While experts disagree on how common self-talk really is, they wholeheartedly agree that it’s a valuable tool for self-discovery.

Many of us talk to ourselves in our heads pretty much all day long. But it turns out that there are plenty of people who don’t. In fact, thinking comes in many shapes and sizes, and no two minds are exactly alike. In this episode, we explore the peculiar world of how we think, and consider the pros and cons of inner speech.

Consciousness is what we can know best and explain least. It is the inner subjective experience of what it feels like to see red or smell garlic or hear Beethoven. Consciousness has intrigued and baffled philosophers. To begin, we must define and describe consciousness. What to include in a complete definition and description of consciousness?

Have you given it a name? I call mine Ms. Hyde. She is my friend, critic, partner-in-crime, and the voice of my willpower. She lives inside me within a cloud, a chauffeur of several hats driving the vehicle of my life.

Some people say their thought takes place in images, some in words. But our mental processes are more mysterious than we realize.

It's a little weird to think about thinking. But when you have a thought, is it a visualization, a string of words, a vague notion that carries meaning or a combination of all three? Did you know that some people can’t do all three?

One fine spring afternoon this year, as I was out running errands in the small Norwegian town where I live, a loud beep startled me into awareness. What had just been on my mind? After a moment’s pause, I realized something strange. I’d been thinking two things at the same time—rehearsing the combination of a new bike lock and contemplating whether I should wear the clunky white beeper that had just sounded into a bank.

Most of us have a voice inside our heads and it can be caring, supportive, negative or critical. Learning to control this internal monologue could help you cope with daily stress