There’s a little voice inside your head – it’s unique to you, yet each one of us has one. Oh, let’s be honest, we all have 
more than one little voice inside us. Most of us have five.
There are the voices of Wisdom and Intuition.
That inner knowing that edges us to make decisions about love and career. It’s that deep voice that knows the depths of our heart and the secret desires of our soul.
And it tells us that we can do it (whatever it is for you at this moment).
It is these Voices that suggest we take a flying leap of faith because even if we fail, things are going to work out in the long run. It’s also these voices that tell us to stop, even though it’s a logically sound decision and everyone says we “should” do it. Yet, our inner voice knows that it’s a decision or action that doesn’t fit well with our soul.
The voices of Wisdom and Intuition are the perfect partnership. Soul mates for our journey in this life, these are the voices that speak to us in a loving way. They address us from a place of compassionate discipline.
Our Wisdom comes from all the knowledge we’ve gained in our life, through experiences and education. Our Intuition isn’t this independent thing separate from our brilliant minds, it’s a rapid-fire subconscious associating process that relies upon what your brain already knows. You see, our brain observes the situation, scans what’s already in our minds from existing memories, experiences and knowledge and then gives us that “gut” response. This happens in mere seconds
Aren’t our minds amazing? Don’t our inner voices of Wisdom and Intuition help us move forward?
The problem is, we don’t trust them much of the time, do we? Why is that?
Because of the other voices inside our heads, that’s why.
I’m talking about the voices of Doubt, Fear and our Inner Critic, a trio that acts as our personal Three Furies, singing their mighty song and convincing us that they speak simple fact, pure reason, and unadulterated truth.
We step in front of the mirror and our Inner Critic tells us how ugly (or fat or unattractive or silly) we look. The voice of Fear chimes in and suggests that if we don’t FIX things, we’ll never find love or success. We respond to these voices with an idea pulled from those more loving voices and say we are going to get a haircut or workout or eat better.
THEN the voice of DOUBT chimes in and says “Yeah, sure, you’re going to do that. You’ve said that a million times, so why is today different?” Our Inner Critic and Voice of Fear jump back into the fray and agree with Doubt and add more fuel to the flames of “Why Bother?”.
The voices of Fear and our Inner Critic seem completely logical.
They play back all of the old tapes in our heads about past attempts and past failures. They insist they are trying to keep us from embarrassing ourselves or making ourselves unlovable. Doubt reminds us of “The Truth”, which is usually a big barrel of lies we tell ourselves to keep us from going after our deepest desires.
That loving partnership of voices, Wisdom and Intuition, will always try to speak up, but we’ve become so accustomed to believing the other voices, that we struggle with hearing what Wisdom and Intuition have to say.
When I mentioned that one of my lessons this past year was to befriend my shadows, that included actively working with my voices.
To hone my listening skills towards those voices of Wisdom and Intuition, I do things that enhance them.
I seek scientific research so I can present to the Furies a New Truth and a Fresh Possibility. I write in my journal so that my voices of Wisdom and Intuition can take up space in my physical world.
I get a little more comfortable with failure, because failure isn’t deadly, but refusing to try will kill your dreams.
I am compassionate to the Furies. Instead of agreeing with them, I lovingly assure the Inner Critic that it will be okay even if I fail and do tiny things that scare me to build my courage muscles.
I doubt the voice of Doubt, but I do not fear the voice of Fear. Instead, I interpret it as a warning to proceed with caution – but still to proceed.
One of the truths I know is that the Furies will do their best to keep you from growing, not because your inner voices want you to be unhappy, but because they are trying to protect you. Once I finally understood that, I was able to understand one of the deeper truths about being human.
The deeper truth I know is that we humans are meant to continually grow and evolve.
To do that, we have to take risks. The Furies don’t like Risk, but Wisdom and Intuition will guide you towards the risks that are worth it.
To create a life that you love – one that feels supportive, nourishing, and one that you flat out enjoy – get crystal clear on the fact that in order to do so, you are going to have to work with all the voices in your head.
Be loving with your Inner Critic. Be compassionate and understanding of Fear. Actively doubt your Doubts. Continue to feed your Wisdom. And hone your Intuition.
