I always learn from all of my students and this class was no different. One student asked a very good question that I'm sure many of you are asking yourself, so I thought I'd discuss it.
He asked, after I was talking about following your spirit's guidance, "What happens when you listen to your gut instinct and it leads you to a bad/wrong decision?"
Well, I answered this in 2 parts... First, your spirit is never wrong! I believe this student has not yet learned to distinguish his ego from his spirit. Second, how do you know it was a bad/wrong decision? Our spirit will always lead us down the path we are meant to go down, but sometimes, we need to learn certain things to progress, and those lessons are not always learned the easy way. Following your spirit is not always easy.
Regarding the first part, the problem comes when you follow what you think is your spirit giving you guidance but it's really your ego. If it's easier to think of it this way, I'll over simplify it just to help clarify my point of view... the ego is your mind. Really, your ego is the left brain and your spiritual guidance comes through the right brain, but it might help to think of it in terms of mind - spirit.
The problem with the ego/mind is that it bases decisions on a set of rules/norms/guidelines that society and our parents/friends have told us is right. These rules/norms/guidelines about what is "rational/realistic/normal/logical" are so ingrained in us that they become our core beliefs and values and we don't even realize what they are anymore but they still subconsciously govern our decisions. When we use snap judgements, we are using these "rules". Often, it feels like our gut instinct, but is really not. This is why it's very important to take an inventory of our beliefs and values on everything. I have exercises to do this if you're interested - email me (meg.rox09@yahoo.com).
It takes time to learn how to distinguish between your spirit and your ego. It's a skill that you need to develop and practice.
Every time I do NOT follow my spirit's guidance, it ends badly. However, following your spirit's guidance is often easier said than done. What makes it more difficult is when your spirit's guidance goes against the "rules/norms" ingrained in us and our ego. For example, I was editing a paper and a thought popped into my head (this is how your spirit can guide you) that I should do a 'save as' a newer version to leave the content of the older version I was working on before I cut too much out of it. I pondered it for a second but my ego quickly dismissed it and I remember thinking, "oh, I don't need any of that old content that I'm cutting out. I don't need to do a 'save as'." Guess what happened? 5 minutes later, I was cutting a big section to paste it somewhere else in the document and forgot to paste it back in before I cut something else and the whole section was lost.
So, even those of us who can recognize when our spirit is trying to guide us, fall prey to the power of the ego to "rationalize" it away.
That's why I always say "listen to your spirit & live your life from it". It will never lead you wrong. I'm sure we've all had moments where we get inner guidance to do something but don't follow it and it ends up badly. (I'd love to hear these stories, if you want to post them in the comments):)
So, you may be thinking, that's great if you can distinguish between your spirit and your ego, but what if you can't? Well, here are some ways to help you better connect with your spirit and the closer you are to it, the more clear the guidance will be. The more often you do these things too, the more clear the guidance will be.
- MEDITATE: This is the main way you get in touch with your spirit. It is also the most important. I'm sorry if you thought there was an easy way to do this "spiritual development stuff" but there is not. I know people who groan when I suggest meditation because everyone thinks it's so hard and that they can't possibly do it well/right or have the discipline to continue doing it. While it can be difficult (my mind chatters more than any of yours I'll bet), as with anything, it gets easier with practice. Also, I wouldn't have been able to really get into it and keep it up if it weren't for taking a class. Just like with exercise classes, it really helps when you have a teacher there pushing you to keep going even when you're frustrated and think you just can't do it. Once you're able to quiet your mind once, it gives you the encouragement/motivation to keep going. For some people (like me), taking a class is the only way to get started. There are also lots of free guided meditations and podcases online. I've recently discovered the easiest and also most powerful meditation. It's a mantra-based meditation and a teacher has to give you a personalized mantra to repeat in your mind as you meditate. I got mine from Deborah King but Deepak Chopra also has this type of meditation and the most well-known of this type is Transcendental Meditation. I highly recommend this mantra-based type of meditation!!! All of the spiritual teachers say it's very important to meditate every day. I do it 20 min. every day and when I don't, I start to feel my ego creeping in (in the form of anxiety and/or stress). Meditation is like church for the soul.
- Journal: Take quiet time every day to jot down your thoughts and feelings of what happened that day. The spirit often speaks to us through our writing and for many, writing is a good way to get in touch with the soul. Don't be afraid. It can be scary to uncover old emotional trauma/garbage or issues but it's necessary for spiritual development (and ultimately becoming much happier!).
- Ask for guidance: Your spirit, as well as all of the spiritual beings around us who want to help us, need to be asked before they can help us (it's a universe rule apparently). They will answer you, but in the beginning (heck, even now for me sometimes) it takes time to get the answer. You have to be patient. The answer will come to you if you are regularly meditating and journaling. If you're not, it's just like prayer. If you pray but don't take time to be quiet and listen for the answer, what's the point?
There are other ways to be closer to your spirit - to be able to live/make decisions through spirit instead of ego - but these are 3 important, major ones to start with.
