Inner Narrative Definition

Inner Narrative: This is what a Narrativist (or a group of Narrativists) actually believes. Inner narratives are often closely guarded from prying eyes, seldom discussed anywhere that someone outside the in-group may hear. (Alternatively, it will be discussed in a coded fashion using jargon.) Examples of the inner narrative could be a council of elders of a Southern Baptist church discussing their pastor's latest revelations from God, or a racist militia hanging out at Bill's house to drink beer and discuss the coming RaHoWa (Racial Holy War), or a politically active group of Ron Paul libertarians discussing 9-11 truth conspiracy theories in hushed tones at a restaurant. The Inner narrative is always used as an over-arching justification for everything else the Narrativist individual or group is engaging in. Arguing against the Outer narrative is generally fruitless, as if you do prove an aspect of the Outer Narrative wrong, the Narrativist will turn to the secret Inner Narrative to avoid any painful introspection.

Inner Narratives are generally very self centered (almost narcissistic), placing the believer in a central heroic role, the noble few "True X" struggling against an almost invincible opponent, on behalf of the ignorant (and probably unworthy) masses. It's like living one's entire life in some sort of self-insert fanfiction.

Inner narratives are often realized as a sort of personal revelation, the result of what they consider to be serious "soul searching". A Narrativist in psychological pain from unmet human emotional needs will latch onto a personal inner narrative that brings apparent relief. Often, these come during period of intense struggles in a Narrativist's life. Consider the "born again" process of Evangelicals: they suddenly find all the answers they were seeking, often guided to those answers during prayer surrounded by a group of strangers who are suddenly intensely interested in them as a person. The attention is flattering, the pain is real, and the adoption of the inner narrative brings real relief to a Narrativist. (And thus they adopt the "born again" inner narrative after a moment of manufactured-but-nonetheless real emotional relief.)

Narrativists live in a constant state of anxiety or fear, and the more compaction cycles they have experienced the more profoundly they experience this fear, and so they struggle to calm themselves in a complex world. Inner narratives often serve as a salve. It is easier for a Narrativist to think of themselves as a character in a story that centers on themselves and their personal choices having an impact in a holy battle. Fundamentalist Evangelicals for example, think that Satan and God personally fight over who gets their soul at the end of their lives. God demands obedience, Satan sends people to trick and deceive you into losing your salvation. God will protect you, no matter what, if you obey. You can feel safe and never fear so long as you know what God's commands are and follow them to the letter. A great deal of Narrativist behavior stems from this idea that they must be able to feel perfectly safe at all times (which in large part why the Bypass of Perfect Safety is so effective), and a key feature of Inner Narratives is how safe they make the Narrativist feel, no matter what.

A Narrativist derives their value as a human being and purpose in life from their Inner Narrative. Debate the Outer narrative all you want and nothing will happen, because Outer narrative serves as a shield, a deliberately obscured version of the inner narrative. It is expected that parts of it will not hold up to scrutiny from unbelievers, because unbelievers are not ready to accept the more profound truth of the Inner narrative. Inner narratives are always charged with intense emotion, and should you ever attack the Inner narrative (even inadvertently), watch out!




Continue on to "The Four Structural Points of the Grand Narrative".