How to Trust and Use Your Inner Voice

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Have you ever read a self-help book that tells you that you have wisdom within, and you found it hard to accept that fact? Or, have you been told to listen to your inner voice and trust your intuition–and yet your scientific conditioning tells you to discard such nonsense? And how about the advice to pay attention to what your conscience is telling you?

All of these admonitions have a long history of existence, even if many people believe that without worldly experience it’s impossible to have insight or wisdom. In reality, nothing is further from the truth. The experiences of young and old alike give first hand evidence that in a mysterious way–not fully understood by anyone–we all get critical information from we no not where (we just say within or from the unconscious).

The fact is, useful information for decision making, and living with all of the losses and changes in life, frequently shows up at just the right time. Many have attributed it to guardian angels, spiritual guides, inherent intuition, imaginary playmates, the inner voice of love, deceased loved ones, or the kingdom of God within. In any event, inner guidance is available to anyone who is open to it and chooses to ask for it. Here’s how to utilize this powerful and often unused resource.

1. Find a quiet place where you can relax and feel secure without interruptions. Take some deep abdominal breaths and tell yourself to slow down and release the tension in muscles. Pretend you are descending in an elevator, going deeper and deeper within your mind and heart. Listen for the silence. Give yourself a few more minutes to fully relax. Then picture where you feel the originator or source of your wisdom might reside.

2. Now ask for an image or sign from whomever (God, your angel, a deceased loved one, your unconscious mind, etc.) you feel is responsible for the many flashes of insight and useful ideas that in the past seem to have come out of nowhere. Listen for what pops into your thoughts or what image appears. Study it carefully.

3. Ask your inner advisor, in whatever form it appears, if he/she will help you in dealing with a current problem or decision you have to make. Listen. Carefully observe what appears in your thoughts or in image form. Make every attempt to relax and comfortably relate to what appears, just as you would with an old trusted friend. The image may change in answer to your question, or you may hear a yes or another affirmative response.

4. Make a specific request for an idea, direction, or information you need in dealing with your current crisis. No matter what appears in your mind or thoughts, even if it does not make sense, consider it carefully. Most of us have prior expectations that often cloud and confuse what comes into our conscious awareness. So make a careful examination.

5. Ask follow up questions and see what comes back in return. As your thoughts and images appear throughout your search for the wisdom within, have a pen and pencil handy, so you can write down or draw what you experience. Sometimes you may get a sense of what to do and not have an image or a sound as a sign. You just «know» this is the way to go in addressing your issue. It will feel good. It will feel right.

6. Whatever you receive from the experience let your heart and your reason work through the various scenarios that could play out, if you act on the advice. Consider alternative ways of interpreting what came up, who would be affected, and whether the new choices you have before you are perhaps too risky to put to work at this time. Always weigh benefits and disadvantages in an atmosphere of love.

7. Because we have all been conditioned by society to expect instant success or there is something wrong with us, give yourself time to develop the faith in contacting the wisdom and the source of that wisdom that lies within. It is there and you can be sure it will pour forth if you are patient. Persist.

And what should you do if on a very rare occasion a negative or demeaning image or thought comes forth from your request for help? Realize this is not your inner wisdom surfacing. Most likely, it is a punitive authority figure from the past. The love that is behind the inner gift would not permit a hurtful message as wisdom. Learn to ferret out whatever might be useful, but dismiss the hostility and continue your search. You do not have to submit your interior life to an enemy that does not belong there.

To summarize, if you want to be transformed, trust your inner voice–your best intuitions. The wisdom we need is there for the asking and the listening. Our culture has trained us to dismiss this useful resource. Consult your heart first, and your reason will catch up later. Trust yourself to make the choices and decisions that present themselves. We all possess that inherent capability to profit from the amazing individuals that we are.

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Source by Lou LaGrand