Ignoring your inner voice is self-betrayal, and the root of most stress.
Is there anything more annoying than speaking to someone who is able to hear, but refuses to listen? Is there anything more demoralizing than having to nag, micromanage, and constantly repeat yourself to someone who simply doesn’t care about what is important to you? Can you imagine the frustration of knowing that, although you cannot do it all alone, you simply cannot count on this person to do what they say they’ll do, when they say they’ll do it? Now imagine if you were that person.
Many people ignore themselves, break promises to themselves, and let themselves down on a regular basis, as a way of life. And because there’s no one other than themselves to be accountable to, they do this quietly, privately, and secretly learn to trust themselves less and less. This distrust then becomes so common, so familiar, that even when this person finally does want to listen to their intuition, their inner voice is so quiet, and they’re so filled with anxiety, that they cannot hear it.
We must learn the art of meditation, of sitting in silence with no goal other than to listen to ourselves, without distraction. Meditation has been so commodified and commercialized over the years, but at it’s core, that’s all it is: Active listening to yourself. A lot of us go through our days listening to supervisors, partners, children, and various media; everyone but ourselves. I have a theory that many people are actually afraid of of listening to what their minds and bodies have to say to them; it’s a confrontation that someone who has neglected or hurt themselves with destructive patterns simply does not want. But it’s a necessary confrontation. You cannot solve a problem by ignoring it, and you cannot heal while ignoring yourself.
