The Two Voices Within

You, we, and everyone have two “voices” that speak to us from within. Each represents an energy at work in our life. They are the constituents of our soul and define the “you” of our being—the distinctive you that can only be, well, you. The unique you, unlike anyone who ever has or ever will live, yet similar to and connected to everyone who has ever lived. One voice is human, and the other is Divine. These voices, the voices of Ego and Spirit, have resided in everyone who ever has or ever will live a human life.

The one we “listen” to, but often do not recognize and have not awakened to, constantly and profoundly impacts our lives for better or worse. This is the voice we are living, and the foundation for the version of ourselves that we are presenting to the world. For the greater portion of most of our lives, this voice is ego, particularly if we have not awakened spiritually. Our ego unconsciously operates outside of our awareness as the default mode we live in until we have awakened egoically, spiritually, or both.

The vast majority of people live—or more accurately, exist—on an egoically and spiritually unconscious level. This includes many religious followers who have confused religiosity with spirituality. This confusion often stresses intolerance and exclusion rather than understanding and inclusion. Most of our planet is asleep, in an egoically unconscious slumber that contributes to the suffering Buddha was referring to and the destructiveness seen both individually and collectively in our world. This destructiveness takes root in the ego’s efforts to help us in our daily and mortal survival, both individually and collectively. These efforts to survive often stress getting more and more of what surrounds us while neglecting more and more of what is within us. This unconscious egoic slumber also precludes the possibility of humankind ever truly knowing world peace.

Most of the effort to awaken us over the past three thousand years has focused on awakening us spiritually while neglecting egoic awakening. This effort does attempt to awaken us to more of what is available within us. Unfortunately, our planet will continue to remain asleep if the only voice that people are attempting to hear, and the only energy they are getting to know, is that of their Spirit. People have only been attempting to awaken to their Divinity, while failing to fully awaken to the core essence of their humanity—their ego. The loud but unrecognized voice of Ego will drown out much of what Spirit is attempting to share about itself and its presence in one’s being. Spirit therefore remains a voice in the wilderness of one’s life, left largely unheard.

This also prevents people from hearing the spiritual voice of others. Many wonderful sentiments about God, life, and humanity thus remain unable to penetrate the egoic wall of unconsciousness for very long, if at all. That’s why after attending religious services, people so often return to the issues of power, flexibility, or vulnerability playing out in their daily lives, which may involve work, relationships, achievement, health, and so on. For some, a spiritual “honeymoon” occurs, lasting only until the next significant life challenge that inevitably occurs. This challenge pulls them back into the survival focus that often remains at work in the realm of the unconscious ego, and back to a deafness to the voice of their Spirit.

You may be asking several important questions, to which we will respond in turn, such as,

• “Why can’t I hear these voices, and what does it mean to hear them?”
• “Can these voices hear each other?”
• “How do I know when I am hearing them?”
• “Why do I need to hear them?”
• “Do I need to hear both of them?”
• “What will happen when I begin to hear them?”
• “Do I have a voice?”
• “What do you mean by power, flexibility, and vulnerability issues?”
• “What do you mean by spiritual unconsciousness?”
• “Is a higher level of spiritual consciousness available to everyone?”