inner voice
Discovering The Power Of Intuitive Guidance
I always smile when I think back to the time I discovered the true power of intuition and the inner guidance of Spirit.
I recall that Thursday afternoon as if it were yesterday. There I was, sitting on the couch in the living room. I was totally fed up and impatiently debating whether I should go and get the evening newspaper, so that I could scour the vacancies page for any job offerings.
It was September 1978 and I was only 18 years old. Unemployment was high in the United Kingdom at the time. Sadly, I was one of those jobless young people, desperate to find work.
“Relax,” said my mind, “it’s too early to go for the evening paper now. You can get a newspaper anytime until 6pm.” ”
“You must go now,” said my heart and gut, “there may just be a job offer in the paper, and it may be exactly the kind of a job you are looking for!”
I continued with this inner battle for a while, until my heart and gut finally won, and off I went. As I stepped out onto the street, I noticed that the bus was approaching at great speed. Then saw, right in front of me a baker’s van parked outside the nearby grocers and then, to my horror, a little baby boy in a buggy outside the shop. The baby’s buggy was slowly being carried by a strong wind, taking it directly towards that oncoming bus!
My heart pounded, my mouth went dry, everyone around me gasped, and time literally felt like it was standing still. All I could think of was to run. And run I did, like an Olympic athlete. Then I pushed the buggy back onto the pavement and out of the way of the oncoming bus.
Was all this a coincidence? I think not, as I was being urged by my intuition to be in a particular place, at a specific time, to stop something potentially horrible happening. Some people whom I have told this story to have just put it down to luck. All I can say is that I am glad I listened to my heart and gut, and not my head. I do not want to imagine what might have happened, had I gone a minute later for that evening paper.
Connecting With Your Inner Wisdom
In a world rife with uncertainty and daily challenges, most of us are bound to turn to other people in our life to help us deal with our problems or regain a sense of direction. While this is perfectly normal and human to do, spirit teaches that it is best we also connect with our higher self to find the answers we are seeking.
Unfortunately, trauma and stress can significantly block the clarity of our intuition, prevent us from gaining access to our inner wisdom and divine guidance. The following strategies can help us reconnect with our inner being and build a stronger connection with our inner guidance system.
Ignore The Noise
Stop listening to the opinions and views of others. I am not suggesting that you should never take good advice, but be selective about who you choose to listen to. And if their opinion does not resonate with your inner being, walk away.
Too much external ‘noise’ can really block your instincts if you become preoccupied with what others think. There is also the fear of upsetting others or not living up to certain social norms or family expectations. If you were to give in to this, you may very well find yourself living other people’s dreams and ambitions instead of your own.
Avoid the kind of ‘well-meant’ advice that usually only serve the needs of the one advising you. Politely thank them for their interest and concern, but disregard their opinions and simply go ahead with what your inner voice advises. The Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu said, “He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”
Have Your Guides Led You Astray?
“My guides must hate me! They only lead me to things that cause me pain,” one of my clients recently complained. It is also not the first time I have heard something like this.
But how can this be? If our angels, guides and ancestors are here to help us, why do they lead us to things that cause us pain, heartache, or grief? Is spirit perhaps not actually guiding us, but hurting us instead? And if that is the case, what are we to do about it?
In my years of working as a professional psychic and energy healer, as well as my personal life experiences, I have come to the following conclusion on this matter. Our guides have only one mission: to love and support us unconditionally. Any deviation from our highest good is never due to the guidance of spirit, but instead the result of one or more of the following:
Ego Interference
Often, when we believe we are ‘following our guides,’ we are actually following a wounded part of our ego that continues to create a reality of pain – because that is all that we know. Your guides will never encourage you to do anything that causes you, or another person harm. Your spirit guardians will never make you feel belittled, intimidated or frightened.
Now, it is important to note they may steer you towards life choices and experiences that may make you feel somewhat uncomfortable or challenged, because it is outside of your comfort zone and they are wanting you to grow and expand. But there is a difference between being gently nudged towards personal growth and soul expansion, and simply being frightened or emotionally crushed
Lack Of Listening
The fundamental question with spirit guidance is whether are you truly listening? Sometimes we are in so much anger or pain that our guides are actually communicating with us, and guiding us, in vain, because we are unable to hear it clearly.
Explore ways to turn off the destructive self-talk and emotional intensity, and work on tapping into your inner guidance and listening to your inner voice.
For example, ask your angels, guides or ancestors to work with you in the dream state. Once the conscious mind that is hurting so much is asleep, it is much easier for our guides to come in and do their work.
Rediscovering The Untouched Soul
Our soul is always a clean slate when we are born. Knowing this and living accordingly is true spirituality. However, the virgin territory of our soul is often more or less blemished or darkened due to many traumas and challenges throughout our lifetime.
Along our life path, we often lose much of the spiritual innocence we had as children. Instead, we begin to dwell in shadows of darkness in various forms: indifference to the destiny of others, confinement in our own; laziness, vanity, greed, envy, violence, hatred.
None of us can deny having at times dark thoughts or toxic emotions, malicious habits or selfish behaviors. However, no matter how widespread and ingrained the darkness may become in us, it is also certain that something immaculate always persists in some corner of our inner being. Even if it is tiny, there is an eternal point of light within where our higher self always remains pure and original. The sacred we carry within cannot be defiled.
As much as life may have made us callous or cynical, we always have this sacred stronghold inside. Herein lies the hope of those who practice spirituality: to reach that virgin point and rediscover in it one’s original nature.
This original nature, pure and innocent, we have sometimes forgotten to such an extent that we need someone or something to remind us to look inside ourselves to rediscover who we truly are.
We sometimes need someone to explain that we suffer because we have stopped believing in purity, beauty and what is good. We need someone to remind us that our deepest identity is virginal and fruitful, empty and full, both things, however contradictory this may seem.
Do You Follow Your Head, Or Your Heart?
As a practicing astrologer, I often assist clients who are facing the head versus heart dilemma. Should they go with what their head is telling them, or should they follow their heart?
“My head tells me he’s so perfect for me. He is my dream guy on paper, ticks every box. He has a successful career, earns a solid income. He is someone my kids would love, the male role-model they so desperately need,” a client recently explained.
“But my heart feels so hesitant, like its beating for someone else I haven’t met yet. He is a great guy, but there no butterflies. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand why my heart is yearning for someone different?” she lamented.
“I can’t afford to be picky and my friends and family tell me I’m crazy to even question this incredible guy who seems to tick all the right boxes, but doesn’t put a flutter in my heart!”
The question is indeed, why would one trust an illogical feeling that can’t be quantified and measured using the neat little pros and cons list of the mind? In my Astrology practice, I have see this conundrum play out many times.
Interestingly, I find this vexing situation is often related to a Mercury Square Moon aspect in someone’s chart. Such a person will often take one side over the other, usually the head over the heart, and this habitual battle can result in a lifelong pattern of bad choices.
Culturally we’ve also been conditioned to always choose reason over feelings. And what others think often also factors too highly in a personal choice that’s best made selfishly. In my opinion, relationships are one of the few areas in life where we get to be selfish, because if we choose someone who will not make us happy, everyone will suffer in the end.
We are often told ‘trust our gut’ for good reason. Your intuition or inner guidance system knows far more than you do! But like a muscle, we must build it up, we must work it, flex it, to clearly register the signals it’s sending us.
Tune Into The Guidance Of Your Emotions
I believe our emotions are an additional ‘sense’ we use as a means of interpreting our life experiences, in the same way the normal five senses enable us to perceive and understand the world around us. Our ‘emotional sense’ help us make decisions about our preferences all the time.
For example, I love chocolate. My sense of taste tells me that chocolate is for me! It’s a very clear and obvious signal from my taste buds to my brain. We receive and process stimuli all the time and our senses help us to ‘make sense’ of that input.
Your emotions are also giving you information about your preferences and if we listen and pay attention, we can gain a lot of guidance from it. Our emotions don’t just come from nowhere. They arise in direct response to stimuli or input, just like our senses do.
I have also heard emotions described as an internal guidance system, or our inner compass, which helps us decide what we want to create more of, and less of, in our life. We sometimes get confused though, because just like the other senses, we have different preferences.
For example, some people love coconut desserts, but I detest then. Not thanks, keep your coconut out of my chocolate! The thing is, I’m not confused about the fact that I don’t like coconut. I also don’t feel I have to change my preference because other people love coconut. And I also don’t force myself to eat it, just to make other people happy.
When one of our five physical senses tells us something we tend to listen, because it’s visceral. We feel it undeniably in the body. Emotions are no different!
When you are heartbroken, do you not feel it in your chest as a physical pain? When you are embarrassed, do your cheeks or ears not become flushed? Or how about when someone you love hugs you so warm and deliciously, all your muscles just ‘melt’ into that person? These are all physical responses the accompany our emotions.
Showing Up For Your Spiritual Purpose
We are all given gifts. Talents. Abilities. Aptitudes. We are supposed to share these gifts with the world. There are many gifts, callings and passions, and many things we are meant to use for the greater good. And an unused, neglected gift is a tragic travesty.
It feels good when we are expressing our truth in the world, but many let their gifts lay dormant. They have forgotten what they came here to do.
It is our spiritual duty to show up for our part and fulfill our life’s spiritual purpose. We must tap into our abilities and share our message with the world. Some of us are given opportunity after opportunity to show up and apply our gifts, but we turn down every chance to shine.
If ask you today, right this moment, what makes you really excited? What do you truly enjoy doing? What is your truth? Your passion? What message would you like to share with the world? Find your inner truth and show up to do your part.
I knew from a young age I was here to help people get on the path they are meant to be on. Today, I help folks to live their best possible life.
Each person has their own unique gifts, talents and abilities and life path. I help people to identify what this is by using my own gifts. I share what spirit’s message is for each person, to help them shine and connect with their unique divine truth.
I find great joy in helping people connect with their own unique gifts. I also love to teach techniques that vibe with each person to help them to connect with their own healing and inner guidance.