You may find yourself thinking that the messages or guidance you are receiving is merely your normal inner dialog, and it is important to know that there are at least eight possible sources of inner voices, and it takes practice to determine where your inner messages are coming from.
First, your own rational and analytical mind is likely to make its contributions. You will notice that the nature of these responses is more like thinking and processing the subject matter, rather than merely listening for the responses to arise out of the deep stillness.
For instance, if your inner inquiry concerns whether to accept an invitation from some acquaintances or not, you may find this aspect of your mind saying something like, “Well there you go again. Do you think we should go out tonight or not. If we don’t what will our friends think of us, but if we do you know we’ll regret it tomorrow. On the other hand, we do enjoy being with these people, but then again maybe this isn’t the best way to spend our time and money at this time. If we go it could be a big mistake.” The analytical mind will often get lost in loops of thought processing and judgments.
The second source of responses is from your own history. Stored within you are memories of things you have heard, seen and experienced and these may arise in response to your requests for information. The voices of memories may be the voices you have stored from your parents or others you grew up with, teachers or authority figures, or even the casual and unthinking off-hand critical comments made to you by friends or others.
These type of voices go something like this, “This line of questioning can only go into dangerous water. You know you need to save your pennies for a rainy day. You clearly know right from wrong, why would you want to get so close to the edge? It would be better for you to just forget all about this and stay with what you’ve been taught. If it was good enough for mom and dad it is good enough for me. Just work hard. If it sounds too good to be true it is.” There can be strong voices that appear to be the voices of conscience, but which are actually the voices of our parents or others, and may not be relevant to the situation you find yourself in today.
The third source of responses is stored emotions. Emotions have a feeling charge that can bring a voice in your mind. For instance a voice might say, “I’ve really had it the way that person keeps treating me. They have no right to do this. How dare he mess with me. I should sue him.” The inner voices of anger can be very destructive and only set in motion the energies that create what is so strongly resisted.
The fourth source of thoughts is the darkest and potentially most destructive of all voices. There are also voices of what is called the shadow self. These are the parts of us we tend not to want to look at, so we keep them in the shadow below our conscious awareness. It may be composed of all of the previous elements of analysis, memories and emotions but they are bent in a most negative and destructive posture. You may hear an inner voice say, “I’ll kill that person for not doing what I want. How dare they do that to me. They should be made to suffer. I feel so miserable maybe I should just take a bottle of pills and end it all myself.”
A fifth source of inner voices are from what is sometimes called the collective unconscious, which houses the passions, drives, archetypes, beliefs, and overriding attitudes of mass consciousness. This includes all the hatred and prejudices of the masses, but it also houses the needs, loves and desires of the masses. So it is a real mixture of drives that have an overall affect on virtually everyone. Depending on how your consciousness is oriented will determine how in tune you are with these energies. Some people are affected very little by these energies, and others are greatly influenced by them.
The sixth source of inner voices are combined from sub-identities or sub-personalities which form most of the inner voices you hear throughout the day. Many of the inner voices are very defensive for they arise from aspects of the ego. The voices utilize many techniques all designed to keep you safe.
If, for example, you are inquiring about your relationships or lack thereof, you may hear voices saying things like, “I want to be loved, but relationships are risky and can bring pain, so I’ll let people get just so far with me. I’ll feel safer if I keep people at arm’s length.” These voices indicate some relationship fears, and this represents the areas where a person with these voices will find the greatest chance of being confronted and challenged as well as the greatest possibilities for growth. If the person deals with these voices their relationship experiences will deepen and become rich, but if the source of the voices are not cleared they can represent the greatest potential area for relationship failings.
The seventh source of inner voices can be spirit entities. I am not going into this subject in detail in this article because it is an extensive subject, but it is a factor to be aware of as a possible source of voices. There are many beings at all levels imaginable in the astral and higher plains that can project their thoughts and ideas into a person’s mind. Some benevolent beings and not so nice beings are sometimes channeled knowingly or unknowingly.
The eighth source of inner voices is a voice in the heart. The voice of the soul or divine source will usually come in through the heart center, although there can also be the voices of grief, betrayals and pain in the heart.
What to Do with What You Hear
The voices that I am speaking of may not actually come in the form of a voice as you know it. You are not likely to hear these voices like a person talking out loud to you, because it is in inner hearing. Sometimes it comes as a knowing, a realization, an image, an impulse, an impression, or an experience of sound or sensation.
The voice of the soul or divine source will resound with the qualities of trust and love and bring a deep completion and comfort, and guide you into true safety and a deepening awareness of truth. You will receive messages of the reality of love, mercy, and kindness.
Multiple voices exist in nearly everyone, and there is an interplay within them at all times, and until you learn how to separate out the higher self and divine voices and choose that over all the others you are under constant pressure to move in the direction of the other voices. This is a very important piece of knowledge. It is helpful to label the voices as they arise.
For instance:
The voices of doubt, criticism and blame.
The voices of inner needs and desires.
The voices of pain and struggle.
The voices of spirit.
As each voice arises inquire with your intention that the underlying voice reveal its needs and desires. What effect do these voices have on your body, mind and emotions? With your intent bring healing light to the source of the voice and hold the intent that the causes and needs that underlie the voice be surrendered and dissolved in the light.
Honor the voices of the feelings and awareness that reveal themselves to you. When voices of doubt and distraction want to take you away from beauty and love return your focus to your heart center and repeat the words that deeply connect you with your spiritual nature and truth. This is one of the more effective ways of dealing with mental distractions.
In time you will find yourself receiving moment-to-moment inner guidance and revelations that will be helpful to you and others. Developing a relationship with your inner guidance will lead you to beneficial decisions and actions, as well as infuse you with realizations and understanding of the nature and qualities of your life and being. This will lead to a life unfolding around you that is inspirational and filled with a deep level of love and trust.
In Conclusion
Sometimes, if not often, the ideas and guidance that come to you do not make conscious sense. This is because your conscious mind does not have access to as large a view as your higher self, and information which is out of range of your five senses can be accessed only by the higher aspects of your consciousness. You may not always understand the guidance and insights your are receiving. In time you will come to trust the process and your ability to interpret what you receive will become more sure. As you receive guidance and you practice trusting that guidance you will find that the accuracy of your choices increases and deepens. This is the beginning of living the miraculous life.
This process is a skill which requires your patience and dedication to master and you may think it would be easier to continue through your day as you always have. However, you would be missing out on much of what life can be if you make that choice. Remembering to practice inner listening takes resolve, but it pays rich rewards. The inconveniences necessary to achieve mastery are worth the investments.
As you surrender your fixed opinions and control to trusting your inner guidance, miracles start happening in your life. You spontaneously move into universal harmony and synchronicity. Since the truth of you at your core essence is always at one with God, trusting your inner guidance puts you in harmony with what is true and this keeps you in the right place, at the right time, doing the right things that are for your best and highest purposes at all times.
Over time your mind and its analysis will diminish because you will have come to a higher level of trust in the process and therefore you will not be as inclined to question and doubt. Your mind will learn that this form of receiving guidance is superior to the questioning and analytical processes the mind has been used to relying on. You will come to have a sense of being on track, living in trust, and knowing what feels right and best for you. Your guidance will lead you to what makes you happy and fulfilled. This is because you will in touch with your core essence which is always in a state of perfect contentment, joy and unconditional love.
Also read the article, 5 Proven Ways to Quiet Your Mind
