Live a Life Directed by Inner Knowing

I found this comment on my Facebook page: “Man invented gods and the soul. If someone can demonstrate the soul, I could then believe one exists.”

It illustrates the way the thinking mind formulates belief and rejects anything that lies beyond its understanding. Inner knowing doesn’t come from your thinking mind. It comes from your inner spirit. From this place of awareness there are things you simply know, even when they don’t make sense. It’s a knowing that exists beyond belief. This won’t make sense to your ego. But that doesn’t mean it’s not real.

Have you ever been drawn to something or someone you had no logical reason to be drawn to? Drawn just because it felt right? Did your brain immediately try and talk you out of it? If your experiences are anything like mine, your brain probably had a ton of reasons why what you were drawn to either wouldn’t work, was wrong, or both. These experiences epitomize the contrast between belief and inner knowing.

Belief and inner knowing are often at odds. This is because they come from different places with different purposes. The purpose of your thinking mind or ego is to use facts and figures to judge and define, which creates separation. Operating from belief, you see the differences in people. Meanwhile, your inner spirit seeks the unity that comes from acceptance. From inner knowing, you see how people are the same. Belief tears people apart. Inner knowing brings people together.

With practice, you can differentiate between belief and inner knowing. And you can learn to use both. They both have value. You just have to use them for the right things. Your inner knowing is what you need to use for creativity and relationships. It’s critical for loving relationships, because love isn’t logical. On the other hand, the thinking mind is what you need to use to work out the details. It’s perfect for retirement planning. But if you’re trying to think your way to a loving relationship, you’re going to be disappointed.

We live in a world dominated by the belief of the thinking mind. It takes a purposeful effort to make the transformation from a belief-dominant life to a life directed by inner knowing. But you can do it. Inner knowing is part of you. Just shift your focus from your head to your heart and soul, or from your thoughts to your being.

Practice ignoring the voice in your head much like you would ignore a talk radio station. Like talk radio, the voice in your head won’t stop. So don’t waste your time and energy trying to make it be quiet. Instead, accept that it will never stop talking. Then turn your attention away from it and down to your chest where your inner knowing dwells.

This might be new to you. I spent most of my life thinking the voice in my head was me. And that’s just the way my ego wanted it. I finally realized the real me has a different voice entirely. This realization has set me free and changed my life. I now know that the voice in my head is not my voice, it’s the voice of my ego. And I don’t have to listen.

You can live a life directed by inner knowing, but it requires a commitment. Make it a daily practice. Do everything you can to extract yourself from the driven way we typically live our lives — by thinking. Set down the phone. Turn off the computer, radio and television. Then, sit in quiet meditation. Breathe deeply and follow your breath down into your chest. Purposely move your attention away from the noisy voice in your head to the quiet place of inner knowing in your chest. You will begin realize just how wise you really are.

The more you practice, the better you’ll get. Over time you’ll become good friends with your inner voice and learn to trust it. You’ll know that you are the source of your own inner knowing. Because it is the voice of your true Self you’re hearing.