Spiritual Guidance Online

Well we are moving into a New Year which is an excellent time to contemplate 2007 and what gifts it has brought to us.  It is also a time to reflect on what we have intended for the year 2007 and how many of those wishes, desires, dreams and goals have manifested.

And…of course it is also the time to look ahead at what we intend to create for 2008.  Our intentions are powerful.  They are the goals we not only visualize and imagine coming into being in the next twelve months but also the goals we intend to have manifest.  Intention is an energy we bring to the table.  It is the power of our thoughts, our beliefs, our feelings and our actions all working together to bring about the desired goal.

The “law of attraction” made popular by the movie “The Secret” is an important “universal law” for attracting to us what we want in our lives.  However there are many other “universal laws” that are important when we set out to achieve a goal.  The “law of action” for example is often overlooked and is obviously very important in the process of manifestation.

The “law of attraction” is where we visualize in our minds eye what it is that we want to create in our lives whether it is a slimmer, healthier body, a better job, more money, a great relationship, a new car, or a deeper spiritual or personal growth goal such as meditation, prayer, study, or practice of a particular type. 

Any goal we set out to achieve requires we first conceptualize the goal in our minds eye, which is where the “law of attraction” comes in.  We must see it first on the imaginary realm and also be able to feel it and experience it as if it (the thing we want) has already come to us. 

The process of imagining our desired goal does begin to get the energy of attraction in motion.  We see it, feel it, smell it, taste it, hear it, or whatever is required to make it seem real already.  Then we stop, listen and wait for what I call “divine inspiration!”

Divine inspiration is the “call to action” that comes, not from our logical mind, but rather our heart and our soul.  We may be looking for a new job and our logical mind says “read the want ads, send out resumes, go down to the employment office and so on…Yet our heart may tell us to go visit an old friend or head down to the local coffee house for a cup of coffee.  When we follow that inspiration we may learn of a job that is perfect for us and get the information we need to follow up on it.

The mistake many people make, especially with the “law of attraction” is to believe that everything will come to them without effort or action.  The word “effortlessly” is often used to describe how things come to us when we are “in the flow” of our lives.  Yet effort is required to attract to us the thing we want.  We can’t find that perfect job or relationship by sitting on our sofa at home.

For some just getting out of the house may feel like a great effort because it is much more comfortable to sit at home and watch television than to go out and sign up for a new class or look for a new job.  We establish “lazy habits” which keep us stuck in old patterns of behavior.

Although action is required to get what you want in life, “right action” is the key.  You must listen for that intuitive, inner guidance, that still, small voice within and follow it.

You may find yourself in conflict with the logical mind and your intuitive guidance.  This is the common battle between the head and the heart.  Yet when given a choice we must follow the heart.  Especially if it leads us to the life we say we want, which is often a more creative, inspired and passionate life. 

The only time I advise exercising extreme caution when following the heart is in matters of abusive relationships.  Since I counsel survivors of abuse, I know that often the heart says “I love him and I want to be with him” and the mind says “he was mean and abusive to me; I don’t want to go back.”

Usually in these types of cases one is not really in touch with her/his true inner guidance and can’t hear the real voice of intuition because there has been so much confusion for so long.  It is not really “the heart” one is hearing but rather a dysfunctional pattern playing itself out.  The cycle of abuse is a very emotional cycle that produces an incredible amount of “feeling.”  This feeling can be interpreted as “love” or as coming from the heart.  When in actuality it is a heightened state of emotion produced from the positive feedback one receives during the “make-up” portion of the cycle of abuse.

This can also be the case with addictive cycles of any kind such as a workaholism or food addition or drug and alcoholism.  Anything that takes us away from our true-selves, is going to mute out the voice of intuition. 

So when you are working toward producing any kind of goal in your life, no matter what it is; it is worthwhile to ask yourself where you are in your emotional life.  Take inventory of your habitual and dysfunctional patterns.  These are the patterns that are most likely unconsciously driving your life and the results you are having.  These kinds of patterns can override the “affirmations” used for the purpose of attracting good into your life. 

It is said that “affirmations” override the negative patterns and conditioning.  I don’t believe this is always the case.  If your negative patterns are deeply rooted in the subconscious mind, they will find a way to survive until you locate them and deal with them on a conscious level. 

So perhaps this year you may reflect on not only “the thing that you want” but also what patterns of behavior may be preventing you from getting “the thing you want” in your life.  Yes, I’ll admit, this isn’t the feel good, fluffy, fix you may get from all the “positive thinking” material on the market today.   Making change in your life often requires a great deal of conscious effort.  So be prepared to work for the thing you want and never lose sight of your goal. 

Happy New Year!  2008:  The Year Of The Great!

Kaleah