Listening to Your Inner Voice

The other night I was watching Oprah’s Best Life Series РSpiritual Practice. At the end she asked each teacher for one parting question. Michael Beckwith presented us with this one:

What gifts are within us that I promised myself I would give and that I need to dust off?

I instantly wondered — how do we even know what our gift is?

The answer is within each of us. We have to listen to our soul — our inner voice. Listening to my inner voice used to come naturally. But somewhere between majoring in attitude in college then opting for the secure career, I sold out. Then gave up on myself.

Over time I eventually managed to shut out the outside noise and hear my intuition again. My life suddenly became richer and more meaningful.

I discovered there are seven habits I need to practice daily to keep me headed in the right direction.

7 Habits to Listening to Your Inner Voice

1. Visualize your ideal lifestyle. A vision board is extremely powerful tool. I write letters to myself describing my ideal day. The more details the better. This lets the universe know what to bring into your life.
2. Give thanks daily. My Gratitude Journal changed my life. Writing down everything I’m grateful for is a message to the universe to bring more of it into my life.
3. Meditate as much as you can. Clearing the mind allows for new thoughts to come in. Even just a few minutes a day makes all the difference. Sit in silence, go for a walk, or just take a deep breath and repeat a mantra.
4. Give away the exact thing you want to receive.This might sound silly. How are you suppose to give away what you don’t have. The good news is that we all have plenty to offer. If you’re looking for a new job, help a friend with an introduction. If you want to lose weight, donate your Twinkies to the food panty and a few hours of your time to a community garden. Giving is the currency of the universe.
5. Take care of your health. I changed my diet and lost over 20lbs. It also cleared my head and calmed my soul. I exercise daily, try to get plenty of rest, and take vitamins. My physical body is the temple of my gift, so I nurture and pamper it. A long, hot bath works too!
6. Be the real you as much as possible. As I write this, there is a girl sitting across from me in the coffee shop with a big pink flower in her hair. It’s a bold display of individuality and true spirit. Once you start letting your true self out, you’ll discover that life is far easier and far, far richer.
7. Go with the flow. Last spring I wasn’t selected for a very cool job. Of course I was crushed. But I just found out that role was made redundant, so I would have been out of a job anyway. Everything works out as it should. And the more I accept life rather than resist it, the more creativity and innovation blossom.