Soul practices: Listening for the whisper of the soul

The peacock: a symbol of deep wisdom

'Intuition is the whisper of the soul.'

                                                     Jiddu Krishnamurti 

Some years ago I was facing a very difficult decision about whether to leave the organisation for which I had been working for over twenty years. Part of me wondered if the time might be right for me to move on, but I was really struggling to make a decision. One morning, I woke in the very early hours. Within minutes, all of the arguments for and against leaving, the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, the fears and hopes were endlessly swirling around in my head. It was utterly exhausting. No matter how hard I tried, however, I could not settle back into sleep. Then, seemingly out the blue, I heard a voice I had not heard before. A calm and quiet inner voice that did not seem to be my own. ‘Enough', it said, 'it is time to go.' And in that moment, the decision was made. I knew with complete clarity that it was time to leave.

Reflecting on your experience of intuition

Identify one or more times in your life when you have clearly heard the whisper of your soul. It may be, for example, that you had a difficult decision to make, that you were searching for a solution to a problem or that you were trying to choose between differing ideas or perspectives on a particular subject. Try and put into words how you experienced the whisper of your soul on each occasion. Would you describe it as a flash of insight, a nagging feeling, a strong gut sense or conviction, a hunch, a sudden clarity, a deep knowing, a pull towards or away from something or would you describe it in some other way? Was it accompanied by particular physical sensations or feelings? Did it come in the form of words or images?

Then spend some time reflecting on your response to hearing your soul's whisper. Were you able to listen to and trust the deep knowing that it brought you or was it crowded out by other voices in your head or around you? Did you try to seek verification of it in any way? If action was needed, how did you choose to act on it and what was the outcome?

Finally, reflect on what you have learnt about the particular ways in which your intuition speaks to you.

Tapping into your intuition

'Practice listening to your intuition, your inner voice; ask questions; be curious; see what you see; hear what you hear; and then act upon what you know to be true. These intuitive powers were given to your soul at birth.'

Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Because we live life at such a space and are beset by so many noises and other distractions, both internal and external, it is often hard to hear the whisper of the soul. To do so, we have to create a quiet space into which the soul can speak. We have to slow down, to take time to be still and to turn our attention inwards.

Find a calm and quiet space to sit alone. Close your eyes, and take a few minutes to relax your body and to slow and deepen your breathing. Let go of any thoughts that surface in your mind by returning your focus to your breathing.

Once you have settled into a quiet space, bring to mind the knowledge or understanding you seek, the decision you need to make or the question you are wrestling with. You may find it helpful to rest a hand gently on your body a little below your belly button in order to help you to tune into your deeper gut knowing. As you do so, pay attention to any feelings or physical sensations that you become aware of. Be aware too of any words, images or symbols that may surface within you. Sit with whatever emerges for a while.

Afterwards, take time to record your experience. You may find it helpful to do this as soon as you can, making note of everything that surfaced within you without analysing it or making any judgment of your experience. Then take some time to reflect on what you have learnt from the experience.

Opening the third eye

Some Eastern spiritual traditions have developed practices which are thought to open the energy centre they call 'the third eye', a symbol of the source of our inner wisdom. It is also known as 'the seat of the soul.' In Hinduism, for example, the third eye is symbolised by a 'tilaka', a small red mark in the middle of the forehead just above the eyebrows. In order to open this inner eye, some people find it helpful either to rest a thumb or finger on this part of their forehead, or to press gently on it. Others may imagine a stream of glowing violet light rising upwards from their forehead, expanding and growing brighter as it does so. Alternatively, they may visualise the light streaming through the crown of their head until it fills their whole body.

Honouring the gift

Intuition is one of the greatest gifts the soul journey brings us. It is our intuition that has led us to many of our greatest scientific discoveries and achievements as scientists themselves often acknowledge. And as many artists and writers experience, our best creative work happens when the rational mind gets out of the way and lets the intuitive soul hold sway. Intuition can also help us 'to read between the lines', to find the hidden meanings and messages that we might otherwise miss. It can warn us of hidden risks or dangers that lie ahead. It can help us to make better decisions and to find creative solutions to the problems we face. And along with the greater breadth of vision that comes when we are living from our soul, it can deepen our knowledge and understanding of ourselves and the world around us. It can give us a stronger sense of connectedness with our innermost self and it can heighten our sensitivity to the spiritual dimension of our world and experience.

To honour the gift of our intuition, we need to commit ourselves to enhancing our capacity to see through the third eye we have been given and to learn how to harness it alongside the power of our senses, our imagination and our rational mind. We need to teach our young people to recognise, value and trust it as the sacred gift it is. For the deepest wisdom always comes from listening to the voice of our soul.

Bibliography

Clarissa Pinkola Estés (2008) Women Who Run with the Wolves. Rider

Jiddu Krishnamurti  (2010) Freedom from the Known. Rider 

©Copyright Kaitlyn Steele 2026

Kaitlyn Steele

www.insearchofsoul.co.uk 

kaitlynsteele16@gmail.com