Byron Katie sometimes talks about following the simple instructions. This applies to doing the inquiry, and also – in a specific way – to daily life.
I am at the cabin, and notice this several times a day. I have a thought telling me to do something, check if there is a good reason to not follow it, and if not, do it.
Today, the thought told me to move some branches I fished out of the lake over to the composting pile. It told me to get more water from the lake. And so on, and since there was no good reason to not do it, I did it.
In these cases, it was something I had planned to do, and I waited to see if or when I would get the guidance to do it.
We can call this voice inner guidance or something else, and it has a certain quality. It is an actual voice, and it’s free of drama and insisting. It’s just there, and it’s simple and clear.
Following it in small things in daily life, and seeing the effects, makes it easier to get into the habit of noticing and following it – after checking if there is a good reason to not following it.
Why check? Because we all have many different voices in us, and we may not always be able to tell them apart, so it’s good to check just in case.
I have also followed other types of inner guidance today. I was wondering when to have lunch, and waited until there was a clear yes in me. I wasn’t sure what to have for dinner, and looked around the kitchen until I found what relaxed my body and gave me a clear yes. I noticed I was a bit hungry after going to bed, imagined eating something specific, noticed my body relaxed when I imagined it, so got up and had a bit to eat.
In each of these cases, I checked the effects of following the guidance. For instance, how did my body respond from eating when and what I was guided to eat? It seemed that the guidance was reliable.
Through this, we find some discernment and trust in the different ways we are guided, and really the ways we guide ourselves.
I notice a few different ways this guidance works. It can be a literal and clear inner voice. I sometimes check for a yes, or wait for a yes if it’s about timing. I sometimes imagine doing something and see how my body responds – if it relaxes, it’s a yes. Sometimes, I wonder about a choice, see an image in a flash, and check it by noticing how my body responds when I imagine doing it. In each case, I check if there is a good reason to not do it. And I check the effects after following the guidance.
Sometimes, I also wait to see when this human self will do something, like getting out of bed, and I usually get surprised.
NOTE: I am at the cabin these days, and write this on my phone. That means the articles become more informal, more flow-of-consciousness, and less structured, since editing is not as easy as on a computer. Normally, I would probably clean up this article and make it shorter and to the point, although more informal posts have their place & value as well.