The Voices of Ego and Higher Self

Distinguishing between the voices of our Ego/Mental Self and our Intuition/Higher Self takes trust and practice but it’s so important if we want to explore the depth of our potential. Our ego’s purpose is to try to keep us small and safe, it’s our default mode, whilst our higher self is the complete opposite – it wants us to move beyond because it knows our potential.

So, how do we know which voice to listen to? Our ego or mental voice tends to be a continuation of our own thoughts, often with the same or similar quite negative and unhelpful messages looping incessantly around our mind. Our intuitive voice, on the other hand, drops in out of nowhere, often when we’re doing quite mundane things when our mind is not having to focus. It tends to be quite direct, uncomplicated, concise and it’s usually directing us to the future. It also has no emotion or judgement attached to it, and it’s calm.

Our Higher Self also knows if we’ve outgrown our current situation and will give us a sense of restlessness or anticipation that something needs to change; that there’s something more for us. It’s important to learn to trust this voice and to trust in life. It doesn’t mean we can avoid pain or challenging times, but in letting go of our need to be in control all the time, it’s easier to observe rather than react, and this in turn allows for a smoother flow.

When connected to our Higher Self or intuitive voice, there are four main different ways we can receive the information or messages. These are:

Clairvoyance: Seeing images, a scene or symbols; may come as a metaphor.

Clairaudience: Hearing succinct, calm and simple messages, sometimes just one word, as if someone is talking in your mind.

Claircognizance: Knowing; a very clear just knowing that you know! The information tends to arrive very quickly too.

Clairsentience: Feeling; often what we refer to as instinct or a ‘gut feeling’ in the Solar Plexus area.

Most people are stronger in one of the ‘clairs’ than the others. I sometimes hear people say they didn’t ‘see’ anything during a meditation, feeling that they are in some way lacking, when others had a very visual experience. This simply means that their strength lies in one of the other clairs. However, it is entirely possible to develop all these intuitive abilities with practice.

Practise trying to distinguish your mental voice from your intuitive voice and then, to see where your strength lies, pay close attention to how you are receiving the information from your intuitive voice. Receiving guidance from our Higher Self allows us to move beyond the boundaries our Ego likes to place around us.