Five Pathways to Listening to Your Inner Voice

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Five Pathways to Listening to Your Inner Voice

By Claudette Rowley
Copyright 2003

Is your life out of sync with your priorities?
Do you feel like you're a hamster running on a wheel?
Have you forgotten who you are?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, read on. Learn to
listen to your inner voice - the essence of who you are - by
following these five steps:

1. Check in with your heart.

Social conditioning teaches us to be logical and "use our
heads". When you only use your head, your experience of
yourself and the world is limited. You miss out on the
vital information the rest of your body, heart and soul is
giving you.

Benefits: The same neurological tissue found in the brain
is found in the heart. The heart is a second "brain" and
our emotional center. Listening to your head and your heart
is crucial to good decision-making about your life, your
business and your relationships.

New Focus: Put your hand over your heart and focus there -
what is it telling you?

2. Connect with your body.

Your body gives you a tremendous amount of useful
information that you may not be conscious of. For example,
when your mother-in-law visits, does your stomach tie up in
knots? When your boss yells at you, do your shoulders turn
into stone? When you feel passionate and alive, does your
chest feel warm and open? When we ignore the body's
message, we lose out on valuable information designed to
let us what works for us and what doesn't.

Benefits: For many people, fear manifests as a tightness in
their chest. This is valuable information, especially if
you aren't aware that you are afraid. Your body alerts you
to what makes feels passionate and what doesn't. The body
is a fount of wisdom designed to tell you when you're on
the right path and when you aren't.

New Focus: Notice the messages your body is giving you
right now. Try a self-massage to find areas in your back,
neck or shoulders that are tense or knotted. What other
areas of your body feel tight? Which ones feel relaxed and
loose? Use this information as another key to listening to
your inner wisdom.

3. Listen to your intuition.

Intuition is simply knowing something without knowing
exactly how you know it. Connect back to a time that you
had a "gut feeling" about something - the job that you knew
you shouldn't take, even though it looked good on the
surface or the relationship that just felt right for
you. That's your intuition talking to you.

Benefits: Gut feelings are a wealth of
information. Remember, your intuition is never wrong,
although your interpretation of it may be incorrect. When
your intuition calls to you, trust it. Practice makes
perfect when it comes to using your intuition effectively.

New Focus: The next time you need to make a decision, check
in with your intuition. Experiment with trusting it. When
you follow your intuition, what happens? When you hear it
and disregard it, what's the outcome?

4. Notice your self-saboteur.

Each of us has our very own special saboteur. The saboteur
is the voice in your head that says, "You are not good
enough." "Who do you think you are?" "If you take this new
job, everyone will find out what a fraud you are." The
saboteur's job is to "protect" you from taking risks and
making changes.

Benefits: Learn to distinguish between your voice and the
saboteur's mumbo-jumbo. Notice how the inner critic drives
the choices and decisions you make.

New Focus: Simply notice the negative voices playing in
your head. Notice the times when they crop up. Recognize
that the voices aren't you and they aren't true. Learning
to separate your own voice from that of the saboteur is a
powerful and life changing tool.

5. Identify limiting beliefs.

We each carry a set of beliefs that we live by. Certain
beliefs you hold consciously, while others are mainly
unconscious. Beliefs develop out of past experiences and
our interpretations of those experiences. Some of the
conscious and unconscious beliefs that you develop limit
your ability to grow and move forward in your life. For
example: One of your goals as a successful entrepreneur is
to make a lot of money. You discover that you have a belief
- a limiting one - that it's wrong to make a lot of
money. Until you begin to alter your beliefs about money,
it will be more difficult for you to achieve that financial
success you desire.

Benefits: Learning to notice a limiting belief allows you
to become conscious of it, and then change it. Releasing a
belief that limits you puts you back in the driver's seat
of your life. You, rather than an old belief, make the
choices that are right for you and allow you to fulfill
your potential

Ways to spot a limiting belief:
* You tell yourself that you only have one or two
choices in a situation, or "no choice" at all.

* Your inner critic expresses his or her opinion. The
inner critic's opinion is generally based in a
limiting belief.

* A decision may appear to be black and white to you,
or an either/or situation.

* You have decided that "this is the way the world is."

* You make a decision based on fear.

* You feel constricted and notice that you lack clarity about
a specific situation.

New Focus: How does a particular belief allow you to
attract what you really want in life? How does it prevent
you from attaining your goals? When you reach an obstacle
in your path, make sure that it's not an old belief in your
way.

When important questions like "What do I want?" or "What's the
right choice for me to make?" surface in your mind, consult your
inner voice. You possess the answers you need to live a life that
feels successful and fulfilling. Listening to your inner voice
can lead you on a path that feels deeply satisfying. Your
business and personal lives will flourish with this new level of
trust in yourself.

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Claudette Rowley, coach and author, helps professionals
identify and pursue their true purpose and calling in life.
Contact her today for a complimentary consultation at 781-676-5633
or claudette@metavoice.org. Sign up for her free newsletter
"Insights for the Savvy" at http://www.metavoice.org.