Informative

Atma-Samvad: Practice of self-talk

They say that ‘the world is as we see it’. If that’s true, it becomes crucial to analyse what we see in the world. Do we know the miracle of life? Happiness, humanity, hope, and light? Or do we see corruption, violence, and darkness lurking in every corner? If we only see the terrible things happening in the world, rooted deep within everyone else around us, we need the attitude and perception adjustment. How can we achieve it? Through the practice of self-talk.

But what is self-talk? It’s the conversation we have with ourselves. It plays a vital role in deriving meaning from the things we encounter on a minute basis. When our internal conversation is dark, we see negativity, pain, and despair everywhere. And when we have a dialogue with ourselves, filled with optimism and positivity, we manage to give a positive spin, even to our grave tragedies in life. 

Have you ever wondered why the blunt truth is often called a naked truth? Most of us put on various masks when we step into the world. Deep down, only we know the authentic version of ourselves. During solitude, when we see ourselves in the mirror, we meet the real us again. Same as that, when we tear down every pretentious suit we wear, we meet the real us. In this state, when we engage in the self-dialogue, it doesn’t simply remain the self-talk. It becomes the Atma-Samvad, or conversation with our soul.

When we become aware of our thoughts, patterns, perceptions, reactions, and responses, we begin our journey towards becoming mindful. Being mindful, when we have self-talk, it’s a conversation with the universe. Every positive and valuable thought, want, need, and the goal becomes a commitment to the universe. And then, all the universal powers come together to make our resolution come true. Hence, it must be cheerful, constructive, optimistic, and uplifting when practising self-talk. How can we do that? Let’s take a look.  

Practising the positive self-talk

1. Meditate.

 It will be hard to have an honest conversation with yourself when you are just a beginner, and meditation is there to help you out. Different kinds of sounds surround us, and our brain is engaged in decoding each and one of them subconsciously. Hence, it becomes imperative to sit in a quiet place, in silence, to have that innermost talk with yourself.

Apart from improving our focus, meditation helps cultivate a witnessing attitude. The witnessing attitude helps us analyse our thought process from an impartial perspective. If we need a course correction, more positivity in our thoughts, meditation helps us realise that.

2. Gratitude. 

 Just before hitting the bed, try this exercise. “I am grateful for…” and complete the sentence. This shall create positive momentum in the much-needed self-conversation. When we list down even the most minor things we are grateful for, we change our focus to the positive things in our lives.

Express this gratitude loudly, daily, and often. May it be the weather, roof over your head, the food you have eaten, or the job you have, it stops the negativity in our heads when you say thanks to these mundane things we take otherwise for granted.  

3. Being positive. 

 Evolution has taught us to keep our eyes open for the danger, even if we are not. For example, we worry about wet clothes and slippery roads instead of enjoying the rain. This evolutionary trait makes our minds sceptical and pessimistic. When we are in between the self-talk, we should avoid negativity at all costs, or this exercise will do more harm than benefits. During the self-talk, if your mind is drifting away toward the negative things in life, it’s your job to recognize these patterns consciously and bring your attention to the positive things in life.

4. Posture. 

 Our mind has an unbreakable connection with our body. What goes in our mind is reflected in our body and vice versa. When we think about something with dropped shoulders and lowered heads, we are already defeated in our minds. Even for two minutes, when we sit or stand in a confident posture, it dramatically influences our mindset and reflects in confident and positive thoughts.

5. The true you. 

 We often get lost in possessions, titles, roles, authority, and responsibilities of the world. It’s elementary to get lost in the track of who you are when you feel disconnected from the true self. But this is not what we truly are. With the help of Sadhana (spiritual practice), when we get to know the true nature of ourselves, raw capabilities lying dormant within us make us limitless. Atma-Samvad plays a vital role in identifying the true nature of us.      

Self-talk enhances confidence and general well-being. Successful athletes and business people often practice this self-talk for improved performance. Apart from its effects on the subconscious, it has several health benefits as well. Research has shown that positive self-talk can reduce pain, improve immunity, reduce stress, and better cardiovascular health.

People who practise Atma-Samvad have better emotional maturity, problem-solving capacity, ability to think out of the box, and cope with negativity and hardships in life.

We hope you have gained some new insight regarding the place of self-talk in spirituality. When you have a conversation with yourself, try to analyse how you feel with awareness. Note down the thoughts and ideas that inspire you. Share with us in the comments below.

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