Distinguishing Truth From Noise

Learning the Language of Your Soul

(Part 2 of 4 in the Inner Voice mini-series.)

Have you ever paused to ask yourself, whose voice guides your choices? What might change if you learn to hear that voice more clearly?

You were born with an inner truth. It has followed you throughout your entire life. And in the moments you’ve silenced it, it may have shown up as inner turmoil, anxiety, anger - even outright arguments. But without a connection to yourself, you may not have known why. You aren’t alone. In a society that is drowning in mental health issues, the simplest gift you can give yourself is to learn what your inner voice sounds like.

Imagine this: You’re driving home on a Friday afternoon, the kids are in the back seat, and you’re mentally replaying your week – a whirlwind of deadlines at work, after-school sports every night except tonight. As you check the road and mirrors, your eyes land on a stain on your middle child’s shirt (you forgot again) – a reminder that the laundry is behind, and you never took meat out for supper.

You pull into the driveway like Dale Earnhardt (a late Nascar driver) bringing the vehicle to a halt. You pride yourself on being great at multi-tasking under pressure. You dash to the deep freeze to grab a pound of ground beef. While you’re nearby, you toss a load of laundry into the wash.

Back in the kitchen, you start supper. One of your three kids asks for help with homework, while the other two argue in the family room. Overwhelmed you let out a war cry – a threat to take away screen time - and slump at the table. (This isn’t who I want to be.) Half your mind is on the meat simmering, the other half on the chaos - but none of it on the child who needs your help.

Now, let’s all take a deep breath… or three… because this is a very common scenario and I’m sure everyone who could relate felt their chest tighten.

What is the driving force behind all this chaos? Fear. The fear of not being enough, not doing enough, not meeting every expectation and demand. And beneath that fear is conditioning: The belief that our worth is measured by our output, and that rest and stillness are weak or lazy. In these crazy, chaotic moments, we are functioning from survival mode.

Let’s break that scenario down for context, understanding the difference between fear and conditioning moment to moment:

“You have had an extremely busy week…”

·       Conditioning: The pressure to always be productive and hold everything together.

·       Fear: Fear of dropping the ball, fear of not doing enough.

“Deadlines to meet…sports every night…”

·       Conditioning: The cultural belief that busyness equals worth.

·       Fear: fear of being seen as falling short - of failing your kids or your job.

“You pride yourself on being great at multi-tasking under pressure…”

·       Conditioning: The belief that being stretched thin is a badge of honor.

·       Fear: Avoiding stillness, where emotions might surface.

“You let out some sort of war cry/threat to take the screen time away…”

·       Conditioning: Reactive parenting modeled from your own upbringing or society’s expectations of discipline.

·       Fear: Loss of control.

“None of it on the child who asked for your assistance.”

·       Cost: The price of living from fear and conditioning = disconnection.

Noise is…

·       Distraction.

·       Busy.

·       Disconnection.

·       Self loathing.

·       Hypervigilance.

·       Defensiveness.

·       Anger.

·       Insecurity.

·       Anxiety.

·       Impatience.

·       Desperation.

·       Worry.

·       Guilt.

·       Shame.

·       Urgency.

Learning to hear your inner voice amidst the chaos takes time. Especially if this scenario resonates deeply within you. Remember: your authentic truth will never try to push you harder. Your inner voice is the one whispering: “This is too much. You don’t have to do it all.”

But there is also something very real happening in your brain - the Reticular Activating System (RAS). This is the part of your mind that filters what you focus on. In psychology it’s known as the RAS. In meditation or spiritual journey’s, it is often called the Ego. In hypnosis, it’s the Inner Chatterbox or Critical Factor. When you are in survival mode, it filters for problems. But when you are calm and aligned, you can train it to notice peace, truth and guidance.

The more you come into awareness of this filter, the more you can shift what you tune into. When you begin to recognize the noise for what it is – a conditioned, fear-based perception – you create space for something very precious. That space is where your Inner Voice lives. Your inner voice doesn’t demand your attention. It simply invites it.

In a world that often measures worth by busyness, it’s easy to lose touch with your inner voice – the quiet, steady presence beneath the noise. But it’s always there, waiting patiently beneath the chaos, whispering truth in a gentle, steady tone - one you need to attune to.

Take a moment, even now, to pause. Close your eyes. Feel the rise and fall of your breath. Notice the thoughts racing through your mind, but don’t engage them. Simply let them drift away.

Perhaps your inner voice has something to tell you in this quiet moment together…

can you hear the whisper: 

You are enough, exactly as you are.