“At a certain point, we need to grow up; we need to look inside ourselves for our inner guidance.”
~Adyashanti
I was speaking to a friend recently who is often caught in a mindset of lack. His mind seems to love reciting all the things that are missing from his life, especially a romantic relationship.
But this time something different happened. Instead of being taken down this sad and lonely road of feeling sorry for himself, an enlightening phrase appeared: “Wait a minute!”
“Wait a minute.” It was a reset that woke him out of the dream of lack and brought him into the reality of the present moment.
Then he began to question:
- What is here and present?
- Is everything okay right now?
- Do I have to wait for a partner to do the things I want to do?
It was a spontaneous offering of the universal intelligence that lives in all of us showing him the way to freedom.
Accessing the Inner Coach
For a while on my journey, the phrase that arose was, “Go in.” To me, that meant to let go of the thinking in my head and bring my attention down into the body to welcome sensations. Then I went further, sitting with great peace, just being the space of open awareness.
Reminding myself to, “Go in,” short-circuited the swirling thoughts every time, and eventually I no longer paid much attention to them.
Someone else I know says, “Go back.” This phrase guides her to let her attention fall away from the outer world of people and situations—and the world of her own thoughts and feelings. She stops feeding her anxiety and trying to figure out what others need.
She comes back to herself…to the infinite space behind her eyes…to the sensations of the breath…to being grounded in the reality of this present moment, open to all that is…
Guidance for Discovering Your True Nature
These phrases are a sign that the inner coach is alive and well. It’s the voice in us that knows what serves our peace and happiness—which is not the limiting thoughts of the personal sense of “I.”
The inner coach beckons us to come home to our true nature. It brings us into our inner world to explore with curiosity and discover our natural aliveness…pure, innocent, free of stress…
The inner coach opens possibilities we couldn’t see before. Another friend was stuck in a compelling, fear-based thought pattern. All she could see were scary outcomes with no satisfying solution.
Then, “Hey, wait!” appeared. She took some moments in stillness, and then became aware of a number of practical solutions to the problem she was wrestling with, and the fear disappeared.
Programmed habits often hold on tightly because they’re highly reinforced. We’ve been thinking the same thoughts and taking the same actions for a very long time. Which is why we need skillful means to awaken out of them.
The inner coach is one ally in this process.
Take the time to slow down…and notice the intelligence of the inner coach. Is there a quiet voice inside drawing you out of repetitive patterns…guiding you to freedom? Can you follow it—with your whole heart—as you find your way home?