GUEST POST by Diane Solomon DHM DipI.O.N (London)
Enjoy this guest-post from my dear friend Diane Solomon, writing about what she calls “the inner voice of intuition.”
Laurie
Can you strengthen the power of your intuition?
“Always do your best to be yourself. Learn to listen to your inner-voice.
Self-discovery of your inner-self is the path to your destiny…” ~ James A. Murphy
Most people admit to hearing an “inner voice” at some point, the voice that provides a connection to intuition. You may think of it as an epiphany or an “aha moment,” a “gut feeling” that has a rightness to it. The more you listen and follow your gut feelings, the more you will be grateful for the ally you’ve created. You will gain valuable insights into your life and path, which can help you stay true to yourself even when your logical brain screams for you to do something else.
Merriam-Webster defines intuition as: “a natural ability or power that makes it possible to know something without any proof or evidence,” and “a feeling that guides a person to act a certain way without fully understanding why.” Not only do we all possess this powerful potential, we can protect and polish it into a great skill. For me, intuition has certainly become stronger and clearer, and therefore more valuable, as I get older.
Here are a few examples from my experience:
I know which house I am going to live in the moment I walk in. I feel it; I just know. I have done this four times. Searching for our New Hampshire home, I bypassed house after house, waiting for that feeling. When my husband and I found it, it was as clear as day; I experienced powerful deja vu after deja vu as we walked though the home. A sledgehammer – it almost made me dizzy. I wouldn’t buy a home without that knowing!
I have had narrow escapes while driving. A few months ago, while driving to the store, I found myself braking as I approached a busy intersection, although the red light had turned green. My logical brain threw out a “What are you doing? The light’s green!” And still my foot stayed on the brake. I trusted it, went with the feeling, and came almost to a stop (the guy behind me honked in irritation!) Then, suddenly, I watched an old pickup truck, full of tools and equipment, speed across the intersection, in front of me, through its own red light! The pickup truck would have plowed right into the side of me; it came from my left so very easily could have crashed into my driver door. I slowly crossed the intersection and pulled over, where I trembled for five full minutes before I could drive on.
On three occasions I met someone and I knew, immediately, that person would be close with me for the rest of my life. Twice it involved women who became lifelong friends, true kindred spirits. The other was male; he is a friend so close he is like a brother.
Powerful stuff. Sometimes I wish it would work with picking lottery numbers!
Of course, these experiences are not always dramatic and life-changing. They can be as clear as “getting a bad feeling” about working with someone. Always listen to these messages! I recently didn’t and regretted it. This last year my husband and I underwent some construction changes to our home. I felt great about the builder who added a garage for us, and good, too, about the company that installed our solar panel system. Then unfortunately, there were the “bad vibes” towards the HVAC company we used. I felt odd, uncomfortable, distrusting, out of sorts with them. The first two jobs were flawless, while the HVAC job was a mess of miscommunication, sloppy workmanship, and even unpleasant moments with the grumpy owners of the company!
I describe my inner voice as “intuiting inspirational information.“ Where does this knowing, this voice, come from? A message from God or spirit guides? A tap into universal consciousness? A parallel time we are seeing that allows us to avoid or follow something our gut tells us might occur? Seeing destiny in some way? Perhaps we each answer this differently.
Let’s be clear, though. The inner voice of intuition is NOT the critical nasty voice with which many of us struggle. It is not the voice of a critical parent, or piece of our addictive personality, or even the frightened lizard voice that always fears the worst. The inner voice comes from the part of you that sees a bigger picture and guides you to the path you are supposed to take. The path that is best for you – for better or worse.
Because, you see, one or more of those houses I bought (that I KNEW I was going to live in) turned out to hold disaster, heartbreak, loss, or in some other way turn out to be a mistake.
Wait a minute, a mistake? Is it? To be where you know you are meant to be? Are the dark pieces of our lives actually lessons we need to learn? Are they part of the path, foretold in some way, that we are destined to tread? Or could I have ignored the knowing and therefore avoided the negative outcomes? I do not have those answers, and it seems the longer and harder I seek them, the more elusive they become.
Sometimes people think that listening to the “voice” will mean instant achievement. However, life is a series of journeys, and not every quest is for the grail. Some parts of the path are through trials that temper us for the journeys ahead. Perhaps we have to “earn” it.
But, back to the inner voice. It is usually a guidance system for good, for the correct choice for happiness. How do you know when it is speaking? If you are attuned, if you have a desire to connect and hear it, then the longer you are on this planet, the clearer it speaks. Therefore, a great deal of it is about time and practice.
What about fear?
Sometimes, especially at first, you may have a difficult time differentiating true intuition from the voice of fear. You may be afraid of starting something new, of failing, or of some unknown repercussions. You may even judge yourself harshly for wanting something just for you. A little voice may taunt you: “You don’t deserve it!” or “You’ll fail!” Remember, the wisdom that comes from your intuition and inner voice is not fearful. It is a peaceful knowing from a quiet place deep inside. Intuition does not hit you in a shout – not usually, anyway!
Following your intuition, and listening to your gut can be fine-tuned. Here are a few ways to polish and enhance your intuition/inner voice skill:
1) Listen to your gut feelings. Trust it when your body feels RIGHT, that something is just the correct thing for you to do. Even if there is fear coming from the rational voice in your head.
2) Quiet your mind. Time spent meditating will pay off in the connection you are building with your inner self. During meditating, the calm focus and looking inward will enable you to know what the inner voice feels like when you “hear it.”
3) Believe, Trust, Commit. Seriously. Believing you can access this power of intuition is a big part of success!
4) Ask specific questions and wait for the answer. Even sleep on it. You might read something in a book, see a sign, or receive a phone call. It might not come right away. Also, it may take time for you to know which is your ego or rational mind, and which is the inner voice or intuition. Practice and time will help you recognize the difference and trust it.
5) Be willing to change. When you get a positive message guiding you to do something that can’t harm you and might really benefit you, start there; take a chance and trust it.
6) LET GO. When you’ve meditated, asked questions, practiced, and done exercises from books, then remember, don’t try too hard! Letting go of expectations can often trigger the answers. This is very like another phenomenon: you try to remember a name of someone, and in frustration you think, “Oh to heck with it, I have to get on to that appointment.” Then as you are driving, wham, suddenly you remember the name you were looking for. You let it go, and let your subconscious worked on it. Intuition is the same; it works best when you don’t force it, but allow it to come naturally.
The more skilled you become at tapping into your intuition, the more you’ll find that what you need seems to just show up. And that is really fun! Your life will be smoother, happier, less anxious and stressful. You can let go and trust, letting your path unfold, knowing that you will know the right fork in the path when you see it!
Enjoy!
“I have not always chosen the safest path. I’ve made my mistakes, plenty of them. But I’ve learned something important along the way: I’ve learned to heed the call of my heart. I’ve learned that the safest path is not always the best path and I’ve learned that the voice of fear is not always to be trusted.” ~ Steve Goodier
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About the author: Diane Solomon
Diane has reinvented herself several times in this life. While living in the UK, Diane enjoyed her 20s and much of her 30s as a highly successful singer, songwriter, and entertainer. She hosted her own TV series in the late 70s, and toured and recorded with such notables as Glen Campbell and Kenny Rogers.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome laid waste to her career, and she spent seven years struggling to find an answer to this devastating illness. When homeopathy proved the cure (after trying every other possible modality), Diane gained degrees in both nutrition and homeopathy, achieving a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and the Advanced Diploma from the British Institute of Homeopathy. She practiced and wrote in the field for a decade, until the state of Connecticut, where she lived at the time, made it illegal to practice homeopathy unless one held a license as an MD or an ND (Naturopathic Doctor).
It was time to change again and Diane followed her heart and intuition. Loving the creativity involved in writing, and loving to help others, she morphed her business into full-time writing, ghostwriting, and editing for other authors. She has, to date, worked as ghost-writer and/or/editor on nine books. She is writing her first novel, working on a novel with her husband, Mark, and continues to ghost-write and edit books for clients in fields she enjoys: alternative medicine, music, and metaphysical or spiritual genres.
She lives in southern New Hampshire, where she also enjoys gardening, singing, harmonizing with her husband and friends, and playing guitar and piano.
Other posts from the Baca Journey regarding the Inner Voice.
Do you listen to your inner voice? Do you give it value by paying attention? Do you override it?
To know your next step, cultivate your inner voice.
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