Terms like intuition, clairvoyance, spirit guides all get thrown around with a lot of interchangeability, but when we know the difference between the types of guidance —and where it comes from— we are better placed to not only trust it, but follow it. Let’s start at the beginning by discerning the difference between inner and higher guidance.

What is inner guidance?

Inner guidance, as the name suggests, is sourced within us. Inner guidance comes when we connect with our rich inner world —but not just our rational mind, but our feeling, intuitive self.

Intuition Inner guidance comes from our intuition, our wise inner counsel, or what I call our little sage. We can think of our intuition as our internal navigation system, a gentle (or not always so gentle!) push or pull in a particular direction, a hunch or just a vague feeling that we need to make a change, or particular decision.

Four Bodies Also classed within inner guidance is the reams of data from our Four Bodies, or on a technicality, three of the four. Our body’s clues through physical, mental and emotional layers also give us a great deal of inner wisdom about ourselves and our current situation.

Spiritual heart or True Self I often talk about the difference between our head and heart, with our head being the logical, rational part of us and our heart’s akin to the spiritual home of our True Self. Inner guidance, therefore, can also come through our spiritual hearts, the portal to the higher realms, but relayed to us through a physical —or inner—gateway.

Inner guidance comes by knowing ourselves and our bodies,understanding our own needs, wants and desires and also recognising our little sage’s way of guiding us where we need to be.

What is higher guidance?

While inner guidance refers to the wisdom and counsel we glean from our Four Bodies, intuition and heart, higher guidance refers to the guidance we receive from beings beyond our own self. Here, I refer to our Spiritual Support Team, the team of non-physical guiding beings working with us from a higher, non-physical dimension—but this is nowhere near an exhaustive list.

Higher Self This is the version of you that exists on a higher plane or dimension, attached to this particular lifetime. It isn’t bogged down by the physical reality of the earthly plane, nor our mind’s perceptions or duality here. I count it as higher guidance because it exists outside of us, although is very much a part of, or connected to us. Try my Meet Your Higher Self Meditation as a great starting point.

Spirit guides We actually have a range of different spirit guides that make up our Spiritual Support Team. They too exist on a non-physical plane, and are assigned to work with us as we navigate our life’s path, lessons and purpose. They, too, are separate from us, and exist on a higher plane, hence why I class their guidance as higher. Try my Meet Your Spirit Guide Meditation as a great starting point.

Angels, Archangels and Ascended Masters There’s a whole realm where these angelic entities resided and again, they are available to us for guidance and insight. We can call on their wisdom, insight and loving energy.

Deceased loved ones Yes, we can access a realm where we can communicate with our loved ones no longer in physical form, but I do include them here with a word of caution: just because our loved ones have crossed from earth to the higher planes, doesn’t necessarily mean they take on an “all-knowing”-ness we must listen or adhere to. My grandmother, for example, is just as mischievous on the other side as she was here, so I factor that into any guidance or insight I may receive from her.

How to tell the difference between inner and higher guidance

The biggest clue to discerning if you’re receiving insights from inner or higher guidance is by how it feels.

Inner guidance will communicate with us through physical senses —our emotions, physical sensations and/or ailments, through our hearts— while higher guidance often feels once removed.

Inner guidance may be easier to notice or feel, seeing as we are very familiar with our physical senses. Higher guidance, though, often requires our non-physical senses, or what I call the 6Cs.

Clairvoyance (clear seeing)
Clairsentience (clear sensing)
Clairgustance (clear tasting)
Clairailience (clear smelling)
Clairaudience (clear hearing)
Claircogniance (clear knowing)

Many people will dismiss higher guidance because it’s not familiar or possibly doesn’t feel as safe or tangible. When we cultivate our 6Cs, we can best receive our higher guidance.

We can also be on the lookout for other communication from the spirit realm such as dreams, cycles and repetition, signs and symbols, and messengers which we explore in Living Intuitively.

Working with your inner and higher guidance

Which do you receive (or trust) more of; your inner or higher guidance? Start to pay attention to your own insights, how they feel, where they come from and what they are providing insight on.