Your inner self is your best friend, it knows you better than anyone ever will.
We are not perfect thus clouded by negative thought forms chatter, and repeat behaviour patterns. When we learn to get out of the way of ourselves we can align with our true self.
When we develop more self-awareness, our consciousness expands and grows. We begin to feel more purpose in life far beyond the daily routine and tasks. We gain more freedom from negative thoughts, and feelings.
When we work through our pain, fears and limiting beliefs we are moving closer to peace within. Inner peace is attained through resolving our issues, inner conflicts and following the life we came to live.
These are fascinating topics. I think listening to our inner wisdom is much easier than determining what's real when seeking inner guidance, although that may seem counterintuitive. Being aware of our deeply held values is important in both cases. When we live in accordance with our values, our inner wisdom is easier to access and understand without the noise of mixed and/or confusing messages. When we don't live according to our values, chaos reigns and our inner voice is easily misunderstood.
As an example, many years ago a friend and I were stationed in West Texas. On the spur of the moment, we decided to travel down to Mexico for the weekend. Being second-shifters, that meant leaving after midnight. (Core value 1: Live each day fully.)
Along the way on a dark, lonely road in the middle of nowhere, we came across a group of people trying to wave us down while standing around a car with its headlights on. This is when core value 2: Help others, conflicted directly with my primitive core value: Safety.
I don't know what caused it, but inside me, alarm bells were ringing full blast. Something wasn't right, and my inner voice screamed, "Keep driving!" My friend was horrified I didn't stop, but I put the pedal to the metal.
I didn't stop looking at the rear view mirror for at least 50 miles.
Of course, I can't prove my inner voice was right, but I was self-aware enough to listen to it. Better that than proving it by not listening and living (or not) to regret it. Even today, the hairs on the back of my neck rise when I recount that story.