Living aligned with truth demands courage to listen to your inner voice. It takes willingness to surrender to a bigger picture.
You need trust to leap into the chasm of the unknown, to speak the truth.
Dictionary.com defines revolutionary as “radically new or innovative; outside or beyond established procedure, principles, etc.”
So, why do I call listening to your own inner guidance a revolutionary act?
Well, if you want to live fully, consciously and collaboratively in the flow of life, it means you must do things differently than usual (radically new). That’s not something that most people get excited about!
The “art of life” means to consciously and subconsciously collaborate with the flow of mysterious energy, to sense its direction, and to ride it, flow with it…or let it ride us. – Yuval Ron, Divine Attunement
Even if you believe in the value of listening to your inner guidance, when you pull back the kimono, a whole other story is revealed.
It’s a given that it is the thing to do. But the fact is, most people don’t do it.
Why not?
The Other Story
You can think about it this way.
You wonder: “Is this a dream that I’m meant to pursue? Or am I just flying wild? Maybe I should stay where I am.”
“I don’t know how to recognize the feel of my true inner voice and what isn’t!”
Personal will still reigns with the loudest voice. “If it feels good, I do it. If it’s uncomfortable, I’m out of here. When things get scary, I pull back.”
Does any of this sound familiar?
Here is what is happening.
You overlay your personal will onto the Universal energetic source (inner guidance). That drowns out your ability to receive the guidance. You don’t recognize the guidance as something of value.
What happens? Your personal will does not align in partnership with this vast source of truth that is this Universal energy.
There is just personal will, alone, running the show.
So, you proceed as you have always done. Nothing is new. The results are the same as they have always been. You have no sense of joy or any feeling of truth in your actions.
But that isn’t what you truly want, is it?
You want to follow your guidance, but accessing it is elusive. And that can be frustrating.
Because here is the really big thing you miss: this Universal energetic source is unconditional Love.
You can align with this Love, and let it fill you.
Begin Here: How to Listen
Let me ask you (and since there’s nobody around to hear your answer to this, honesty will serve you the most): Do you know how to listen to your inner “voice?” (By the way, I use the word voice here, no matter whether your inner guidance is received through hearing words, with focused writing, by paying attention to the flow of energy in your body or some other sensory experience.)
Not knowing how to listen inside is the single biggest block to connecting with your own inner guidance. (Well, maybe second to actually believing the inner guidance is a real thing. And available to YOU.)
So, the first essential is learning how to listen.
How begins with paying attention. And getting quiet. Quiet enough to hear that “still, small voice within”. Remember, this is true whether it is a literal voice or something else.
Getting quiet is something you need to do regularly. Your body needs time to get used to the feeling of inner quiet. To become familiar with the pathway to get there. This way, your compass within—that part of you that is connected with the universal energies—can sustain you.
Will the True Voice Please Stand?
The second essential is, how to determine which voice that you “hear” is the one that belongs to the Universal energetic source. Because there are countless inner voices of self-doubt, of self-loathing, of self-control and on and on. They show up in reluctance to take action and fear to trust yourself.
These are not the ones that will offer you guidance!
They are the ones that will keep you on your couch of comfort (as Stella Orange likes to call it). Or stop you dead in your tracks from moving forward on the big dream of your life. They are the voices of the old patterns that you adopted a lifetime ago, that the world is a fearful or unsupportive place.
Determining what is true is discernment. It is the ability to know—utterly and without a doubt—the physical feeling of what I call the voice of truth. This voice emanates from that profound place of connectedness with the sacred essence of life.
Once you know it, then you can make the choice to surrender to it, trusting that it will guide you, always in service to the greatest good (yours included). It takes willingness.
Create a Partnership with Presence
Therefore, the third essential is a willingness to follow through. Another way to say this is to obey. When you obey your inner guidance, you create a partnership with the Presence within you, that Universal energetic source.
You actively engage with life.
It takes courage to listen and then to follow through. Yet, in the same moment, when you feel the truth of your guidance, you have the sense of “of course, I will do this. I would suffer with any other choice.”
Truth itself provides energetic support.
Choosing the Revolutionary Act
There is always a choice. When you choose the revolutionary act (whether that’s to move across the world, turn down the job offer, leave your spouse, stay with your spouse, turn left instead of right), you choose your Self.
It means that you commit yourself to your own life. That instead of simply proclaiming that you follow your inner guidance (while you do exactly whatever your personal will desires), that you align with and therefore surrender to, living a life beyond established procedures and principles.
Yes, it takes willingness. And courage. But this is the life you want, isn’t it?
This is Truth in action. It is revolutionary, indeed.
12 Responses
For me, this is a good reminder to take some time to listen to and discern the inner me. There is a lot I can learn from myself by listening and discerning, that I know to be true.
Roy
I’m glad it was a good reminder, Roy!
Hi, Laurie! Thank you for the lessons on HOW to hear your inner voice. Sometimes, it feels like the world is buzzing by (and buzzing in my head) – it can “feel” difficult to slow down and listen. You have to be intentional, of course. Gorgeous post – thank you.
I’m glad it was useful for you Jill! The outer world is filled with so much distraction. it IS hard to stop and refocus! Thanks for your loving words. Laurie
Standing in our truth and living in integrity may be the most important things we ever do. Great post!
Yes, Barb! Thank you…
“Living aligned with truth is a revolutionary act. It demands courage to listen to your inner voice, willingness to surrender to a bigger picture, and trust to leap into the chasm of the unknown to speak the truth….align with and therefore surrender to, living a life beyond established procedures and principles.” LOVE this! Let us all be part of the revolution!
I’m definitely in for this revolution, Crystal. It sounds like you are, too! Yay!
Great post Laurie! Thanks for sharing your wise words. Listening to our inner voice is definitely easier said than done. That said, the more we learn to do it, the easier it becomes.
Recently I have felt really tired, am getting a few physical ailments I’ve not had before and am not feeling energized by my work, all signs that I need to take some time for self-care and to reflect. So I’ve made a commitment to take the summer off and to do things I really enjoy; e.g. to let my inner child come out to play. It feels good and I’m getting so many signs telling me that it’s the right thing to do. I know from past experience when I truly listen and trust, wonderful things happen.
Thanks for sharing how you’ve been listening, Pamela! I think that so often people simply don’t believe that inner guidance is possible—that it somehow isn’t a real thing that can be accessed reliably.
Such a beautiful post, Laurie! I especially love, “Not knowing how to listen inside is the single biggest block to connecting with your own inner guidance.”, it is so very true. Thank you for the inspiration and reminder to get quiet and let the guidance flow to me.
Thank you Kathleen! Right after not knowing how to listen, comes believing that it is possible to receive guidance from a part of ourselves that knows so much more than our egoic or personal self.