The Inner Critic

Course Description

Tamar Stone has a unique view of the inner Critic. She helps us relate to it rather than blindly obey or rebel against it. Tamar comes from the rich lineage of Voice Dialogue, originated by her father, Hal Stone, and her step-mother, Sid Stone. This gently effective approach listens to every voice within us with discernment, acceptance and awareness.

Tamar tells us that the inner critic is a universal self, everybody has one. It becomes problematic when we over-identify with it. Our inner critic can come in the form of a whisper, a whine or what feels like a punch in the gut. It often monitors our thoughts, controls our behaviors, and inhibits our actions. When our critic is in the driver´s seat of our inner car, we may feel unloveable, not good enough or incompetent. Tamar shows us how to move the Critic out of the driver’s seat without throwing it out of the car.

With Tamar you’ll finally understand what your Critic is after. Tamar tells us that the Critic wants us to self-correct. It moves you to take action with respect to your body, health, money, career and relationships. Its deepest motivation is to help you evolve and belong. The Inner Critic can be painfully frozen in the past you grew up with. It can also mature and refresh its job description when you talk with it.

Tamar is warm, soft and crystal clear as she engages the Critic. She’s a beautiful model of how we can fruitfully converse with our own inner Critic. 

Face your harshest Critic with love and strength. Let Tamar show you how.

This course is ideal if

• Find relief from the critical voices that haunt or undermine you
• Learn the Voice Dialogue approach to working with the Inner Critic
• Turn your critical voice into a discerning voice that helps you keep your life on track
• Soften your judgments about other people

Course Overview

Class 1. Recognizing the Inner Critic

When you walk by a mirror do you avoid looking?
Are you incessantly trying new diet fads?
Do you constantly compare yourself to others?
Do you find yourself second guessing your personal and/or professional decisions?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, it is an indication that your inner critic is active. The first step in disidentifying with the inner critic is to notice where it is showing up in your personal life, work life or relationships. 

Class 2. Critic versus Judge

The energy of the inner critic can appear both internally and externally. The Critic criticizes internally focusing on the self. The judge judges externally, projecting outward on other people, places or things. If you have a strong critic, you have an equally strong judge. If you have a strong judge, you have an equally strong critic. 

Class 3. The Constructive Critic

Believe it or not, the critic is actually born to protect us. It is often very vocal in enforcing the rules of early institutions including family, church, and school with the goal of ensuring that we fit in. The problem is that the inner critic, like other selves, can be frozen in time and continue to function as if we were still children in our family of origin. When we honor the critic for its essential qualities and motivations, we can update the critic, just like we update our computer software. Then there is the possibility for the critic to become an ally in our daily life.

By the end of this course you will

• Notice where the Inner Critic shows up in your life
• Be more prepared to disidentify with the Inner Critic
• Understand how the Judge and the Critic work together
• Recognize how your Inner Critic keeps you frozen in your family of origin and childhood institutions
• Have tools for updating your Inner Critic so you can repurpose it into an ally.