Our two minds

People often talk about our negative inner chatter and how this can dissuade us in life or hold us back. This voice is really the thoughts that come and go throughout the day that our brain hooks onto and considers the most. Once you appreciate the power of thought, you can relax about the content of these thoughts and know that they will pass and can only ever become more powerful if you give them your attention. The thoughts we focus on most create our feelings. If only we remembered that not all feelings (created by thought) require us to act. These thoughts are often personal in nature.

There are two voices in our heads though, and the second is our innate wisdom. This is more impersonal in nature and is not based on our accumulated knowledge or intellect. These are the solutions or ideas that are new and seem to come 'out of the blue'. It's also that voice of reason that whispers 'don't do that' when you're thinking of doing something that you may later regret. If only we learnt to listen for the whisper of wisdom, rather than be distracted by the noise of the busy intellectual mind.

When we really need it, to help ourselves or others, our wisdom will always kick in, so we can relax in this knowledge and not worry. How do you access this wisdom by choice? The key is to get quiet (I don't mean by an absence of noise, but rather by letting go of your analytical mind) and then just wait, trusting you'll know when it occurs to you, in the space between your thoughts. You'll know it's wisdom if it feels good. If it feels bad, use your free will in the moment to ignore that thought and wait for a better thought to focus on. Taking a breath to calm yourself in the midst of what appears to be a problem to solve will always help. A stressed and busy mind will take longer to access the best solution or an insight.

An example

When both my parents were first diagnosed with dementia, they were still living at home, with carers visiting during the day. One day, the carers found a tea towel under the grill and even though the grill was turned off, my inner wisdom told me that this had to be addressed. Initially I was told there was nothing that could be done, but the voice in my head told me to persevere until I got a better response. Eventually, I was told about a system that was a smoke & fire detector that calls the emergency services directly on detecting either. This was installed at the house and I slept better at night.

Fast forward less than a week and I received a call late one evening from my parents neighbours, to say there'd been a fire at the house. Luckily my parents were safe because the system had called the emergency services who responded swiftly. When I arrived at the house, there were multiple police cars, fire engines and an ambulance - it was quite a scene, but the end result could have been unbearably different if it hadn't been for that detection/alerting system. I am so very grateful that my inner wisdom would not let me leave this to hope. It saved their lives that night.

There's nothing to do!

It's so reassuring to know how well we're designed and that innate wisdom/common sense is always available. You just have to trust it's there when you need it, or accessible if you settle yourself and wait. Because it's fresh/new thought in that moment, you don't need to study and learn it, it's responsive 'right on time', when you need it most.

Being aware of this helps us to balance our two minds of intellect and innate wisdom, leading to peace of mind. When we have peace of mind, we are secure, content and happy. Isn't that what we'd all like in the mystery & wonder of life?

LIFE By Design

This blog is called 'Life By Design' because it looks at how we're designed and how understanding this can lead to a happier, more relaxed experience of life.

LIFE in this case stands for 'Look Inside For Everything', which this post points towards when considering inner wisdom.

"What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.'

Ralph Waldo Emerson