I read somewhere recently that most of the time that when we think that we are “thinking” we are really just running old tapes…reliving experiences…not really thinking about something new. I thought that was pretty profound information and, when I started to pay attention, I found it to be largely true for me!  So when running those old tapes, who am I listening to? Whoever was around at the time? My parents? My minister? My high school girlfriend? My therapist?

Most likely, it wasn’t ME I was listening to.

This is how we grow up.  We have experiences and then we get feedback from other humans to sort out what to do with our experiences. So we listen to a LOT of other voices in the process of maturing…and…if it is true that we do replay so many ‘past experience’ tapes in our heads, we might still be listening to our 5^th grade teacher without even realizing it!

With the world changing as fast as it is, it is important to start tuning into your own higher voice…to start learning HOW to hear your own wisdom instead of the wisdom of other humans who may or may not be any smarter than you…or wiser…just perhaps older?

There are many ways to learn to listen.

• Meditation is one great way if you can sit and be silent.  Your higher self will send you your own original thoughts, and in time you can learn to hear the difference between your own higher voice and those of other voices from the past.  There are many great teachers to help you learn how to do that.  They say that when the student asks, the teacher will appear.  So that is one option open to you and if you think it might work for you, ask to be directed to the right teacher.

• Journaling is another way to let your very own thoughts into your conscious mind.  Keep a journal or simple note pad by the bed and when you wake up first thing in the morning, write down your freshest thoughts.  Many people have wonderful original thoughts when they sleep, but if they don’t write them down right away, they can dissolve like the morning mist on the mountain when the sun rises in the sky.

• My favorite of course is to use some form of divination, like a deck of message cards. When I want some advice from my own personal higher self, I sit calmly, take some deep breaths, center myself, and clearly ask my question.  Then I draw a card and ponder what the answer means to me. In the early days of using the I-Ching, I kept a record of all my questions and all my answers, and what I thought they meant at the time.  Once in a while now I look back at those 40 year old notes and am amazed at how profound the advice was.  At the time I wasn’t sure, but looking back, I am so glad I did that homework.  Now it gives me more faith in my own inner voice, my own higher self.  No one can teach you that.  You just have to put in the time, ask your questions and listen to you answers.

All this assumes that you understand you HAVE a higher self, a soul-voice. The only way to really trust that you do is to make contact and start listening. I can’t convince you, nor should you listen to me about it.  It is something that must be experience to be understood and believed.

It doesn’t matter how old you are or where you are in your life.  There is no time like the present to get started…that is unless your adolescent boyfriend is still in your head telling you that you just aren’t that smart!  Boot him out and get started on your adventure!

You are the only one who can!