[Joely]

I don't know if anybody else experiences this, but for as long as I can remember I've had a running commentary in my head telling me all kinds of negative things about myself and the way I relate to the world. I recently read in Tara Brach's "Radical Acceptance" that this endless narrative, which boils down to "you're not good enough and here's why" is a very common problem, and I'm just wondering if anybody here has dealt with it.

I've never actually let it stop me doing things - I was so certain that I wouldn't get my PhD that after I was awarded it I nearly phoned the university to complain - but it has made it more difficult to do things, and they become a struggle rather than a pleasure. The most problematic has been, predictably, around my writing. Although I've managed to rid myself of the worst of it, whenever I try to visualise or think or talk positively about it, I feel a great tension in my chest and head and the nasty voice comes out louder than with any other aspect of my life.

The last few days has seen it reduced dramatically, and I'm starting to think that the Sedona Method work I've been doing will actually rid me of it for good. Anyway, I was just curious to know if anybody else had managed to relieve themselves of that irritating niggle at the back of their minds. At the moment, I hear it as though it's a tape recording playing along at the back of my mind, and I'm no longer emotionally attached to it. It just annoys me.

J x

P.S. I just found, as I wrote this out, that pointing a flashlight at the thing lessened it significantly. I know a Reiki Master who refers to it by the Mayan name - Mitote - the ego voice. She says she replies by saying "That's very nice of you to remind me of my fears, but it's not necessary, thanks."