Each and every one of us has a voice in our head that whispers to us in quiet moments, subtly trying to reveal innate insights that guide us to what we need at our deepest levels. Often it is barely perceptible unless we deliberately make space for it, but it is always there softly nudging or nagging us, seeking to be heard.
Some people find that it comes to them while exercising or being out in nature, whilst others find it comes to them perhaps in the early hours of the morning or at other times of the day when they find themselves free from the distractions of media and devices.
In business circles, this voice is often referred to as “intuition” or “gut instinct” and many prominent businessmen – most notably Steve Jobs – have acknowledged that they rely upon it in creative ideation or decision-making processes or, on the other hand, have noted that it has been during those times when they have not listened to their innate insights that they have ended up making detrimental decisions for their businesses.
In psychology and philosophy this voice is more commonly referred to as our “higher self” or our “consciousness” – contrasting with what psychologists refer to as our “egoic self” which tends to speak to us loudly and forcefully and, although seeking to protect us, often causes us to make decisions or take actions that lead to our own suffering, given its reactive and self-centred nature.
When it comes to finding or creating meaningful work, making space to hear these innate insights, and then choosing to act upon them, is paramount. As renowned twentieth century philosopher Joseph Campbell points out, these innate insights carry with them what he termed our “call to adventure” which in his view was the essence of finding meaning and purpose and, ultimately, self-actualising.
Campbell wrote extensively on this topic, which led to him becoming one of the greatest twentieth-century thought-leaders on meaning and purpose. Although he was perhaps best known for coining the phrase “follow your bliss” and identifying the “hero’s journey”, the following quote of his – despite its mythological imagery – perhaps best sums up why it is in our best interests to listen to these innate insights and heed our call to adventure:
“Often in actual life, and not infrequently in the myths and popular tales, we encounter the dull case of the call unanswered; for it is always possible to turn the ear to other interests. Refusal of the summons converts the adventure into its negative. Walled in boredom, hard work, or “culture”, the subject loses the power of significant affirmative action and becomes a victim to be saved. His flowering world becomes a wasteland of dry stones and his life feels meaningless—even though, like King Minos, he may through titanic effort succeed in building an empire of renown. Whatever house he builds, it will be a house of death: a labyrinth of cyclopean walls to hide from him his Minotaur.”
Given Campbell’s strong caution against not heeding the wisdom and call contained within our innate insights, thankfully he also provided guidance on how to access them. Although written nearly forty years ago, in the current age of stimulation-overload caused by digital devices and the advent of AI, his advice is now more relevant than ever:
“You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes to you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.”
It is through creating this spaciousness that we can truly hear our own innate insights which provide the path we need to take to move to a more meaningful life.