Listen to Your Inner Voice

The moment we touch upon issues such as instinct, gut feeling or any other intangible form of sensitivity, we run the risk of falling victim to our inbred sense of cynicism. We live in an age where science has become the touchstone of our beliefs and, if we can’t measure, weigh or calculate something’s properties, we’re inclined to discount its existence as nothing more than a figment of the imagination. Despite the expanding frontiers in the exploration of human consciousness and the insights we’re gaining into the way we project our version of reality onto the blank canvas of the world, we’re still persuaded that if we can’t see something, it can’t exist. Imagine how much we’re missing if we use this definition as the basic standard of our perception. Let’s take a step back and see if we’re missing something useful and important here.

For hundreds of thousands of years, our species existed primarily as highly-adaptive hunter-gatherers, using our finely-tuned senses to map the environment and detect anything that could aid or hinder our survival. Those senses served us well and, whilst we’ve become increasingly accustomed to living in towns and cities, our primal instincts for reading the world around us remain rooted in our ancient evolutionary development. We are still essentially the hunter-gatherers who roamed the open African Savannah for millennia. So, even if we can’t precisely measure our gut feelings, we still retain a profound ability to sense danger, opportunity, threats and safety. These instincts are hardwired into our systems. That’s why it’s so helpful to pay attention to how our bodies respond to any given circumstances. Those gut feelings are there for a purpose and our survival depended on these faculties for most of our existence as a species. Learning to listen to your body and respect its feedback could prove invaluable. But there’s more.

Instinct certainly deserve a wider interpretation than simply noticing how our bodies are responding to any given individual or situation. Let’s remember that our subconscious minds retain an unimaginably vast amount of data and analysis that can be extremely helpful in guiding our decisions. Mindfulness can help us to access this vast reservoir of information. Learning to become quiet as we allow the images and symbolism to emerge from our subconscious minds can open the gateway to new levels of understanding. This is where we can encounter a personal compass that will provide a secure heading for navigating life’s inevitable complexities. In brief, learn to listen to your body. Pay heed to your inner voice. Respect the power of your subconscious mind to see the world with extraordinary clarity. Let your innate instincts guide you to a happier, healthier and more successful way of living.?

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