Recognizing guidance

There are inflection points in life where individuals become aware of the many messages of support and guidance that the Universe sends them. Those messages are always there. What makes them stand out in one's experience is that they seem responsive to the internal questioning that is rising closer to the surface of consciousness. Uncertainty and meditation in combination attract guidance. This is an interactive phenomenon between the individual consciousness and Spirit. Since individual consciousness is only an imperfect manifestation of Spirit, one could see this as Spirit refining consciousness to be more in alignment with itself. Uncertainty is only a surface condition; the Spirit within always knows the correct course to follow. What is necessary is to bring this knowledge to the light of everyday awareness so that it can guide action. When the clouds of uncertainty begin to dispel, like the calming of ripples on the surface of a clear pool, the Spirit within recognizes its manifestation on the other side of the looking glass and draws to itself the guidance it has formulated for itself in the words of other individuals. Spirit knows just which guidance to pick out of the stream of information flowing around and above it. So it is when you read something that speaks directly to your present condition: it seems as though the Universe has sent this guidance to you, when in fact it is Spirit within that has recognized the concrete truth that crystallizes its own inchoate longing. This is the formula: meditate, wait patiently, examine all the guidance that is offered, recognize that which is right for this moment, and then act.

Spiritual growth

Our individual spiritual development is a continuous process. Religion, atheism, philosophy - these are not disconnected points between which we randomly jump. We are embedded in a continuum and each phase in our awareness prepares us for the next. Every belief system contains some learning, some truth that contributes to the emergence of the next. An atheist may believe she has completely rejected religion, but really she has rejected only the outer forms of religion. The internal seeking that led her to adopt religion is the same pattern that led her to reject it. 

Everyone has access to wisdom deep within.  Each of us is looking for a system that expresses that wisdom in a way that speaks to us. When we adopt a new set of beliefs, we are visualizing ourselves against a new background, but our fundamental nature doesn't change. Our perception evolves, but that which we seek to perceive is eternal and immutable. Truth is holographic, and the more perspectives we gain, the closer we come to understanding it holistically. Every experience of Spirit brings us closer to that perception, until eventually - for those who are aware - we see ourselves Incorporated in Truth and Truth embodied in us.