How do you control "inner chatting" which occurs inside the "mind"?

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   techapposted 11 years ago

   How do you control "inner chatting" which occurs inside the "mind"?

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   ahorsebackposted 11 years ago

   Good luck with that , I never could do it !

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   Sarra Garrettposted 11 years ago

   I just tell my 'evil twin' to shut up.  lol.  I think the 'inner chatting' is somewhat normal as we all tend to 'talk to ourselves'.  However, when it comes to having bad or evil thoughts against yourself or others it's time to see a counselor.  If more people saw a counselor it would be a happier world.

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      Emanate Presenceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      For a time I picked up on what someone told me, that he called his ego 'Igor.' A little humor doesn't hurt. I prefer drawing upon the inner counselor as it is more self-contained, self-responsible and leads to psycho-spiritual maturity. It is innate.

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   Dan Barfieldposted 11 years ago

   Check out Eckhat Tolle on youtube - the video you want is called: "How do we break the habit of excessive thinking?"
   This is the most straight forward answer to this question I've come accross. You are right to try and find an answer to it too. We are constantly bombarded by our own mental chatter. Different thoughts vying for our attention like mental parasites that sap our energy and distract us from our goals and from attaining peace of mind.
   Meditation as a mental discipline is all about quelling the babbling brook of self-talk and this is the best way to do it. There are loads of hubs on the subject on hubpages and loads of great video tutorials on youtube. Eckhart Tolle is my favorite speaker on this subject - there is a great guided meditation on youtube of his too. Seriously, check it out. Hope this helps.

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   ExoticHippieQueenposted 11 years ago

   Is it really necessary to control it?  It's normal to have those mental thought processes conversing in your head.  When they become dark, obsessive or occur in a rapid-fire succession, it's time to get some help.  Otherwise, it would actually be counter-productive to your mental health to try to stop them.  There is a book called "What to Say When You Talk to Yourself", a great book.  In it, the author teaches you how to use the inner voices for your own good, how to speak in a positive tone to yourself, and how to harness the energy for a better inner and outer life.

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   Mike Marksposted 11 years ago

   relate to it as if it is a language you do not understand, mandarin, french, whatever... gibberish, not necessarily noise, a word that bestows upon it more power than it deserves, but simply sound between your ears, a music, a lullaby that reminds you of earthly roots in a pleasant way... you have no need, want or impulse to respond to its dictates... it may demand that your hand move, but it can not move your hand, only you yourself can choose to move your hand, and with that realization discover and know there is a "thinking without thinking", a way to "action" that is not proceded by "thinking"...a direct action in response to "knowing"... you "know" what you know without reviewing the verbalage... reviewing verbalige takes time, a second per syllable, and can slow down action... a good fighter, for instance, can not slow his actions down to the speed of verbalige, he can only respond in the moment to what her already knows, and thereupon must "trust" what he already knows... and to so "trust" you need not consistently review the verbalige, the inner audio, for that would be nontrust... to so review, set a side 20 minutes or 40 minutes a day for that, let it be one of your meditations, then rise assured that your thinking, your knowing, your intentions, are n order and take on the rest of the day's 23+ hours... knowing, also, that yes, the "language" will "audio" between your ears, like a powerless child making irresponsible demands perhaps, that quiets as you realize how little attention you need give it, yet, yes, utilyze that voice as well when appropriate, and "know" when its appropriate... and, at times, as your attention drifts from that language that attempts to discribe reality to you, reality in its own terms, recognize that the voice is its self a make-believe person that insists it must exist, that you can and will not kill it, and that make-believe person striving to survive is what is named "ego" ... and as you drift from ego you find that quiet place that is nonlanguage without language to discribe reality to you.... then the true reality is apparent, your breath in and out, your feeling, your presence, and silence, timeless silence invincible, silence eternal... and at that point if one final word you understand does sound, it may be the word "home", and that word with its own conceptional reality can drift away as well in presence of actual reality... existence everlasting, stillness, silence, immortality, and your witness observing be.

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   SidKempposted 11 years ago

   It is, I think, impossible to control inner chatting. That would be like yelling at a room full of kindergarteners to "shut up." It would only fuel the fire.
   
   It is quite possible to eliminate inner chatting through awareness, love, and wisdom. In the Buddhist tradition, the state of mind where inner chatting stops is called concentration, which is pronounced "Zen" in Japanese. (That's where Eckhardt Tolle comes in.)
   
   Dwelling in awareness and stillness, we can stop the inner chater. When it stops, we open to direct experience of life called Awakening or Enlightenment. It's well worth the effort.
   
   Of course, the chatter comes back. But we can learn to turn it on and off, and, in doing so, we lessen the power of fear and worry in our lives.
   
   Studies show that the average person thinks about 10,000 thoughts per day, and is not aware of most of them. I'm down to about 300 per day. I know them well. Many are even useful.
   
   If you want to join me in practice, please read my hubs about Zen and about Continuous Prayer Throughout the Day.

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      Mike Marksposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Tolle offers good stuff because he plagerizes good stuff, mouthing echoing writers and teachers before him... Zen is great stuff but Eckhardt doesn't come into it in any way... Zen covered the power of Now before Eck's parents left their diapers...

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      Emanate Presenceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You seem troubled, my son. Just kidding. I have been jealous of Tolle at times too. Read 'Power of Now' in India, and it saw me through challenging times. Really, what works are not re-written from earlier wisdom. There is no new thing under the sun.

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      SidKempposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Tolle is a popularizer. There's nothing wrong with that. I've chosen to work directly with the original sources, who are available in the Zen community. But if you take a teacher, choose wisely, and you don't need one!

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      Mike Marksposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Emanate,I won't comment on whether two assumptions you make are correct,I will merely point out that they indeed are assumptions,and don't confused the "assumed" with "what is".1.that I am jealous of Tolle too  2.There is no new thing under the sun.

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   GoldenThreadPressposted 11 years ago

   Just tell your mind to "Shhhhhhhhhh."   Best Regards--Deb

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      Emanate Presenceposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That works for you?

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      GoldenThreadPressposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great meditators use repetitive sound to quiet the mind. Why wouldn't it work in this case? Either that or redirect the mind to something else. Either works for me.

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