Joan of Arc was just a French peasant girl but she heard the "voice" speak.Following its direction，she inspired the French to drive the English out of Orleans and enabled Charles to be proclaimed king at Rheims.
Jesus heard "the voice of God speak to Him" and acted upon this inner guidance to lead all mankind to higher spiritual attainments.
Abraham Lincoln，in the small hours of the night，during the critical hours of the Civil War，listened to the "voice within" and because of the messages he received arrived at many grave decisions，which saved our Union.
Mark Twain's characters used to talk to him.He heard their dialogue spoken in his mind and simply wrote it down.Mark Twain placed great reliance on his intuitive powers，he believed in hunches，and always listened to "the voice."
To get ideas from your own subjective or subconscious mind，you must be able to make your conscious mind receptive.Of course，we all know it is the conscious mind which reasons，which weighs，which calculates.The subconscious mind does not do any of these things.It simply passes on ideas to the conscious mind.
You have probably heard people say，"Play your hunches." What are these hunches？ Where do they come from？ They come from the workings of the subconscious mind.Psychologists tell us that to put the human mind in a receptive condition，you must relax.If you have ever lain on the massage table and been told by the masseur to relax，then you know what I mean.
Let the body go limp.If you have trouble at first，try it with your arm，both arms，both legs，until the whole body is gone over and relaxed.The mind will automatically let go then，too.When that is accomplished，concentrate on what you want； then hunches come.Grab them，execute them as the little voice tells you.Do not reason or argue，but do as you are told and do it immediately.
You will understand what psychologists，mystics and students mean when they tell you to stop，relax—think of nothing—when you wish to draw on the subconscious and have the little inner voice speak.As you further progress，you will also begin to realize what the seers of the East had in mind when they said：
"Become at ease，meditate，go into the great silence，continue to meditate，and your problems will fade into nothingness."
The road ahead will become illuminated and your burdens will fall away，one by one.Is there anything clearer than Pilgrim's Progress？ My message is no different from that which Bunyan conveyed there.Only，as I have said before，I am putting it to you in different words.
The "voice within" can guide you，asleep or awake，if you train yourself to rely upon it.A young housewife in Fort Worth，Texas，was awakened one night with a feeling of great urgency.The "voice within" told her to get up and look about the apartment.Her husband and baby were sleeping，everything appeared to be all right，but she couldn't get over this uneasy，apprehensive sensation.To quiet her nerves，she got out of bed and found herself directed to the bathroom.Nothing seemed to be wrong but she felt impelled to flush the toilet.The instant she did so，hot water rushed out，followed by clouds of steam.The pipes began to pound.She aroused her husband and he phoned for help just in time.Something had gone wrong with the thermostat control in the basement，and had this not been discovered，the boiler would have blown up in the next few minutes and wrecked the entire apartment house！
Follow the urgings of your voice
Give heed to your hunches when they come，whenever they come.Don't turn a deaf ear to the "voice within" Your inner mind is aware of conditions and things that your conscious mind knows nothing about.
You've heard people say，"Something told me that I should beware of that person or I should have done this or shouldn't have done that...but I didn't pay any attention until it was too late，I wish I'd followed those hunches and feelings now.”
It's there—"that something"-trying to serve you in many ways，if you will let it.A widow who wanted to find the right man and marry again had the urge to leave New York City and go to California and buy a home.She went to visit friends in Long Beach who took her around to property that was for sale.She fell in love with a house owned by a widower who，in turn，fell in love with her.Instead of buying his home she married the widower，and got the home，anyway.They are one of the happiest married couples today that I know.In this case，the "voice within" led her three thousand miles to bring her an answer to her desire.
But don't you travel three thousand miles，expecting to find romance，unless you get the same clear direction which came to this woman.Your romance may be right around the corner from you，waiting on a bus，in a store，in a dentist's office，a park，a library，at a social occasion.But if you picture meeting the right man or woman for you，strongly enough and persistently enough，you will get the urge to be at the right place at the right time so that the two of you can be brought together.Remember！ Like always attracts like！ And someone is looking for you just as eagerly as you are looking for him or for her.Since your subconscious minds are not limited by time or space，you'll make contact，sooner or later，and the "inner voice" will tell each of you，"He or she is the one for me."
You do not actually "hear" the voice within
Occasionally I meet men or women who tell me，in all seriousness，that they "hear voices." This is quite different from the "voice of guidance" and is often the sign of a hallucinatory condition which they have developed through some emotional upset or nervous affliction.Such a state is not to be desired and should be guarded against.
These voices are so "real" to the people who hear them that they are convinced they are either obsessed by some disincarnate entity or some real-life individual who has designs on them.When this condition exists，they are usually terrorized by it.
