Inner Voice

Some people call it the sound of God.. Lets play with this thought a little bit. 

It is said that it is a sin to do anything that takes you further away from God. Now, I am not a particular fan of the concept of ”sin”, nor do I believe in living life through fear of doing wrong or being punished for your sins. But I do know that the more I act against my own inner voice, the further it takes me from self-love. In this light, ”sin” would not necessarily mean something that we might objectively think is bad. It could be anything you do or leave undone that you know will make you feel bad about yourself. And we all know what hell it can be when we feel bad within our own skin. Therefore, metaphorically the whole idea of sinning taking you to hell actually makes complete sense. 

And as everyone has their own journey to happiness, I believe that each of us has our own individual ”sins” as well. Of course there is such a thing as a set of universally preferable behaviors, a certain moral code we all try to adhere to, such as don’t steal or kill, but interestingly even those rules have been made into matters of relativity in certain circumstances. One is allowed to kill at war, and on the other hand, one has to subject to being stolen from in the form of taxation- government being the thief. But I am not here to argue about morality that can be bent into laws and exceptions. I am talking about the subjective and in my belief also universally occurring experience of one’s inner voice - the inner truth of a person, or the guiding force within. 

We could also call these individual ”sins” obstacles of happiness. For instance, some people know they should get up earlier to feel more empowered during the day, yet every day they sleep in. Some people know they should not keep eating that junk food, or smoking those cigarettes. Some people know they should work less and spend more time with their family. These kind of inner conflicts demand a lot of energy, for we must constantly fight against our inner voice in order to justify our actions. No wonder oftentimes we are so exhausted at the end of the day, although we have done ”nothing”.

Also, some people talk of an inner voice that is very destructive, twisted or illusional, but I believe this is a product of a chemical or hormonal imbalance in the brain, or a severe spiritual matter. The inner voice I speak of exists underneath all that, in the very core of our being, and it never fully goes away. It can be muffled, ignored, fought against or buried by sickness or sorrow, and the longer it is being neglected, the more it begins to lose its force. Slowly it can begin to diminish, until all that is left is a silent shadow-like form that merely withers in the back of our soul. But when being truly sought after, it will rise from the deepest of graves and empower one from within. It is like an answer to a prayer. It appears, guides, protects and comforts. It is that very voice that makes someone not jump from the 56th floor. It is that voice deep within that makes even a serial killer cry in court when being forgiven by one of his victim’s parents.

So are we really talking of God here? Is that voice the divine consciousness manifesting itself within all of us? Or does it even matter what we call it? Whether we are Buddhist, Jewish or Atheist, I know we all still possess that guiding voice within. How about we start listening to it?

P.S. Here is a speech about self-love that Charlie Chaplin gave on his 70th birthday:

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth. Today, I know, this is AUTHENTICITY.

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody as I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me. Today I call it RESPECT.

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow. Today I call it MATURITY.

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment, so I could be calm. Today I call it SELF-CONFIDENCE.

As I began to love myself I quit steeling my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm. Today I call it SIMPLICITY.

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything the drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.Today I know it is LOVE OF ONESELF.

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since I was wrong less of the time. Today I discovered that is MODESTY.

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING is happening. Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it FULFILLMENT.

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally. Today I call this connection WISDOM OF THE HEART.

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born. Today I know THAT IS LIFE!