This Common Suggestion Is The Worst Advice Ever!

: By Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com

Thanks for visiting InnerSelf.com, where there are 20,000+ life-altering articles promoting "New Attitudes and New Possibilities." All articles are translated into 30+ languages. Subscribe to InnerSelf Magazine, published weekly, and Marie T Russell's Daily Inspiration. InnerSelf Magazine has been published since 1985.

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The worst advice one can ever give, or receive, is "don't talk to yourself". Yes, I know! We're all told to stop talking to ourselves, but is that good advice? It definitely is not! Especially if you realize that your "self" is really your "Self", or inner guidance, or intuition, or voice of Spirit, or whatever you choose to call that wise quiet voice that is within each and everyone of us.

I've found through the years that the best way to get in touch with my inner guidance is to talk to myself (my inner Self). Whether you carry out that conversation out loud or silently does not matter. What matters is to constantly carry on a conversation with that highest part of your consciousness.

Who You Talkin' To?

Now, some of us may be continually having an ongoing conversation inside... but if the conversation is a negative one as in "you idiot", or "that's never going to work out, stupid" then you can be sure that you're talking to the wrong source of guidance. That negative one is the ego's voice, or in Christian terminology some would call that negative voice the devil or the voice of evil. "Evil" is the word "live" spelled backwards... so when you listen to the negative voice of evil, you are not "live" or present. You are not living your own path, your own destiny.

The conversation we need to be having continuously, or at least when decisions or next steps are being considered, is one with the calm, supportive, almost still voice of our Higher Self. Consequently, being told that you shouldn't talk to yourself is the same as being told to not get in touch with your own direct source of wisdom.

Now when I reflected on why people would tell us "stop talking to yourself", it might have to do with the fact that these people, our parents, teachers, and friends, have their own agenda which doesn't necessarily include what is best for you. Just think about it... in school, your inner guidance may say you need to get up and stretch and walk over to the window for a dose of natural light. Now of course that won't sit very well with the teacher who wants to maintain control on her students. And the same desire to control goes for parents and religious leaders.

People who tune in to their inner guidance do not make good sheep or followers. They don't follow the rules blindly, they don't necessarily do what they're told. People who talk to themselves before making decisions may come to realize that following a particular rule is not for their benefit, it's sometimes for the benefit of the person wielding the power.

Talking to yourself is a much-needed support system in these times where we are bombarded with propaganda and other people's agendas. Start by talking to yourself, and asking yourself questions. Listening "internally" for responses as well as looking for clues or directions outside of yourself.

Can You Hear Me Now?

People are not all the same. Some of us are auditory, others visual, others tactile. For those who learn or understand the world through sound, talking to yourself is your prime way of connecting to your guidance. Since all energy is connected, the answer to your questions may be coming from a sound you hear, a car door slamming, a horn you hear... You might hear a loud no or yes coming from down the street when you have posed an internal question. When you tune in to the sounds around you as well as the sounds inside of you, you will discover your guidance.

For visual learners, you may benefit from writing your question and letting your intuition or guidance write the response which is also known as automatic writing. You may also see your answer around you. Some people have experiences of walking by a book case and a book falling at their feet, or just seeming to stick out from the others on the shelf. Visual people do best when they focus outside on visual clues, as opposed to auditory ones.

Tactile learners function best with a hands-on experience. So if you're debating whether something is right for you, you can touch it or hold it in your hands and "feel" it. For example, holding a food over your solar plexus may incur a feeling of acid ingestion (a sure clue that the food is not for you, at least at this time). In the same way, holding a piece of clothing or a book will give you a yes or no feeling. For decisions that can't be touched in that way, you can assign each choice to an inanimate object and hold your hand over it and "feel" which one stimulates a "yes response", using a method similar to psychometry.

Yes, I'm Talking to Myself and No, I'm Not Crazy

I believe that none of us are strictly one type or the other, and we use the various sensory methods either all together or separately as it feels appropriate at the moment. You may have a preferred method of contacting your inner guidance, but the first step is indeed talking to yourself. Make that connection with your own self, rather than the propaganda from advertising, societal rules, and even well-meaning friends and family.

Start talking to yourself. Out loud if you're alone, or silently when with others. Make friends with your intution. Hold inner conversations asking "is this the best action for me" or "what road should I take" or "should I buy this avocado?" or even "what color should I wear today".

Talking to ourselves is not, contrary to popular opinion, a sign of madness. It actually may be our best path to living sanely in a world gone mad.

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About The Author

Marie T. Russell is the founder of InnerSelf Magazine (founded 1985). She also produced and hosted a weekly South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power, from 1992-1995 which focused on themes such as self-esteem, personal growth, and well-being. Her articles focus on transformation and reconnecting with our own inner source of joy and creativity.

Creative Commons 3.0: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License. Attribute the author: Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com. Link back to the article: This article originally appeared on InnerSelf.com

Thanks for visiting InnerSelf.com, where there are 20,000+ life-altering articles promoting "New Attitudes and New Possibilities." All articles are translated into 30+ languages. Subscribe to InnerSelf Magazine, published weekly, and Marie T Russell's Daily Inspiration. InnerSelf Magazine has been published since 1985.