The Double-Edged Sword of Your Instincts.
You know it as soon as you see it. This is the one. All of your senses come alive, and you feel the universe clicking into place. Your heart rate quickens, your respirations increase, and you experience the thrill of knowing that this is it. Everything within you screams that this is your moment….
And you were wrong.
Ever had this experience? It could be over a relationship, a purchase, an amazing hand in a game of cards…. whatever. Although everything felt right, it came out to be wrong.
Your instincts lied, and you were left wondering what happened, and questioning every thought that you ever trusted, ever impression that you ever based a decision off of.
And yet most of the time, our instincts are right.
It’s a universal constant that we filter situations through our instincts, and it’s also a universal constant that sometimes we are going to get it wrong. Because when we talk about instincts, we’re really talking about the millions of small judgments that go into everything we decide, and they are taking palce deep inside our subconscious, where we feel rather than know.
These judgments are based on our experiences, based on our interpretations, and sometimes, based on what we want to happen, rather than what is happening.
Because when our desires drive our instincts, things get messy, and when things get messy, the answers go wrong.
It can be hard to listen to your ‘inner voice’ or your ‘gut’, or whatever euphemism you substitute to describe the whisperings of your subconscious as it desperately tries to get your conscious mind’s attention. Sometimes your instincts talk to you quietly, and sometimes they scream.
But if your wants or your fears are crying louder than your instincts, you risk being over-run with wishes instead of knowledge.
Which rarely ends up well.
So how do you tell the difference, and quiet your mind long enough to make the right choice? It starts by having faith in yourself, and the courage to know that you will be ok, no matter what happens.
Then you begin by examining each answer that your subconscious gives, each instinctive feeling that you experience, and you see if it is making you happy without reason, or sad without consequence.
In my experience, the true side of my sword of instinct is generally a mixture of both.
But once you learn to question your instincts, you’ll find the pattern of the good and the bad, the right and the wrong, and you’ll see in your soul the patterns of needs and desires that can distort the truth of what your instincts have been telling you all along.
When you understand the distortions, you can ‘fine tune’ your instincts to work for you, rather than against you. You can screen each decision, and each moment, against a cleaner, clearer and crisper pattern of instincts that will become the doorway to the authenticity of your soul, and of your purpose.
Once you know your instincts, you’ll know yourself better than ever.
And then you can move forward with a greater faith, and a happier heart.
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings