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There is a still, small voice within us; the quiet cadence of an aware Universe, of which we are all a part.
This infinite, celestial song freely provides us with guidance on how to best align with its ever-expanding flow. We only have to learn to hear its gentle whispering below all the superficial, mental noise that usually fills us. Today, many of us understand this interior voice as our intuition, those gut feelings advising us on how to move through life in the most optimal of ways.
While often considered a particular gift of the more witchy, women-folk among us; intuition is actually a natural part of the splendor that makes all of us human. It’s that mysterious and deep well inside that gives birth to sudden flashes of inspiration (in-spirit), inviting us to discover ideas, solutions, and creative expressions from a greater place within.
But we have to be receptive, be ready at the well’s edge. And this receptivity is what the practices of mindfulness and meditation are all about.
There is every reason to train ourselves to cultivate an awareness of this discreet, inner wisdom. It provides a greater depth of insight than we usually have access too. Most of the time, we are fully engulfed and distracted by the billowing sheets of that louder voice in our head, the ranting and judgmental voice of ego.
That ego voice is so demanding, so forceful, that we often lose ourselves completely within its jabbering. We can mistakenly believe that the entirety of who we are is limited to those blustering, self-centered expressions.
When we believe this, we easily lose touch with the more intuitive parts of ourselves that are connected to the greater entirety of life. We essentially cripple ourselves, stunting our ability to fully access the wholeness of being. This is really a great loss and the cause for so much unnecessary suffering in our lives and in the world!
When I began learning to cultivate the meditative mind state, or mindfulness, it was suggested that I may experience more intuitive insight and an easier flow as I went about my day. My teacher at the time, Jillian, a deeply wise New Yorker teaching meditation and yoga to Lower Eastside hipsters and Midtown corporate professionals alike, referred to those heightened experiences as the emergence of spirit into the world. She had a lyrical way of putting things.
Jillian called that louder voice of our ego our monkey mind. And it will drown out those subtler forms of guidance that we all have access to, but often don’t perceive. The ego is unable to keep still and is always getting into mischief. “The monkey thinks only of itself, of its own clownish desires and is constantly chasing after them,” Jillian had once pointed out. “It’s so proud of all the senseless poo it can fling,” she had said.
The ego creates and is sustained by the surface chaos of life. It sees itself as separate from others and from its natural, planetary home. It has no sense beyond its own immediate and paltry desires and fears. And this is the cause of many problems. This is where all the nonsense of “Us vs. Them” is coming from. There is so much poo flinging today. We almost need safety goggles and nose plugs just to watch the evening news.
But we can get below the senseless noise. Accessing and utilizing that intuition from our deeper wells of wisdom will not only benefit us individually, but will benefit the total family of humanity and the living planet we share. Our intuitive voice understands that there is only One Life and, at our core, we are all a part of that boundless and wondrous One, (or God, or the Universe, or however you describe the Great and Infinite Mystery of Creation that Is). Our intuition speaks from that incredible place where we all join—it speaks from Love!
Many wisdom teachers today are suggesting we learn how to abide in the Now, becoming more mindful. And this is really great advice. Things are unfolding so quickly in our world and we can easily become overwhelmed by the array of small-minded voices shouting out so many divergent and ill-informed pronouncements, as if they actually have a clue.
When we intend to cultivate and access our intuitive guidance, through the quiet practice of mindfulness, we are accessing a more direct source to wisdom. We don’t have to rely on the monkey-mind voices to tell us what to do or how to think.
The Universe is a self-organizing, dynamic, living energy. It is who we are. And its guidance can be accessed through a conscious detachment from that ranting and dreadfully frightened voice inside our head.
We are not that crazy ego! We are not those monkey-mind thoughts! We are so much more!
Our intuition will guide us to that greater path of self-knowledge, and joyful co-existence with each other and the living Earth. It will partner with us as we work towards healing ourselves, each other and our world…if we let it.
Intuition: it’s not just for women anymore. And how cool is that!
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