Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, it was common to have movies of the 1930s and 40s shown on television. I especially enjoyed Shirley Temple movies. I thought I had seen just about every Shirley Temple movie ever, so imagine my surprise to come upon The Blue Bird (1940) starring Shirley Temple. Not familiar with this one, I watched it and while doing so, I couldn’t help but see many parallels between this movie and The Wizard of Oz.
In both movies, the lead characters (Mytyl in The Blue Bird and Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz) are both searching for something (happiness and a way home) and they do so in a dream or dreamlike state. They both have a “guardian” of sorts helping them on their journeys (Fairy Berylune and Glinda the Good Witch of the North). Both girls have interesting traveling companions and both girls meet some dangerous characters along the way. And, in the end, both girls discover that what they were searching for was near or within them all the time.
Reflecting on these movies, especially the searching for something, got me to thinking about how we are often in pursuit of something whether it be happiness (which could be in the form of a new job or a new relationship or whatever), money, recognition or freedom from something (you can your own personal item to the list). And, I think we especially pursue something when we are dealing with change of any kind. We tend to seek a return to what once was, stability, the strength to persevere, answers as to why whatever happened happened to us, etc.
And, like Mytyl, Dorothy, and their friends, we often begin our pursuit of whatever looking to people, places, and things external to us while overlooking everything close especially our own, wise inner voice. We all need to pay more attention to what is close at hand especially our inner voice. Our inner voice speaks from both the heart and the head. It combines feelings and emotions as well as our rational thoughts. Bonnie Bell, principal and director of Career/Life/Coaching describes our inner voice as a “personal Geiger counter.” A Geiger counter detects radiation. Our personal Geiger counters detect what feels right; what to pursue.
Our inner voice is the part of us that is able to view the bigger picture and because of that is a tremendous guide in helping us navigate the pathways through the lessons of life and to that bigger picture. There are some advantages to listening to our inner voice. We can save time and energy by pursuing what is meaningful to us (avoiding journeys fraught with peril and challenges). Because our inner voice usually speaks to us when we are quiet, still, or relaxed, stress levels can be greatly reduced. (Think of the stress both Mytyl and Dorothy were under on their journeys due to the challenges they and their friends faced.) Listening to our inner voice helps increase our trust level which helps with decision making.
If you aren’t used to listening to your inner voice, here a few suggestions to help you develop inner voice listening 
skills:
- Quiet your mind and spend some silent, private time with yourself.
- Find personal meaning in what is going on around or happening to you.
- Reflect on your values. Emotions should work in concert with your values.
- Trust your intuition and gut level feelings. Believe in yourself!
- Have a willingness to embrace change. (Often our inner voice tells us to move in a direction we may not have thought of. We have to be willing to move in the direction of that change,)
- Avoid overthinking the situation/issue. (The past is the past. The future hasn’t happened. Concentrate on the here and now and what is truly important right now.)
- Eliminate negative chatter from your mind.
Steve Jobs has said, “Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important (sic), have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” The next time you are faced with a major decision or think you want something, before taking any action, indulge in some quiet time with yourself. Allow your inner voice a chance to put its “two cents worth” into the discussion. Reflect on what it is telling you for therein lies the key to unlocking the way for whatever you may be pursuing.
Author Becky Johnen 