We all have a little voice, an inner voice as we call it, that lives inside us and sends signals of existence from time to time, but it is often not heard.
It is our own small compass that doesn’t really tell us where to go or even where we are but just sends us to the right direction if we know how to use it. It always tells us the truth but unfortunately never in a brave, clear and concrete way. It points the direction but without telling us what to do in every step of the way.
This voice is usually quiet and keeps its volume very low, that is why our rational mind, which is strong and loud, often ignores it.
For example, we are settled and happy about a decision and suddenly something doesn’t feel right. We decide to get married and during the last month of our preparations we start feeling aches in our body, we find a new job and instead of relaxing and being happy we feel as something is missing again, we meet someone and are excited but something doesn’t feel right about Mr. perfect. It’s as if we “know ” something is wrong but have no rational evidence to back it up.
We have doubts. We do not know why, we are not aware of the reasons for its occurrence, but we are conscious of the gut feeling.
At first we think we are suspicious or that we are overreacting about something and tend to suppress or withhold this feeling. We try to find answers externally, we look outside our self since we think the gut feeling lacks trust and stability. So we do not pay attention to that insane intuition and ignore the hidden message. But then, this voice that challenges the thinking, rational mind, comes again. We feel angry and frustrated but it doesn’t go away. We have a dilemma and do not know what to do. That is so hard and painful because we are not trained to decode the message, to speak its language and communicate with it so it remains a stranger to us.
We prefer not to explore further this unknown bodily sensation out of fear that change brings and use all defense mechanisms to make the inner voice hush.
But fortunately enough we can’t make it disappear since it is an innate, natural human ability that never dies, just sleeps for a while until one day it sends a strong, voluminous and loud symptom in the pit of our stomach or the chest that cannot be ignored anymore.
That’s how the inner voice shows up: by sending hidden messages, by creating dilemmas, signals of doubt, physical sensations, gut feelings.
The truth is that this voice IS our wisdom. It offers guidance, it facilitates the path of our self-actualization, it helps us align feelings with actions because this dimension of consciousness is deeper than thought and speaks the truth.
All we have to do is master the ability to know something directly without analytic reasoning and when we achieve this, it will mean that we have bridged the gap between the conscious and unconscious part of the Self.
So “how on earth do we do that?” you must be wondering.
By listening more to ourselves.
By staying in silence and asking questions like “who am I?” or/and “what do I want?” without necessarily knowing the answers.
By being at ease with “not knowing”, just experience what is going on within our self.
By giving time to the inner voice to unfold, to build a relationship of trust with it.
By feeling deep within us the truth.
By empowering and trusting this feeling of “knowingness”.
This is a gift we all have but need to water everyday. We must be in touch with what comes and how we feel about it. We need to be open to the experience.
This “openness” leads to “knowingness.”
Stay open to all feelings: fear, discouragement, pain, awe, courage, tenderness.
Match the experience with awareness. BE CONGRUENT! Feel, experience and act in a way that respects your self-image.
Trust all your data in a situation with consciousness - with the total of your organism: body, feelings, mind, soul.
Slowly you will realize that in life, when making a decision, if something is not a YES, then that’s a NO.
Be patient, it’! It is a tool you have but need to learn how to use. It’s a process that we should all trust. Be in touch, listen to your inner voice and you will live a life with “aha” experiences.
This power is greater than you, it will take over and eventually one day you will no longer make decisions. You will spontaneously act in a right way. That has nothing to do with impulsivity or unwise behaviors but with being congruent.
You simply follow your heart and gut feeling which are aligned to that greater consciousness where wisdom reigns and every action is for your best. Whatever arises out of that state of consciousness is for your best.
Believe in yourself, empower yourself, trust your own experience and stay open to experience whatever comes.