Last week I wrote about the irrefutable truth that each of us can ONLY live an internal experience.
That there is no way for a human being to directly experience anything outside of ourselves. Only the model of the world that our brain creates.
That is the fundamental truth on which all my work rests.
But there are observations and implications that come from this truth.
And one of them is this—
When Your Mind Quiets, Different Thoughts Appear
If your mind is at all like mine, it can be a very busy place.
Lots of judgmental thoughts, thoughts that I am very familiar with about myself, about the world, about political leaders, about money, about my partner—you name it.
Over and over and over again.
When you begin to see this chatter for what it is, just thoughts that come and go, you get a little less attached to whether or not it is “true.” And you might also find, as I have, that the chatter slows down quite a bit when you know it’s just noise.
At that point, something deeper can emerge. Quiet, patient, simple.
It’s there waiting for you.
It’s been there all along.
It goes by many names. Wisdom, intuition, guidance. Even God. What word you use isn’t particularly important. What is important is that the experience of it will feel very different from your more “normal” way of operating.
Instinct? Or Intuition?
I was talking with a former client the other day, Michael Showalter, and he said one of the most valuable things that came from work together was something he didn’t even realize at the time.
“Before we started working together, I was operating from instinct,” he said.
I asked him what he meant. He said it was about reacting quickly, and without thought. Just doing the first thing that came to mind—what I have found a lot of people call operating “from the gut.”
When I talk about intuition, that is where most people think I am pointing.
But, at least for him, a lot of that instinct driven by his own programming—pleasing others, proving himself, looking good, avoiding conflict, etc.
Michael said when he was able to see that, he was able to get quiet and get access to a deeper kind of wisdom, which he called “intuition.”
“I just knew. No trumpets, no fanfare, no butterflies. When I got quiet, when I had access to it, what to do next was obvious. And typically simple, too, even if it often was the exact opposite of what “instinct” would tell me.
What Does Your Wisdom Feel Like?
It can be really easy to miss this in the moment. I know there have been many times where I said, “I knew I shouldn’t have done (or said) that,” after the fact.
Trusting this quiet wisdom before the fact, though, is a game-changer. As is understanding what it is and what it isn’t.
In my experience, it is a quiet guide to the next step. And relatively rare.
It ISN’T a way to play the stock market or a guide to sports betting.
But if you are willing to follow where it leads, and put what it suggests into action, it can change everything.
Two Days To Get Deeper Access
If this sounds like something you’d like to explore more deeply, I have two ways to dive in—one-on-one in a personal retreat, or in a group setting in Denver on October 20-21.
If you are interested in exploring either, like this post (so more people will see it) and send me a DM.