How You Know
By Alan Cohen

Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
– Carl Jung

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, author of the perennially popular book, The Power of Positive Thinking, was seated on an airplane next to a young woman who struck up a conversation with him. When she discovered that Dr. Peale was a man of seasoned wisdom, she asked him for help with a dilemma.

“I have been dating two men and both have proposed to me,” she explained. “I'm not sure which one to say 'yes' to. Can you help me decide?”

“That's easy,” Dr. Peale answered abruptly.

“Then tell me!” the woman eagerly requested.

“I don't think you should marry either of them,” Dr. Peale stated authoritatively.

“Why is that?” she asked, surprised.

“If you have to ask me who to marry, you're not in love with either of them,” he answered.

When something is right and good for you, it resonates within you in a com-pelling and unmistakable way. You know just because you know – not because anyone or anything outside you has convinced you. Your inner being speaks so loudly and clearly that you do not need confirmation or validation from the outer world.

If you want to know if a potential course of action is right for you, be honest about how you feel about it. If it feels like a fit for you, move with it. If it does not feel like a fit, do not act on it. If thinking about something does not feel good, doing it is not going to feel better. And if thinking about something feels good, doing it will probably feel even better.

Your guidance speaks to you in a way that is unique and meaningful for you. For some people, that knowing brings a sense of peace or relief, like hearing a familiar favorite song. Others feel tingly, bubbly or experience a sense of exhilaration and increased life force. Others feel a visceral sensation, such as goose bumps or the hairs on the back of the neck standing up.

Get to know how you personally experience your inner guidance, and then move with it. Practice doing only those things that match your joy and avoiding deeds that grate against you. Make enthusiasm a prerequisite for action and you will progress to a new level of joy and success in your business and relationships.

If you do not know what choice to make, wait until you receive a stronger impression. Put the issue aside temporarily, ask for guidance from your inner sage and keep listening and watching for signs. You might receive an insight in a dream, hear a key word from a friend, or someone may recommend a book that sounds interesting to you. You may see a magazine ad with a slogan that speaks to you directly. Or you may simply tap into a stronger feeling. Trust your knowing, however it arrives and expresses. Your answer may come immediately, or it might take a while. But it will come in the perfect way and time.

Other people can suggest, counsel and guide, but their suggestions are worthwhile only if they resonate with your inner being. Try advice on for size, and accept only what fits you and enhances your life. Someone, something, some place inside you knows. Admit it, trust it and act on it. You are inherently wise and lovingly guided.

We have been taught that we must search the world for answers, while they live within us. The story is told of the fabled musk dear that searches the mountains and valleys for the source of an exotic aroma. Eventually the deer discovers that the aroma is emanating from itself. Likewise, we do not need to struggle for guidance or spend a lot of time seeking advice. You may receive many opinions from well-meaning and qualified people. Yet since you are the one who must live with your choices, you must make them in accord with your heart. Adopt the position recommended by Dr. Peale to the young woman: If you love it, you know it. If not, let it go and trust that your own shall find you.

This article is an excerpt from Alan Cohen's extraordinary new prosperity book, Relax into Wealth: How to Get More by Doing Less. To order the book or receive his free daily inspirational quote and monthly newsletter, visit www.alancohen.com, e-mail info@alancohen.com or phone (800) 568-3079.