The Problem of the inner voice

[ralphm]

maybe that is why some people can project after falling asleep(myself included), that voice is silent, along with their fears, which may not be that much but can keep the mind talking..

[Do]

I think most of us experience that inner "chatter." (I prefer that term rather than inner "voice" which seems to me to be something else entirely.)  As I'm meditating or going into one of the Focus states, when I become aware of the "chatter," rather than becoming frustrated or trying to shut it up, I simply acknowledge it and allow it to fade away.  It's back in no time, of course!  So I do the same thing again.  As you go more & more deeply into a meditative/relaxed state, however, that voice gets fainter and fainter.  It may be talking, but I'm definitely not listening.  So you may want to exercise patience until that state is reached.  With practice, it can be done.

[fredhedd]

keeping your mind clear is a difficult task.  unless you are very good at it, there won't be much help in trying to while you are attemping an oobe.  if you still hear the voice while trying to project it would be easier to make use of it and try and hold a conversation w/ yourself.  it would be easier to be purposefully distracted then to try so hard at being focused on not being distracted.  the problem w/ this is you may become too distracted and fall asleep instead of projecting.  

i've had some lengthy experience w/ that stage right before and after falling asleep.  i've found that your inner monologue doesn't stop when you fall asleep.  it may seem that way  because you don't remember but i know for sure that mine keeps going.  i've been having some help from either a spirit guide or a dead relative in this particular state.  if i start to fall asleep there will come some noise from the astral that will wake me back up.  it happens alot and i appreciate it tremendously.  unfortunately i have not been able to get out to thank them face to face.  the times i find when i'm woken up suddenly right after falling asleep, i catch my last thought.  usually it's something spoken and completely random and senseless.  i believe the last time it happened i was making reference in my head to how a bmw is just like a submarine.  i woke up and started laughing at myself.

[Senara]

I've found that I simply cannot turn off my mind while meditating and trying for an OBE.  This is what I do to distract myself from thinking too much.  I just imagine a flight of stairs and start climbing - the object is to climb out of my body.  Once while doing this I think I started to fall asleep and a little dark animal ran right in front of my next step and I jerked violently awake.  But another time while doing the same thing I did fall asleep and woke up to what I think was my astral body trying to sit up.  That sensation woke me up but not with a jerk - I was so excited that I couldn't get the feeling back though.  Let me know what you think?  I'm still new so forgive me if I'm off topic on this.

[PeacefulWarrior]

I just wanted to reemphasize a point made by "Do":

"I think most of us experience that inner "chatter." (I prefer that term rather than inner "voice" which seems to me to be something else entirely.)"

I agree with this completely.  There is a big difference between the "chatter" which seems to come from so many different sources and the inner voice, which is something else completely different that I believe each of us has to dicover on our own.

[cainam_nazier]

I don't have so much of a problem with with "inner chatter" so much as hearing other people's chatter.  I find often as I begin to slip I hear voices, but they are not being generated by my own mind.  At least I don't think so.  I tend to hear other peoples conversations and such.  I have heard some really interesting things that way.  The only time I can tell the difference between other peoples chatter and my own is that they never talk to me, only my internal chatter does.

The only other thing that bothers me some times when I start to drift is every so often I will hear some one yell my name.  Like really loud and really quick.  It is alost startling.

[Patty]

Hey there.

I like eavesdropping on other's conversations in my head too  - I agree with David, it's interesting.

But about holding a quiet mind. It is easier the more you do it, and that is true whether you're practicing for the first time ever or again after a break for some time. I am having trouble finding that quiet spot as easily as last summer, but I think I can get there with a little more dedication.

But I had a realization a few days ago - There is a quiet space before you reach a completely quiet mind, where it's not that the messages are gone, but rather that they aren't articulated into words. I think it is words that are so distracting, this insistent voice saying "Okay, after I finish here I need to make dinner for the kds..."

I am fascinated by the progression from one state to another, and I think it's neat that there is a place after the words stop, where the ideas are still there - right on the edge - almost presenting as impressions - but they don't take you away in that form, they just sit there quietly.

I wonder if learning to keep the running dialog in a state of impressions on the edge, rather than as words that demand your attention, is a way to become aware of impressions that can't be easily articulated. (i.e. I wonder if this is a useful state in its own right.) My few experiences with RV, for instance, seemed to involve a state of being able to discern impressions, not words or dialog. I suspect these states are similar if not the same.

And I know that you can go into a limbo quiet place beyond that, I just wanted to mention this stopping point along the way since I have been seeing a lot of it lately! Maybe if you look, you'll see it too.

[Senara]

That's funny Patty!

When you mentioned thinking of dinner for the kids I remembered something.  Once while meditating to a holosync CD (at high volume I might add) I swore I heard what sounded like a coin rattling around in the dryer on the CD which I'd never heard before or since.  The utility room is quite a ways from my bedroom by the way.  When I got moving around I discovered there were 2 quarters rolling around in there.  My daughter had put the clothes in while I was meditating.  I didn't know about them behorehand!!  I found that odd but my husband thought it was dumb.  So I've been afraid to mention it.  Maybe only people who pick up after their familes imagine those things?

But sometimes visualizing instead of just thinking helps me to relax more because that - for some dumb reason it makes me feel more in control of my mind- makes my body seem less in control - while my brain focuses on the more important matters at hand without my body knowing about it as much.

Just some thoughts

Senara

[Do]

As you are meditating or falling asleep (or waking up, for that matter), if you hear voices that are having a conversation from which you are excluded (except as an eavesdropper!) and/or hear your own name called out, you should be aware that these are typical signs of having entered the hypnagogic state (or hypnapompic if you're awakening rather falling asleep).  Simply acknowledge them for what they are and realize that you are dropping into a deeper state of relaxation and that the physical is loosening its hold on you.  In other words, acknowledge and welcome those signs while not trying to cling to them.  Use them to relax further and move further from the physical.

[DjMidgetMan]

I think one of the major problems that people experience is that their mind isnt clear and their inner voice keeps talking to them too much. For example, when I was trying to project, my inner voice kept asking me: is this working? Am I doing the right thing?? Should i change what im doing??
     Is this type of inner voice productive?