The mind is like a vast country we live in, sometimes without even realizing it. Its borders are a bit blurry, and its doors are often wide open. It is a place that doesn't question the intentions of those who enter; it simply makes room for everyone. Thoughts wander there, words settle in, and some sentences take root without even asking. Most of the time, we think this country belongs only to us that every inch is our own soil. But when we look closer, we notice that our minds are actually full of other people's footprints.

The Silent Invasion of Our Minds

Just take a look at what we feed ourselves with every day... The things we read, the things we hear, those voices we listen to for a brief moment, the fears of a stranger hidden between the lines... They all leak inside slowly, as if walking on tiptoe. A deep meaning from a book, a judgment we hear in a podcast, or even a single comment left quickly under a video finds a place in our minds. Moreover, these entries are so silent that we usually don't even notice them. No one knocks on the door; no one asks, "May I come in?"

Over time, our mind stops being the story of just one person. It turns into a long novel with many narrators and a mix of different voices. Some thoughts feel very familiar because they have been there for years. Others are brand new, but we adopt them so quickly it's surprising. However, not every thought we claim as ours actually comes from our true essence.

Becoming a Stranger to Your Own Voice

Has this ever happened to you? Sometimes you feel like a stranger to a sentence coming out of your own mouth. The words fall out, hit something deep inside, and leave behind an unexpected weight or discomfort. In that moment, you stop and think: “Why did I say this? Does this thought really belong to me? How long has it been with me?” That tiny pause is one of the most precious moments when you notice the crowd inside your mind.

The mind loves to tell stories, as you know. It convinces us, offers logical excuses, and puts even our fears on a very reasonable ground. It lists the "shoulds" and draws thick lines over the "shouldn'ts." Sometimes, we get caught up in this narrative and become the hero of that story without even realizing it. The script is already written, the roles are assigned, and our body has already taken the stage…

The Most Honest Compass: The Body

But we forget one thing: The body does not tell stories. The body does not judge; it only reacts. When those fancy sentences created by the mind reflect on the body, the truth reveals itself clearly.

Just check in with yourself:

• Does your chest tighten when a certain thought passes by?

• Does a word make your breath short?

• Does a belief leave an invisible, heavy load on your shoulders?

If so, there is a mismatch. The body doesn't know how to hide or mask this disharmony. While the mind feeds on memories of the past or the voices of others, the body always belongs to the present, to this very moment. This is why the body's response comes from a much more honest place than the stories the mind makes up.

When you read a sentence or make a decision, look at that first feeling in your body... Is it relief, expansion, or a silent withdrawal? Your compass is right there, inside you.

Freedom is a Remembering

To hear your own voice, you don’t need to silence your mind completely; you just need to learn how to move through those voices. When you stop and become still for a moment, and those loud echoes from the outside fade away, the whispers of the body become clearer. The rhythm of your heart, the depth of your breath, and that subtle intuition inside will tell you what truly belongs to you.

Maybe the whole point is not to block out all external voices, but to learn not to let every voice in without questioning it. It’s about keeping a small distance between yourself and what you hear, read, or the "truths" offered to you. In that distance, you meet your true self.

And at some point, that voice rises not from your mind, but from your deepest depths: “I am free to let go of thought patterns that do not belong to me.”

This is not a rejection; it is a beautiful remembering. Because your original voice was never lost; it just stayed in the background of that crowded marketplace. To hear it again, all you need to do is stop, listen, and trust the honesty of your body.

May your journey be one where your own voice shines through the crowd and guides you.

With love,

Elif Gökçe