My Inner What?
by Claudette Rowley

“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.” – Carl Jung

Many of my clients want to design a vision for their life or work that's truly compelling to them. I define a compelling vision as one that motivates you to push past your internal barriers to embrace what you deeply and fundamentally desire. This can be in any area of your life - work, relationships, health, spirituality or fun. Included in the process of creating a compelling vision is giving yourself full permission to identify what you would LOVE to manifest in your life. You get to want what you want.

One of the keys to selecting and implementing a vision - knowing what's right for you - is listening closely to your inner voice. Your inner voice is another name for your unique, internal wisdom - the part of yourself that knows what is true and best for you. Although we are each born with this wisdom intact, it often gets swallowed in a sea of external voices, opinions and judgments.

Learning to hear your inner voice strengthens your ability to identify your compelling vision. Your access to this wisdom assists you in knowing if you are selecting the biggest, most fulfilling vision for you. It guides you as you build vision and gives you direction when it becomes time to release or expand a vision. Here are three pathways to listening to your inner voice.

1. Tap into your heart's wisdom.
   
   Social conditioning teaches us to be logical and "use our heads." When you only use your head, your experience of yourself and the world is limited. You miss out on vital information from your emotions.
   
   Benefits: The same neurological tissue found in the brain is found in the heart. The heart is a second "brain" and our emotional center. Listening to your head and your heart is crucial to good decision-making about your life, business, relationships, and vision.
   
   New Focus: Put your hand over your heart and focus there - what is your heart's message?
   
2. Connect with your body.
   
   Your body gives you a tremendous amount of useful information that you may not consciously perceive. For example, when your mother-in-law visits, does your stomach tie up in knots? When your boss yells at you, do your shoulders turn into stone? When you feel passionate and alive, does your chest feel warm and open? When we ignore the body's messages, we lose valuable information designed to let us know what works for us and what doesn't.
   
   Benefits: For many people, fear manifests as a tightness in their chest. This is valuable information, especially if you aren't aware that you are afraid. Your body alerts you to what makes you feel passionate and what doesn't. The body is a fount of wisdom designed to tell you when you're on the right path and when you aren't.
   
   New Focus: Notice the messages your body is giving you right now. Try a self-massage to find areas in your back, neck or shoulders that are tense or knotted. What other areas of your body feel tight? Which ones feel relaxed and loose? Use this information as another pathway to listen to your inner wisdom.
   
3. Listen to your intuition.
   
   Intuition is simply knowing something - without knowing how you know it. Connect back to a time that you had a "gut feeling" about something. Perhaps you were offered a job you knew you shouldn't take, even though it looked good on the surface or you were in a relationship that just felt right for you. That's your intuition talking.
   
   Benefits: Intuition presents you with a wealth of information. Remember, your intuition is never wrong, although your interpretation of it may be incorrect. When your intuition calls to you, trust it. Practice makes perfect when it comes to using this sense of knowing effectively.
   
   New Focus: The next time you need to make a decision, check in with your intuition. Experiment with trusting it. When you follow your intuition, what happens? When you hear it and disregard it, what's the outcome?

There is no substitute for listening to your inner voice. Practice these ways of listening to it and you'll be amazed at the wealth of information and guidance it provides as you work to make your compelling vision real.

About the Author:

Claudette Rowley, MSW, CPPC is an intuitive coach and author. Claudette is an expert in helping entrepreneurs and career changers identify their true purpose and calling in life, and find the courage to pursue it. She guides her clients through her "Vision to Voice" process which helps them to design personal and professional lives that reflect who they are, and to create success on their own terms.

Claudette is the co-author of the book A Guide to Getting It: A Clear, Compelling Vision, and produces the monthly ezine Insights for the Savvy. She is also a qualified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator facilitator. She is known for her intuitive style, her ability to get to the heart of a matter, and her passion for challenging people to move out of their comfort zones.