Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Listening to the Inner Voice

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Awareness, Conscience, going within, Inner guidance, Inner voice, Intuition, Listen, Peace, Quietude, Tranquility

All of us have an inner voice. A voice that advises us. Some call it your conscience, some call it “the muse”, and some don’t know what it is. What I find most interesting about this inner voice is how it reacts to what you do. If you listen to it, it gets more clear over time and gives you more. If you ignore it, it gets very quiet, almost quiet enough that you forget it’s there.

I believe in the inner voice, but it is easy to be fooled from time-to-time. So you have to ask for a confirmation before you jump at something your inner voice tells you. Sometimes we can confuse that inner voice with our own ego. They are dramatically different. If you listen long enough, you recognize the true inner voice and the one that is just you trying to talk you into doing something you shouldn’t do or keep doing. My inner voice is always succinct. When it speaks, it speaks in very short sentences. That’s how I know when the inner voice is the real deal.

You may call this intuition or the subconscious bubbling up, but I think it’s more than that. You may use your intuition to judge or interpret what the inner voice is telling you, but the inner voice is there. It’s like it is coming from deep within you. A place of perfect calm, peace, and tranquility. A voice that has no self-interest, no interest in gain, and no interest in whether you follow it or not. It is just there, providing guidance constantly. If you let it.

It’s the voice that raises a red flag, saying, “You better be careful with that.” It can also provide suggestions, advice, and interesting ideas, particularly if you are trying to create something. Think about Einstein, Edison, or any other great thinker. They all arrived at their novel ideas by just being quiet and going within. Whether it was Edison taking a nap or Einstein’s thought experiments, it was all about going within and getting the answer. How do you get an answer about something that doesn’t exist?

Hopefully, I’ve got you thinking. The inner voice, for those of you who know what I’m talking about, is a huge advantage. It provides you ways to avoid all kinds of self-inflicted trouble. It gives you ideas. It is always there. You just have to listen.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – There is Always a Way

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Be Patient, Belief, Dark Night f the Soul, Faith, God's Word, Listen, Open Your Mind, Surrender

There is always a way

You are stronger than anything standing in your way. Because you have a purpose that cannot be denied.

Often that purpose is difficult and inconvenient to follow. Yet it is never impossible to follow.

There is always a way. If the path you’re on is blocked, look for another route, because it is surely there.

You can be flexible, innovative, determined and persistent. You can imagine any possibility and then work to make that possibility real.

Every moment, every circumstance, every turn of events presents you with an opportunity to act. Take those opportunities, make those actions come to life, and express the purpose that is uniquely you.

Step up and embrace the responsibility for moving your life forward. Whatever may come, there is always a way.

— Ralph Marston

Read more at http://greatday.com/motivate/080929.html#prk6ZXlVeXED788d.99 

Ralph Marston provided the prompt for today’s Spiritual Saturday. A fellow blogger got some bad news yesterday and I hope this helps her in her current situation.

I think all of us can think of at least one time in our lives that were dark. These dark situations appear on the surface to be impossible with no way out. Yet, over time, they loosen their grip on our emotions. This moment is when we begin to think about potential solutions to our problem.

I can’t explain it, but the situation I found myself in late 2016, was one of these situations. Some have labeled this the “dark night of soul”, when we are suffering, scream out for help, and nothing comes. I won’t get into details, but over time, my answer to this problem was surrender. I surrendered to God. I told him that I was horrible running my life and that I would follow whatever guidance he sent me. Then, I let my problem go and lived my life. When you surrender to a higher power, the key to getting some answer you can work with is to be patient. Another requirement is to keep an open mind.

My patience and openness paid off. The solution presented itself. I followed it and everything worked out. Part of my solution was to drop my preconceived notions about what my life should be. Another part of my solution was to drop all of my reactions to the various social pressures I succumbed to throughout most of my life. This combination was exactly what I needed.

It is hard to explain the mindset I have now. I don’t relish toys anymore. I have what I need. I don’t relish making a lot of money anymore. I have enough. I could go on and on about this, but when you become secure in your faith for whatever your religious beliefs are, life smooths out. This doesn’t come free. You have to follow the disciplines required by your religious faith. You get nothing for nothing. Your faith and belief grows from these disciplines.

This was my solution. It may not be yours, but it was for me. The result from my dark night of the soul was a stronger faith-belief that was never available before. I surrendered. I pushed my ego out of the way and admitted that God could run my life better than I could. That was all it took. I continue this today. God knows what I need. God knows better than my limited human senses do.

Follow God’s guidance. It is always there. You just have to listen.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Daily Quote – Get yourself out there…

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Getting out there, Interact, Listen, Opening up, Self-protection, Walls

“The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.” – Jim Rohn

To really be engaged in life we must be willing to put ourselves out there. This is hard to do sometimes. Maybe we’re shy, maybe we are a little untrusting, or perhaps we are suffering from a loss and we only want to be alone and suffer in solitude.

I have experienced some real “knock-down” life experiences. Some of these were self-inflicted, others just happened. Each experience we have is important to our growth.

If you are struggling with ideas to “get out there”, here are a few for you:

• Find a local meetup and attend a meeting (www.meetup.com)
• Attend a religious service
• Go to a local coffee shop to do some work on your laptop or journal
• Go to your local gym and workout
• Visit your local library
• When the weather permits, go to a park
• Attend a public venue like a mall, a flea market, or festival

There are a lot of ways to just be around other people. There are ways to open yourself up. Get out there, make new friends, meet new people, experience things. Be vulnerable, listen, and share a little of yourself with others.

You’ll find that sharing and interacting with others will reestablish your faith in other people. You’ll find new connections, new people to converse with, and learn more about other people, while learning more about yourself.

Be willing to embrace sadness, happiness, and every type of emotion. To get one you have to be willing to accept the others. Take down the walls you’ve built around yourself and let it all in. You’ll find life to be very exhilarating when you do.

Until next time…

Dave