Spirituality

Listening from Within II

Last week you learned that it can be extremely helpful to spend time quieting yourself and listening to the guidance of your unconscious and/or the directives of God. When you spend time in solitude, you will always learn about yourself. Sometimes, the guidance is about how to treat others which of course applies to what you need to learn about you. The following is a perfect example of what I needed to learn!

One Saturday, my husband and I were doing hard, physical landscaping for over 12 hours. At the end of the day, his back was killing him and I was certainly ready to stop. There had been a picture that I had so wanted on the wall at our new lakefront home and so my husband and his father spent the last 15 minutes putting this picture up—just for me. When his father pulled the picture down it slipped and pulled out a good six-inch chunk of plaster. My husband looked at me and snapped about my need to get everything done right away.

I felt that his reaction was unfair because although I wanted the project done, I certainly had not asked them to do it at the end of the day. Secondly, he had said some unkind things to me. He had made it sound like it was my fault that there was a hole in the wall. I was furious and as a result I went to bed angry and tired. My husband awoke several times moaning about his aching back.

The next morning was my day to listen to God. As I lay in bed and waited for another warm and nurturing message, I heard the following advice: “Take better care of your husband.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. My husband, who genuinely is a nice guy, had been so mean to me the night before. Why should I take better care of him! What about me, I thought. I wanted another nurturing message about me.

Well, I woke my husband up and asked him if he wanted a back massage, knowing that he had done such hard physical labor the day before. He looked at me with that look of, “Who are you and what have you done with my wife!” He knew that he would likely be in the doghouse for his negative reaction from the night before. I smiled, gave him the back rub, and continued with my directive. The rest of the day was spent enjoying each other and appreciating the closeness we felt. How different my day would have been if I had carried that grudge forward! I would never have gone into the morning with such a turn of emotions had I not listened to the guidance that I had been given.

Many people pray for guidance but I find that being still and waiting for direction is by far more effective in creating the life I deserve. Remember…you must find some time to quiet your thoughts and just be.

Your challenge is to spend the next eight weeks designating a day to lie in bed and listen for guidance from God or from a higher power or from that quiet knowing within. If you don’t have a specific faith, then direct it to the universe or to your ability to be a conduit for what you unconsciously need to know. I forewarn you; it is incredibly powerful and will guide you to places that are unexpected. It breaks the chain of relying solely on emotion to make your decisions.