Receiving Guidance

Supposedly all we have to do is "check in" with ourselves in order to receive the guidance needed to chart our life’s course — just look inside to see guidance broadcasted in Technicolor! Yet many people come to me for guidance because they can’t hear an inner voice, receive a vision or feel compelled by greater inspiration. Requests for answers are met with a painful blankness. I too, scurry to others when attempts to receive guidance fall flat. But ultimately there’s no substitute for that wonderful feeling of connection to a clear, compelling directive — just the click we all long for when the road ahead shows nothing.

Lately we need all the help we can get! Existing at breakneck speed, there’s barely a moment to think straight much less hear the refined inner voice of guidance that steers us in the right direction. Caught up in today’s blizzard of karmic challenges, we forget to even ask for guidance, assuming that our lower minds can analyze where to turn next. But logic only references the known. We can’t really listen to what is coming through if we haven’t stepped outside the small box of familiar expectations. Inner guidance interfaces with the mystery and delivers messages that incorporate the unseen unfoldment of the soul’s needs that reflect new growth.

We receive messages everyday but ignore them . Now we must pay attention in order to stay sane in a world vividly transforming in unexpected ways. We’re so distracted by worries, obligations and the storm of stimulation from media/internet that the subtle voice of guidance is drowned out by static. We must focus on our questions/needs, set aside all other thoughts, and clear an internal space of stillness. Pet the dog or cat, gaze at a flower or the sky - anything that relaxes us to open. Use the sound current to galvanize sensors — listen to music, sing a song, chant. Then simply smile and allow the entire body to participate in the process.

We often seek guidance during moments of distress — ironically a difficult time to tune in because emotional turmoil churns up and muddies the Universe’s shepherding clear waters. Deep breathing calms down the nervous system — our finely tuned receiving station — and allows us to feel the subtle openness that flows messages.

Sometimes we discount inner guidance because we don’t like its message, especially if at odds with the conclusions of the lower mind. We may decide to give up on a situation while guidance tells us to keep going. Guidance isn’t ego driven. It’s doesn’t bring messages to reinforce illusions but rather to keep us on course. Guidance serves the Divine Plan — a reflection of the impersonal nature of the Universe that wants only the highest and best, regardless of our temper tantrums, pleas, negotiations and personal agenda.

The most important step in receiving guidance is to remember to ask for it! This request immediately connects us to the higher mind that is linked to a vast system of information/wisdom. It’s not necessary to figure out everything for ourselves. We weren’t put on earth to bumble about with absolutely no help, hints, clues to assist us on this scavenger hunt called our Path. To surrender to a larger sphere of "knowing" through the gesture of requesting guidance brings relief, relaxation and a willingness to be piloted.

We need to be flexible — free from preconceived notions of how guidance should show itself —to prevent being blinded by expectations. Guidance appears in many forms. We fear that if guidance doesn’t come as a clear inner voice, then nothing else counts — as if we’re not plugged in when we can’t hear messages. Guidance doesn’t have to hit us over the head with a sledge hammer. The subtle nature of most guidance forces us to slow down, be quiet, cultivate sensitivity and PAY ATTENTION. I usually ask for guidance, wait 30 seconds and then go off in a huff, frustrated that no one "out there" is listening or at my oblique inability to pick up the message. Receiving guidance requires PATIENCE — the discipline to disallow our victim-based anger to block what is trying to come through.

How do we recognize these chaperoning communiqués? The body’s genius is a true source of guidance. We all bow to the dispatches that come from the guru in our gut. Visceral responses to life are the barometer of that wise presence in the belly that steers us in the optimum direction. Sometimes we get the chills or start "burning up" when guidance grabs us with its truth.

Guidance often startles us awake at night. Or persistent fantasies/daydreams gushing up from the unconscious may be directives insisting on our attention. The Universe may work through someone who unknowingly says just the right thing that steers us to our truth. Messages are everywhere — in books, nature, dreams, from animal companions, on road signs, TV. Or perhaps it’s an overall feeling of pressure — like a force that summons us forward — to broadcast a Divine Directive.

We often distrust internal voices — writing them off as self-fabricated delusion. Sadly we then turn down the volume on these promptings. We must take a leap of trust to open to this inner coaxing. Then we can sift through all internal messages and cull out the rich truth inherent in even what appears to be the most delusional tickler. This frees us from the blank wall that holds a rigid attachment to an annihilating scrutiny that suffocates all guidance.

Inner guidance can be distinguished from unconscious ego agendas by its consistently loving tone, clarity and open-ended quality that doesn’t preclude our own collaborative response to the directive. True guidance is grounded and reasonable even when we’re being lead to make a leap into the unknown. Its counsel feels relevant to our soul’s needs and often brings a refreshing perspective that helps us through dense negativity. True guidance is always positive even when it asks us to examine flaws. Pure guidance is never judgmental, overbearing, hurtful, condemning, critical, harsh or pushy.

When my husband, Zayne, and I first opened our school in 1991 we wondered whether this endeavor was really a part of the Divine Plan or just a crazy impulse that would squander time and energy. Zayne suddenly suggested that we step outside to try to get some guidance. From our backyard we were overcome by an amazingly extensive spectacle of the Aurora Borealis sparkling at us like a big YES sign from the Universe.

To shift from ego-control and allow ourselves to be escorted through life by a Higher Force of Knowing generates true inner security, trust and the sweet well-being that comes from being taken care of by Source. Practicing the art of receiving guidance teaches us that our souls, carefully held in good hands, are on a precisely orchestrated journey into full awakening. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel by mentally breaking trail through life. Why not simply relax and tune in for the latest broadcast from our favorite Cosmic Attendant and follow the instructions that lead us out of suffering into joy!

The Tibetan’s steady guidance illuminates my path with loving crystal clarity. He teaches:

"Guidance is a Force Field that permeates the Earth Plane, infusing the collective consciousness. Everyone is a natural channel designed to be a sensitive receiving device — a birthright for all, not merely a gift for a chosen few. Humankind is hard-wired to pick up guidance from a vast realm beyond the ego. Don’t hesitate to make full use of this vibrational 'radio station.'

"Please increase reliance on self’s own inner guidance. Standard forms of directives from family, religions, schools, society are losing relevance as the new consciousness emerges. Therefore everyone is responsible for checking within for advice. As the new paradigm washes away obsolete guideposts, self must create a relationship with spirit that becomes the central routing resource.

"Be a blank canvas and erase all plans, forgone conclusions and wishes in order to unconditionally tune in to the Divine Messenger. Although guidance is available all the time, few people hear its suggestions. Tune in daily. Make guidance your favorite radio show and keep abreast of the changing times filled with moment-to-moment dramatic directional shifts.

"To TRUST one’s ability to receive guidance signals a shift in perspective — a reorientation to a Higher Chain of Command. Become internally quiet to explore the cascade of information/guidance pouring in right now. To believe in one’s inner guidance is not foolish. Rather, its a sign of wisdom. Remember that self is never alone. Once the ego-controls are relinquished, concentrate fully on developing an internal availability to the energies of guidance as they imprint on self’s consciousness.

"Look for guidance everywhere. Play with it. Unburden by releasing the need to logically validate its accuracy. Guidance often comes in the form of riddles/clues teasing self forward. It also may appear in bold communiqués that leave no room for argument! Guidance increases in clarity and is registered more expeditiously when self surrenders to the understanding that it’s NATURAL to receive input from the Spirit of Love that never leaves humankind in the dark. Guidance always ennobles the path through elucidating the brightest possibility. The Cosmic Switchboard Operators are joyfully hearing all calls for guidance and routing them exactly where they need to go —to the soul’s most beloved teachers, guides, and Masters."