Inner voice and menopause

I was sitting with my journal the other morning and asking myself, what do I need to hear today? then actively listening for the small inner voice.

On my bedside table was a book called Beauty by John Donohue. Opening it at random to a page, I found this:

"In every heart there is a discerning voice." ..."against all odds, this still, small voice continues to echo the beauty of the human being... (it) carries the light of beauty like a magical lantern to transform desolation."

This inner whisper is covered over by the loudness of our busy selves, busy lives, exterior activities. It takes some quiet time alone to really listen, and some practice to pay attention. One way to access it is to become our own 'body whisperers', as an article in O magazine called it, comparing it to the phenomenon of horse whisperers who train horses by kindness not coercion. Learning wisdom from listening to our inner knowing, paying attention to our feelings, holding out for our own true knowledge within.

Sometimes it's the dark voice of criticism we pay more attention to. Harsh and unrelenting, nothing we do is every good enough for that voice.

The kindness and care of the healing voice of family and friends, the warmth of a caring presence that reaches us in our suffering, these voices bring back hope and love, and remind us of our divine nature, according to John Donohue.

A website called metavoice.org has an article called 5 Pathways to Listening to your Inner Voice with some practical steps you can take:

1. Put your hand over your heart and focus there - what does it tell you?
2. Self-massage - find out what your body is feeling, tightness in the chest or neck? gut feelings, butterflies, anxiety, fear, excitement.
3. Practise listening to your intuition, and trust it. In hindsight, you know it's always right.
4. Self-sabotage - the voice of the inner critic prevents you from taking risks and making changes. Recognize when this voice pops up. Separate yourself from it, it's not you.
5. Identify limiting beliefs. Such as, money is bad, I'll never be successful, I can't sing.
Fear produces constriction, lack of clarity, and creates obstacles. It prevents us from attracting what we want. It operates in black and white thinking, right or wrong.

So just for today, one day at a time, find out what that small, inner voice is whispering.
You may discover you are your own best friend.

namaste,
musemother