Listening to your inner wisdom

A few weeks ago I shared my story - how I learnt to listen to my inner wisdom and trust it through the Cycle of Discernment. I moved from being the person who knew what she needed to do but failed to act, to the woman who faced with redundancy from her dream job took the biggest leap of her life with absolute confidence that it was the right thing to do. Last week in my blog I shared that my main reason for being a coach is to help women to tune into their inner wisdom, learn to trust it and discern their unique path to the life that lights them up. And I’m passionate about this. I believe that this is central to a happy life. In fact, that’s why although in some worlds I’d be called a life coach I prefer to think of myself as an inner wisdom whisperer!

So, what do I mean by inner wisdom? I think that my inner wisdom is the most precious part of me. It's more than my intellect or common sense. It's rooted at the core of me. It's where head and heart meet. It's my North Star steering me home. From it pours forth my love for life, love for others, my passions. It is, in short, the essence of me.

Some people may call listening to this part of yourself listening to your gut or intuition but to me it’s more than that. It’s that still small voice inside you. The calm one. The one that speaks from a deep place. The one that is saying, this is the right thing, this is the right path, listen to me. For me inner wisdom comes from the wisest part of me – the connection of head and heart and it also comes from God, from the Holy Spirit. I’m a Christian. I believe that when I ask for guidance it will be given. It may not be loud or obvious – again, it’s that still, small voice. I have to watch, I have to listen.

So how do you tune into your inner wisdom? How do you hear that still, small voice above the noise of everyday life? The noise of social media? The noise of 24-hour news feeds? The noise of your inner critic?

Practise. Practise. And more practise. And how do you do this practise? Stillness, quiet. Your version of stillness and quiet, whatever that looks like in your daily life. Too busy? All the more reason to cultivate some stillness and quiet in your life. Start small. No one, least of all me is going to ask you to find an hour a day for meditation or to book a whole weekend away at a silent retreat. Although both admirable if that’s what lights you up. No, you do you. For me, it’s a 3 to 10 minute guided meditation as soon as I wake up, followed by 10 to 15 minutes with Pray as You Go. My mind is stilled by the meditation and then I’m nourished by music, scripture, prayer and reflection. The whole process takes 25 minutes maximum before I let the rest of the world into my day. I’ve tuned into me. I’ve opened up my mind to listen. Later in the day, if I’m working I’ll do my best to factor a walk outside into my lunch break – no podcast, or music, just me, the rhythm of my feet and breathing and my thoughts – my inner wisdom. I have some of my best thoughts on these walks.

I have a journal in which I write as moved – usually in the evening. Catching thoughts, reflections, writing about my goals. The process of writing helps me tap into that inner wisdom, especially if something is bothering me or doesn’t feel quite right. I also carry a small notebook with me all of the time. I’m old school. I like to write things down, to be able to flick back through the pages. This way when my inner wisdom comes up with a gem of an idea I have a way of capturing it in the moment so that I can go back and consider it later. We’re all different. You may prefer to leave yourself a voice mail, send yourself an email, use the notes app on your phone. As I said, you do you, but I highly recommend finding a way of capturing your thoughts no matter how random they may seem. You may then begin to realise that they aren’t actually that random, that there is a pattern, that your inner wisdom is pointing out a path to you that you hadn’t even realised was there.

If you do have a spiritual belief or practice, then I would definitely recommend asking for guidance and praying about what your inner wisdom is telling you. I have clients who aren’t Christian, it certainly isn’t a prerequisite for working with me, but I know few people, either as clients or in life who don’t have some sort of spiritual belief. Whether it’s prayer or simply quiet meditation time make sure that you spend time with the ideas that your inner wisdom has provided. Make time to listen. As I said, in this loud and flashy world it’s a still, small voice. One full of wonder and hope. One that wants the best for us and those we love. One that it’s worth finding the time, means and quiet to listen to.

I hope this has provided some food for thought. If you would like to know more about working with me you can book a free 20 minute exploratory call. During the call we'll explore the life that you want to live, the obstacles that are currently stopping you and what's most important to make progress with first. And then, if it feels right, how we could work together. Click here to book a call.