Excellent article about an issue I’ve wondered about - silently - for years. When I’ve asked others about their mind’s inner sounds, most don’t know. I have a different version of what you are writing about. I don’t hear words, I hear music, pretty much constantly, starting when I wake up. It’s like a radio. A song will persist for a long while, and then suddenly I realize the song has changed. It’s not unpleasant in the least, and it doesn’t interfere with my use of language (talking, writing, reading). The only problem is when - LOL - I don’t like the song. Anyway, thanks for a great read (accompanied by a rock song from the 1980’s).
Wowzers!!! That's so awesome! Thank you for sharing your experience Ira, you're the first person I've "met" with a musical mind like that. Also love that you shared the music you heard while reading the article! Do you know whether there are any connections between the music you hear and any activities? For instance, do you always hear rock songs from the 1980s while reading? Does it change based on topic? Im fascinated.
So glad you find this wowzer-level interesting! (And sorry for the delay in replying.) For about a year, I maintained a log called “morning songs“, a listing of the song in my head when I woke up. It’s an incredible number of different songs, but all rock and pop. No jazz, no classical, and not even blues, which is a music that I’m very familiar with and play semi-professionally. Sometimes snippets, sometimes a full verse or chorus. Probably 75% of the songs come from my preteen to late teen years, which was the 1960s and of course the music was so good. It seems very normal to me, but when I tell people about this, they have trouble believing what that must be like. I tell them my brain has a special chamber called the audiomygdala. Last note: Your own essays are always really fascinating. Thanks for your work.
I very, very rarely hear music in my head. Maybe twice a year I'll get a song stuck in my head but it never lasts long. Yet, I love music and listen to a wide range of genres. I'm also a terrible singer haha. How is your singing voice? I wonder if there's any correlation. (Sorry for all the questions!) Either way, thank you so much for sharing!
Fascinating! I wonder how these inner voices tend to differ in men vs. women, in meditators, people with multiple personalities, those who are more left-brain vs. right-brain oriented, and more. And should we seek to enhance or diminish this function to improve outcomes? Could there be a genetic predisposition? The possibilities for future research appear to be vast.
Great questions! My understanding it that each person has a unique one but maybe there are similarities between certain demographics. And my guess is that meditation probably goes a long way in enhancing or gaining more control of them. I'm excited to find out what else the researchers discover.
That gives new meaning to this Jaqen H'ghar meme for me. 🤔 Huh. No pix on substack? Guess I'll post it to pinterest. It's wild to me that some people (who've seen him in Game of Thrones) don't hear it.
Interestingly, neuroscientist Amishi Jha talked with Sam Harris recently on levels of thought - inner dialogue/chatter - neural correlates; attention, awareness and distractions; links with emotion; Mindfulness in all this; and other related stuff.
I found Jha's research most informative on the topic of Mindfulness: a practice promoted extensively without adequate understanding, or practitioner skill. In other words, blind leading the blind.
Excellent article about an issue I’ve wondered about - silently - for years. When I’ve asked others about their mind’s inner sounds, most don’t know. I have a different version of what you are writing about. I don’t hear words, I hear music, pretty much constantly, starting when I wake up. It’s like a radio. A song will persist for a long while, and then suddenly I realize the song has changed. It’s not unpleasant in the least, and it doesn’t interfere with my use of language (talking, writing, reading). The only problem is when - LOL - I don’t like the song. Anyway, thanks for a great read (accompanied by a rock song from the 1980’s).
Wowzers!!! That's so awesome! Thank you for sharing your experience Ira, you're the first person I've "met" with a musical mind like that. Also love that you shared the music you heard while reading the article! Do you know whether there are any connections between the music you hear and any activities? For instance, do you always hear rock songs from the 1980s while reading? Does it change based on topic? Im fascinated.
So glad you find this wowzer-level interesting! (And sorry for the delay in replying.) For about a year, I maintained a log called “morning songs“, a listing of the song in my head when I woke up. It’s an incredible number of different songs, but all rock and pop. No jazz, no classical, and not even blues, which is a music that I’m very familiar with and play semi-professionally. Sometimes snippets, sometimes a full verse or chorus. Probably 75% of the songs come from my preteen to late teen years, which was the 1960s and of course the music was so good. It seems very normal to me, but when I tell people about this, they have trouble believing what that must be like. I tell them my brain has a special chamber called the audiomygdala. Last note: Your own essays are always really fascinating. Thanks for your work.
That is so cool. What an awesome experience.
I very, very rarely hear music in my head. Maybe twice a year I'll get a song stuck in my head but it never lasts long. Yet, I love music and listen to a wide range of genres. I'm also a terrible singer haha. How is your singing voice? I wonder if there's any correlation. (Sorry for all the questions!) Either way, thank you so much for sharing!
Fascinating! I wonder how these inner voices tend to differ in men vs. women, in meditators, people with multiple personalities, those who are more left-brain vs. right-brain oriented, and more. And should we seek to enhance or diminish this function to improve outcomes? Could there be a genetic predisposition? The possibilities for future research appear to be vast.
Great questions! My understanding it that each person has a unique one but maybe there are similarities between certain demographics. And my guess is that meditation probably goes a long way in enhancing or gaining more control of them. I'm excited to find out what else the researchers discover.
That gives new meaning to this Jaqen H'ghar meme for me. 🤔 Huh. No pix on substack? Guess I'll post it to pinterest. It's wild to me that some people (who've seen him in Game of Thrones) don't hear it.
https://pin.it/2Y9kVkBWm
I actually laughed aloud at the meme you linked and absolutely heard his voice in my head as I read it!
Enjoyed revisting this here on Substack. 👍
Interestingly, neuroscientist Amishi Jha talked with Sam Harris recently on levels of thought - inner dialogue/chatter - neural correlates; attention, awareness and distractions; links with emotion; Mindfulness in all this; and other related stuff.
I found Jha's research most informative on the topic of Mindfulness: a practice promoted extensively without adequate understanding, or practitioner skill. In other words, blind leading the blind.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lzucPv76v7E