Do you hear voices? I’m not asking if you think you are crazy. I’m wondering if you pay attention to inner wisdom. Our soul is always whispering, but we aren’t always listening. The clamor of every day life sometimes drowns out the sound of our inner voice. If you think of your physical body as a vehicle for the soul to move about here on Earth, then try to imagine those voices as the vehicle owner's manual speaking to you. We are born with an instructional booklet that is specific to our vehicle. It includes important information to help us navigate this earthly journey, and it includes maintenance and troubleshooting advice.
There’s a difference between the voices in our heads and the voices in our hearts. One is the ego talking to us. It often says things like, “You aren’t good enough,” or “New things are scary, so don’t even bother trying them.” The ego feels comfortable hanging out with fear. That’s not a place you should park your vehicle for very long. The other voice we hear is the one that comes from that owner’s manual. The text is built into our heartstrings. That’s our soul speaking to us. Listen to it. It knows what it’s talking about.
Our soul has centuries of wisdom. It speaks to us through thoughts, dreams, and visions. It urges us with gut feelings and that inexplicable knowing we sometimes have, which we call intuition. It attempts to direct us and offer roadside assistance on our journeys, but we often ignore the nudging.
How can we translate this owner’s manual to learn what our souls are saying to us?
Get quiet. Seek solitude. Walk alone in a park. Close the eyes. Turn inward. Breathe.
If we don’t learn how to get quiet, we won't be able to hear the whispering of our soul. It’s like driving with the radio blasting, while simultaneously talking on the phone as you pass a construction site with a jackhammer breaking up the concrete. How can one possibly focus on the road with all those distractions? And bragging that you can do it is simply your ego talking.
Our higher self provides inner guidance separate from our personality, or ego. That inner world has ageless wisdom and unconditional love to offer. But our egos have placed those helpful ideas in the glove compartment blocking our access to them. All we have to do is reach over and open the compartment. Park yourself someplace where you won’t be distracted, and simply listen. Sometimes our soul communicates in images, meaning this instructor’s manual has pictures! Just observe the images that enter the mind’s eye and wait for the information to come through. Translation may take a little practice so be patient with yourself. Learn to speak the language your soul may be using to communicate, whether it is through words, images or feelings. It will be different for each individual.
Trust your intuition. Trust your higher self. Get to know your soul by keeping your own book. Write down your thoughts, ideas, visions, and dreams. You might want to explore automatic writing (writing without stopping to think or edit to see what pours out) or dream analysis (Freud viewed dreams as “the royal road” to the unconscious). Both reveal messages from your soul, your true self.
Become aware of the emotional baggage you are carrying in the trunk or backseat of your vehicle and determine what you can let go of to lighten your load. What beliefs, assumptions, bad habits or negative people can you remove from your vehicle?
Next, stare gently into your eyes in the rear-view mirror of your metaphorical vehicle. Ignore the voices of self-judgment that may arise. Mirror work can help us awaken our connection to the soul. It will feel awkward at first, and uncomfortably vulnerable. But it is actually a tremendously empowering and healing activity, and the easiest way to connect directly to our soul. The ego will most likely speak first and say things like, “You need a haircut,” or “Have you gained weight?” Ignore it. Look deeper, because your soul is there waiting to tell you, “I love you,” and “You aren’t alone on this road trip.”
Everyone has a soul book, or driver’s manual. It reveals who we are, why we are here, and what we set out to do on this journey called life. Become acquainted with yours, and your feeling of being lost will eventually be replaced with your desire to go with the flow and learn more about yourself and the Universe at large.