Sunday, March 2, 2008

Dropping the Noise - The Internal Dialogue!

You must learn how to stop your internal dialogue at will.

...I (had) delineated another procedure: walking for long stretches without focusing the eyes on anything. My recommendation was to not look at anything directly but, by slightly crossing the eyes, to keep a peripheral view of everything that presented itself to the eyes. If one keeps one's unfocused eyes fixed at a point just above the horizon, it is possible to notice, at once, everything in almost the total 180-degree range in front of one's eyes.

That exercise is the only way of shutting off the internal dialogue.

....

Nothing of what we do, with the exception of stopping the internal dialogue, can by itself change anything in us, or in our idea of the world!

~"Tales of Power", by Carlos Castaneda

7 comments:

tarakananda said...

Friend,

This is a good post, but I would suggest that there are other ways of cutting off the internal dialog.

Fixing the awareness on the breath is one common way of doing so. Consciousness is always preferable to unconsciousness.

Ray Gratzner said...

Hello,

this is interesting. But why on earth would one give to the flow of thoughts the name dialogue. To how many persons am I talking inside? It could be the inner monologue.

With meditation you surely stop the inner monologue too. The results are the same.
I'll be back

Amarendra said...

Thanks tarakanada for sharing!

Amarendra said...

Thanks, Ray Gratzner, for your unique poser!

Well, I would say, "monologue" could be a "string of linear thoughts" by a "single character" whereas in a "dialogue" there is very often an element of argument and defense - for example, the fearful "I" versus the courageous "I". "Dialogue" indicates "dichotomy" - a division and splitting in mind and perhaps, character;-)

You have started a very interesting discussion!

Anonymous said...

you have copied a bit of one of Castenada's books, and then you state it is the only way?
tsk tsk...

there are nearly as many ways to stop internal chatter as there are humans who experience it.

throw the light of possibility upon man's challenges- encourage others to find their own path- but copying words from another's document to be an expert is just lazy...

jonnyss said...

actually, posting the writings of another, with appropriate credit, is a reference. thank you!

airmanchairman said...

"there are nearly as many ways to stop internal chatter as there are humans who experience it"

Not quite, I suspect, anonymous...

Only as many humans who have striven to fight their internal chatter to a standstill, AND ACTUALLY SUCCEEDED IN DOING SO. .

I would dearly love to hear from others like Tarakananda, Don Juan and Don Genaro (yes I have read Carlos Castaneda's entire bibliography, and am aware of the Eastern meditation techniques of focussing the awareness on the breath), who have boldly gone before and attained the light.

But I am still searching for that formula that will end my mental agony and function as a practical and easy tool to accomplish this task once and for all.

Are there any other techniques known to readers of this blog that can put me out of my misery?