According to Osho, conflicting inner voices are merely fragments of the mind; don’t trust any of them. Instead, become a witness: watch every voice impartially, without identification, and wait patiently until deep silence arises. Only silence is trustworthy; from it, clarity and right action emerge naturally. Following voices breeds confusion and neurosis, while detached observation creates inner space, integration, and authentic guidance.
When your thoughts argue, don’t follow any—just watch quietly and wait for deep silence, then act from that silence.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
I am always listening to inner voices. But one voice says one thing and another says just the opposite. What should I do?
There are many people here who go on listening to inner voices. These inner voices are just crap. These are just fragments of your mind; they have no value at all. And sometimes you may think that you are listening to some inner guide or you are listening to some master from the beyond -- Master K H, or some spirit, some Tibetan spirit -- and you can go on imagining these things. And you will be simply be fooling yourself. These are all your fragments. And if you go on following them you will go crazy -- because one part will pull you to the north, another part to the south. You will start falling apart. Remember, this is neurosis -- you have to learn to watch all these voices. Don't trust any. Only trust silence. Don't trust any voice, because all voices are from the mind. And you…
Beloved Osho, how can I find out which of the many voices inside me is the one which comes from the real self to guide me? How can I be sure it doesn't come from the unconscious?
It is very simple: none of the voices come from the inner self. All voices come from the mind. When all voices are absent, the inner self inspires you in silence towards a certain action, direction. It does not come in words -- it is just a silent indication. Otherwise it would have been absolutely impossible to find out which one is the voice of the inner self. It is easy because no voice is of the inner self. So when all voices have died down and there is utter silence, the inner self is capable of taking your hand and moving you. That is the moment to be in a let-go, and allow it to take you wherever it takes you. In language we have to use words which do not apply to the inner reality -- for example, the "inner voice." There is no voice -- it is…
Beloved Osho, how far can one rely on one's 'inner voice'?
The thief said, "But one thing let me say first: don't tell me to stop stealing. Because whenever I go -- and I go to mystics and saints and I am a famous thief around here, so they all know -- they immediately say, 'First you stop stealing,' and that I cannot do. I have tried but that I cannot do, so please don't make that condition. Whatsoever else you say I will do." Nagarjuna said, "Then you could not have yet met a mystic or a saint. You must have been meeting ex-thieves; otherwise, why should one bother about your being a thief? Be a thief! -- that is your business, that is not my worry. Just one thing I would like to tell you, and that is: Go, do whatsoever you feel, but be aware, alert. Don't do anything unconsciously, mechanically, robot-like." The thief said, "This is perfectly…
Osho, which is the voice of the mind and which is the voice of the heart? What is the criterion to know? Please explain.
All voices are of the mind; the heart has no voice. Where voices disappear, there is the heart. Silence is the heart’s voice. Emptiness is the heart’s tone. So there is no complication at all. You think one voice is of the heart and another of the mind; you are falling into a great mistake. All voices are of the mind. It is the mind. It is the mind that wants to grasp wealth, and the mind that wants to renounce wealth. The mind is very complex. On one side it says, “Grab it, plunder it, enjoy!” On the other it says, “What’s the point? It’s all insubstantial.” But both are the mind. On one side it says, “Run! Life is only for a few days—win some position.” From the other side it says, “What’s in positions? Look at those who have arrived.” The mind keeps talking to itself, keeps…
Beloved Osho, a few days ago, I heard you say that the voice speaking inside of us is always the mind, so I wonder who in me is hearing this voice. When I try to find the answer, I only find silence.
Pat followed his friend Mike's example and left Ireland to work in England. Though they had since lost contact, Mike had mentioned how easy it was to get a job at Whipsnade Open Zoo, so Pat applied. Unfortunately they had no keeper's jobs available; there was not even the position of a sweeper vacant. "But I tell you what, Pat," the manager said, "the gorilla died a couple of days ago, and what is a zoo without a gorilla? But we have kept his pelt entire; now if you crawl into that skin and take over his enclosure, we will feed and house you, and pay you handsomely as well." Pat had a look over the lovely field that was the gorilla enclosure; he surveyed the comfortable gorilla house, and tested the bed provided. He agreed to take the job. Very soon Pat had become a great favorite with visitors…