The notion of following your inner guidance can sound simple; master the recognition of how your body communicates with you, honour it, and be on your way to alignment and living your purpose. But it’s not necessarily that straightforward.
So many of us have been conditioned away from recognising and following our inner knowing. We’ve been taught to make decisions based on logic, following rules, doing the “right” thing, pleasing others. Often to the point of becoming completely numb to the whisperings (or screams) of our body. And so, we begin this path of alignment & discover it to be a rocky road.
A simple example:
I was supposed to be going out with my family on the weekend. I knew my period was on the brink of starting. I made an effort to ensure things at home were taken care of & that I was organised and prepared. Then, my flow began, and with it came pain and heaviness. My body wanted nothing more than to sit with my feet up, on the couch, and rest. My mind went into overdrive.
“I should push through.”
“Maybe I’ll feel better later.”
“I’ve pushed through before, I should do that again.”
“Maybe others will be upset or offended if I don’t go.”
“Maybe others will think I was faking it.”
“Maybe I’m being weak and selfish.”
“Maybe it’s not as bad as I’m telling myself.”
Even though my body was winning over, and logic was telling me that resting was the thing to do, my mind continued to argue vehemently. It took discipline and restraint to sit with the thoughts, and not let them take the reigns.
This is my conditioning. My Undefined Heart still finds it challenging to feel worthy of prioritising myself & my inner guidance, and every attempt to do so is followed by second guessing myself. My Defined Head & Ajna have me looping a state of confusion over what is right and what is wrong, and where my values lie.
I’m not perfect at following my inner authority. It’s an experiment and a practice, and often my mind wins out. But every time I make an aligned decision, the next aligned decision become a little easier. I’m reconditioning myself to honour my inner guidance over my thoughts.
This is where the journey of living your purpose begins; in the mundane, day-to-day decisions and actions.