Episode # 133: Silencing Your Inner Critic with Neal Allen
In today's episode, we delve into the intricate realms of the inner critic with our guest, Neil Allen. He is a spiritual coach and writer whose work centers on removing the obstacles of the ego and offering tools for freedom. He is the author of Better Days: Tame Your Inner Critic and Shapes of Truth: Discover God Inside You. He has written for newspapers, general interest magazines, and literary journals. A former journalist and corporate executive, he earned a master’s degree in Political Science from Columbia University and one in Eastern Classics from St. John’s College. He lives with his wife, the writer Anne Lamott, in Northern California.
In this episode, we cover the following:
- Neil's journey from corporate life to spiritual exploration and his exposure to Eckhart Tolle's teachings
- Encounters with influential figures like Adyashanti
- The emergence and personifying his inner critic as a gremlin
- Integration of spiritual insights with coaching expertise
- The importance of self-empathy
- The intricacies of the inner critic and embracing the journey towards self-acceptance
- The inner critic's role in childhood development
- Working with clients in clinical practice and the critical steps in taming the inner critic
- Anxiety as a fear of punishment from the superego
- Childhood authoritarian lessons from their mother
- and more!
Helpful links:
- Neal Allen - Join his in-person and Zoom events via shapesoftruth.com/events
- Follow Neal on Facebook and Instagram
- Better Days: Tame Your Inner Critic
- Why I am a misogynist, In Part by Neal Allen
- Saint Francis and the Sow by Galway Kinnell
- Episode # 130: Being the Love that You Are with Patrick Connor
- Rajneesh Movement
- Eckhart Tolle
- Adyashanti
- The Diamond Approach
- Finger’s Pointing to the Moon by Osho
- Samadhi
- Subscribe to Christine’s Substack
- Find Rosebud Woman on Instagram as @rosebudwoman, Christine on Instagram as @the.rose.woman, and on Tiktok as @therosewoman108.
- Find Radiant Farms on Instagram @weareradiantfarms and on Facebook @RadiantFarmsLLC
- Check out these Free E-books brought to you by Radiant Farms
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“He is a spiritual coach and writer whose work centers on removing the obstacles of the ego and offering tools for freedom.”
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Frequently asked
Who is Neal Allen?
Neal Allen is a spiritual coach and writer who focuses on removing the obstacles of the ego. He's the author of Better Days: Tame Your Inner Critic and Shapes of Truth: Discover God Inside You.
How does Neal Allen describe the inner critic?
He personifies the inner critic as a kind of gremlin, a voice that developed in childhood, which people can learn to recognize, understand and eventually quiet through self-empathy.
What role does the inner critic play in childhood development, according to Neal Allen?
Neal Allen connects the inner critic to how children learn to anticipate punishment, framing ongoing anxiety in adulthood as a kind of fear response left over from that early conditioning.
What practices does Neal Allen point to for taming the inner critic?
He draws on spiritual teachers like Eckhart Tolle and Adyashanti alongside his own coaching approach, using self-empathy and awareness as the core tools for working with the inner critic.
References
- Listen: Silencing Your Inner Critic with Neal Allen— The Rose Woman Podcast
- Shapes of Truth Events— Neal Allen
- Eckhart Tolle— referenced teacher
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Christine Mason
Founder & Author, Rosebud Woman
Christine Marie Mason is the founder and CEO of Rosebud Woman, a leading brand in women’s intimate wellness and self-care. She is the author of six books on embodiment, intimacy, and awakening, and the host of The Rose Woman podcast—ranked in the top 5% worldwide. A longtime yoga and consciousness teacher, Christine writes and speaks on women’s health, sexuality, and midlife vitality, helping people cultivate love, reverence, and radiant wellbeing in every stage of life.