Often we look at the outside world to define us. We feel compelled to listen to others rather than our own divine wisdom. Our truth starts in our own minds and hearts, not outside of ourselves, and until its roots are firmly entrenched in our own selves, we cannot manifest it externally. Once we have found it within, we can share it with our family, our community, and the whole wide world.

Some of us may already be doing just that, but for most of us, the first step is looking within and honestly evaluating the state of our own relationship to our inner wisdom. When we find that we are able to locate ourselves more and more in the deeper waters and less on the tumultuous surface of our being, we have discovered a lasting relationship with our divine wisdom. The best way to get there is to live in the questions without having the answers. Discover more about living with a conscious heart and asking the questions without having the answers.

CONSCIOUS HEARTS: ASKING THE QUESTIONS WITHOUT HAVING THE ANSWERS

“…I know where to turn to find the source of my strength…
The whisper holds the answer
It’s up to me to ask
I wonder why so often
The thing that I do last is
Listen for the whisper
Deep down inside
Listen for the whisper
A strong but gentle guide
With a thousand different voices
Ringing in my ear
I listen for the whisper
That only the heart can hear.” ~Jana Stanfield and Tony Harrell

Who or what is guiding your life?  Is it working?  How are you participating?  You are not alone if you have settled for autopilot as an attempt to maneuver through the chaos of constant change known as life.  Sometimes, it’s just easier to be absent or to go through the motions than it is to actively, consciously participate.  Other times the ’shoulds’ and the external programming are so strong that viable options and choices are not accessible.  Eventually, life may feel monotonous, empty, dull or chaotic, crazy and unmanageable.  You may find yourself asking, “How did I get here?” or “Who am I?”  Or “What is my purpose?”  These are a few of the pivotal questions if asked with an open heart that can lead down the path of self-discovery and personal growth.  As you begin wandering down the path, you will be searching for a guide to support you on your way.

Your best and most accurate guide resides within your heart.  The heart center embodies the compassionate observer who receives your truth, your wisdom and divine guidance with neutrality.  Those moments of inner knowing that come out-of-the-blue or the immediate grasp of truth without fear are intuitive messages from your heart. 

Once received, your intellect can help you act on your intuition by creating a plan or stop you by entering the zone of the internal critic.  The internal critic houses the voices, yours and others, that judge, fear, doubt, blame and criticizes.  This critic stops you from following your truth, your sacred path.  Also, the internal critic thinks it has the answer before the question is asked in an attempt to maintain comfort.  This false sense of comfort is the intellect grasping for control in a chaotic world.  For many, change is very uncomfortable and resisted with vigor.  For seekers, change is an exciting adventure, welcomed with caution.  

So how do you become a seeker, exploring life with the whisper of your heart as your guide?  You start by creating a questioning process for inner guidance and by choosing a core group of supportive, trustworthy friends for reality testing.  As you receive your intuitive hits and divine guidance, you may want to validate them by sharing your insights with friends from your core support group.  As you create action plans and make choices to integrate your truth into this physical reality, your core network can provide objective feedback and loving support.  Having a support network of friends in place, you can begin exploring life with provocative questions.

The questioning process for inner guidance involves three steps: determining the energy in which you ask the question; knowing your intention in creating the question; and listening for the answer with your heart. First, you need to be aware of your energy in the questioning.  Are you asking a question without an attachment to the answer?  Are you neutral, curious, filled with wonder and awe?  Are you able to patiently wait for the answer?  Answers can be immediate or take a very long time to receive.  Is your heart open to any possibility, even if you do not like the answer?  Keep in mind that the energy you use in creating and sending the question will be the energy used to attract the answer.  Second, what is your intention in asking the question?  Do you need validation?  Do you need direction?  Are you looking for clarification?  The clearer your intention is in the asking the more precise the formation of the question will be and the more accurate the answer received.  Remember, if you have integrity in asking the question, you will receive an answer with integrity.   Finally, in the questioning process, you will be listening with your heart not your head, remembering the heart is a compassionate observer.  It is important to feel the words, to feel the answers to your questions.  If you hear your internal critic, you have moved out of listening and into analyzing.  As Mahatma Gandhi said, “God speaks to us everyday only we don’t know how to listen.”  Listening to the whisper in your heart allows the Divine to speak to you. 

Some of the essential questions to consider in your process of self-discovery and personal growth include those listed below.  It is important that you find the questions that resonate with you and with where you are on your path.  Consider these a starting point to use or to support you in formulating your own questions.  

Am I doing this out of love or out of fear?

Am I doing this from the heart or from a lower vibration (anger, resentment, fear, judgment, etc)?

What are my intentions?

What are my choices?

Is this the best way for me to be of service?

Am I in present time?  What is the lesson I need to learn?

What do I need to change about myself to reach my highest potential?

What life-giving energy is available to support me?

What are my agreements with my self, my family, my partner, my work, etc.?

Where do I look for guidance?  Within or outside of myself?

What is my internal structure?  How do I hold myself accountable?

Do I include myself?

Do I include others?

Do I listen?  With my heart?

What is my impact?

What makes me feel whole, complete?

A few things to consider as you welcome more heart consciousness.  As you receive divine guidance through the whispers of your heart, share it with others who can hear you and support you.  Sharing makes the experience more real and accessible.  Also, make sure you act on the divine guidance in some way so you can expand your life.  If you listen, speak and act, answers will come more easily and quickly because you are honoring the divine within yourself. 

Copyright © 2002 Maureen Pelton, All Rights Reserved.

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