Do you want guidance, or a guarantee?
Posted on January 13, 2008
Filed Under Embrace Your Highest Path and Purpose, How To Develop Your Intuition, Manifest Your Desired Outcomes, Soul Realignment, Spirit Guides and Angels, Spiritual Development |
Lately, I’ve come across a scenario that so many of my clients seem to be faced with that I thought I’d address it in a post. Here’s the situation: We ask for guidance around our purpose. And we receive a vision - a big vision. The vision may be so big and sweeping, it leaves us shaking our heads in amazement. A multi-million dollar retreat facility. An international franchise. A spiritual healing modality (yup, that one’s mine … check out www.soulrealignment.com). How could we possibly ever get there? How could we achieve all that? So we ask for more guidance - what do I need to do to get there? Where should I start?
This is where the problem arises. The guidance we receive is completely dissatisfying. We don’t even recognize it as guidance, because it seems so unrelated. Starting a book club won’t get us the big retreat center that is our final vision. Taking a class on energy work won’t take us on the international speaking circuit where we see ourselves. Picking up the phone, reading a book, doing a craft project, going for a walk … none of these things have anything to do with getting to our vision. Or do they?
As it turns out, we don’t want guidance at all. What we want is a guarantee.
We want to be given not just the next immediate step. We also want the next ten steps after that one. And we want to know exactly “how” these steps will help us manifest our final vision. We want to know that if we take action now, we will be sure to get to where we want to go. Oh, and we also want to know that our vision will, indeed, serve our highest good and that we will love ourselves and our life when we get “there.” And maybe we want all of that before we take any action at all.
In my most recent teleclass, one of the participants used the wonderful analogy of baking a cake without a recipe. We have a picture of the finished cake. It’s beautiful and looks tasty. And now the impulse comes: “Go get some flour.” And we say “Flour? Well, how much? And won’t I need eggs? And sugar? And an oven? Where am I going to get all that? Flour isn’t going to bake this cake. Obviously, I don’t know how to make this cake. Maybe this cake won’t even taste that good. I’m not going to waste my time getting flour if I don’t even know the recipe.”We may be given one piece of guidance after another. Our inner wisdom whispers “Go join that group” or “Go take that class” or “Write an email to so-and-so.” And each time we don’t understand what this piece of guidance has to do with our grand vision. We reject it and don’t take action. Or we take action … and when an immediate and recognizable “result” doesn’t appear, we are disappointed and abandon that particular path. Meanwhile, our Spirit Guides are scratching their heads. “Okay, so she doesn’t like that avenue. Hmmm, let’s see … what else can we come up with? Maybe she could try it this way …” You see, the guidance that we keep asking for will keep coming. And what we sometimes end up with is a giant mess of seemingly unrelated impulses and ideas. Or we tell ourselves that we’re not receiving any guidance at all. Either way, we are thoroughly stuck. We have no idea how we’re going to move towards our grand vision. Somewhere in the ether, I imagine our poor Spirit Guides banging their head against a wall.
Guidance will always come when we ask for it. If you ask for guidance on how to manifest your vision, you will receive it. It may not make any sense to you right now. It may not make any sense to you for many years to come. But you will receive something you need for your journey. That journey is not linear. It involves many detours. It may include some seemingly unproductive sight-seeing. It may include getting a little lost here and there. And in the end, every step on that journey contributes in a meaningful way to the vision you will manifest … and that vision may, in the end, be far grander, far more satisfying than anything you could have ever imagined.
Quite a few years ago, I became certified as a life coach. I was ridiculously unsuccessful at starting a coaching practice. But the instinct towards the certification had been so overwhelming, and I loved my training. I didn’t understand how I could have been so misguided. Then I found the intuitive work that I offer now, and felt immediately at home. Coaching had introduced me to the model of working over the phone or even via email with clients - something foreign to me as a bodyworker. Still, I thought for a long time that my coaching training may have been an unnecessary detour on my path. Now, years later, I’m coaching on intuitive development. It’s one of the pieces of my practice that I’m most excited about. And just this last week, I realize that intuitive development through Soul Realignment is perfect for - you guessed it - coaches! Could I have planned or foreseen this unfolding of my professional path? Definitely not. I’m still not sure how it’s all going to come together. But I’m sure it will.
Ask for guidance around the next step. Take action on the guidance that comes - the next impulse, the next bright idea, the next thing that three people in a row mention to you. Even if it seems to make no sense whatsoever. Take action, and enjoy the unfolding that comes with that action. And then ask for guidance around the next step … and so forth.
If you are waiting for the guarantee, you will remain where you are.
Blessings,
Andrea
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13 Responses to “Do you want guidance, or a guarantee?”
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Well, to be perfectly honest with you, a guarantee would be wonderful.
But I know from experience that guidance is the real gift.
I’m inspired by your willingness to tell this truth. This is a very important distinction. Guidance is so much better than a guarantee because it’s active. Once we get into action all kinds of wonderful doors can open that we were once blind to. We all need to go to the edge of the cliff and jump both feet into acting on the Divine guidance we’ve been given.
Wisdom was the anti-spam word for this comment. It is so appropriate. You share your wisdom in such a wonderful way. I so enjoy your articles. I listened to the teleconference on detachment. I loved the way you used my God Box idea. I learned detachment in Al-Anon years ago. It is an idea that seems so alien to some people. It does take work to get there.
Expecting a guarantee can keep you stuck in your fear of moving forward if you let it. There are no guarantees in life. We can stay stuck in fear or we can LIVE our lives to the fullest.
Andrea I agree that it’s sometimes challenging to recognize when we’re receiving guidance.
I suppose this is when it’s especially important to tap into and develop your intuition and the more you practice the better you get at it.
What a great post Andrea
I chuckled when I read that when we follow our guidance it might not produce an immediate result. Like you, I depend on my guidance system to light the way. I can recall a number of times when I felt a strong prompting to do something that made no sense to me. Yet, the push to say yes was so strong I went with it to see where it would take me. That’s where trust and faith in “inner knowing” comes in. It might be a year later that something happens to connect some of the dots. Love when that happens.
I’m in a transition right now and listening to spirit is my intention so that I don’t get side-tracked by my self-created stories and dramas. Life!
Have a terrific night
Blessings,
Lorraine
Thanks Andrea, Empowered Soul has been very empowering for me as of late, I feel like you’re reading my mail and addressing issues that I’m introspecting deeply on.
On the way home from the park my daughter fell asleep in the car so my wife and I had a chance to talk. I stated to her that I had great vision or certain things, huge things, things that as you stated leave me shaking my head in amazement. But then the reality of the task and the steps involved settle in and slowly I began to doubt that I’ll ever see the manifestation of these things which seem at times overwhelming.
As I was reading this entry I’d stop and think about some of the small things that have happened lately and sure enough, there are definite ties, they are not huge and obvious but the connections are there. I guess the key is to let go, stop trying to force things, ask for guidance and believe. Thank you for your wisdom and addressing important life issues relevant to all of us!
Tom - I totally agree, sometimes a guarantee would be lovely. I think there are days where we all long for an instruction book that details exactly how to get from A to B. But then again, this system of free will and free choice wouldn’t work if it were all laid out for us! I agree that action is an amazing catalyst … there is something about placing both feet firmly upon a chosen path - even if it’s just for a few steps - that reveals a great deal in the instant we make a choice.
Patricia - I’m so glad you liked the class. Thank you again for letting me “borrow” your God box idea. I agree that fear plays a huge part in wanting that guarantee! And after we’ve confronted that fear and moved forward anyways a few times, I think it does get easier to trust in the guidance we receive.
Z - I’m a big believer in practicing intuition, every single day. So many people only turn inwards when the going gets really, really tough or the decision is really big. I’m a huge advocate of tuning into guidance daily on the little stuff - like “What action would best serve my highest good in the next ten minutes?”
Lorraine - thank you so much for commenting here! I agree - sometimes we get this profound sense of being guided, we follow it … and I don’t know about you, but I used to fall into the trap of waiting for something exciting to come out of it right then and there. It can be a bit of a let-down when “nothing happens” … at least not right away. I think this is where many people then start doubting that they were being guided to begin with … Thank you again!
Michael, thank you so much, I’m thrilled that this post helped you recognize the presence of guidance in your life! You WILL manifest your vision … one day, one step at a time. And the more steps we take, the more we allow the Universe to support us. I think of every guided step as a big “yes” to Spirit … and each subsequent “yes” gets a little easier. Thanks for letting us all be a part of the journey!
Blessings,
Andrea
Hey Andrea!
Love, love, love this article! You are right on here and these sorts of detours that we take work to prepare us and develop us for what lies ahead.
Also, my clients will often ask me for a “reading” during our sessions at which point I take off my “coach” hat and put on my “intuitive” hat (to be honest the intuitive hat never entirely leaves as I use it to hold the coaching space) and then of course I’m right back to coaching again.
Coaching with NLP has made me really good at speaking to the subconsciousness mind and has dramatically improved my ability to interpret what I receive. It’s all very related…even though I didn’t think it was when I heard a voice say “life coach” one day as I searched the internet. On the prompting of that voice I took the training.
Now I’m being led to the Archangel Michael…so here we go again!!!
Much love,
PK
Andrea - you did it again. Your post is exactly what I needed to hear. I love your posts and the information you provide. You’ve found your life’s work and you’re good at it. Your love and spirit come across in the words you write and I’m so happy to be a part of your internet family.
PK, I love hearing about how you bring coaching and intuitive work - and NLP! - together. You’re right, it might not make much sense when we look at the individual puzzle pieces … and then we figure out later how they all fit together.
I’ve been coaching in a totally different way - I call in my client’s Spirit Guides before the session and have them essentially set the agenda and give homework. It has been an uncanny process to watch. I can never really know why they give me what they give me … but eventually it makes total sense. It has been a lesson in putting the ego and personal opinion on the shelf for me, and just trusting the Guides in doing the bulk of the work while I’m serving as conduit. Definitely not traditional coaching, but it’s been amazing!
Pat - thank you so very much for your kind words (and the stumble!!!). It’s very much appreciated and I’m so glad we connected through blogging!
Blessings,
Andrea
I see that your post was made on my 28th birthday and the content of your article was strangely fitting to my current situation in life. I have taken coaching sessions from two different coaches both telling me that I should consider training from The Coaches Training Institute. Deep down inside, while so many people are pointing me down the path of being a coach, I am not really sure this is my final destination as there are just so many “life coaches” out there with the same training and doing similar things. What will allow me to stand up apart from everyone else? I am sure my guides are banging their head on the wall as well and scrambling to find ways to catch my attention. They sent 2 different coaches telling me I should be a coach, but they also gave me this feeling that I can’t be just another life coach. Poor guides, I hope they stick with me.
A life lacking in guarantees can be quite exciting and at times confusing. But I suppose if we are always given guarantees, then there would be no point of us being here at all, we should have just stay in the ether where there are always guarantees and forget trying to muddle our way through life on this dense physical reality on the 3-dimensional earth.
Andrea,
Guidance just feels so amazing the more you listen to it and trust it, it doesn’t matter anymore there are no guarantees.
It’s just Life.
So I’m moving to Wellington. (NZ’s capital city, but more San Fran than Washington)
The guidance is strong - and I have no idea what I will do when I get there.
What an adventure!
Andrea,
Your post is so insightful! So many times we receive the perfect guidance on the “next step”, but we want more. We want the big picture, handed to us on a silver platter. In my readings for my clients I am often given information on the perfect “next step” for the person. The guidance invariably also comes through that the person (my client) just needs to take that step, and the next one will become clear, and so on. They need to just take action, even if the action doesn’t necessarily seem related to the final outcome they are hoping for. The guidance often has to do with the fact that “all is in divine order”, and that we have to surrender to the flow and trust that each experience is exactly what we need in order to get where we’re going. It goes back to the saying, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him (or her) your plans”. Living a divinely guided life menas coming back to the present moment and living the truth of that moment.
Mary - thank you! I’m a huge fan of the “one step at a time” way to receive guidance in the present moment. I think it also has a lot to do with free will and free choice. If we had guidance on the next ten steps, wouldn’t that influence our choice in the moment? And somewhat interfere with free will? I think that would replace choice with guidance, which our Guides would never intend.
I’ve been turning this stuff over in my mind a lot! Thank you so much for bringing your perspective to this post.
Blessings,
Andrea