The inner voice is too silent

[ThatMan]

I just have 24 hours of complete silence in my head, that inner voice is not anymore there, in fact, if I don't "talk in my head", you know, like a doing conscious action, there's no voice there.Somehow I deactivated that autopilot on my inner voice, I only meditated for about 30 minutes today because there's no need to meditate more.I never experienced something like this, I was able only to just slow down that inner voice, but to actually silence it, that's something new.

I was asking myself the whole day where my inner voice has gone, I can, while fully conscious, not in a meditate state, to actually be in a meditative state as the default mode

I'll pass along two pieces of advice I received Saturday from an ordained Buddhist priest.

1 - Don't stop your practice.
2 - Be ever vigilant. Even when the mind quiets the ego can still work behind the scene. Stealth mode if you will. It's very sneaky. LOL!

Just curious but what type of meditation do you practice or favor?

[ThatMan]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

I'll pass along two pieces of advice I received Saturday from an ordained Buddhist priest.

1 - Don't stop your practice.
2 - Be ever vigilant. Even when the mind quiets the ego can still work behind the scene. Stealth mode if you will. It's very sneaky. LOL!

Just curious but what type of meditation do you practice or favor?

Thanks! Your advices are exactly what was on my mind! I am well aware of all its practices, I've been observing myself for more than a year.

This is what I do: I lay down on my back, on my bed, my face pointing upwards, with my arms around my body or my arms on my stomach and I sit there in silence.When a thought comes in my mind, I just let it be there, without feeding it, eventually it fades away.I also experience the hypnagogic state from time to time, it's like playing a movie in your mind and when you "return" back you can't remember much about it but you have this feeling that you were gone somewhere else.Somehow I managed to remember things and this is how I hear voices and remember what they say to me and this is also how I see visions of other people, it's like I am watching their lives, but this happens very rarely.

I use no technique because I love to discover things on my own.I don't focus on my breath, I don't count, I do nothing, I just sit there :))

How do you meditate, your style? I know that meditation is not a "doing" because you actually do nothing.

I must say that this deep peace is still not enough, like it's no the "ultimate thing", there's something more, I am sure of it, something even "greater".I am also happy for no reason, I smiled all day long.. :))

I use a chair. In fact I just bought a nice office chair and it's adjustable five ways to Sunday! Sitting in a chair the two things to keep in mind is an erect posture and straight spine, however not stiff or forced, and hips should be 4 or 5 inches above the knees. The last bit tilts the pelvis and makes the posture much more stable and comfortable.

Early in the day I do either calm abiding or mindfulness of sound. I'll stick with one for a couple of weeks and then switch. Keeps it fresh. Calm abiding is kind of like mindfulness of breathe but not exactly. It's a Vipassana technique which is also Buddhist like mindfulness techniques. One doesn't focus on a single sensation like at the nostrils or count, but on any and all bodily sensations associated with breathe. Mindfulness of sound is just that, focusing on sound. I have several Tibetan singing bowl YT tracks I use.

Early evening I do choiceless awareness. It's also referred to as open awareness, bare awareness or resting in awareness. There's no object of focus. Just be aware of anything and everything that comes into the field of awareness and without clinging.

What's more? That's a loaded question. LOL! You might want to explore some of the traditions and philosophies underpinning the practice and come to your own understanding.

I came about my understanding through a decade of obsessively digging into consciousness and from many different aspects and disciplines - religions (both Eastern & Western), spirituality, philosophy (both Eastern & Western), neuroscience, psychology and physics - and it slowly marinating over the years and decades. I know it's one heck of an odd combination but for me they all contain at least one, if not several, signposts all pointing in the same direction.

If I had to suggest a beginning point you could check out John Butler's YouTube channel. It's from a Christian perspective and has a couple of vids on meditation and lots of vids on Christian philosophy. Then there's Vedanta Society of NY YouTube channel. It's a Hindu non-dualistic approach with a heavy emphasis on liberation and enlightenment through knowledge, though there's also a meditative component.

Another YT vid that's worth the watch is "The Primacy of Consciousness - Peter Russell - Full Version". Now that I have a bit of understanding of Hindu philosophy I see some of the ideas in his talk. He studied math and physics at Cambridge (I think it was Cambridge) before his interest shifted towards consciousness.

Me, I mix and match. Buddhist meditation and Advaita Vedanta philosophy plus all I absorbed from neuroscience, psychology, philosophy and physics. That works for me but I'll throw out just about my favorite Bruce Lee quote:

"Research your own experience; absorb what is useful, reject what is useless and add what is essentially your own."

Another thought is all roads lead to Rome and all religions are pursing the same goal, albeit down different paths. The trick, I think, is having a good roadmap and understanding the map's symbology.

Whatever is, is and individual belief systems won't change that. Just different approaches based on the time, society and culture in which they arose.

You can also check out all the various Religions & Faiths sub-forums. Maybe something in one of them might strike a chord? Resonate with you?

[sky]

Originally Posted by ThatMan

I just have 24 hours of complete silence in my head, that inner voice is not anymore there, in fact, if I don't "talk in my head", you know, like a doing conscious action, there's no voice there.Somehow I deactivated that autopilot on my inner voice, I only meditated for about 30 minutes today because there's no need to meditate more.I never experienced something like this, I was able only to just slow down that inner voice, but to actually silence it, that's something new.

I was asking myself the whole day where my inner voice has gone, I can, while fully conscious, not in a meditate state, to actually be in a meditative state as the default mode

Our inner voice are just thoughts so if you had no thoughts for 24hours who told you....

Your thoughts told you , so your inner voice was still there doing it's job.

[BigJohn]

Socrates and..... myself would disagree.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by ThatMan

I just have 24 hours of complete silence in my head, that inner voice is not anymore there, in fact, if I don't "talk in my head", you know, like a doing conscious action, there's no voice there.Somehow I deactivated that autopilot on my inner voice, I only meditated for about 30 minutes today because there's no need to meditate more.I never experienced something like this, I was able only to just slow down that inner voice, but to actually silence it, that's something new.

I was asking myself the whole day where my inner voice has gone, I can, while fully conscious, not in a meditate state, to actually be in a meditative state as the default mode

My inner voice does not only speak to me in words, most often it speaks to me in impulses and promptings, signs or symbols, and there is more to it than just being silent inside during meditation, at least for me it also involves maintaining that inner silence throughout the day and being aware of serendipitous happenings. The conversation that I have with my deeper being is most often not in words. It is intuitive, and unmistakable knowing that engulfs my entire being and not just in my head. The more you commune with your deeper being the better you will get to know it. My inner voice most often speaks to me via intuition; it is a silent voice.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Starman

My inner voice does not only speak to me in words, most often it speaks to me in impulses and promptings, signs or symbols, and there is more to it than just being silent inside during meditation, at least for me it also involves maintaining that inner silence throughout the day and being aware of serendipitous happenings. The conversation that I have with my deeper being is most often not in words. It is intuitive, and unmistakable knowing that engulfs my entire being and not just in my head. The more you commune with your deeper being the better you will get to know it. My inner voice most often speaks to me via intuition.

Most of the time, I have conversations as if the voice is my best friend. The best conversation I had, saved my life.
If I did not listen precisely to what was being said and acted on what I was told, I might have lost my life.

[Starman]

Originally Posted by BigJohn

Most of the time, I have conversations as if the voice is my best friend. The best conversation I had, saved my life.
If I did not listen precisely to what was being said and acted on what I was told, I might have lost my life.

I can definitely relate. If I don't listen to my inner voice or do what it tells me I usually end up with
at least and emotional butt kicking. My inner voice has also saved my life many times.
Peace.