Learning to trust myself
When I am always keeping myself busy, I miss so many of the signals that life is bringing to me. I had become deaf to my inner thoughts, feelings and intuition. Most of us live in a world that is busy and things are only speeding up and racing out of control. We are trying to juggle way too many things at the same time. This is taking us further away from ourselves.
How can I in this fast-paced world find and take the time to slow down? Won’t that put me further behind? I asked myself these vary questions. And time and time again I couldn’t see my way through to slowing down. I realize now that slowing down although counter-intuitive is exactly what I needed to do.
In slowing down I found my inner guidance system – my inner thoughts, feelings – including my gut feeling, intuition and inner knowing. Slowing down actually provided me an avenue to speed up in a way that is rewarding and fulfilling.
The first step for me was taking the leap to slow down enough so I could feel and listen to all the messages inside of me. One technique I use is finding a room to myself, turn off my computer and cell phone and be present. For me this looks like sitting in the quiet journal in hand – the beginning is to get all the racing thoughts to stop. I jot them down in the journal until my mind stills. Once there I find that closing my eyes and some free flowing movement help me to ground in myself and put me in flow.
There I relax and listen for the quiet calm voice inside of me. Sometimes the voice can’t be heard as there is more pressing feelings of discomfort. I pushed those away for decades and it is a process of letting them come and for me to be with them. I am exercising my muscles of getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. If I don’t, I will never really get to hear all the other types of messages that are being sent to me.
It is all about finding a way to slow down and relax enough to put the internal noise on pause so you can listen for your calm inner knowing. Practicing getting to this place and getting comfortable with it and how it shows up for you. How do you feel when you arrive in this place? How does your inner guidance show itself to you? What things nurture and bring it forth? How can you recreate this place where you can hear it?
It is in this place that you can come to check in with yourself on important moments in life. It is here where you can begin or deepen your trust in yourself.