A Work in Progress
What brings you peace?
Read to the end for a trial for an app that brings me a measure of peace
Peace is something that I have always found elusive, particularly in my own head. My internal monologue starts up from the moment I wake up in the morning and doesn’t stop until I go to sleep in the evening. It’s always been the same ever since I can remember. My internal monologue isn’t always a particularly positive one, so I don’t really enjoy the experience. What could I do about it though?
Well, in my childhood and teen years I would read, watch TV, listen to music, make up entire games of cricket in my head (!), anything that I could concentrate on. While I was doing that I was quietening my inner voice. Also, I found that if I could completely exhaust myself with physical activity I could get some peace, at least for a while. Even in adulthood I found it impossible to drown it out with anything other than distraction activities. Then I discovered two apps on my phone that made a huge amount of difference.
Happy Color is the online equivalent of the old paint by numbers. I find it marvellously calming and I have set myself the target of completing every picture of the day this year (2025). The pictures are extremely varied, but my favourite ones are those which have symmetrical balance. There is something so satisfying with the repetition of elements that appeals to me. Anyway, it’s an app that takes me out of myself and silences that voice.
The other app is Calm which is a meditation app that I use every night. This has changed the content of that inner monologue and made it much easier to deal with. I follow Jay Shetty’s Daily Jay, which concentrates on helping you to develop your ability to stay in the present. It is a discipline that took a while to internalise but now it’s a central part of my bedtime routine from the three deep, mindful breaths onwards. I have a very different inner voice after two years of Daily Jay, and that has brought me some measure of the peace I seek.
If anyone wants to try it for themselves the link that follows gives you 30 days free of the paid app. It’s worth a go and it’s my thank you to my blog readers who have got this far!
Hey! Here’s a limited time guest pass to try Calm, free for 30 days. Calm is great for helping me manage stress and improve my sleep. https://www.calm.com/gp/NY6P4XTK83PEN7N8F3
Peace be upon you.
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David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 
There may be one benefit with your inner monologue, which is that I suppose it could prevent you from verbalising things which might better be left unsaid! I seem to have the opposite problem, which is that my inner monologue is actually not too bad a personal companion, but is completely under utilised. This definitely leads me to saying things which would be better off inside my own head. It’s also a phenomenon which seems to be disappearing (Google tells me up to 50% of people no longer even have one at all). Anyway, a very interesting post and a good recommendation in terms of the app too, so thank you. 🙂
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As Rene might have said in Allo Allo, ‘I never would have guessed’ 🤣🤣
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Schizophrenia is weird. The things left unsaid are still vocalized, in my head, with no monologue but audible responses and narratives. One foot in the spirit world I guess. I have fans there apparently.
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I’ve had the same thing for as long as i can remember – an internal monologue that sometimes drowns out the “real world”. If i wake in the middle of the night it starts and sometimes prevents me from getting back to sleep.
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I really do recommend Calm. If you want to click on the link and give it a try it might work for you.
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