How to Recognize the Whisper of Spiritual Guidance

This month were talking about Spiritual Guidance and Personal Responsibility. Spiritual guidance comes from within and is sometimes call intuition, a hunch or a gut feeling.   We all have a spiritual inner voice, but do we all listen? 

"Follow your instincts. That's where true   wisdom manifests itself." ~ Oprah Winfrey. 

How do you know when your intuition is speaking to you and thru you? With a committee of voices rattling around in our brains offering input on just about everything, how do we know when the Divine is speaking?

My Lesson In Listening

About a year ago I left my $600 Kindle, a gift from my parents, in an airplane's seat-back pocket, never to see it again. Before I walked off the plane, Spirit tried three times to save me from heartbreak and loss.

First, when I put my Kindle in the seat-back pocket, my intuition whispered,

"Leave it in your bag." 

I responded in my head, "But what if I want to read during the flight. I don't want to have to disturb anyone to get it out." I put my Kindle in the seat-back pocket.

Next, I was trying to decide where to put my boarding pass. Spirit softly suggested,

"Put it in your Kindle."

I responded, "No, I don't want to lose my boarding pass. It might slip out." I put my boarding pass into my purse.

Lastly, Spirit coaxed, 

"Hold your Kindle in your lap."

I was so involved in a conversation with my neighbor that I thought, "No. That would be rude."

Two hours later after leaving the plane at my layover destination, I realized my Kindle was not with me and it was still on the first plane. When I returned to the gate to claim it, the Kindle was lost in the Atlanta Delta Lost and Found system, never to be seen again. "Did you have your name in it?" the gate attendant asked. No...too bad I didn't put my boarding pass in it!

As I reflected on what had happened I realized all the ways my intuition tried to save me from loss and hopeless frustration; from not even taking the Kindle out of my bag to putting the boarding pass into the case so it was easy to identify.

When I was retelling the story to a friend and wondering aloud how to train myself to stop and listen to my intuition in the moment rather than recognizing it's wisdom after the fact, she asked me,"What did your intuition sound like?"

The Voice of Wisdom Rather Than Fear

In an instant of reflection I realized, it never argued with me. It never tried to change my mind or plead with me to make a different choice. My intuition offered me a new idea, but it never justified it's suggestion. My seemingly all-knowing ego overruled my intuition with strong ideas backed up by fear-based consequences. I took that as a clue!

What are other ways to know when Spirit is leading the way?

Three Times a Charm

Kathy Story knows when she gets the Divine nudge 3 times for the same thing, that's a clue to pay attention and take action.

"I know. I listen to things that happen to me 3 times, otherwise I get the divine two-by-four," she said recently when explaining how Spirit gave her the Divine elbow to buy a stuffed parrot from Home Depot. She loves parrots and two days after her purchase, a family of live parrots took up residence in a tree next to her home. Now she wakes up every day and looks out at her spirit animal, the parrot, and gives thanks for that great gift.

Know Thy Self 

Take time to listen and know yourself. That's huge! Last Sunday, Dr. Heather suggested meditation, prayer and visioning as three great tools to access the inner wisdom. So often, we move along reacting rather than listening. My yoga teacher reminds me that the power of a yoga practice not only comes from the physical movement, but also from monitoring the reactions of the mind. When we attempt a new posture or reach a physical limitation, that's a tremendous opportunity to observe how the mind reacts to challenge and stress. From that place we get to practice calming the reaction and creating a new thought. To go from "oh know this is too hard" to "I'm doing it. I am strong and capable." By knowing how we react in tough moments, we can distinguish the voice of panick and fear from clear wisdom and guidance. 


The wisdom of spiritual guidance can lead the way to enlightenment and greater fulfillment. This month I invite you to reflect on ways you can be a better listener to that still, small voice of spiritual guidance.

How do you recognize your spiritual guidance? Share your stories in the comments. We learn from each other.