Author: Beth Page 10 of 12

Day 24: Next Steps

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On 2014-03-27

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance helps you see beyond your circumstances.  It gives you a vision you know in your heart of hearts is attainable even if you’re not sure how or why yet.  Divine Guidance credits you for the small things you do as well as the medium and large.
Ego tries to block you from seeing beyond your circumstances or gives you an unattainable grandiose goal.  It tries to either discredit you and your goals or use them in a way to put yourself or others down.

I certainly get how ego veils the simple with confusion. I see how it makes the “next steps” seem even bigger and more impossible than they are…maybe even by obscuring the actual smaller “next step”. It throws up rules and regulations and fears of consequences to keep us in line.

The thing about Divine guidance is that, even when I’m not sure what to do to make a particular vision a reality, I feel happier just thinking about it and therefore happier about everything. I feel at peace and accepting of what is.

Ego makes the circumstances seem so dire and the situation seem so dark, but Divine guidance is full of possibility and opportunity.

Day 23: Grace

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On 2014-03-26

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance works with you and accepts you where you are.  It gives you step by step directions it knows you can handle from where you are comfortable, even if it makes you reach or stretch a little.
Ego knows your fears and weaknesses and tells you that you must overcome these in order to fulfill your purpose.  It tries to trick you into thinking you’re not good enough, or your not ready because what you want is out of reach. 

I think the beauty of this pairing is in the first line. Whether or not we are accepting of ourselves, Divine guidance comes from that which always accepts and understands where we are. That is grace. We can be experiencing the deepest negative hell, unable to receive the tiniest smattering of light, and it matters not to guidance. Our guidance is persistently attempting to penetrate us with light, perhaps even more so in those darkest times. It does not forsake us. There is no one so lost that they lose this grace.

This is counter to so much of our programming. Yes, we hear about the unconditional nature of Love and profess to believe it while at the same time we hold so many beliefs, even as spiritually aware beings, counter to this truth. Instead, we tell ourselves we deserve what we’ve brought on ourselves, that we must pay our karmic debt, that we are somehow flawed, thick, and forgettable. Or we look at other and think, “What chance does he have?” Rarely do we take the perspective that maybe we are in process of purification in which the stored poisons and misconceptions of the mind are simply coming up to be released, and that no matter how dark or painful, our angels hold our heads as we purge.

I resonate deeply with the last line as well. I recently went through a confusing time feeling like I had no idea what I wanted anymore. I felt utterly directionless. Somehow I realized I didn’t know what I wanted simply because I believed the ego’s story that I wasn’t going to get what I wanted (I was so very close to getting it!). The tricky ego made me stop wanting altogether and then blamed me, “You don’t even know what you want anymore!” This was robbing me of my ability to dream, shrinking my light and killing my creativity. I believe it was grace that helped me see through and past this trap The instant I realized what was happening, confusion evaporated. I knew exactly what I wanted again, and I took steps toward making it reality, once again feeling empowered by possibility and the energy of my own drive.

Day 22: Realign

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On 2014-03-25

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance brings you closer to truth, love, healing and your life purpose.  It lifts you up and gives you peace or enthusiasm about yourself and the truth, love, healing or life purpose you are working toward.
Ego tries to block you from your truth, love, healing and life purpose.  It may try to disguise these blocks as “necessary” or “logical” even though they appear out of the blue and have a fear based feeling to them.  Ego drains you, discredits you and makes you feel like “what’s the use?”  The closer you get to your goal, the more ego will object!

This is only one pairing, but several things seem to be mashed together. What stands out? For me, it’s the last line: the closer you get to your goal, the more ego will object. I’ve found that to be very true.

It’s quite ironic. My ego is often more invested in my failure than in my success. You think it would be the other way around. You think ego would want to puff itself all up with us getting what we wanted. Instead, it always keeps the goal out of reach. Is it because it fears the end of its usefulness should the goal be met? And why does it try to prevent change? Wouldn’t it feel more useful if it were having to help a person navigate novel experiences and challenges? Who needs a mind when one lives by rote? Yet, ego seems to prefer the familiar…or at least making things so complicated it gets to work overtime to never, ever reach a solution. It’s quite ridiculous and a sign of just how demented the ancient program is. This alone makes me want to cry out, “What’s the use?”

In fact, what’s the use of catering to the ego’s fearful, limiting perspectives? If the damn thing is going to block us from love, truth and purpose, why give it any airtime whatsoever? Why not devote every ounce of energy into freeing ourselves from its insidious tricks and plots? Since I started working with these ideas 22 days ago, egos ways are certainly becoming more and more obvious and transparent.

So I question every feeling of fear. I question everything that feels impossible. I question every voice that says, “never” or “can’t.” I question the completely rational. I realign with all that brings peace, enthusiasm, and excitement. I realign with my gifts and everything I love. I realign with joy. The closer I get to the goal, the more important it becomes to sing louder to drown out the useless noise!

Day 21: Spiritual vs. Physical

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On 2014-03-24

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance opens up your heart, flows through your chakras, expands or calms your energy.
Ego will open your fears, drain or block your chakras and suck your energy.  It has a very nervous, toxic, negative feel to it.

I asked someone whether he thought it was more important to live to honor the spiritual or the physical. He gave me what I at first thought was the cop-out response: both. But then, the more I listened, I began to question my own either/or orientation. Why must anything and everything in life be black or white, one or the other, spiritual vs. physical? Why not both?

I mention this for two reasons. First, it just happened so it’s fresh in my awareness. And two, my habitual either/or thinking is a sure fast-track to feeling drained, blocked, and zapped.

Of course, when I asked my question, I already knew my answer was “spiritual”; it is far more important to honor the spiritual. But what a laugh! Who came up with that idea? The physical IS the spiritual. We are spiritual beings but we are in the physical world. They really aren’t two different things, but as long as they “appear” to be, the only way to live in balance is to honor them both.

Day 20: Judging and Comparing

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On 2014-03-23

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance doesn’t judge or compare… yourself, others or God.  It shows you people as inspiration.
Ego is always judging, always comparing.

This seems a rather obvious and well-stated pairing to me. While the ego is forever at work interpreting stimulus in order to place me and others on the continuum of better or worse (see competition), Divine guidance uses the exact same stimulus to inspire new ideas and approaches.

What else needs to be said except maybe how to stop paying attention to the ego’s games? There are articles (1) already written about that, but I suggest a Four Agreements approach.

The Four Agreements, written by don Miguel Ruiz, reminds us:

1. Don’t Make Assumptions
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
3. Always Do Your Best
4. Be Impeccable with Your Word

The more these principles are incorporated into my own life, the less likely I am to fall asleep and under the influence of a judging and comparing mind. Perhaps the third is the most important in regards to today’s pairing. If we’ve done our best, that’s that. When we accept that about ourselves, we are more generous with others. They’ve likely done their best as well.

Day 19: The Right Track

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On 2014-03-22

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance is always respectful, even when dealing with a truthful situation
that may need your attention to change.
Ego is disrespectful…to yourself, others and even to God but tries to convince you otherwise.

I guess that voice that says, “Stop it, you idiot! What the f*&$ are you doing?” isn’t Divine guidance, then? Joking aside, and as I’ve said before, I don’t think Divine guidance speaks to us in words, though it can certainly influence them. I think Divine guidance is more apt to use the emotional body to get its message across though. It can show us how we have misaligned and stepped out of integrity by bringing into our awareness those subtle or even not so subtle turns in the gut. We know we are misinterpreting reality somehow…not facing up to something…because we just don’t feel at peace…we know we’re not on the right track.

Everything that ego stirs up…confusion, frustration, attachment…these uncomfortable things become the sign posts that we’ve been on the wrong track. It’s a built-in mechanism within the illusion to let us know when we are identifying too strongly with illusion: suffering. There is no accusation. There is no judgment. There is just an increased feeling of separation. If we can just train ourselves to see it, trust it, and instantly realign, we’re back on track. Easier said than done, perhaps. But like anything, it just takes practice.

Once we wake up to the message, then we can ask for more information. Maybe this is the trickier bit. The mind will want to interpret the message and bend it to its preconceptions and habits. It will want to blame someone that we haven’t yet been able to change what needs changing. It will play its usual role. Maybe the best approach, at this point, is a prayer:

I know something must change, but I don’t know what or how. Please guide me to take the next step.

Day 18: Competition vs. Collaboration

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On 2014-03-21

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance sees people as divine beings, equals and counterparts, there to learn, grow and teach with you.
Ego sees people as competition, better or worse than you.

I’ve always hated competition. It’s practically the foundation upon which school and our early domestication is built. There are spelling bees, tests, debates, tryouts, and cliques. Everyone is jockeying for position. I could never understand how certain people seemed to thrive on it. It is more in my nature to collaborate, but having no choice in the matter if I wanted to be part of something, I would enter the ring full of anxiety, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but always at the mercy of an authority who told me there was only room for one winner. Winning was often no joy either, as it incurred the wrath of those who used it to abuse themselves for having lost.

This early training reinforced for me the idea that in all things, only competition was possible. There was no such thing as collaboration; that was just a now foggy concept in my head. I think it is one of the reasons I’ve always been drawn to the unusual and novel. If there was less competition, after all, then I wouldn’t have to compete. I could avoid all the unpleasantness that competition brings out in people.

Eventually though, things would catch up with me; the novel would become popular. I would feel threatened, jealous and defensive, and mad as hell at myself because somewhere deep down I knew it wasn’t supposed to be like this. The jealousies and defenses of others weren’t all that pleasant an experience for me either! Why were we doing this to ourselves?

Thankfully, an angel helped wake me up, and it changed my life. This angel helped me to understand that I couldn’t manifest a vision I was nursing all by myself and delivered unto me the renewed dream of collaboration.

This began a chain-reaction healing in me. I had, at first, to face all my misplaced faith and the emotions that misplaced faith had been feeding over my lifetime: possessiveness, jealousy, envy, fear, control, and a need for specialness. It wasn’t easy. It was painful, but it was the kind of pain I knew was going to bring me treasure.

I didn’t want to suffer with such feelings anymore. I wanted another option. If nature had room within itself for everything, then why couldn’t I align myself with nature and make room inside myself for both myself and others? How could I alleviate the suffering of others who might have felt in competition with me and include them instead? Maybe I could, and maybe I couldn’t, but I would take steps to try. I wanted to nurture people’s gifts, not feel threatened by them. I wanted to collaborate! Ah!

We all bring something unique to the table. We all have a right and a reason to shine. When we do it together, our light is even brighter. When we need to maintain our specialness, when we need to stand out over and above one another, when we believe that another’s light can eclipse our own, we are asleep to our own magnificence. It not only keeps us from doing greater things, it keeps us from so much joy, possibility, fun, and love. This is truly one of my life’s greatest lessons, one I am eternally grateful to that angel!

Day 17: Sharing & Helping

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On 2014-03-20

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance prompts you to share and help others, and you do so gladly.
Ego again says, “all or nothing,” or tries to make you believe there isn’t enough to share.  When you find something or someone that needs help, ego tries to convince you that you can’t help.

For 16 days, I have had no writer’s block about any of the pairings…not until today. I’m not sure why I have so little to say about this. Maybe this pairing is really two different things smashed together…sharing and helping…and I can’t figure out how to respond because of it. Besides, I wrote about service just the other day, so this strikes me as a bit redundant.

Maybe the concepts “sharing” and “helping” are very much entangled for me with Catholic guilt trips and manipulation, and that’s why I feel uninspired. I don’t know. Then again, maybe it’s just a non-issue.

I guess I’m not one to go out of my way to help someone; when I do, I often regret it. I prefer to act in those spontaneous moments of finding myself in a position to be useful. I’m just in the right place at the right time with the right tools. It all unfolds effortlessly.

As the youngest of five children, all with big appetites, I was conditioned to protect what was mine. With my brother in the house, there was never enough milk, that’s for sure. That boy could drink a gallon at one meal! But of course, over time, I’ve come to realize that I can share and actually feel like I have more. But sometimes, I don’t want to share. So what? Big deal? In those moments I have a choice. Is it in my integrity in that moment to act from a more generous place and overcome my resistance, or it it to honor this little me that wants all her cookies?

Day 16: Joy without Accomplishment

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On 2014-03-19

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance wants you to revel in your accomplishments and take joy in your abundance.
Ego tries to make you feel guilty and undeserving.

Ego loves to play along the continuum of self-importance of either making us completely insignificant, guilty and undeserving or, through delusions of grandeur, making us over-confident, arrogant, and entitled. Though there are perhaps “healthier” places along that continuum, we remain subject to the whims of ego given the circumstances of changing situations.

For example, while the voice of love — a “redeemed” aspect of ego (and whether ego can or can’t be redeemed we’ll just set aside for now) — allows us to revel in our accomplishments, it doesn’t free us from the authority of voices. Rather, it reinforces our dependency and again leaves us subject to the changes in the weather. It is still driven by thought and therefore vulnerable to faulty interpretations.

Divine guidance is offering us a much better package. I would go so far as to say Divine guidance just wants us to revel period in joy without accomplishment! To enjoy life regardless of whether or not you’ve done something deemed worth celebrating. Either that or to celebrate every accomplishment…like waking up each morning. When we remember and credit the true power behind such accomplishments rather than entertain a distorted view of our own importance, as long as we remember gratitude, we’re off the continuum and on the “right track.”

Day 15: The Gift of Service

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On 2014-03-18

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance often comes from a place of love, peace, and service, and prompts you to act in service to others.
Ego says, “It’s all about ME!” and doesn’t care how your actions affect others.

The ego’s immature cry, “It’s all about ME!” is one of those funny little paradoxical statements along the spiritual path. Eventually, responsibility is accepted, the veil drops and you realize, “Oh shit! It IS all about me!” Those of you who’ve been there know what I’m talking about! That’s what this pairing brings to mind.

When I get obsessed with my problems and worries, pulling my head out of my butt long enough to do something, anything, for someone else often helps me to realign and feel better. It may sound trite, but on my daily list of things to do is “do something for someone.” Just by having this on my list, I find myself more aware when the opportunities present themselves to act. And it’s fun. It might be taking the time to share someone’s post on Facebook with my audience, it might be sending a message of appreciation, or it could be giving something away. I don’t even really have to know the recipient. I just have to be willing to go a little out of my way and comfort range. It’s like working a muscle. Lately, I’ve been doing things for people even when I feel jealous, selfish, judgmental or scared. I’m not doing it to prove anything to anyone but myself, and to stop identifying so much with petty feelings and thought-forms. The more I act in accordance with how I want to behave in the world, the easier it becomes…

Service is really a gift we give ourselves.

Day 14: Yes

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On 2014-03-17

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance will give you a feeling of “Yes, that’s it. I knew that’s what I should do.”
Ego throws out nondescript suggestions that leave you feeling fearful and/or confused.

The keyword here to me is “feeling”. A feeling of “yes” is so much more reliable than a string of words trying to tell me what to do. Trouble is, at various times in my life, I have not been able to access that feeling, not because “yes” wasn’t the answer, but because the yes was so obscured by fearful and confused thinking or even a byproduct of that thinking. Sometimes, the only thing I could do was suspend belief entirely and wait it out.

I think these times come to us for a reason. They illuminate things we’re ready to see…like the depth at which the ego operates and controls and therefore the extent to which it blocks the Source. But what a challenge it can be to come out the other side!

When we face the layers of the split within, the deeper we go, the more painful (however fascinating) it can be. The more insistent becomes the voice of fear knowing all to well it is on its death bed. It pulls out every stop, kicking and screaming. If we lose our vigilance, if we succumb, we can fall very much asleep again, blanketed in the comfort of the familiar. Here, the “yes” we hear or even feel is simply relief…an “amen” that we still exist, our belief system intact.

The spiritual warrior does not cease. The spiritual warrior uses the sword of doubt to cut through this matrix until the “yes” that resounds is the only pure thing remaining. Sometimes we have to let go of everything in order to hear it…yes, even our most cherished concepts.

Day 13: Peaceful Easy Feelin’

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On 2014-03-16

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance has a peaceful or positively charged energy or feel to it.
Ego drains you, fills you with fear and negativity.

Today’s pairing certainly holds no secrets. Perhaps the only caveat it that ego can masquerade itself quite well as peaceful and positively charged. I dare say, we see this far too much in a world where the idea of “being spiritual” has been hijacked by the ego. You know it when you see it…everything is sunny, sunny, sunny even as the teeth break from clenching the jaw with emotions one “no longer has”. So it seems to me, ego can just as well fill us with over-confidence and and the muddy waters of denial.

Once we get through resistance, or once I do anyway, I begin to feel genuine peace again, not one that comes over me like a white cloud but one that reappears like the sky. It had always been there–just obscured. And even if I don’t know the answer to my immediate questions, it no longer matters. All is right with the world.

Day 12: Are My Numbers Up?

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On 2014-03-15

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance may assign specific goals to work for, such as “sell 1,000 books,” but won’t use that number as a way to assess judgment or failure.  It merely keeps you moving in the direction or your goal.
Ego assigns numbers as a way to control, manipulate and judge you and others.  These numbers are often difficult or impossible to achieve.

Woohoo! An aspect of ego that I don’t frequently get tussled over! Or am I kidding myself? I love numbers. I find them quite magical. But is my state of being subject to the influence of self-inflicted numbers?

I guess I have been known to obsess about the number of dollars in my bank account and often use it to determine what I can and can’t do. I also notice when when the little Amazon statistic line of my book starts making a downward trend, I always feel a little deflated or likewise over the moon when it shoots up unexpectedly. I suppose I’ve also fallen prey to comparison based on numbers, too. Is he selling more books than I am? Does she have more Facebook likes on her post?

So, yes, I guess ego does use numbers to keep me in a slightly elevated state of anxiety, the better to control me with, my dear.

It’s interesting. The more I think about it, the more I see how deeply ingrained this tendency is in our society. We judge businesses by how big they are, not often by what really matters like do they care about anything other than the bottom line. We judge authors by how many books they sell and movies by box office sales numbers. As a result, we miss entirely those rare gems that could change our entire perception. We determine whether someone is rich or poor based on numbers as well…failing entirely to see that a state of mind can have so much more to do with it than their income. Numbers blindside us…or at least the interpretation of them does.

Can I imagine living free of this tendency? I could stop counting. It wouldn’t be about the number of times I repeated a mantra but the mantra itself. How much something cost wouldn’t be my final determination in whether something was worth it. I wouldn’t be put off my how many days or even years something takes. The number of mistakes I’ve made wouldn’t indicate anything, nor would how often I make the same one over and over indicate the likelihood that I’d do it again. The numbers wouldn’t matter. All that energy could then be directed away from counting and focused towards the goal itself.

The Count from Sesame Street could just cut right to the “Ah, Ah, Ah!” and we could all sit down to a big piece of 3.14.

Day 11: Divine Timing

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On 2014-03-14

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance has its own time.  It may set gentle guidelines but the focus is on taking step after step.  If you don’t meet the goal time, Divine Guidance helps you keep going in that direction anyway.
Ego sets artificial timelines and says you’ve failed if you don’t meet them, tries to convince you to give up.

A more experienced ego than mine on the topic of timing would be difficult to come by. I am the queen of impatience, a title I’d gladly give up for a little peace of mind if only things moved a little faster! Actually, there is some irony in this because I can be very patient in some settings. As a teacher, I’ve been praised for my patience. Maybe it was learned. But my unfortunate natural tendency is ‘now!’ Still, I set timelines like everyone else around projects, but if i don’t meet them, I don’t just abandon the goal. I have two books under my belt to prove my tenacity.

Rather, the voice of fear simply uses the concept of time and my impatience to hurl me into negative thinking, doubt, and criticism…things like, “Why isn’t this happening/done yet?”, “What is wrong with this idiot…it would take 30 minutes!”, or “Must I do everything myself to get anything done?” And then my blood pressure rises along with my anxiety, and I begin to feel ill. Then it says something really helpful like, “You are so damn impatient!”

The voice of love reminds me that everything is happening in the perfect time. It makes clear to me the falsehoods I am thinking. It redirects me towards trust and tells me to breathe and be patient. It tells me I am doing what I can and doing my best…as is everyone else.

Now, Divine guidance, that is timing itself…divine timing. It is the gear works in the clock of the cosmos. It is acceptance without trying to convince myself of anything. It is what is…even the energy of impatience that arises within me. Too bad I still take that personally; time must be running out for that.

Day 10: Coming to Terms

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On 2014-03-13

In Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance works within the realm of what you know you can do.
Ego throws the seemingly impossible at you and sets conditions you know you cannot meet.

10 days ago, I was so sure this was a good idea. It may still be, but honestly, I just feel more confused than ever. And I wonder if the premise of my explorations is at fault. Perhaps I failed to define the terms from the very beginning…but then, the whole point of doing this was to come to a better understanding of the terms!

I feel the need to reiterate my earlier declarations that I’m not into ego-bashing. We absolutely need ego to not only survive, but thrive in this three dimensional reality. What this daily meditation has clarified for me then is that there are two sides to the ego…the harsh, judgmental, sabotaging side and the loving, hopeful, encouraging side which I’ve called the voice of fear and the voice of love.

Divine guidance then, is something beyond these voices. And herein lies my quandary; I don’t think the author of the pairings I’ve been using had drawn this same distinction.

But maybe it doesn’t ultimately matter. It’s all making me think and question what I think I know or knew.

For example, until recently, I’ve been a very strong proponent for the “we create our reality” movement. But lately, I am more of the “we create the perception of our reality” persuasion…which I know will drive many people I know absolutely crazy. Which makes me think, maybe we’re all here for different lessons. Maybe some of us need to learn about directing everything and manifesting the ideal life and some of us are here to let go, let go, let go. Maybe we go back and forth.

Day 9: Goals and Purpose

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On 2014-03-12

In Blog, Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance is repetitive and straight forward.
Ego throws things at you out of the blue and tries to derail you from your original divinely inspired goals and purpose.

This is certainly an interesting pairing. In my experience, Life does an equal portion of throwing things at me from out of the blue, sometimes altering my sense of goals and purpose, sometimes reinforcing them. Maybe the key phrase above is “original divinely inspired.” But this idea that we can live anything but our purpose makes no sense to me…that we can take a “wrong” turn and end up on the “wrong” path. How can there be anything but reality, as Byron Katie might say. Seriously, how can something that is meant to happen not happen? Isn’t the repetitive and straight forward nature of Divine guidance just because it is what is? Or is Divine guidance something else entirely?

I feel like I’m walking a labyrinth with this exploration. Sometimes, I feel so close to nailing Divine guidance, and other times I feel like I couldn’t be further away.

Day 8: Divine Guidance & Free Will

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On 2014-03-11

In Blog, Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance is often very simple.
Ego tries to make things seem complex.

This morning on Facebook, I came across a post by Mooji, that speaks to the idea of free will. It went like this:

Q: Mooji, you say we don’t have complete free will. I disagree.
M: For instance?
Q: For instance: If I wish to climb this tree, nothing can stop me.
M: Can you climb it now?
Q: No.
M: Why not? It would demonstrate your point very well.
Q: Well, I don’t feel like it right now.
M: What makes you feel like it? Do you have any choice in that?
Q: No
M: Then where is your free will?

~ Mooji

I love this story. I love it because it demonstrates so well the simplicity of guidance vs. the complexity of ego. Guidance inspires us to either climb the tree or not. It is the ego that would question our motivations, the timing, the consequences, and whether or not we’ve made a good decision. It would berate us for not being ready, for not taking charge.

We are so sure we have some say in the matter when it comes to what we do and when we do it. Do we? Do we really “create our realities” or do we merely choose how to respond to them? What if our only power lay in our responses alone to accept what is handed to us by higher intelligence?

If I “decide” to stop eating bread, is that a free-will choice? And does the answer depend on whether or not I actually do stop?

The nonexistence of free will presents an interesting question and one worth considering, because if it is true, there is a lot less to worry about, a lot less effort to expend, and a lot less to beat one’s self up for.

)

Day 7: Divine Guidance

By

On 2014-03-10

In Blog, Guidance & Inspiration, Self-care

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance will help you improve areas which will bring you peace and take you closer to your purpose by giving you doable step by step instructions, one piece at a time. Ego causes discord and wreaks havoc on your thoughts and emotions.  Instead of helping you take proactive steps, it paralyzes you in fear with an all or nothing approach.  Instead of baby steps, Ego says you have to jump off the cliff to make it happen.

Now that I’ve come to the conclusion that Divine Guidance doesn’t rely on language to communicate with me, I want to tweak today’s pairing to read that it will “…take you closer to your purpose by revealing one doable step at a time toward the goal.” Divine Guidance isn’t going to hand me an outline to execute. It isn’t going to expect anything from me, either.

Ego, on the other hand, can take the information from my guidance and then run with it. It might decide to be helpful and create something totally practical and achievable, bringing to mind past accomplishments that can bolster my thoughts about it all…or it may play its tricks, making me feel like it all has to be done at once, the surest road to chaos and failure. And for good measure, it can remind me that I’m not good enough, but that if I don’t get it done NOW, everything will be ruined. So get to it!

So, Ego may assume the voice of love or the voice of fear. This is the premise I’m now working from, rather than thinking these two things come from two different sources. They are both language driven…they just tell two different stories. Divine guidance, on the other hand, transcends all that. That’s my take.

 

About the Author:

Beth Ciesco is your Selfcare Specialist, a certified yoga teacher and meditation facilitator. Check out the rest of the website to learn more about Restorative Healing Yoga, Mirror Meditation, E-Motion Alchemy, and Voicework as capital S Selfcare tools. You can also follow her on these sites:

❤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinemetime/
❤ Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/tranquilliving
❤ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DivineMeTime

Vocal Play: Spring Cleaning!

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On 2014-03-09

In Blog, Self-care, Sound & Vibration, Vocal Toning & Meditation

pinwheelEvery Spring, many minds turn to the practice of spring cleaning, clearing out the closets, dusting in all the nooks and crannies of a home, and making things sparkle!

Why not do the same inside? Our bodies and minds could use a good cleansing after this rather challenging winter, don’t you think?

Winter is typically a time of reflection and hibernation. We’ve taken inventory and hopefully come to a clearer understanding of what is worth keeping and what has to go. Now, tiny buds emerge and new colors pop into our awareness as we prepare for the re-emerging of dormant life.

Vocal play is a perfect selfcare tool for clearing out and making space for what wants to emerge from within you. So set aside 10, 15, or even 30 minutes, go outside into the sun, and have some toning fun. Choose a vowel with a vibration that resonates for you with the sweeping out of dust and debris of the winter. Maybe for one person that is “SHHH” sound. Maybe for another, it’s an “EH”. Give the byproducts of your toning to the earth for recycling; she knows what to do with it.

When that process feels complete, tone for the joy of Spring! You can tone to a tree you encounter on a walk, tone to the little bulb sprouts popping their heads into the day, or simply breath in this fresh promise of spring and exhale an “AH!”

Enjoy!

 

About the Author:

Beth Ciesco is your Selfcare Specialist, a certified yoga teacher and meditation facilitator. Check out the rest of the website to learn more about Restorative Healing Yoga, Mirror Meditation, E-Motion Alchemy, and Voicework as capital S Selfcare tools. You can also follow her on these sites:

❤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinemetime/
❤ Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/tranquilliving
❤ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DivineMeTime

Day 6: Divine Guidance vs. The Voice of Love?

By

On 2014-03-09

In Blog, Guidance & Inspiration

An ongoing personal exploration of Divine Guidance and distinguishing between the voice of fear and the voice of love reflecting on the article, How to Distinguish Between Divine Guidance and Fear/Ego/Imagination, on Sir Froggie’s PositiveNews Network .

Today’s pairing is:

Divine Guidance gives you positive feedback, yet lovingly helps you in specific areas if needed.
Ego lashes out criticism (and can do so either in-your-face or so subtle it’s hard to recognize, you just know you feel like you’ve been deflated).  Ego also makes generic and pointless criticisms you can do nothing about.

My husband is an amazing landscape artist. He’s encouraging me to paint, something I’ve always wanted to do. My ego is all over the process. It compares my work to the work of others. It judges the flaws and miscalculations. It tells me not only that I am not good enough now but that I never will be. The judge can be incredibly subtle, though. It can say, “That’s pretty good…for a beginner,” and while it pats with one hand, the way it says “beginner” is a dig. Yeah, yeah. Thank you very much. Move along. When it comes to creativity, I learned to ignore the judge long ago.

I also hear another voice. It compares my initial work to my advancing work and gives me a sense of accomplishment. It looks at the “mistakes” I’ve made and takes in the information for next time. It finds what it likes in what I’ve done and makes me feel good about the risks I’ve taken or the discovery I’ve made. It propels me forward. Now that’s the voice of love! But it is still a voice, if you know what I mean. I don’t think this is Divine guidance.

Because they share a common language, the ego can easily masquerade as the voice of love, not to say that the voice of love isn’t authentic. Maybe there is an assumption at the root of my confusion over what is and isn’t Divine guidance. If ego relies on us to consult the voices in our heads for Divine guidance in order for it to pretend to be our guidance, then maybe the key is finding a language that only Divine guidance speaks.

Divine guidance is what gives me the inspiration to paint in the first place. Divine guidance is what takes my hand and eyes, the paints and brushes, and creates something unique and colorful and surprising. Divine guidance is simple and transcends language. Knowing this, how can I confuse it ever again?

 

About the Author:

Beth Ciesco is your Selfcare Specialist, a certified yoga teacher and meditation facilitator. Check out the rest of the website to learn more about Restorative Healing Yoga, Mirror Meditation, E-Motion Alchemy, and Voicework as capital S Selfcare tools. You can also follow her on these sites:

❤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinemetime/
❤ Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/tranquilliving
❤ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DivineMeTime

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