A friend of mine gave me a book this week. “The Untethered Soul” by Michael A. Singer. I’m only a few chapters in, but it already resonates with me. In it he talks about our inner voice. You know, the one that never shuts up? The narrator of everything we’re looking at, feeling, and trying to make sense of? Everyone’s got one that seems to continually judge and criticize ourselves and others.

“How would you feel if someone outside really started talking to you the way your inner voice does?” the author asks. “How would you relate to a person who opened their mouth to say everything your mental voice says?”

Hmm. Interesting question. I knew right away that such a person would be intolerable, which led to an experiment. Today, while driving around doing errands, I decided to audibly speak what my inner voice was saying. My God, there wasn’t a moment’s rest! I mean, not one second went by when the car wasn’t filled with chatter. I literally wanted to slap myself. Just imagine that scene.

It may seem silly, but I’m glad I did it. I mean, I wouldn’t spend ten minutes with someone who never shut up and threw negative what ifs at me with every new idea or concept that crossed my mind. Why in hell do we allow ourselves to spend a lifetime putting up with that crap?

I also had a big AHA moment today related to this. I realized that when I’m writing the inner voice shuts up. Amazing, don’t you think? Is that the true definition of passion then? Is that what signifies a life purpose? The thing that stops the incessant narrator? I’m beginning to believe it is. This would also explain why – as a society – we do everything in our power to distract ourselves; often in extremely unhealthy ways.

Start paying attention to the messages your inner voice is sending and, more specifically, if there are any activities that make it disappear. You’re not that voice. You’re everything good that’s beyond it.

 

outside-my-front-door-035Photo credit: Roma Assaff