Many people in the world today are looking for some form of guidance, either knowingly or unknowingly. They look to others, whether it is an authority figure or peer and may even hire others for life coaching and general advice. What a majority fail to realize is that the answer lies within ourselves.
There is an inner light which may serve to guide us along our life’s journey. This inner light guides us mainly through intuition or a deep sense or feeling when reaching decision points. This feeling is not the passion or rush of excitement that may occur but generally takes the form of an innate knowing or a deeper feeling within oneself. This deeper feeling has sometimes been referred to as a gut feeling - a deep feeling that you know something is right or wrong generally within your stomach or adrenal gland region, regardless of rational evidence to the contrary. This inner light is the spirit which pervades all things, it the underlying spiritual essence, and this spiritual essence may be used as a guide.
Besides our own inner light, spiritual guidance may take external form. External spiritual guidance may arrive in the form of a voice emerging within the stillness of our mind, a physically illumined path among various alternatives, or even an energetic apparition. External spiritual guidance assumes the form which the recipient is most receptive.
An interesting example of spiritual guidance is provided within the book Eye to the Sky by Bobby Norfolk. Mr. Norfolk describes an experience which had occurred while experimenting with energy pills at the recommendation of a neighbor. The result was a short intense burst of energy, followed later by a near heart attack. During the peak of the experience when things seemed at their worst, the following occurred as conveyed by Mr. Norfolk:
“I suddenly felt a soft white light over my back. I lifted my head slightly and saw the white light reflected on the ground. I stared at the reflection and sensed a presence over the bush and myself.
A voice inside my head spoke, ‘You will be fine, but will have to suffer a little more to learn the lesson.”
(Eye to the Sky Page 115)
What is perhaps most interesting in the preceding tale is that the paramedics could not find the presence of poisons or anything that would cause extreme adverse effects despite being monitored within an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and wearing a heart monitor for some time afterwards. The individual who had recommended the energy pills had not had an adverse effect either.
This certainly seemed to be a clear instance of spiritual guidance with a very clear message. Mr. Norfolk took notice and adjusted his future actions accordingly.
Sometimes, and most often, spiritual guidance is much less obvious. It may take the form of seeming coincidences which occur throughout your day. For example, you may receive a gift which has a prominent image of the book cover from The Alchemist upon it. Next, you may notice someone reading The Alchemist within a television program you are watching. Finally, if the first two are not enough to catch your attention and prompt you to action, you may receive a call from your mother who recommends that you read The Alchemist. The divine is likely trying to get your attention and would like you to read The Alchemist, the direct reason for which will likely not be apparent, at least prior to taking the appropriate action.
But how could such seemingly unrelated events line up so perfectly? What are the odds of these events happening within a short period of time? Here it is useful to recall that the divine is not subject to the same constraints of time and space as us physical beings, and therefore the timing of synchronicities may seem impossible to the rational human mind. What is impossible on the physical plane, is accomplished with ease on the higher spiritual planes.
Push aside the arguments of the rational mind and at least consider that such coincidences are actually synchronicities which are likely placed within your path as a prompt to take some form of action. Someone is trying to get your attention, at first subtly and later in a more obvious manner.
An important aspect of spiritual progress is recognizing spiritual guidance in whatever form it may take. Whether it is a nagging feeling or pull towards some course of action, an inner or outer voice, an illumined path, or synchronicities from a variety of seemingly unrelated sources, we must take note and act upon such occurrences. If enough of these messages are ignored, the spiritual presence may leave and move on to a more receptive individual.
Regardless of the form spiritual guidance may take, it is important that you make note of it immediately as it may slip from your mind. A good recommendation is to have a pen and paper handy or an electronic device on which to quickly record such impressions before they slip away. Once recorded, it is important that you take the appropriate action - it very well may change your life for the better!
To explore the subject of spiritual guidance is a deeper way refer to the books Eye to the Sky by Bobby Norfolk and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, both of which are available at the Celestial Source Bookstore.