Atongla Rothrong
Fascinating, huh? Sonia Gandhi’s ‘inner voice’ stopping her from accepting the Prime ministerial post? Ah, but is it so unknown? Remember how you had to tell the bank that it has wrongly credited a bountiful amount to your savings account? Likewise, had to return the change the grocer had given you? Remember coming clean to someone in authority, despite it putting you in a soup? Remember saying sorry after misguiding somebody? In every situation your inner voice has won.
I know of a public Relation officer who was ordered by his organizations President to bribe two media- barons, or else *#^#*!! The officer unhesitatingly chose the ‘or else’ and quit his job.
Some of us are closely tuned to our inner voice; some hear it like a cell phone with sputtering batteries while some are completely deaf to it. Interestingly, this voice never speaks preachingly, it conveys wordlessly through a discomfiting feeling: ‘Are you doing the right thing?’ Like a leaky tap, it keeps us on edge with its dripping- drip- drip- until we make it right.
Quantum scientists say, it is a body- mind spirit confluence. Brain mappers have traced it to its source- the brain memory bank (hippocampus) on which the mind and spirit work i.e: when a new stimulating or challenging situation arises, the memories of old experiences surface. These trigger sparks in various nerve cells. Our mind knows these sparks as joy, sorrow, fear, anger, caution etc, and this know-how stems from our spirit of what is right. And how is this inner voice of rightness shaped? Psychologist Dr. Karen Hunt illustrates, “In a bus- queue, the gentleman in front drops a handkerchief, when four-year old Jane picks it up and gives it to him; her mother applauds and repeatedly recounts the incident proudly. Then Jane observes how scrupulous her father is about reaching his office on time and often hears jokes about how the bus service should run by her fathers’ clock. With each experience of approval and appreciation, the values get indelibly etched into her subconscious. When values are respectively assimilated, they become part of us. And we develop a feel for what the right thing to do is. It’s a subconscious self knowledge”.
As per Yoga practitioners, the subconscious lies in the back brain. If we aren’t tuned into it our brain signals it, because we’ve ambitions and greed locked in our lower spine. These lower thoughts over-power an under-developed subconscious and drive us to grap, cheat, lie, play politics and exist on the see-saw of stress, depression, illness. And this creates a hell on earth. Heartrendingly; Heaven is a mere thought away. It requires just one daring leap from unhealthy thinking to value- based thinking for us to behave accordingly.
By unearthing our natural magnificence the effect on our mind will be tremendous- tranquility will replace tension, spontaneous ethical decisiveness will over rule blundering delaying doubtfulness.
HOW TO LISTEN TO YOUR INNER VOICE
• Collect all the information you can on the subject that’s bothering you. Pose the problem as a question with the information as your background.
• Immerse yourself in the information and repeat the question until you are slightly saturated.
• Back-off from it. For two days, don’t think about it. Act as if it doesn’t exist. Relax.
• Trust your experience in life wholly, but don’t delve into it.
• The solution will present itself when you least expect it- as a strong feeling, a flash, even as a ‘got it!’ from a friend’s remark or a line of a song.
THE EGO VERSUS THE INNER VOICE
• The ego says: Add on something, anything for self-fulfillment
The inner voice says: Subtract the superficial for self- fulfillment.
• The ego makes us complicated, conniving person.
The inner voice makes us open- minded, receptive, empathetic and loving people.
• The ego drives us to argue, become incensed and irrational.
The inner voice calms us, shows us our priorities, keeps us poise amidst chaos.
• The ego provokes us by saying, “you are a failure”.
The inner voice conveys, “Future is only success postponed”
