So... for the last eight years of guiding creative souls to face and overcome their blocks, I've always believed that everyone has an inner critic that would talk to them inside their head. But yesterday I happened upon someone who was flipping out over a "fun fact" they discovered; then I in turn had my world flipped as well!!
The idea that has everyone questioning everything is this:
There are some people who can "hear" a clear internal narrative inside their head, and some people don't.
What in the what!?
If you're like me, you can (and often do!) have conversations with yourself inside your head. But apparently there are some people who don't think in complete sentences, it's more abstract and/or fragmented.
I have no idea how I've gone this long talking to others about our inner worlds and NOT realized that the thought process can be different for everyone!! Sure, I knew we all experience and navigate our inner worlds differently. And I've heard how people hear or sense their intuition differently - either with words, images, feelings or hunches... but it didn't occur to me that they may think that way as well!!
So now I'm questioning everything, and I'd love to learn more about this.
In my experience, I can sometimes have a "negative" thought, which feels like someone else talking to me inside my head saying something like "Oh you're so stupid!" or "Why did you say that!?" - which I then have to consciously counter argue or reframe.
I'll take a risk at making another assumption - that we all experience fears and doubts - and if so, how does this show up in those who don't hear an internal narrative?? How do they make sense of their world if not with language? How do they make decisions or think something through if they don't journal daily? How do they get curious about life and ask questions to themselves?
I can hear all these questions and more circling around in my brain, and it's getting kinda loud and full in here! lol
---->> I'd love to hear from you - how do you experience your inner world and thoughts??
Click on the quick poll, then tell me more in the comments below!
Always in curiosity and love,
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Ummm, yeah, no. I often don’t know what I’m thinking until it comes out of my mouth! Clearly there was thinking going on, as I’m able to articulate complex strings of words that (usually) add up to something… but whoever is in there doing the work must be shy. I think she hides behind boxes and furniture.
I think in pictures…
lol I love how even in describing how your mind works, it’s an image!
So, this is very interesting to me. I have been a teacher for many years, mostly in elementary school. When I am teaching reading and writing in particular, I find out about how the children see and hear in their brains and I’ve been shocked too, to find out that many do not have an inner voice. Others do not have an inner screen where they see things in pictures. Added to this is that my son has a disability that is autism related and so I’ve had almost 30 years of trying to understand how differently people experience the world. I’m not saying that people without an inner voice have autism, just that autism has taught me not to make assumptions about anything. It’s sort of terrifying and exciting at the same time to realize that there are more ways to experience the world.
Oooh, I’m curious now if some of those kids develop an inner voice as they get older. I know the “inner critic” in particular is developed from past experiences. But perhaps those “voices” of doubt or protection show up differently based on the core way your thoughts work. So interesting!!
I couldn’t answer the quick poll because my answer would have to be “sometimes, Yes, and sometimes only a feeling or emotion. Occasionally I will drop something on the floor, and say, “That was stupid,” but for instance when I’m creating something in my art journal, one layer leads to another without much verbalization, and I “know” what works and what doesn’t. Another example is feeling a strong emotion or feeling that’s rather vague, and pulling out my writing journal. It’s only in the process of setting down the words that my thoughts become clear. I understand the concept of an “inner critic” but I can’t say that I hear apecific words most of the time. Then again, I might look at a page that’s not pleasing to me, and I might say, “that is too dark; I need to lighten it up. How can I do that?” So in summary, I’d have to say that my internal dialogues use different forms of communication. I know this sounds muddled — maybe because I’m trying to verbalize a combination of verbal and non-verbal communication! Great fun to think about!
Your process sounds very similar to mine! I hear my thoughts A LOT. But there are other ways I feel and “know” things depending on the situation.
You have expressed how I operate exactly. Also, I think sometimes the old reptilian brain reacts on instinct and by-passes the need for language. I just feel the emotion taking over.
This is the best thread ever and so very interesting. I do think in complex conversation but when working creatively it comes as a felt experience then turns into words. I had a coworker with synesthesia who when given a series of number experienced them as colors. For example, four would be red, 7 would be blue. I was so jealous! Living in a colorful sensed world. He said it was completely normal for him and he had no idea other people did not experience their thoughts in the same way until he was a teenager!
https://www.livescience.com/60707-what-is-synesthesia.html
Wow, that’s fascinating!!
I learnt a long time ago that not everyone see things in pictures. I can not understand the working of the human mind anymore than I can under stand physics. God’s creativity in providing a variety of abilities to translate the world and how we live in it shows.
God desire to meet His creation where ever they are. It makes for a very interesting place to be with the opportunity to explore many avenues of thought if we will be open to experience new and different approaches to the complexity of life. Our God is awesome. Amen
My thoughts come like shellfire! Rapid thoughts questioning and answering almost faster than I can keep up with! Definitely not complete sentences. Its like an internal argument between me and myself, with help from my Mum who died in 1993. I love it!
My Inner Voice (named Bill, after my father), definitely talks in sentences. Telling me I’m not good enough, should have tried harder, that I’m clumsy, etc. I’m one of the 3% who can’t visualise. Blank, black wall inside my brain. Nothing, nada. I also rarely remember my dreams, they’re gone within seconds of waking. Imagine/visualise yourself doing … nope. I’m also a tactile learner – put the tool in my hand, keyboard under my fingers, let me see how you do it, then I’m good. I can do that. But there’s no image to transfer from brain to work surface. Makes making art an interesting challenge, but I do ok.
Hi Kristal,
I think in words, but my daughter who is a visual-spatial learner thinks in images. We think that is probably why she had a speech delay. She says it’s kind of like watching a movie.
Kristal, interesting thoughts and questions, thank you for your post. My mind tends to use feelings to translate my world. I have to write out my thoughts often to understand my thinking. Does that make sense? I have kicked out the inner critic for the most part, but at times, she’ll show up to test if I still have her blocked.
I communicate with my inner self in sentences too. I sometimes feel like I have a 3 year old kid inside. While I’m trying to go to sleep it’s like “What is the second verse to the song…? I say I don’t care and want to go to sleep. “ or “Look at that tree! Isn’t that cool?” It’s fun!
I banished my inner critic years ago. I was in my mid-20’s and suddenly realized that I was hard on myself but understanding and compassionate towards others. I was on my way to work and as soon as I got there I went into the bathroom, looked myself in the mirror, and promised I would always be there for myself. I would make mistakes and it was all right, I would keep trying to bring out the best in myself.
That said, most of the inner talking I do is articulating my thoughts to someone else. I did a daily journal for years, then decided I wanted to write more focused pieces for other people, so now I have a short daily blog and I try to relate events in my life to my blog. When I make mistakes, get upset, how does my mind work? I notice the feelings and my inner voice is quiet. I have all sorts of techniques to change my emotions (I’m a Master Practitioner of NLP among other things), but I seldom use them. I trust my subconscious to figure it out and take care of it. All I have to do is be quiet and patient. I trust myself to learn and grow from whatever is going on. Mostly. The one thing I sometimes do is visual. I have a few images I use to remind myself what I’m aiming for. One is an upward spiral with a beaming sun at the top, the other is a rocket with the words “rocket fuel” to remind me to use the emotional energy for something constructive while the problem resolves itself.
I was a physics major, and people who are good at physics and math have to be good at visual thinking.
Great topic!
I love that you made that promise to yourself when you realized you were being hard on yourself, and now you can trust your subconscious to do great work! And I agree, visual images are so helpful in reminding us of bigger things. Thank you for sharing those, how beautiful!
Great question! I love these sorts of ponderings and investigations.
No, I don’t think in whole sentences, not even in words. Like someone said above, I sometimes talk to other people in my head, trying to explain them what I’m thinking. In that way I clarify things for my self too, I guess.
I do this in different languages too ;).
My critic reveals itself in feelings. I’m prone to depression and sensitive to atmospheres around me. These can sometimes be rationalized but I feel words can not always express my feelings.
A critic that speaks in sentences? Interesting!
Great reading all these answers! Thanks
“I’m prone to depression and sensitive to atmospheres around me.” I can relate to that!
The trick is to learn to listen, that’s what Eugene Gnedlin’s Focusing is all about:
From Intuitions to “A hah!s” : A Predictable MethodFocusing is a naturally-occurring, internal, problem solving process. It happens when an individual stops to ponder at the felt “edge” of what is known, the sense that there is “something-that-is-more-than-words.” Research on success in psychotherapy showed that the clients who changed most in therapy were those who were naturally stopping to “ponder upon” this unclear, felt, “intuitive” sensing of where they were stuck or how they could heal. Research on creativity found the same thing. The most creative people were those who naturally stopped to “ponder” at this intuitive “edge” of what they already knew. They would go back-and-forth between this unclear “intuitive feel” and words or images until they found symbols that were exactly “right” in capturing the “feel” of this intuitive edge of consciousness.
—http://www.cefocusing.com/freedownloads/2b1bCompleteFocusingInstructions.pdf
It’s powerful stuff. Ann Weiser Cornell’s “The Power of Focusing” does a good job of explaining.
Gendlin, not Gnedlin.
Yess! I get what you’re saying! Exploring these vague feelings is interesting. Had to learn at an early age to do that. But it hasn’t made me more verbal in my thoughts. It’s just that I recognize or ‘know’ the truth of what and why I’m feeling. ‘Pondering at the intuitive edge’….Great description!
We are so unique it is so interesting to read how others experience their inner lives. As a creative who is deeply spiritual, I believe we have three voices, our own, our critic and our creator. All clamour for attention. I have learned and continue to learn, to shut off the critic’s voice. I journal my thoughts and ask questions of my creator, I don’t always get answers but I journal when I do. For me lIfe is a dance of getting to know the voice and heart of my soul’s creator.
This is a good question.
I have whole conversations in my head, sometimes with myself, but also with others. I write fiction, and all those characters I write up up there too, and they will talk with me or at me sometimes. That sounds like I’m crazy, but I swear I’m not alone in this. I have writer friends and we have conversations and one will come out with something like, “Seamus is shaking his head at you.” (Quote from yesterday actually). Or they will say something like, “Brian says you have to find a trainer.” (I really should but hate to pay out money when you tube has exercise videos.)
I’m not sounding any less crazy here, hmm.
Ok more on just the me bit…I have two levels of talking in my head….I will hear a thought in the background then the conscious part or upper part of me will repeat it, sort of “out loud” in my head….I actually feel like I have not had the thought until I’ve thought it “out loud” so to speak.
Not only that, but I also do visuals. When I’m reading or writing, I see the story like I’m watching a movie in my head.
I have a question back to you.
When you read a book, do you hear the words?
If so is it your voice you hear or the characters voice?
And do you see the story or just see or hear the words?
This felt so curious I wanted to hop on to this conversation too!
I love reading because I see the story in my head like a movie and the characters speak in their own voices. I can’t watch the rest of the Harry Potters because that is not my Sirius, not the man I had pictured in my mind when I read the books!
I wonder if anyone here has synesthesia, where you see words in color or feel color in music?
For me Wednesday and Friday are red, Thursday is green and Tuesday is blue, Sunday and Monday are yellow and Saturday is black. Weird, right? The number 5 is red, 7 is green and 4 is blue. That’s it. Sometimes I think in sentences, but more often I suppose I just perceive. I also hear a very different voice that I “hear” as the Holy Spirit. Very gentle and compelling.
I can totally see how the characters you develop in your books would speak to you!! Because yes, when I read I hear them in my head with their voice and I also see a lot of it out like a movie.
I don’t think I usually think in sentences – and I find it absolutely mindblowing to hear that someone thinks in sentences, like, all the time?! Whoa! This thought really stopped me and made me think, and also made me realize that I HAVE TO start journaling just to get some sense on to what I am actually thinking about things.
My brain feels like it has “too many tabs open”. You know, the joke that ends in “and I don’t know which one is playing the song!” I listen to music a lot and if there’s nothing playing, my head usually has a song playing “as backgroud music”.
I do sometimes think in sentences – and sometimes I when I do, it’s in English, which is not my native language, just something I’m apparently so good at that I think (and sometimes dream) in that language. It’s more like a monologue with myself when it happens.
Then there’s time when I think of things I should have said or would want to say. I’m having full made-up conversations in my head telling off my nasty co-workers or finally figuring out what I should have said to that one person in my past from years ago – or that sort of scenarios. You know, “shower thoughts”, but also when I am not in a shower.
Most of my thinking is rapid, abstract thoughts, emotions, ideas, conclusions and memories. I have a strong visual thought process and I see things in pictures and “3D-objects”. I do have amazing spatial perception so I can move things around in my head as easily as I do it on the 3D-modeling softwares. I am an excellent packaging designer – I can lay boxes flat in my mind. This led me to be a designer by occupation.
My recent brush with depression felt a lot like physical emotions. Talking about what happened to me makes me sweat hard and anxiously and turns my stomach every time. I burnt out over these last 5 months and was so mentally tired I couldn’t even finish words or sentences, or fumbled the sentence structure or used a completely another word when talking, and no one noticed, or cared at work. When someone would say depression is like a tiny voice that says to them ‘they are no good and can’t do anything’, mine is not a voice, it’s just an invisible wall in my brain, where I suddenly get an impulse to do or try something and then just don’t want to execute it and feel sadness and incompetence.
I must start journaling again.
Thank you Kristal, I think I really needed this moment of self-reflection.
And thank you to you too for sharing so openly! Writing it all out definitely offers us insights we may not have realized without it. I can totally relate to how you describe depression, and much of what you shared here. Especially the re-hashing of past conversations!! lol I often have to remind myself that I can’t change the past and I Just have to let it go.
Let me see if I can make this short. As a child of 3 yrs old I drew around the lines on my closet door. Mom made me scrub it off! That did not discourage me. If I had an assignment in school that involved art I was in heaven. I still have an assignment I was given that we had to make an Egyptian Newspaper. Of course mine had lots of pictures in it. I wanted to be a fashion designer and was already signed up to go to school in Atlanta, Ga. However God had other plans for me. When I was a Senior in High School I ended up getting sick, losing weight and had emergency surgery for a ruptured ulcer in my stomach. I then had to repeat my senior year, we moved to a different location and I went to Nursing School and became an RN. I spent my nursing time in critical care units in hospitals until I was 55 yrs old, then renovated a house into a bed and breakfast and ran that for 1 yrs, now retired and doing art.