vastly different learners. I have known this on a professional and intellectual level for a long time; however, what struck me this week was the question: “What does it look like/sound like/feel like to be in someone else’s head?”

To give you some of my perspective, just now, my cat came over to me and purred loudly to get my attention. As I was petting him, I, seemingly simultaneously,

·         Listened to his purr, Kenton’s typing across the room and the hum of my laptop;

·     Felt the warmth of his fur and realized that my feet were cold;

·        Thought about what I would write next;

·        Heard an underscore of a melody in my mind;

·        Vividly visualized what a command center in my head would actually look like.

By the way, it looked sort of like a theatre inside a planetarium. With bit, half-domed screen with words and images popping in and out and scrolling by like comets. Really, it is more like being in space itself: in a blank void, where things just appear when summoned, whether consciously or unconsciously. Words, feelings, pictures, sounds and the connections between them. When the connections are stronger, the images loom larger and sometimes take on a brightness around the edges.

This is what it is like for me. What is it like for you?

Here is what I would like to know:

·        Do you sometimes feel like there are different frequencies in your brain which can be heard at the same time? Like two radio stations, one coming in louder and clearer and the other a bit further away but sometimes switching in and out?

·        Do you have two internal conversations at a time, which sometimes interrupt each other or intersect and become one?

·        Do you ask questions and wonder things verbally, but see the solutions visually – in images or written words or sometimes even a feeling pulling you in certain direction?

·       Does your brain move faster than your mouth ever could?

My brain doesn’t always work like this, but it often does. Especially if I am engaged in a challenging mental activity like trying to work out a solution to a problem or figure out how best to explain something to someone. I see/feel it in my mind with a clarity that I attempt to bring out into the world with varying degrees of success.

Which is probably why this feels so futile right now. As wonderfully complex and beautiful language is, it feels far too weak to explain the complexities of our internal worlds. Like J. Alfred Prufrock, I find myself reflecting back and thinking, “It is impossible to say just what I mean!”

So, dear friends, the next time we meet over coffee or a glass of wine, I would love to better understand what it is like inside your head. You can draw me a picture, tell me what it feels like or whatever helps you to best explain the view from in there. I am curious to hear what is similar and different and celebrate both.

In the meantime, feel free to comment here or in a separate email. I'll understand if words don't suffice.