iPod as Oracle – or… How to Invite Moments of Clarity

Have you noticed how your biggest moments of clarity arise out of the blue without warning or effort?  Ever wish you could find ways to summon them?

Early in my career, I was desperate to find purpose in the work that I did.  As I diligently climbed the corporate ladder, I struggled to bring meaning into my workdays.

My commute time was my only opportunity to connect with myself each day – to break through the emotional numbness that offset the high stress levels.  For me in the 1990s, that meant listening to playlists on my iPod, yearning to connect with something that made me feel a flicker of aliveness before stepping into the concrete and glass skyscraper devoid of the seasons.

The connecting moments I lived for were the ones where some lyrical phrase would make me feel something, like mainlining a dose of truth, a fix to get me through the soul-numbing day ahead.  It helped me think beyond my current circumstances and invited me to dream of a bigger life.  It also hurt like hell, seeing no way off of that treadmill of routine in the near or not-so-near future.

But those little daily glimpses led to longer road trip vacations, a week or two in my camper van with no schedule or to do lists, just a road atlas (this was the 1990s) and an iPod that connected to the van stereo through a cassette-like device (this was the 1990s).  On those long stretches of highway heading west, the corporate weight would ease, usually somewhere around Iowa or Kansas, when both the landscape and my heart would open, making enough room for the magic to unfold.

There’s something about movement and music, about scenes seen through the windshield, road movies with a soundtrack of your own making.  At some point along the way, I would hear what I needed to hear triggering a moment of clarity or realization on how to move forward in my life.

Perhaps a song by Son Volt on the ability of the wind to take my troubles away or Incubus encouraging me to take the wheel of my own life.  It was inevitable and reliable, with Old Faithful timing, where the connection of words and open space would combust and implode, revealing hidden places of spirit, secret to the world, even to me.  Like a light showing me the way, not only would I know the next step, but I would return home feeling recharged, rejuvenated and up to the task of making a life change. 

What was it that made this secret practice so effective?  I had no idea at the time nor would I have recognized it as the private ritual it was.  But in hindsight, there are qualities about what I did to connect with my inner wisdom that you can try the next time you need some clarity.

Here are five attributes to get you started:

1. Intention:  Intention is defined as a way to help us aim, set direction and connect emotionally to what we want – it’s the heart-based “Why” behind our urge to transform.  I set my intention during my drives just by being willing to connect.

2. Space:  The simpler the surrounding environment, the easier the access.  Carving out a time and place away from your work and home life is key – a place free of distractions, decisions and comparison.  For me, my commute was my refuge.

3. Listening:  It takes a bit of practice to learn the process of call and response.  For me, when I listened intently to music, I became attuned to hearing whatever whispers were stirring inside.

4. Reflecting:  Finding a way to honor and capture your insights will allow you to reflect and work with them over time.  I had a pad of paper and pen nearby and would jot down a few words so I could write about them later in more detail.

5. Experimenting:  Taking action with your insights will strengthen your ability to connect more deeply with your inner knowing.  One of the joys of this process for me was trying mini-experiments to see where the insights led.

Sometimes change is hard because it’s difficult to look at the decisions we’ve made that created our current life circumstances.  But it has been my experience that finding a connecting practice to support me while working toward a new reality is key in keeping sane while life evolves at its sometimes glacial pace.

Over the last few years, my commute time has been replaced by afternoon walks, where I create the same intention and space to invite insight.  It has been just as effective and I continue to learn from the process.  I’ve found that clarity is not passive.  And the better my self-care, the clearer the channel.

Most importantly, I’ve learned that true inner wisdom comes from a place of calm, not fear.  It’s wordless – something that is sensed emotionally or in the body.  It comes in its own time. And when it’s true inner wisdom, the message is clear – there is no doubt on what is needed to be done.

Whether through nature or song or some other means, life is speaking to you, offering options and direction.  The trick is to find the quiet, if only for a few minutes, to become still enough to listen.

Journal Reflections:  How have moments of clarity come to you?  Have you taken action as a result?  What might you do to invite more of those moments into your life?Journal Reflections:  How has this time impacted you?  How are you managing your feelings?  What might help you turn this time into positive action?