Since inner silence is at the core of AYP, I find myself a bit unclear about how it relates to thinking.
Generally speaking, is it normal to have ongoing “talk” in the head (what I would call thinking), even as inner silence deepens? Just want to make sure I’m not crazy lol
Assuming this is indeed the case, does the growth of inner silence mean that inner mental dialogue gradually decreases (for example, more space between thoughts), or that it simply gets less “loud,” as if it is more in the background of one’s experience — or maybe a mix of both?
Inner silence could mean having a completely silent mind that is free from all thought. This can happen in deeper states of meditation and can even happen to people spontaneously outside of meditation (sahaja nirvikapla samadhi).
However, this is uncommon, and for most people inner silence will usually mean something else most of the time. The key change that happens as inner silence arises is with our relationship to thoughts and other mental objects and objects of the senses. Usually thoughts have quite a sticky quality to them. We easily become attached to them, or caught-up with them, or identify with them as being “me” or “mine”. As inner silence begins to rise, thoughts can still be there, but they become less sticky. A thought may arise, and pass away, without us interfering with, or identifying with it at all. And then another, and another. So, thoughts start to become like small white clouds floating across a vast blue sky.
At the same time, we may start to feel as if there is more space between us and the thoughts. We are here, somewhere, and they are over there. We can also begin to see that we are not the initiator of thoughts. Even if we don’t think anything deliberately, they can still come along on their own. And they can go away on their own too, with no active involvement.
So, this is the rise of inner silence, also sometimes referred to as the “witness”. We are witnessing what is happening in the mind instead of being involved with it.
Usually, if the mind does become completely silent, it will happen after this witnessing process has been underway for quite some time.