You know all those messages that flash into your mind throughout the day? Where do those messages come from and what are they saying to you?
A lot of the “messages” we hear come from outside ourselves, even if it seems like they originated in our mind. If you were taught to never trust strangers when you were a child, then when you meet someone new, your ‘voices’ might tell you “be careful, be guarded, don’t let them know what you’re really thinking, they could use it against you.” If you’re only experiences meeting new people are positive and uplifting, the voices would say something different, right?
Most of the time the voices come from experience. If in our past we did or said something that got a negative response from someone, we might conclude that EVERYONE will give us the same response. In this case the voices in your head would advise you to AVOID doing this again to protect you from that negative response.
But this leaves us anxious and unsure because we try to base our behavior on what other people might do. Or they might not. It’s all very confusing.
Sometimes the voices repeat what others have told us. If your mother convinced you as a child that “ladies should be seen and not heard,” then you will probably keep your ideas and opinions to yourself. If you learned as a child that you should put others’ needs ahead of your own, then you are not likely to stand up for yourself even when your own health and well-being are at stake.
So if all these messages come from outside of us, even while we feel like they come from inside our brain, how do we decipher what is true? How do we find our own voice or identify our own desires?
Get still.
When we get still, and quiet our minds, we shut out the other voices and can more clearly hear what our hearts are telling us. And our hearts always tell truth. When we follow our heart, we can’t go wrong!
Most of my clients tell me they have trouble hearing their heart’s desires for the voices in their heads, and want to know HOW to get still. GREAT question!
It takes PRACTICE. Daily practice is required for any skill that you really want to master, right? That includes changing thought patterns or behavior patterns.
Where do I start?
That’s usually the next question. There are myriad ways to “center” or to “meditate” and at least as many books, blogs, and recordings. The main idea is to get the mind chatter to slow down or stop. The easiest way I know is to focus on something repetitive like your breathing, ocean waves, the hum of an air conditioner, or the ticking of a clock. Guided meditations simply give your mind something else to focus on in a calming way. Try searching on YouTube and you’ll surely find something that appeals to you.
Click here for a recording of a basic guided meditation I made. Some of my clients find it useful at least as a starting point. Give yourself the gift of seven minutes to sit somewhere quiet – to just listen, and relax. Listen for your own voice in the spaces between breaths. Be still, and quiet, and listen.
Grow on!
How does your breathing change as your mind quiets?
What messages came through for you if any?
What does your inner voice sound like?
What qualities do you hear in your inner voice?
How do you FEEL when you hear your inner voice?
