Making decisions...What would love choose?

When you make a decision, what do you consider?  Do you think about the pros and cons or maintaining the status quo, or even escaping a difficult situation?  As we get older, I've noticed that most of us make 'safer' decisions.  But 'safe decisions' limit us.  What if there was another way, a way of discerning the decision that would free up our energy, enthusiasm and vitality?

Rather making decisions with the mind - which is ruled by the ego, that voice in our heads that wants everything to remain the same - we can also make decisions with the heart.  And by the heart, I don't mean the romantic heart, our emotional centre, which can sometimes be lazy and selfish.  What I'm talking about is the Universal Heart, our Soul.

Making decisions that are aligned with our Soul and our greatest potential can unlock enormous riches, from creating new opportunities to expanding our world beyond the self-imposed walls our desire for safety has created. 

So how do we make decisions that have the potential to transform our lives?  First, let me say that the mind is a wonderful and highly useful tool.  By all means, write out a list of pros and cons.  At least it will help you clear out your thoughts which may distract you.  Then, take the opportunity to go a level deeper, to simply sit in silence with your question and see what subtle answers begin to emerge.  These subtle answers may be crisp and clear, or soft and almost ephemeral.  They way to distinguish them from the ego is how they make you feel. 

Soul decisions have a unique quality to them: they will always leave you feeling energised and excited.  That's not to say that you may not also feel doubt at your ability to see the decision through, or apprehension at changing the status quo.  But you will always have a sense of release, as if your Soul can suddenly breathe freely and deeply.

It may take a while to able to discern the Soul's 'voice', whether that is a sound, an image or a sense of knowing, but hang in there because it does get easier.  You may discover that your Soul is suggesting the same decision your rational mind had arrived it - in which case, aren't you lucky to live in such an aligned, authentic and integrity-filled manner!  It may be that you don't get a clear sense of what to do, in wich case, don't strain to grasp for a clear answer.  Trust that your Soul voice will emerge more clearly and quickly over time.

Making decisions in this deeper, more connected manner helps us break free of our worn out limitations and limiting thoughts and patterns; it allows us release our Best Selves and live fuller, richer lives.  Sure it takes courage, but isn't it better to call forth our courage, than to feel we are living a life that is choked and stiff?