Editor’s Desk: Becoming a Better Receiver of Intuitive Guidance

Image source: Detail from Laurie Doctor, “Vessels”, 2015, oil on wood

There are times when I need advice beyond my “normal” mode of operating. It is a time when my list of pros and cons don’t inspire me and consulting with friends does not enliven my heart to leap up with their well-intentioned advice. I feel the fire burning behind me but, truth be told, I’d rather be called ahead by the angels.

In order to do this, I’m emboldened to turn it over to a greater source of wisdom. This turning calls for a shift of my attention from my small, ego-identified self to another source of intelligence. I must ask for divine guidance. Others might call it intuition. Whatever it is called, I believe it’s tapping into a universal flow, or field, of wisdom and knowledge that exists beyond the “local” self. It’s where creative imagination exists.

For example: When my partner of 41 years died in 2013, I found myself situated in the position of “head honcho” of New Dimensions. Although I had worked side-by-side with Michael, I never had the bottom line responsibility of finding the funds to keep it all going.

The job in front of me felt like I had entered the fairytale of Psyche who was given the task of sorting a room heaped full of seeds and grains. As she despairs and wants to give up, a symbol comes to her. Ants. She calls out to them and they come and by morning all the seeds have been sorted.

Using this myth as inspiration, I sent a petition from my heart that I, like Psyche, would be supported. I asked for signposts to show up to guide me. And they came in surprising ways. The first one was in the form of an email announcement for a concert in Berkeley. I was just about ready to delete it because I didn’t want to drive 50 miles to attend a musical event. Remembering my prayer, I hesitated long enough to re-evaluate and decided to go. As fate would have it, sitting in the seat right next to me was someone Michael and I had worked with many years ago. He lived in the Midwest at the time and I was startled to find that he had now moved to the West Coast. He was, in fact, a person who could be of immense help to me in sorting out the seeds of my new position. I had no doubt that spirit had arranged this meeting and was grateful that my heart-mind noticed the invitation.

Here is how I go about building a bridge to become a better receiver to this open-hearted awareness.

1. I quiet myself down with a mindfulness meditation and move my attention down from my head to my heart.
2. I specifically ask for wisdom and guidance and pray that I might recognize the wisdom by being in a state of high noticing.
3. If a word, phrase, or image comes to me I write it down in a journal that is close by. I complete the meditation with a prayer of gratefulness and go about my day, continuing to notice what falls across my path. An invitation may come through email, a dream, a book might draw my attention, the phone may ring. Guidance likes costume parties and may come to advise me in the most unlikely getup.
4. When I recognize the advice, I need to follow through. This creates a stronger bond between me and this more expanded state of consciousness. I’m often surprised by the outcome because it is consistently greater than my expectations.
5. The more times that I experience the effectiveness of this intuitive way of knowing, the more the path to it is reinforced.

I’m convinced that help is available to us and can come in surprising packages. All we need to do is ask. To quote the New Testament, Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”