NarrativesoftheInnerVoice

AreportbyAkshayVerma,5
th
SemesterFVC&VarenyaRaj,5
th
SemesterGD
Introduction
Everyindividualseekstomaintainahealthypublicimage.Wewantourcolleaguestosee
usinacertainway,ourbossesinanotherandourfamilyinyetanother.Differentpeople
areexpectedtoholddifferentopinionsaboutus,formdifferentimagesofourselves,based
onourrelationshipwiththemandtheirfunctioninthesociety.Whydoesothers
perceptionofourselvesaffectus?Thebehaviourofpeopletowardsusdeterminesour
acceptanceinthesocietyandcontrolshowsocialfunctionsareexecuted.Forexample,ifa
communitylearnsaboutacertainmanwhousedtobeacriminal,theywouldavoidhim,he
wouldhavetroublefindingworkandpeoplewouldbehesitanttoworkforhim.His
unacceptabilitywouldprovetobeabarrierinthefunctioningofthesociety.Sincemanisa
socialanimal,itisinstinctiveforhimtocomplywiththenormsofthepeople,toavoidbeing
outcast.Therefore,wecareaboutwhatpeoplethinkaboutusandthisgivesusasenseof
security.Webroadcastculturalandbehaviouralcuesthatweintendotherstointerpret
accordingtoourliking.Thesecuescouldbeourhairstyle,clothes,accentofspeech,the
waywewalk,etc.
Whattheworldsaystoanindividual
Ineverymomentofourexistence,theworldexertscertainforcesonus,towhichwereact.
Theseforcesrangefromthegravitationcausedbyallmatter,fromourplanetuptothe
mostdistantofgalaxies,tothelovethatflowsbetweenamotherandherchild.Someforces
arestrong,otherssubtle;someaffectourbodies,othersourminds.Throughoutthedaywe
encountermyriadobjects,spaces,environments,perceptionsandpeople.Everyoneof
thesecarriescertaincuesthateachindividualinterpretsandperceivesinauniqueway
basedontheirownuniquelifeexperiences.Everythinginteractswithusandthis
interactionvariesinaspacetimecurve.Letsconsidertheactofbrushingourteeth,asitis
oneofthefirstthingsthatmostpeopledointhemorning.Whenweuseanewtoothbrush
wetendtobecarefulwithit,payingattentiontoanactratherspontaneousandordinary.
Wetrytogaugehowhardorflexibleitis.Wemayalsoobservethecolor,thetextureand
theergonomics.Welistentowhataseeminglydeadobjectisbroadcasting,andwe
interpretandexperienceit.Astimeprogresses,wedontthinkaboutthebrushformostof
itslifetime.But,whenthebrushstartstoshowsignsofwear,westartlisteningtoitagain,
anditsays,Imwearingoutnowandwemayhear,replacemesoonorusemefor
spraypaintingnoworsomethingelsedependingonourpersonalinterpretation.Similarly,
wemayassociatecertainmoodstocertainspacesatcertaintimesofthedayandina
particularseason.Wemaymaketheseassociationswhenwefirstexperiencethespaceor
somethingchangesoldassociations.Theseassociationsmaytriggersensoryperceptions
withoutthepresenceofanystimulirelatedtothatparticularsense.Likewise,people
aroundusarecontinuouslybroadcastingideasthatwekeepreceiving.But,howwemay
decodethesesignalsvarieswitheachindividual.
Whatwetellothers
Whenwemeetsomeoneforthefirsttimeourrelationshipwiththemslowlybuildsandwe
graduallyexchangeinformationaboutourselves.Wetellthemabouteventsfromour
presentorpast,directlyorindirectly,whichtheyassembleintoanorder,chronologicalor
otherwise.Theytakefromusanarrativewhichtheytendtoextrapolateunconsciouslyinto
theunknownpastandfuture,basedontrendsandhabits.Andtheyjudgeusbasedonthis,
thenarrativeofourlives.Iftheylearnthatwehavehadagoodpastandhaveasuccessful
present,theydeducethatwewillhaveabrightfuture.Theirbehaviouraroundus
unknowinglyvariesaccordingtohowtheyseeusinthefuture.Westeerothersnarratives
aboutusbytellingthemselectivethingsfromourlives.Butwedonothavefullcontrol
overit.
Whatwetellourselves
Toretainanideaasamemoryitmustflowthroughthechannelsofsensoryperception.
Theideacannotberecordedasmerelyanerveimpulse.Itmustcauseanactionorthe
visualizationofit.Forexample,ifwewanttospeaksomething,wemaydoitspontaneously,
listentoourselvesspeakandrecordinourmemorieswhatweheard,or,wemaypicture
ourselvesspeakingbasedontheimagethatwehaveformedofourselves.Howwe
perceiveourselvesvariesfromwhatwereallyare.Visualizingourselvessingingtongue
twistersiseasierthanthandoingitinactuality.Thetwoaredifferentbecauseweare
constantlyspeakingtoourselves.Justasweprojectideasaboutustootherswetell
ourselvesaboutus.Transmission,receptionanddecodingintroduceerrorateachstepand
thisprocessisoftenlooped.Everytimewetellsomeoneaboutourselves,wealsoinevitably
tellourselvesandalterourownideas.Anexamplewouldbewhenwemakeanexcuseto
someone,wemightsayIcamelatebecausemycarstyrepunctured,eventhoughthe
truthmightbethatwecouldntwakeupontime.But,everytimewemakethisexcuseto
others,weaffirmourbeliefinourownlie.Andafterawhile,weremembertheeventnot
asithadhappenedbutaswebelieveittohavehappened.
Justaswetrytocontroloralterhowothersperceiveus,forthesakeofthesocialsystem,
wetrytodothesamethingwithourselves.Ourinnervoiceisthenarratorthattriesto
controlitsownperception.Andthewayitmustdothisisthroughthechannelsof
perception,forthatiswhatweseeasthereal.So,webehavetoourselvesinacertainway.
Weseeourselvesaswhatourinnervoicetellsustosee.Someofwhatotherstellusisalso
absorbedintousandisenteredintotheloopoftheinnervoicetellings.Again,weprocess
thistellingonthebasisoftrends,habits,moods,egoandbodilyimpulsesanddeducea
trajectoryofourfuture.Wealsograduallyalterourimpressionsofthepast.Thatiswhy
someeventsfromthepastmayacquiredifferentemotionalambiencesintime.Truthis
whatwethinkitis.Itdependsuponthememoryofperception,whichmightchangewith
time.
Toconclude,ourinnerecosystemisgovernedbythenarrativesoftheselfandofthe
environment,whichareinterdependent.Weareaproductofthenumerousstoriesthat
existinandarounduswhichformahugefoodchaininwhichtheseareconsumed,
digested,assimilated,releasedandreabsorbed.