You have a guide within you
Part of loving yourself is trusting yourself. Who are the people you trust in your life? Why do you trust them? Can you feel the same about your own self in the same way?
Personally, I have struggled with trusting myself and my decisions. At the time, it manifested as feeling confused, unsure, vacillating in decisions and frequently going back on decisions after I had “made a decision.” Part of this was the influence of shame, feeling not enough or that I was capable enough to make good decisions. This came from my reliance on my mind versus my internal guide that is connected with the universal Source energy.
Even though I vacillated or felt confused, the reality was that I knew the answer… it just wasn’t the answer that I wanted. So I fought against it, trying to convince myself of the opposite, maybe even trying to convince that little voice or prompting inside me to change its mind too.
Another possibility could be that when you hear your intuition, or your gut response to something, you do not take action. Perhaps it is a small prompting to take action and when you run it through your mind, you question the value or importance of taking that action. Over time, the more that you do not act on those promptings, the more difficult it is to hear or connect with.
At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.
Thich Nhat Hanh
The less you listen, the less you hear it. It may get quieter, perhaps disappear from your noticing all together. However… the more you listen to it… the stronger it gets and the more integrated into your natural decision making process it becomes.
Another important aspect to consider is how much you trust yourself vs. trusting others. If you don’t trust yourself and your ability to make the best decisions for yourself, you will constantly be asking others their advice and guidance. This not only further separates you from your own intuition, it exacerbates the confusion in your mind and increases distraction from your own voice. It’s not enough to hear the voice, but you have to have trust to follow it and have faith that it will support you. Again, you are relying on the mind, social constructs or others opinions and thoughts versus your inner guide.
“Truth is not to be found outside. No teacher, no scripture can give it to you. It is inside you and if you wish to attain it, seek your own company. Be with yourself.”
Osho
Being able to hear this internal prompting has to be developed. We are inundated with so many perspectives, voices, thoughts, and noise in our lives, that you have to be centered in yourself in order to cultivate your connection. As Osho states above, to know and be connected to yourself, aloneness is essential. If you cannot be alone with yourself and hear the internal truth for yourself, how will you be able to hear it amid the chaos of the world?
You must be still. You must be quiet. Use whatever method is best for you to tune out the cacophony of the world and tune in to the still small voice inside you and hear how it prompts you.
Based on my experience, here are some ways in which you have the opportunity to practice hearing, trusting and acting on that internal prompt.
- Making a life decision
- Making a small decision
- Being open with others
- Choosing your reactions to others
- Being confident
- Being strong in the face of conflict/negativity
- Liking and loving yourself
- Taking a risk
So the question comes… what does this internal voice/prompt/motivation feel like?? What I have come to find (over way to long of a period of time!) is that the feeling inside is simple. It is always clear. Confusion is that of the mind. Being centered in yourself and connected with your internal guide is easy when you are not fighting it. Whatever prompting you feel that you are receiving should feel right in your body and reflect a feeling of peace.
Free Bird Fille 