When listening within doesn’t work

Learning to trust our inner voice allows us to make decisions pointing us in the right direction and keeping us from harm. Getting quiet and going within is also the first lesson in communicating with animals. For over 12 years I’ve been teaching others to get quiet, go within and listen to the whispers of their intuition (Soul) and animals. It’s a skill which once learned and practiced gets easier. Yet, even with years of practice, there are times when hearing the inner voice is like trying to listen to a whisper when the smoke alarm is blaring in your ear. Even when you’ve been listening to the inner voice for decades, some situations make it nearly impossible.

In these times, reaching out to another to gain perspective is what we need.

In 2000, just as I was beginning my animal communication work, my mentor called and left a frantic message on my voice mail. One of her cats was missing. She was so distraught she had reached out to me even though she was a seasoned professional animal communicator. When we are in a state of heightened fear, it’s natural for us to be unable to hear our inner voice clearly. The stress hormones flooding our body and the automatic flight/fight response prevent us from being able to quiet ourselves.

There can be other reasons you can’t get quiet when you feel you need  “advice” from within. Perhaps you have anxiety brought on by a physical illness or you are so invested in the outcome, you don’t trust what you hear. Under these conditions, seek out a few trusted friends or mentors to provide you with some insight and pay attention to how the input or advice feels.

For example, let’s say you’ve been offered a job at a new company. There are great opportunities for you if you switch companies but also losses if you leave where you are. You can always do a pros and cons list but what appears on the surface of logic, is not always our best choice. You can go within using the techniques I describe in this article. But let’s say this decision happens at a time when you are also taking care of your elderly mother. You’re overwhelmed and exhausted. And your dog is sick. And your son just dropped out of college. You get the picture. This barrage of insults can happen. When it does, chances are we are too off balance to listen within. This is a good time to call on a few trusted friends or mentors. You’ll likely find each person has a different perspective for you to consider. As you listen to each one, notice how you feel; pay attention to your body. When someone gives you advice or a different perspective and your body relaxes a bit, you’re onto something. Reach out until you feel you have an option to reflect upon. Then get quiet and reflect on what has been shared with you. If the advice doesn’t help you feel any better, chances are it isn’t what you need at this time. Keep asking and exploring.

For some, the hardest part of this is reaching out for help. Somewhere in our early years we decided we needed to get all the answers ourselves and not depend on others. There’s a myriad of reasons this can happen but sparing you a psychology lesson, if this is you…

It’s okay to get help.

We are not meant to be all knowing and perfect. We need other people, their insight and fresh perspective.

On the other end of the spectrum are those who never trust themselves and always seek others advice. This extreme of never trusting oneself is also not helpful. If this is you…

Trust yourself.

Start by listening in and taking small (low risk) actions based on your intuition. As you gain confidence in your inner wisdom, you will be rewarded with more insights and positive outcomes from your actions.

For many years I reached out to others when I was being asked by my Soul to listen within. I would reach out and get advice that didn’t work well. A part of me knew what the best choice was but I chose to put other people’s advice ahead of mine. Repeatedly I found myself making poor decisions based on other’s input. Once I recognized this and began listening in, it got better. Eventually, I became very good at it and began teaching others to listen within. As someone who teaches this I decided I should be able to do this by myself…always…no matter what. Obviously this didn’t work either. Finally, it appears the pendulum is swinging back to center for me as I listen within as I can, and when my humanness has me in a position which requires reaching out, I can do that too.

Experiencing fear around a decision can be a bit tricky. There is much talk these days about feeling the fear and doing it anyway. It’s natural to feel nervous as we embark on a new path or stretch ourselves. This is especially true for those of us running our own businesses. Pushing the envelope, being brave and vulnerable can take us to heights we never imagined.

At the same time, massive fear or anxiety is a message from our body and intuition telling us something isn’t right. This doesn’t mean we necessarily scrap the entire project, but it does indicate something needs tweaking; something is not in alignment. We need more information.

Our inner wisdom uses our body to give us information all the time.

Anxiety is information. Pain is information. Illness is information. Depression is information. Peace is information. Joy is information.

Pay Attention.

Listen Within.

And when you need to, reach out.