Making Decisions

We sometimes struggle to make decisions. We are unsure of the outcome of moving one way or another and that can be a paralyzing state that awakens unsettled feelings.

We are told to "listen to our gut" but sometimes the "gut" and the "mind" sound the same. How do you know what is the choice of the soul, the heart, the universe and what is the choice of the mind, the ego, fear?

I asked my teacher this once and she said that the soul is always "sure". That there is no hesitation with the soul, it will speak clearly and with confidence, while the mind hesitates, questions and confuses.

Eckhart Tolle says that we sometimes cannot make a decision because we do not have enough information. However, sometimes that even with enough information we cannot make a decision because we cannot create the space in which we can ask the correct questions to base our decisions on. He says that the problem with decision making is not that we cannot make the decision but that we are not asking the correct questions.

From a Yogic perspective, our intuition, which is the sound of the mind closest to the soul, can only be heard when the lower mind (ego) is silenced. In order to go into the space that will ask the correct question, and find the correct answer, the ego, our selfish desires and fears must be quietened. 

The ego mind is only quiet in one moment in time: now. The ego mind cannot live in the present moment and this is where complete awareness on the current moment, the breath or how we feel in our bodies at any given moment contains within itself the power, the space and the knowledge for us to make the decision that our soul is directing us to.