Why listening to our inner selves is the only guide we need
“When things change inside you things change around you.”
There's an old buddhist saying, “when things change inside you things change around you.” It’s a thought that keeps surfacing during conversations between friends. We sit together or talk over the phone, and before long we’re sharing past or present experiences of when something has shifted inside each of us, and our outer worlds don’t quite match anymore. We’re out of alignment.
Sometimes it’s clearcut and sometimes it isn’t; sometimes we can’t point a finger and say “that’s it, that’s what’s wrong”. But the feeling is there, and once it takes root it’s hard to stop it growing; the distance between how we feel and what our lives look like grows with it.
Where do we go from here?
When things become clear that change is needed, it’s difficult to ignore, but it’s also difficult to see where to go from here. What now? All the possibilities of change loom up, overwhelming us, and at the same time each one feels so out of reach that now nothing feels possible anymore. We feel stuck in this in-between state, frozen.
There have been many times over the years where I’ve felt this — knowing in my very bones that things needed to change, and yet feeling deeply uncertain at where to begin. I have looked outwards to the world for answers, I have fallen into traps of what I thought was the answer but actually turned out not to be.
How often do you feel like this? A deep-need or desire for change met with panic, frustration, or even stagnation. When you feel lost, where do you go for directions?
It starts from within
“Your life unfolds from your inner self, not your inner mind” — Brianna Wiest
Our inner world shapes our outer world. Creating the life we desire isn’t a passive, wish-to-the-universe hope; it’s a process that begins and ends with knowing ourselves, of listening to and following our intuition.
Our intuition tells us so much about our needs and desires but we’ve been conditioned out of being able to clearly hear those cues or how to follow them. We often mix up our inner voices — anxiety, fear and the mental blocks they create can mask as our intuition. Sometimes we can even confuse someone else’s voice as our own. It can become so muddied that we stop listening all together, not trusting what we feel. We think we’re keeping ourselves safe by lessening that voice, but in many ways we’re holding ourselves back from creating a life that feels like home, that fulfils us.
Everyone’s intuition is different. It’s arguably the most individual part of each of us, and one that with practice can be read as a unique map to reconnect with our sense of self and what we need from our lives to feel fulfilment, joy and ease.
“Thoughts become things. The fact that what you focus on grows, what you put your energy toward manifests, what you believe in comes to fruition.” — Brianna Wiest
A fulfilling life starts from within, made through small, gentle but powerfully aligned steps that resonate with the self we want to show up as in the world.
The more we come home to who we are, and the more we believe in and show up as ourselves, the more we are able to sustainably move through life with balance, energy and effortlessness and passion to actively manifest the life we each desire.
I’ve been there; you’re not alone
After seeking validation and answers without finding it in any fulfilling or lasting way, the place I needed to look was to that inner voice of mine I’d so ignored. I had soul-searched without looking to where my soul really is — in my body, in me.
How do you begin to listen to what you have ignored for so long? Because I felt so lost, so far from home, I needed to first go outwards to learn how to nurture the inwards, to find the right people*, tools and guidance that would hold space for me and my individuality, teaching me how to truly listen to and most importantly trust that inner voice and intuition. It wasn't easy, and definitely wasn't instantaneous, but once I started listening and not shutting it out, I found inside me a world of wisdom and clarity I had been looking everywhere else for. The right people, the right environments — they helped me repave my way back to myself, my home, stone by stone, so I could start rebuilding a solid and strong foundation to carry me through life.
I appreciate the difficulty of finding where to begin on such a profound journey of wanting to change, to align, to heal, to feel more ‘you’. I know how difficult it is to start with so much worldly noise and feelings of impatience and frustration. I’ve been there. Some moments I find myself there again, but now it is with the knowledge and trust in how to move forwards with a much faster bounce back rate.
From my own experiences, and witnessing and working with others*, I understand how individual these journeys are, and how unique the paths are to begin a journey of returning home to ourselves and our intuition. I also know the profound, life-long and life-changing impact it has once you begin.
This is where I come in. You are not alone. Whenever you are ready to take the first step I would love to help you rebuild your path back home. If you are looking for guidance, I am now offering one-to-one bespoke sessions to meet you where you’re at to inspire small yet meaningful change towards a life that feels like home. Through deep listening and aligned action, these tailored one-to-one sessions work to unlock self-expression, self-trust and autonomy.
Curious to know more? Explore one-to-one offerings here.
*Hikarui is about alignment, connecting and sharing. I would love to get to know you more in a free 30 minute call, and if I’m not the right fit for you as a guide and mentor, there are so many incredible people who will be. Some of these incredible people (and counting) are in the Wellbeing section of The LBB which you can access in your own time and space.
