I N N E R V O I C E: WHAT IS IT? HOW DOES IT EFFECT OUR BEHAVIORS?

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river of joy is moving into you.” -Rumi

I was flying from JFK to Istanbul to attend the World Congress of Gastroenterology and in the middle of my flight, over the Atlantic Ocean, a loudspeaker announcement stated, “We have a medical emergency. Is there a doctor on board? We need your help.”

I hesitated to respond, thinking that I am a retired physician and there must be an active doctor among the passengers. I also recall a doctor friend of mine telling me that the Good Samaritan Law does not always protect you from liability, so I remined silent. 

A few minutes later, the announcement repeated. This time I felt very uneasy, a nagging and uncomfortable feeling started to spread all over my body and mind. An inner voice was telling and forcing me to help a fellow human being in need.

This is the same inner voice, the same “calling” I have had when I decided to become a doctor in thefirst place. I immediately got up and approached the stewardess, declaring that I am a doctor and offered my help. She said, “Thank you doctor but we have to see your license. We can’t carry out your orders or divert the flight without knowing you are a real doctor”.

I was bewildered and said, ”this is nothing more than another bureaucracy, it exists everywhere. I am a retired physician. I don’t carry my license with me. Let me see the patient first, to determine what the problem is and then you can decide what to do.”

She responded, “I have to talk to the captain pilot to see if you are allowed to do that.” And she returned and said it would be ok.

The patient was a slightly overweight 52 year old man who had developed a sudden onset of fever (104.3 F) and chills. He had no fever before boarding. He had no any other complaints - no chest pains or shortness of breath. He was alert and oriented. His pulse was rapid but strong, his blood pressure was 106/66, he was not in shock. My quick physical examination was unremarkable. There was no need to divert the flight.

I was perplexed as to what was the cause of this sudden onset of temperature elevation? Thinking that a middle age man would have some problems with his prostate, I asked him if he has had any prostate or urinary problems?  He said, “yes, I had some tests on my prostate, last week and I was told it was just an enlarged prostate.” It became clear to me this was a case of urinary tract infection (UTI), urosepsis. He was not in shock. All he needed was aspirin, oral antibiotics and increased fluid intake.

When I checked back on him thirty minutes later, his fever was down and he was having some food and drinking water.

On my return home I searched internet about Inner voice (calling). There is confusing information on the internet. Inner voice in not hearing voices, is not auditory hallucinations.Your inner voice is a feeling that originates in your soul, in your being. It tells you what you should do and how to behave.