LISTEN TO THE WHISPER OF YOUR HEART

When I was young I loved to draw, write, paint and dance. I was playful and lighthearted. I was creative and free spirited. I felt at ease in my skin and I expressed myself fully. I followed my heart and did what I pleased.

At some point in my life, this changed. I stopped listening to the whisper of my heart. Rather than following the call of that soft, intuitive voice that was directing me toward a life of inspiration, joy, love, passion and self expression, I began listening to a different voice. This was the voice of fear. It was logical and rational. Rather than inspiring me to follow my bliss it encouraged me to plan a route in life that would keep me safe inside my comfort zone. I became an over-analyser and a people pleaser. I was always thinking and I could not stop worrying. I always took the safest, most familiar route when making decisions. I sat inside the confines of the known. I ended up ignoring all the things I loved to do and replacing them with the things I thought I had to do.

This fearful voice is the voice of the rational mind or ego as it is sometimes called. Its purpose is to protect you. When you attempt something new, it brings up memories from past failures in order to ensure you do not do anything which could risk more failure. It keeps you in the restrains of your comfort zone where things are predictable and familiar. It will not urge you to do what will make you the happiest but rather it will work to prevent any damage to your ego. The voice of the mind is loud and over-bearing and often drowns out that soft, beautiful whisper of your heart and soul.

Our mind teaches us to be responsible, rational, sensible, safe, analytical, tactical, and to see the world as it is. Whereas our heart teaches us to leap in to the unknown with joy and love. The voice of your mind or ego disconnects you and makes you see others as separate and different. The energy of the heart opens you up and connects you with everyone and everything. Your mind will keep you stuck in an endless loop of analytical thought. The voice of love will encourage you let go and to grow and expand.

For years, I have been hearing the call of my hearts desire. It has been speaking to me endlessly through dashes of inspiration, moments of passion, fleeting feelings of joy or times of total excitement. Lately, I have been listening more closely to what my heart is saying to me, yet my mind has continuously talked me out of actually taking any action on this guidance. I tend to have a bit of a pattern that I repeat in my life. I often hear the whispers of my heart, but as soon as I begin to think about following this call, my mind jumps in with fear and prevents me from taking action.

When making a decision, you will often have both the voice of love and the voice of fear speaking to you at the same time. Which one do you usually listen to?

How to recognise the whisper of you heart

• The whisper of the heart is that little quiet voice that we often ignore or suppress
• It is always the voice of love
• The voice of your heart is supportive, encouraging and self-empowering
• It will encourage your growth and will lead you out of your comfort zone
• It may lead you into the new and unknown
• It will call you to express the highest vision that you hold of yourself and to become your very best
• It will feel like the happiest feeling thought
• You may get that feeling where your heart suddenly leaps with a feeling of excitement, joy, inspiration, love or passion
• It may feel lighthearted or playful
• You will feel open, free and connected
• It may tell you to let go of certain things that no longer serve you
• It may tell you to try a new path or go in a new direction
• It will call you to the best thing for your higher good always
• It will lead you to things that will make you feel more joy

Ways to hear the whisper of your heart

• Be quiet and still - Your mind will need to be quiet for you to hear your hearts whisper.
• Listen to your feelings - When something feels good, follow it.
• Practice open heart meditation - Close your eyes and focus on your heart centre. Breathe in and out of this area. Feel this area opening up and allow energy to flow in to your heart. As you breathe in feel white light coming in to your heart. As you breathe out see pink love energy going out in to the world. Tune in to the feelings that are your heart. Become familiar with how it feels to be connected to your heart centre, and reconnect with this energy during your day whenever you can.
• Listen for the loving voice - Your hearts whisper will always believe in you, support you, love you and tell you that you can have anything you want.
• Follow your intuition - Start taking action on the small intuitive nudges you receive. As you take action you are showing that you trust this voice and it will start to speak even louder as a result.
• Move your body - Get in to your body and out of your head. Reconnect your body by moving it. Stretch, dance, run, skip, walk, or do anything. When you get your body moving, you get out of your head and in to your heart.
• Gratitude - Give thanks for what you have. The energy of gratitude opens the heart.
• Notice and appreciate the small things.
• Ask yourself 'Am I feeling open or am I feeling tense?' - If you feel open you are in your heart. If you feel tense you are in your head.

So, I have decided that it is time to break my old pattern. In a previous post I explained that 2010 for me was about transcending fear. I want to add to that and say that 2010 is also about following the whisper of my heart. I know that if I can do that, this year will be the most magical, beautiful, fulfilling, joyful and love-filled year yet!

I have decided that the only why I will find true happiness is to turn up the volume on that loving inner voice. I must stop living for the outer world, and stop listening to the fearful voice of my mind. I am sure voice will always be there. It is not about making that fearful voice go away. Rather it is about making a decision to break the pattern and choose which voice to listen to. It is about choosing love over fear, every time, no matter what.