Listening to the Whisper of Your Soul
By Athena Mandis
“Your soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.” – Caroline Myss. We read and hear a lot about intuition—the inner compass that guides us—but in the reality of everyday life, the noise can be deafening. Between the relentless buzz of other people’s opinions, the demands of our schedules, and the endless scrolling of information, it’s no wonder we struggle to hear ourselves. Have you ever said, “I wish I had listened to myself”? Who hasn’t? That voice you ignored was your soul, quietly whispering the truth you already knew. It is the subtle pull toward a choice, the feeling in your body when something isn’t right, or the lightness you sense when you imagine saying yes to a path your rational mind rejects. It is your most trustworthy guide—but listening to it takes courage.
The courage to trust yourself
Intuition often speaks softly. Sometimes it’s a feather-light nudge, other times it’s a siren blaring in your chest, warning you that something isn’t right. Every time I’ve ignored it, I’ve regretted it. It’s like missing the turn-off on a motorway: you’ll eventually get back on course, but you’ll take the long way round, often with unnecessary detours and discomfort.
Sonia Choquette, renowned author of Trust Your Vibes, writes: “Your vibes are your divine GPS. Learn to read them, trust them, and act on them, and they will guide you to your true path.” Yet most of us doubt our own inner knowing. We override it with logic, with fear of what others will think, or with the belief that the world outside us must hold more authority than the quiet truth inside.
Listening to your soul requires three things: silence, trust, and courage. Without these, your inner wisdom gets drowned out by the noise of expectation, fear, and busyness.
Silence: making space to hear the whisper
Clarissa Pinkola Estés, in her book Women Who Run with the Wolves, reminds us that “If you don’t go out in the woods, nothing will ever happen and your life will never begin.” The woods, in this case, are the quiet spaces away from distraction where we can truly hear ourselves.
Your soul doesn’t shout over the noise. It waits patiently for you to pause, breathe, and turn inward. You might hear it in meditation, during a quiet walk, in the shower, or in those fleeting moments before sleep or when you are just waking. These small stillnesses are where the soul speaks loudest.
Trust: believing your inner voice knows the way
Intuition rarely comes with a detailed map. It offers a direction, a feeling, a single next step—and asks you to trust. This can feel uncomfortable in a world obsessed with evidence, plans, and guarantees.
Martha Beck, author of The Way of Integrity, describes intuition as a “homing signal,” one that constantly calls us toward alignment with our true self. Trusting it is like following a faint light through fog—you won’t see the whole path, but you sense you’re heading home.
Courage: acting on what you know
Knowing is one thing. Acting is another. Intuition often points toward choices that disrupt the status quo, challenge expectations, or defy logic. That’s why following it is an act of bravery. It asks you to risk being misunderstood, to face uncertainty, to leap without proof of where you’ll land.
And yet every time you honour that whisper, you strengthen your connection to it. You learn that you are safe in your own wisdom and that life supports those who dare to live in alignment with their soul.
A practice for hearing your soul’s whisper
If you want to hear your inner guidance more clearly, try this:
- Create quiet. Set aside five minutes a day with no phone, no conversation, just your breath and a notebook.
- Ask a question. Something simple, like “What do I need to know today?”
- Listen to your body. Your intuition often speaks through sensations—a tightening, a lightness, a pull forward.
- Write what arises. Don’t censor or analyse, just let words flow.
- Take one small step. Acting on even the tiniest piece of guidance tells your soul: I hear you. I trust you.
Your invitation
Your soul is always speaking. It knows your deepest truths and your highest potential. The only question is whether you’re willing to slow down, trust what you hear, and dance to your own music—even if no one else hears it yet.
Today, give yourself the gift of stillness. Tune your inner radio. And when that whisper comes, say yes. Your future self will thank you for it.
