We have a voice in our head that always seems to be talking. That voice is constantly evaluating what’s good and what isn’t. It’s constantly evaluating our past experiences, potential future outcomes, what people think of us, etc.
That voice is a dialogue we have with ourselves. It’s the voice of our inner debates. It’s the false things we say to ourselves about ourselves, about others, and about our circumstances.
It thinks it knows everything, and at the same time it argues with itself. It’s the inner voice we use to talk ourselves into and out of things. It’s the arguments we imagine ourselves having with other people. The voice that tells you you’re better than you actually are and the voice that tells you you’re worse than you actually are.
Our true voice — the still quiet voice of the spirit, doesn’t speak with words. It doesn’t speak English or any other linguistic, but we understand it. That is, if we’re listening. If we turn off the dialogue and just listen.
The dialogue is like ripples in a pond. It’s a disturbance. A disturbance to our otherwise peaceful nature. Another analogy would be mud. As Lao Tzu wrote: “do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear?”