Well that's exactly how it was for me at first, when it was only rehearsals for arguments or reliving arguments. I got tired of just doing that though (cause it takes a long time to mow that lawn!) and decided at some point to get more positive with it. I figured, if I can do it for an argument, maybe I could do it with a more sensible discussion.

But I do think it's important that the conversation be something that really matters to you, probably on an emotional level. And it's also important to use the right people. I found certain people just wouldn't "take". So I tried a few more until I had a few that would "speak up". And I couldn't really force particular ones to take part in a conversation - they either had something to say or they didn't.

I tried to do it last night so I could examine it more closely and write about it here, but it wasn't working very well... I think I wasn't interested enough in the subject matter. I wasn't really hearing anybody's 'voice' so much as just knowing basically what they might say in that situation. Possibly that's all it really is anyway, and I just 'filled in' for them in my approximation of their voice? No, it seems like the voices really rose up from inside my head and made statements without my bidding.

But the convos that worked the best were always about something I had a strong personal stake in, like what to take in college - stuff like that.

Another great time/place to try it is when you're walking. Again, there's no TV or music (shut off the smartphones and iPods people!) and all you have to do is think. It takes a bit of an effort to get out of "look at the pretty scenery" mode and start a round table, but once you do, you can still look at the pretty scenery. I need to go for a walk one of these days and try it again. Don't think it'll work while I'm walking my dog... that takes too much effort and she's way too distracting.