The Quiet Voice Within
Written by: Kirsten Frey; Transitions Life Coaching
We all have intuition and the ability to tap into that guidance at any time. My relationship with my inner guidance has changed over the years. Early on, I recognized intuition in a variety of ways. It was that sixth sense, gut feeling, heebie-jeebies, spider senses tingling or random thoughts that just “popped” into my mind. This was helpful in my career as a police officer. It helped me get a “feel” for a situation beyond what was happening directly in front of me. It also helped keep me safe. I remember two specific incidents where listening to my intuition kept me from grievous bodily harm.
One of those incidents occurred when my partner and I stopped a vehicle on a Sunday afternoon. Back then it was uncommon to be partnered up with another officer. We usually rode solo, especially on dayshifts. But on this particular day, we had everyone come in on our shift so a few of us partnered up. My partner and I had gone to police college together so we knew each other well and were comfortable working together. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the shift had been fairly quiet. It was 2 pm when we stopped a vehicle for missing its back licence plate. I called in our location to our dispatcher giving a description of the vehicle as my partner approached the car to speak to the driver.
When I approached the passenger side, I could see the passenger beginning to lean forward as if to hear what my partner was saying to the driver. I greeted him and asked to see his hands as his right hand wasn’t visible to me. He was startled when I spoke to him but complied with my request. While he was polite and answered my questions, he was fidgeting and my skin began to crawl. All my senses were immediately heightened and I shot my partner a look. I could tell that he also felt that something was “off” about this encounter. My partner had called in the drivers information and dispatch advised the driver was wanted on an outstanding warrant. He arrested the driver and secured him in the rear of our cruiser. I had the passenger step out of the vehicle and continued to speak to him until another officer stopped and engaged him while I searched the vehicle. Under the floor mat on the passenger side was a fully loaded pistol, ready to go with a bullet in the chamber. The passenger was arrested and both men were taken back to the division. It was while I was typing up the report that I started to shake uncontrollably. Even now, as I write this, all these years later, I can feel the adrenaline spike! There is no doubt in my mind that if my partner and I hadn’t listened to our intuition and worked so well off each other that day, there would have been a different outcome to this story. There were other, less significant (sometimes funny) situations throughout that career that taught me to listen to my intuition even if I couldn’t rationalize or articulate why I felt the way I did.
My “internal guidance system” has been invaluable to me for as long as I can remember, but there definitely have been times when I didn’t listen to my own inner wisdom. My first marriage is an example of this. We had dated off and on for a decade while I was in my 20’s. I truly loved him and I believed that if I just committed myself and worked hard enough, I could make it work. Of course, I see now how misguided that was. I also now know that anything that requires that much “efforting” is a clear sign that I’m swimming upstream. Neither one of us was listening to what our intuition was telling us. Even a couple of days before the wedding we had a big disagreement that should have been the final straw. I heard my Quiet Voice Within whispering to me to let it go.
I couldn’t.
I rationalized that we had been together all these years, the wedding was planned and ready to go, I would be embarrassed and ashamed to fail, and on and on. So we got married. And then we separated a year and a half later, right after our son was born. So much time spent in pain and suffering that could have been avoided if I had only listened to my intuition. I have gratitude for that time though, because I learned so much through that process. Learning to listen to that Quiet Voice Within was just one of the many lessons that crystallized for me.
In the last couple of years, my relationship with my intuition has transformed again. Learning to meditate helps me consciously tap into it. The more I practice, the more I can access it. The more I use it, the more it shows up for me. It’s like a secret superpower! Instead of using it only when I’m troubled or in stress, I treat it like it’s my best friend. Because it is. It is always there for me, it guides me back into alignment and it connects me to and supports me in the highest vision I have for myself. It has taken time but I understand now that when I listen, trust, and take inspired action, from my Quiet Voice Within, my life unfolds with greater ease and grace.
