#internal chatter

David: *walks in, shooting fingers guns* “Hey.”

Robin Ami: *bashfully giggles and hides*

New Post has been published on https://www.crownofcompassion.org/2018/08/31/a-single-diamond-castle-many-rooms/

A single diamond castle - many rooms

“I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms.”- Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle

Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller continue Chapter 4 of Boundaries for Your Soul as they observe that hurting parts of your soul don’t isolate themselves.  Rather, they exist in constellations.  Yet, regardless of how many feelings you experience at the same time, the way forward remains the same.  You extend your feeling curiosity and compassion from your Spirit-led self.

However, to develop curiosity for your strong, painful emotions, first ask those other competing parts to give you some space.  You must stay focused on that one emotion until you can observe it without judgment. And you must understand why it was so strong.

Writing in her bestselling book Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott describes what to do when internal chatter interrupts:

“Close your eyes and get quiet for a minute until the chatter starts up.  Then isolate one of the voices and imagine the person speaking as a mouse.  Pick it up by the tail and drop it into a mason jar.  The isolate another voice, pick it up by the tail, drop it in the jar. . . .  Imagine that there is a volume-control button on the bottle. . . .  Then turn it all the way down.”

While you want to include the other parts, they must not interfere too much.  You need to learn all you need to know from the original part.  Later, check back with any parts waiting patiently on the sidelines.

In conclusion, the authors note, getting space from our pain enables us to comfort ourselves.  As a result, you pain takes up less space in your soul.  With God’s help, you erect a gentle boundary around your pain.  It then settles comfortably in one chamber of your heart.

Today’s question: How might you see your soul as a single diamond castle with many rooms?  Please share.

My Thinking Corner…

Negativity only breeds more of its kind

  Have you noticed that once your train of thought goes off on a negative tangent, it simply sets the ball of negative emotions, reactions and mindset rolling fast downhill and at the end of the day, all these feedback is internalized, that it takes extra effort to rid ourselves of what that has become embedded in our psyche.

Learn to identify and isolate…

Hey, It’s Your Internal Chatter!

The thoughts racing through your mind throughout the day, often referred to as your internal chatter, belong to you! And, although it may appear to “just happen,” the reality is that you are the one generating the thoughts. Those thoughts are heavily influenced by circumstances and conditions, but you still own them. You may have thoughts pop into your mind you did not consciously plan, again…

Ela: Kill them.

Analyst: No, don't kill them. Thats' rude. Also completely impractical.

Ela: *shrug*

Robin: This is why you don't call the shots.