Dear Reader,
Do you trust your inner wisdom? When you get a thought that seems to come from nowhere, or a feeling you can’t explain that just won’t go away – do you pay attention? I hope so, because it can make the difference between an ordinary year and a year of excellence.
Because I trusted my guidance, I am married to the love of my life.
Louise and I met in Hawaii at a workshop on intuition and transformation. We barely spoke through the whole six day workshop, but after the workshop ended, on Louise’s last night before flying home to Scotland, we bumped into each other walking on the beach. We talked for about ten minutes, no big deal – then we each went our separate way.
An hour later, we bumped into each other again. This time we talked about poetry, and the stars, for about twenty minutes – and again we each went our separate way. But this time, I was wondering if something was up in the universe. I felt a depth and vibrance I couldn’t put my finger on during our conversation, and as I walked along the beach alone afterward, I was buzzing with energy, inspired – and very confused. I wanted to talk to Louise again, but I knew she was flying out the next day. What should I do?!
I did what my training taught me to do – I asked.
I quieted my mind for a few seconds and asked for guidance. Fortunately, I got an immediate answer, in a form I had come to recognize. It was a quiet thought, but very clear, surrounded by space in my mind; the feeling was quite distinct. My quiet voice said: “Go to bed! Go to bed, get up early in the morning and watch the sunrise on the beach.”
I was surprised, to say the least. I had hoped for an immediate plan of action. I didn’t expect to be told to go get some sleep!
But because I always trust my guidance, that’s exactly what I did. I slept well, got up early, watched the sunrise, and joined the early birds in the breakfast line outside the dining room. That timing put me in line not far ahead of Louise, who had decided to eat breakfast early for the only time during her whole stay.
I asked her to join me. We got a great table outside with a view of the ocean. She actually had a magazine about weddings with her, and we had a long talk, over a delicious breakfast, about love and soul mates.
The rest, as they say, is history!
Dear reader, what if I hadn’t listened to that still, small voice within? Back up a little bit – what if I hadn’t gotten quiet and asked for guidance? After a grueling workshop, it sure would have been tempting to sleep in that next morning…
As you continue on through your year, I suggest – no, I urge you, with all my heart – to get quiet, ask, and pay attention to what you hear. Notice how it feels, what form it takes, whether a thought, a sound, or an image. Notice the energy around it. Does everything become still, or is there a feeling of warmth, or do you instantly have a feeling of rightness?
Pay attention, and practice trusting what you hear, see or feel. You never know what will come your way if you do.
I honor your loving heart,
John
John, I just caught up with this post this morning, wanted to share something that happened some seven years ago, the following is an excerpt from my journal…
December 3, 2004 – Something very interesting happened this morning… I picked up a call that had come in on my phone, which displays the calling number on my telephone. When I picked up the phone and identified myself, the caller, a woman, said she must have dialed the wrong number… she thought perhaps she dialed the prefix 973 instead of 972… she wished me a “blessed weekend” and hung up. About 15 seconds later, my phone rang again, and the display showed the same number calling again. I laughed as I answered the phone… she couldn’t believe that she had misdialed a 2nd time. I told her that surely there must be a reason that she reached me again, for everything happens for a reason. We talked for a few moments, and something prompted her to say, “Maybe you are one of the people I will meet in Heaven.” I laughed and asked her if she would be watching the TV movie, “The Five People You Meet In Heaven,” Sunday night… she said she would be. I asked her if she had read the book by Mitch Albom (one of my favorites), and she said she had not.
I talked a little about my long stories, and my desire one day to write a book (“My Short book of Long Stories”)… I told her about my never better philosophy (that I’m never better than at the present moment)…
She told me about her brother who had just recently passed away suddenly in Steamboat Springs, the day after his 59th birthday… that there was a celebration of his life just last night… that he had left behind 3 young children (15, 11, and 8) with no insurance, and how the community has rallied to provide some financial assistance to the family. She told me that in the past year, she had lost her brother, her parents, and had been through open heart surgery to repair some heart valves… wow! She started to get emotional, and told me that she found it difficult to talk to her friends about her problems because they didn’t know how to deal with them, that it was easier to share with a complete stranger… that most of the time she chooses to be content with her life, but gets overwhelmed sometimes from the pain of her losses… but that the pain was a good thing… I agreed, and told her I had experienced a great loss in the last year… she asked me what it was, and I told her it was a long story. I told her that without the pain, we would never realize how precious the thing we lost had been.
She asked me if I had read Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose Driven Life”… she told me it talked a lot about living in the NOW, and that everything happens for a reason… wow!! I told her I had not read the book, but had a copy right here in my office. I picked up my copy of th book, and the page before the Table of Contents states that, “Before you were born, God planned this moment in your life. It is no accident that you are holding this book.” It really is true… there are no accidents…
John, your note about the instruction to go to bed is reminiscent of the response to Elizabeth Gilbert’s plea in the opening pages of her “Eat, Pray, Love”… sometimes that is all there is to do. Thank you for sharing… and for letting me share.
Hi John – Thanks for contributing a great story! What a “wrong number!” So often the exact connections we need happen just that way, and I love the fact that you both benefitted from the call – another common feature of good connections.
I too loved the Mitch Albom book. Although I never read the book by Rick Warren, I have certainly heard a lot about it. My only other thought for now – John, write your book!
Best,
John