The "voice" inside of "your" head

[mandyjw]

People translate thoughts differently, so for some intuition and insight comes as a voice in the head. Other get images, sensations, etc. The feeling that goes with it is the more important part. You can have lots of random thoughts that you've never had before that feel amazing and give you new ideas. Or you could have a lot of thoughts that doubt yourself. It's not how many thoughts there are or whether they even stay on the same subject or not that's important, it's how they feel.

Rather than resting attention on thoughts and making being "thoughtless" an ideal, it's much easier and helpful to pay attention to how you feel.

We cannot know how someone else experiences thoughts and more importantly how they feel, all comparison is usually a thought that implies superior or inferior. In the realm of feeling we are completely alone. Or all one rather. 

[seeking_brilliance]

@Galyna are you one of the ones realizing they have no inner monologue? Mine is rampant, and now that I'm writing fiction again, I'm constantly finding myself narrating boring events of my life like driving to work "I pulled out of the driveway, not exactly certain if the oven was turned off, but oh well. Let it burn. "  That kind of stuff, its driving me crazy!
(my example was joking)

Edited June 15, 2020 by seeking_brilliance

[Galyna]

4 hours ago, seeking_brilliance said:

are you one of the ones realizing they have no inner monologue?

I don’t narrate mine, only if I am about to talk to someone I will rehearse it in my mind, otherwise no. I try to stay as conscious as possible to keep that inner peace. I love to observe: a tree, a person, nature. So when I am observing someone my awareness drowns in that person, but thank God my mind doesn’t talk, I just try to be as attentive to that person as possible, without judging them with my inner voice. ?

[Jacobsrw]

On 12/06/2020 at 7:25 AM, Galyna said:

Guys, I really need some help here. If you can answer my question I would appreciate it a lot.

So, I am reading this book by Michael A. Singer "Untethered Soul."

(Thank you, @cetus I fell in love with the book from the first page. That was a very good advice. Absolutely love it, love it,  love it! )

In this book the author states that all of us have this constant annoying voice that takes multiple sides during the day and never shuts up. Nothing new, we all know it, right?. However, I wanted to ask people here who is "on topic".

Do you guys have the gaps between the voice talking?

I was surprised when reading the book that my voice is not acting the way he describes, please read below how the author gives an example of the "voice":

"What am I doing? I cant go to sleep yet. I forgot to call Fred. I remembered in the car but did not call. If I do not call now…oh waits, it is too late. I shouldn’t call him now. I don’t even know why I thought about it. I need to fall asleep. Oh shoot, now I cant fall asleep. I am not tired anymore. But I have a big day tomorrow, and I have to get up early.” (Singer, 2007) 

Wait what?  If my voice talks to me like this I would go insane. Glad I do not have this "verbal diarrhea" all the time in my head. 

I really want to know since people are doing some progress here with meditations, etc. How do your "voices" talk? 

Do you guys see more images or a movie like visions in your head? Do you use the "voice" when really need to remember something, for a technical reason? 

I am aware of this "voice" pretty much all the time. I know I am the one who observes it, however it does not make it any easier to get what I'm chasing for....

How to understand the level of my awareness if I can not compare it with others? Does it mean that I am more aware and do not notice it since I am in this mode for a long time. I do not understand then how to "catch" this special state you all talking about...How to be even more aware.

Thank you very much, 

Hugs.

 

 

Singer is correct in his explanation here. In fact, I would go as far to say what he is stating is far beyond the ordinary awareness we operate.

He used an explicit example above. Really, it’s implicit mental activity that we succumb to. We have excess noise to degrees much subtler than he explained. Plans about what to do, where we must go next, what’s happening tomorrow or next week, what had happened a minute ago, yesterday or will happen tomorrow. Even banal mentalism such as labeling a present experience in varying ways “this is comfortable”, “I like this”, “I don’t like that”, “that’s interesting, that’s not” and so forth. All this is what we are enmeshed in much subtler than we know.

It’s not what you are aware of having noticed, it’s that what we do, we are not yet aware of it. Ralston calls this the uncognised mind. The process of being so immersed in mental fixation it appears normal and we think it undeniably false that we would be. We have so much chatter of the mind we a obfuscated from seeing it. 

A better question to ask and put to the test is this: what happens when I attempt to still myself, do nothing and just be? 

This rudely demonstrates our relentless activity of the mind and inability to silence it.  

Thoughts are extremely pervasive it’s just we are so accustom to them we cannot see their excessive predominance.

Simply look close enough and you will see them ubiquitously and in endless degrees.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Jacobsrw

[Galyna]

@Jacobsrw hey, thanks for the answer. ?
The book has finished. I would say that it became bestseller because he went only that far to explain enlightenment. He still operates within the frame of time and space. I would say for the mediocre it is a cool guide to start with. I read far advanced books than this one. However, what I love about Singer is that he is very simple in putting you back in the present moment. The whole experience was a meditation for me. 
now... about the thoughts. All I want to know how my inner dialogue differs from others and have I advanced just a little bit on my path. I have this inner space call it “awareness “ if you like for a long time. I acknowledge my thoughts and when I am conscious I never identify with my thoughts. The thought arises, I laugh at it and let it go. To be honest it is super hard to stay “awake” when involved in conversation where I need to tell my opinion. I fall asleep when need to use my brain for the technical tasks. 
I am still learning how to let go. My challenge is to let go of what I really love: people and experiences. I am clinging to experience. If I like it, I want to repeat it again. I still have desires. I am working on dropping my dearest dreams and wishes. It is way harder than to drop or let go of negative experiences. When you have a wonderful experience it is hard to let it go and not cling to it. 
However, you should train your psyche like a dog, willpower needed. 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Galyna

[Galyna]

15 hours ago, mandyjw said:

Rather than resting attention on thoughts and making being "thoughtless" an ideal, it's much easier and helpful to pay attention to how you feel.

Thanks for the feedback ?

I feel amazing, this is not an issue. I am pretty calm inside. 
I want to be more centered in “my” being. I am working on letting go whether a thought or a pleasant experience. The more you let go the more selfless you become. I was just wondering how my inner mind differs from other people. Here is what I wanted to know, for instance are you aware of your body, body movements, bodily sensations throughout the day or you fall asleep when you forget about it because you are busy thinking about something else. Are you present all the time or you allow your thoughts to carry you away. When it happens are you aware of being aware or only “wake up” when the experience is over and you realize that you were asleep and remember about your center later on during the day. 

[Jacobsrw]

1 hour ago, Galyna said:

@Jacobsrw hey, thanks for the answer. ?
The book has finished. I would say that it became bestseller because he went only that far to explain enlightenment. He still operates within the frame of time and space. I would say for the mediocre it is a cool guide to start with. I read far advanced books than this one. However, what I love about Singer is that he is very simple in putting you back in the present moment. The whole experience was a meditation for me. 
now... about the thoughts. All I want to know how my inner dialogue differs from others and have I advanced just a little bit on my path. I have this inner space call it “awareness “ if you like for a long time. I acknowledge my thoughts and when I conscious I never identify with my thoughts. The thought arises, I laugh at it and let it go. To be honest super hard to stay awake when involved in conversation where I need to tell my opinion. 
I am still learning how to let go. My challenge is to let go of what I really love: people and experiences. I am clinging to experience. If I like it, I want it to be again. I still have desires. I am working on dropping my dearest dreams and wishes. It is way harder than to drop or let go of negative experience. When you have a wonderful experience it is hard to let it go and not cling to it. 
 

welcome 

Indeed. Most best sellers are stage orange due to the system in which glorifies them operates from it 

People on this path need to read radically minded books like Ramana, Maharaj, Ralston, Adyashanti, Spira etc.

This does not negate books like that in which you read. However, they merely are concerned with relativity and survival, only useful up until a point.

Yeah with thoughts they can be a tricky thing to understand. It’s not simply that we all have the same thought patterns, it’s that thoughts occur according to our sense of self.

Its great you have had some development regarding the nature of your mind. Letting go is a powerful practice. However, I urge you to never underestimate the minds incessancy. It deludes us far more than we grant it. If you spend enough time in solitary isolation you will see so much that is ordinarily difficult to see. Mystical experiences can show to you just how wrapped up in the ego-minds mental fixations we are.

The best thing is just to be open for more learning and position yourself like an open book. It is often where we overlook deep discovery in these matters reside.

Edited June 16, 2020 by Jacobsrw

[Galyna]

21 minutes ago, Jacobsrw said:

Peopel on this path need to read radically minded books like Ramana, , Maharaj, Ralston, Adyashanti, Spira etc.

Oh dear... I read most of them including: Ramesh S. Balsekar, Chopra, Watts, McKena, Tolle, you name it, lol....

21 minutes ago, Jacobsrw said:

Yea with thoughts they can be a tricky thing to understand. It’s not simply that we all have the same thought patterns, it’s that thoughts occur according to our sense of self.

That is what fascinates me the most, I wish I could have this experience to jump into someone head to compare. 
 

 

21 minutes ago, Jacobsrw said:

The best thing is just to be open for more learning and position yourself like an open book. It is often where we overlook deep discovery in these matters reside.

Have you come across Irvin D. Yalom? 

[Jacobsrw]

17 hours ago, Galyna said:

Oh dear... I read most of them including: Ramesh S. Balsekar, Chopra, Watts, McKena, Tolle, you name it, lol....

That is what fascinates me the most, I wish I could have this experience to jump into someone head to compare. 
 

 

Have you come across Irvin D. Yalom? 

That’s a good start. Self inquiry,  contemplation and psychedelics are even better.

Mm me too actually, sometimes the humility to do such a thing, understand one’s experience directly intrigues also. Much ignorance could be shedded way from all our assumptions we are accustom to making.

Yes I have actually. I have had to do brief study on him for psychology. He was a specialist in existentialism, one of its key pioneers. He has some very fruitful information to share. Namely, that suffering, fear, guilt and the dark side of phenomenology is what reveals our deepest sense of self.

Victor Frankyl is quite good also. You should read ‘mans search for meaning’. 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Jacobsrw

[Galyna]

11 hours ago, Jacobsrw said:

He was a specialist in existentialism, one of its key pioneers.

Oh, I would love this, I need to order from Amazon ?. Have never heard about Victor. 
why Psychology is not my major? Lol