Clairaudience – Attune to Your Powerful Inner Voice
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Clairaudience is a term that defines our ability to hear the inner voice or higher guidance from the spiritual perspective.
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Clairaudience, or “Clear Hearing” — Understanding the Inner Voice of Intuition
Clairaudience is the ability to hear inner guidance — that still, small voice of wisdom that comes from a higher or spiritual source.
It’s one of the intuitive senses that allows us to receive information through sound or words — either internally (in the mind) or externally (as if from outside the self).
I’m quite clairaudient myself and often hear an inner voice during readings. Over time, I’ve come to recognize its calm, steady tone and the way it always brings through loving, useful guidance.
That said, hearing voices isn’t exactly a common topic of conversation in Western culture!
Yet when we learn to understand and discern this inner hearing, it can become one of the most valuable tools in our spiritual and intuitive life.
Recognizing the Voice — What Clairaudience Is (and Isn’t)
The nature of the voice you hear is what matters most.
If the message feels loving, supportive, protective, or inspiring, that’s a good sign you’re hearing through clairaudience.
If the inner voice feels critical, judgmental, or harsh, that’s not your intuition — it’s your internal dialogue, shaped by early experiences or conditioning.
And if a voice ever encourages you to do something harmful, that’s definitely not spiritual guidance.
A quick way to tell:
- A voice that tears you down is not clairaudience.
- A voice that uplifts, warns, or helps you make positive choices is.
Have you ever had an inner nudge that helped you avoid a tricky situation — or inspired a bright idea seemingly out of nowhere?
That’s clairaudience in action.
Everyday Examples of Clairaudience
In The Angel Therapy Handbook, Doreen Virtue shares some wonderful examples of how clairaudience might show up in daily life:
- Upon waking, you hear your name called by a disembodied voice.
- You suddenly hear celestial or angelic music from nowhere.
- The same song repeats in your mind (or plays on the radio) with a message that fits your situation perfectly.
- A high-pitched ringing occurs in one ear, seemingly for no reason.
- You overhear a stranger saying exactly what you needed to hear (clairaudience + synchronicity!).
- You switch on the radio or TV just in time to catch a conversation that speaks directly to your concern.
- You sense a loved one calling for help — and later learn they truly needed assistance.
- A disembodied voice offers a clear warning or uplifting message.
- You pray for help finding a lost item, then hear where to look — and it’s there.
What I appreciate about Doreen’s list is that it shows how natural clairaudience can be. These moments aren’t necessarily dramatic or mystical — they often arise quietly, woven into everyday life.
Have any of these experiences ever happened to you?
My Own Experiences with Clairaudience
From my own experience, the voice you hear can sound completely different depending on the situation.
Sometimes it sounds just like your own thoughts, and sometimes entirely unlike them. It may even sound like another gender’s voice.
Here are a few examples from my own life: –
- A voice that sounds like my own. These are the most subtle — a calm inner knowing that speaks clearly but gently.
- A man’s voice once woke me. Years ago, I heard a deep male voice say, “She needs to read the book!” I was home alone with my children at the time. I remember thinking, Which book? (There are so many!) Later, I realized it referred to the Book of Life — my Akashic Records.
- A protective voice of guidance. Once, while doing something completely unrelated, I heard an insistent instruction: “Do this now, you need to protect your family.” I even argued back internally! But the voice repeated itself with urgency. I followed the guidance, and it turned out to be absolutely right.
- A guiding voice during healing work. During a kinesiology session for a friend, I began to receive clear, practical suggestions — remedies, essential oils, even homeopathic insights. Over time, I came to understand that this particular voice belongs to one of my Spirit Guides who supports me in my healing work.
Final Thoughts
Clairaudience doesn’t always announce itself with fanfare. It often begins as a whisper, as an inspired word, a warning, or a phrase that arrives at just the right moment.
With time, attention, and trust, you can learn to recognize this form of intuition and understand how your higher self communicates with you.
The more you listen, the clearer that inner voice becomes, and the more it can serve as a gentle compass on your spiritual path.
Did you Enjoy This Post?
I’d love to hear other people’s stories of clairaudience! Rita wrote to me after I wrote this post (click the link to see her post below).
(After this post, a reader shared this fascinating story).
Learn More About The Akashic Records Readings I Offer
Working with the Akashic Records can increase intuition and your ‘clairs’, such as clairaudience.
If you are interested in an Akashic Records Reading, I always recommend starting with the Soul Star Reading.
This reading gives you 3 different immersive experiences of the Akashic Records: –
- Connecting with your Divine Soul Blueprint (Soul-level gifts, talents, abilities).
- Hearing about a Past Life that contains a karmic pattern ready for clearing (you’ll recognize this pattern in your present life).
- Recognizing and clearing present life blocks and restrictions.
If you’d like to know about the different readings I offer on this site, start here>>
To download my free PDF for Akashic Records Beginners, click the button below.
34 Responses
Great post! I have heard my inner voice many times. Too bad it took me so long to listen to it! Songs in my head also happen frequently. Definately going to pick up a few of her books. Thanks!
Thanks Amy,
I agree, it takes practice (as you can see from the article, I even argue with mine!)
I’m sure you’ll enjoy Doreen’s work.
Cheers
Sarah
Oh wow! I didn’t know that all of these were considered clairaudient. Maybe I am clairaudient after all. Since I was young, about 10, I noticed ringing noises in one ear only. Sometimes they were so loud, I could hardly concentrate. I do also sometimes hear very beautiful music – mostly string orchestral arrangements – and I just thought I was imagining things, or making them up in my head. So what do these things mean? What should I do when they happen again?
In my experience Mare the ‘ringing’ is a download of information, or inspiration of some kind. What Doreen suggests is that during or after the experiences, ask for a sign or help deciphering the meaning of the experiences.
Also in my experience, you will get an answer pretty quickly!
Hugs
Sarah
Lovely article Sarah.
I think that however we interpret our internal experience, there is great value in quieting the mind. I operate from the principle that there is a vast reservoir of wisdom within each of us. Whether that wisdom comes from within or without or both, is not, to me, as important as being open to communicate with ‘it’, whichever way that may happen for an individual
Thanks a bunch Steve! .
Enjoying your blog too, there’s some great articles on there. Will be sharing more…
Cheers
Sarah
Clairaudience is a new word for me, and the examples you have mentioned of Clairaudience has never really happened with me!
May be I am not spiritual enough :)!
Hi Debra,
Thanks so much for posting this comment. It’s my belief that we all have preferred ‘channels’ of intuition and that we are very individual in our approach to utilizing these inputs. It may be that a preferred input is more prevalent in one person’s case than another, some people are intensely clairvoyant (clear seeing) and don’t hear messages at all, sometimes it’s just that the request to receive the inspiration a certain way has not yet been made.
For me, spirituality is a practice to open us to a deeper knowledge of ourselves, and in my experience practice has always produced results of some kind.
I would simply suggest that you read this article for a reason, not a coincidence, and spend some time thinking about the questions that came up for you. If you would like to know a little more about intuitive processes, I offer online sessions to assist people in discovering more… and one specifically for intuitive gifts. http://www.newworldenergetics.com/energetics-toolkit/your-intuitive-gifts
Thanks again for responding!
Sarah
LOVE this Sarah. I especially loved your examples since many of them I would not have considered as clear hearing.
Thanks for the clarification. Monica
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I do not know if I have clairaudience abilities, or not. I can only tell you what I experienced and let you decide.
I was singing with the radio, doing my dishes, and out of the blue, I hear this voice. telling me that someone, and it even gives the person’s name, is trying to leave the elementary school, with my daughter. I say out loud, “no, my daughter will not leave with no one, whom she is not suppose to leave with.” The voice, says the same thing to me, but LOUDER this time. I think I am losing my mind, and ignore it.
I go to school, to pick up my children…and my daughter runs up to me, and says, “Mommy, (the person’s name) tried to get me to leave with her today, but I did not”. I could not believe my ears. It was the person that the voice has told me. I drove home, went in my bedroom, and cried like a baby. I said I was sorry for not listening to it, and that from here on, I would. And I do. I thought it was a angel, or a loved one who had passed on, someone who warns me of things. What do you think?
Hi Rita,
Thank you so much for taking the time to submit your story. I have some thoughts about your comment, so I’m going to blog about it!
Wishing you love and light on your spiritual journey
Sarah
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I just stumbled upon your website and read the definitions of a clairaudient. I have had this gift since I was 5 years old. When I was 5 years old, I began to see and hear my spirit guide, little children spirits and sometimes ghosts. With the good comes the bad, I also heard not so friendly spirits. Really nasty ones. I shared this experience with my mother and my grandfather. My mom did not take it so well. She had the house blessed and told me not to speak about my guide nor the spirits talking to me during the night. To top everything off, my mom sent me to Sunday School. However, my grandfather reacted quite differently. He came to my room, as I remembered it, and said that sometimes spirits visit us to play with us and to talk to us because we can see and hear them. That I should not tell people who are afraid of the spirit world. I told him that I seen a strange older man in my closet. He smiled and said, “Is he mean or nice?” I replied, “he just stands there with a halo over his head. He looks ancient and he speaks to me in my head.” My grandfather smudged the room and spoke to the spirit guide and the others not to scare me and to only come around when I feel comfortable. He smiled and nodded. I continued to see my guide but, I also remember seeing fairies and little people. Some people call them leprachauns. I’m not entirely sure of what I saw. But, one day, I mistakenly revealed to me that I saw spirits in the house. She just said: “don’t talk about this anymore.” I knew that she saw them also but, I think she just didn’t want to deal with all of this. Each night, I prayed to god that I wouldn’t see or hear anymore of my guide and spirits and ghosts anymore. Gradually, my prayers were answered. I closed my gift off for good, or at least I thought. Until I started reading spiritual books and listening to spiritual teachers, I wanted to hear and see my guide and the other spirits again. During my second year of university, I read Sonia Choquette’s Diary of a Psychic book and was really curious about meditation techniques, especially the one chapter about how we found her spirit guide, dot. I don’t think this was coincedence. I re-read the passage many times. I practiced the meditation techniques for a month, focusing on a single space on the wall. I blocked out all of the noise and just focused on my breathing and silencing my mind. Finally, one night, I heard: “Hi!” in a man’s voice. My heart felt like someone put electrodes around it and gave it a big jolt. I got up from my bed and darted out of my apartment building down the hallway as quickly as my feet could take me. A minute later, I realized that I was running away from a disembodied voice or slowly going insane. I was wearing a tshirt and jogging pants with no socks in a soundproof apartment complex. Walls were all white and the front door was transparent marked with the a number on it. Don’t recall what number. As I walked slowly back in, I acted as if there was an intruder in my apartment. How crazy was this? I announced to the empty space in my living room that I was coming back and I didn’t want to be bothered. I remember this day like no other.
I have more to say but, I’ll stop there for now. I’ll give more details another time.
Anyways, suffice it to say, I was awakened that day. Ever since that day, I have been hearing my two spirit guides and other spirits loud and clear. What am I doing with this gift? I used to read tarot and give readings but, I have been too busy to pick it up until today.
I just wanted to share my story. I hope this helps you out!
If you wish to contact me and share your experiences, my email is dish25@hotmail.com. Thanks.
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I have always had voices in my head. I have a lot of deja vue experiences, I will occasionally, all of a sudden, have a loud ringing in my ear. I almost died after I gave birth to my son in 1999, I heard someone, in my head, tell me not to worry, i will see my family again I had a calm come over me. I see things move out of the corner of my eye a lot, but put it down to my mind playing tricks on me. Once, when I was younger, I was in bed at night, eyes closed was all of a sudden terrified to open my eyes heard a voice in my head tell me to keep my eyes closed. I was terrified, then all of a sudden didn’t feel scared – opened my eyes. I often feel like someone is watching me or near me, this happens a lot. I hear voices all the time, some directly at me others sound like they are talking amongst themselves. I don’t tell anyone as they might think i am crazy, sometimes I think I am crazy or the voices are just me making it up. I told someone once that I knew one of my best friends were pregnant to my surprise, that friend rang me and told me she was, that was freaky…. I feel I am being protected, very protected, it is hard to explain. When I was a teenager, I tried to commit suicide once, I would have succeeded, but my dad turned up and saved my life, he said he was at work and something told him to go straight home now!!!, when he did he found me nearly gone. am i mad or are these things a special ability????, I need to know as the voices happen a lot….
Hi Samantha,
Thank you for taking the time to reply and for sharing your experiences. We can be sure we are receiving messages from Spirit when they are validated – like the concern your father felt and his immediate need to return home – call it parental instinct or the spiritual – either way a miracle occurred and you were saved.
You can ask for the clair-audience to be calmed down if you need it – pray and ask your inner guidance to only give you messages at certain times of day, or just not as noisily, whatever is your preference!
You may also be clair-voyant (clear-seeing) – seeing things ‘out of the corner of your eye’ is one sign of this. I would highly recommend reading Doreen Virtue’s book ‘How to Hear Your Angels’ for more guidance on how to manage when you are acutely clair-audient. My voices can get quite insistent (and they are almost always right). Remember that voices which are kind, positive and have your best interests at heart are those from Spirit.
Wishing you the best in your life and take care
Sarah
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Hi Sarah, yes I am really reading this page from 2012 in November 2022. I am actually seeking web pages from roughly 10 years ago when I had what I have come to believe was a clairaudience experience, although I have only recently discovered the term clairaudience.
I was sat with my friend and two girls, nothing exciting was happening they were watching a TV show which I really wasn’t interested in it at all.
Suddenly while glancing at my friend I clearly heard his voice, however his mouth did not move. I was perplexed. I demanded that he tell me what he just said. He insisted he said nothing, I actually got irate with him. Once again I demanded he stop messing about and just tell me what he said. The two girls chimed in insisting he said nothing and that I must be imaging things, to the extent one of the girls asked me what was wrong with me.
He then asked me “what is it you think you heard me say”
I told him I heard him clearly say the word “eggs”
Shockingly he said we was thinking about making an “egg sandwich” (eurrgh gross, i do not like or eat eggs lol)
we all fell silent at that moment it seems like even the TV went silent. the silence lasted what felt like a long time. None of us had any explanation and none of us ever spoke of about it again. I have never experienced since, but now I want to find out more about clairaudience, even if what I experienced was something other than clairaudience.
Thank you
Hi Jay
Thanks for leaving your story, sorry it’s taken me a while to respond.
Yes, so tuning into someone else’s mental and emotional energy body can happen when we know them well and we are relaxed. So with the tv watching and hanging out, your socialized ‘logical’ mind had something to do. This meant that your intuition was open and on receive.
Clairaudience can come in many forms, in this case you were experiencing telepathy. I used to be able to do this with my ex (it would freak him out), after I had served dinner for example, I would ‘hear’ with my inside voice what flavor ice cream he would like.
Sometimes we can read people’s intentions from their physical state and micro-movements, this can be more of a visual experience.
With clairaudience, it’s very much auditory, so I definitely agree that is what you were experiencing.
Lots of light, and thanks for leaving a comment!
Sarah
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