Spirit In Gear

What Does Higher Guidance Have to do with Buying a Car?

My blog tagline, "Connecting Inner Knowing with Outer Living" reminds me that higher guidance can assist us with practical matters too.

About 6 weeks ago ago our trusted auto mechanic told me that my 1996 Camry could not go more than 2 more months without some essential repairs (timing belt, water pump replacement, major oil leaks etc.) - at least $1000 to keep it going.  God bless "Betsy" - she has 195,000 miles on her and has been the best car I've ever owned.  She still looks good too.  But I know her days on the road are winding down.

My logical side says it's not a good idea to take precious cash out of savings for a down payment on a new car.  Fear tells me that my husband can be laid off late this year when the engineering project he's on is completed.  This is based on fact - engineers are getting laid off all over the Greenville SC metro area.  Safer to put more money into the old car to keep it going.

Yet my inner knowing begs to differ.  The past few weeks I find myself detaching emotionally from this car.  I no longer feel as confident in her reliability.  In spite of logic and fear, I just "know" that we are supposed to buy a new car.  My hubbie agrees.  Meanwhile, I've run through my mind how we can handle a job layoff financially so that we will not be giving a new car back to the bank. 

Last weekend we begin the car shopping in earnest, and after 4 days of intense research and negotiating, we become owners of a new Honda Accord.  During that process, I rely on the excellent information at Edmunds, conversations with other Honda Accord owners, and intuition to make our purchase.  Edmunds gives car buyers the tools and savvy to make a successful purchase. 

In today's economy, we have never experienced such motivated car sellers, or rock bottom interest rates on car loans.  Imagine playing 3 different Honda dealers off one another to arrive at the price I want on a "loaded" Accord?  We wanted to give the first salesman who worked with us the business.  I asked him to match the lowest price I found and he agreed.  Two hours later he hands me the keys to my new car!

Inner knowing immediately names my new car "Grace."  With new affection for the car I intend to drive for the next 10-12 years, I dub her "Gracie."  I express my verbal thanks to Betsy, and as soon as I return from an out of town trip I will donate her to a non-profit.  With care, she still has some life left in her. 

Now my inner knowing is communicating promptings about my hair color . . . but I won't go there today!

Flash Bites

For the past week I've been receiving intuitive flashes.  They come through as an insight, an inner knowing, a glimmer, a picture, or a physical sensation on personal and business issues in my life.

Like sound bites, they're brief and get my attention.  It occurs to me this morning, as I lay in bed, that these are "flash bites."  They grab me and shift me from smallness to expansion, all in the space of seconds!

For example, yesterday afternoon we are watching the movie, Henry Poole is Here.  The central character struggles with a loss of faith.  He depends solely on what he knows logically.  He is challenged by neighbors whose faith and beliefs summon  "miracles." 

Near the end of the movie my flash bite comes.  In my need to make the lives of my husband and two daughters "better," I am shown a different way of being.  I am released from needing to control outcomes.  I can let go.  With my husband, my job is not to help him become more "spiritual" but to grow in my own faith.  My job is not to fuss over my 26 yr old daughter in her present state of unsettledness, but to love her.  She is much wiser than I was at that age, and will choose well.  My job is not to obsess over my 23 yr. old daughter finding a job in Chicago when she moves there this summer (by the way . . . anyone need a talented graphic designer?).  She's perfectly capable finding work, if past performance is any indicator.

As I read over the flash bite above, it sounds rational.  But it did not come through that way.  I felt lightened and free when I received this intuitive flash.  I felt like a different part of me (yes, I'll call her the Divine One) was reassuring me that my job was done.  I can relax.  I can love.  Translated . . . I can give up worry.

You cannot worry about someone and love them at the same time. Most people mistake the emotion of worry for the emotion of love. They think that worrying about somebody means that you love them.
- Abraham

In hindsight, I look back and see the pivotal flash bite that arrived last weekend, setting off this series of flash bites the past few days.  It all starts with a visit to downtown Asheville, a 75 minute drive from our South Carolina home.  We have made it a tradition on all of our trips to Asheville to make our last stop at Malaprops Bookstore.  Street musicians play outside the doors.  Stepping into the doors of this independent bookseller, I feel immediate pleasure.  For book lovers like me it's an orgy of delight.  Because it's not a chain store, even the coffee aromas smell more intoxicating.  Walking on old floor boards that creak, I scan the colorful book displays and creative organization that draw me further in.  I wander over to a shelf entitled "Banned Books" - all  those books we are so familiar with that have been banned at one time or another, including Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.  I feel myself losing sense of time.  I acquaint myself with new authors, and check in with familiar ones.  

Over and over again, I find myself drawn to another area with a book entitled Life is a Verb by Patti Digh.  The subtitle - "37 Days to Wake Up , Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally."  Why does the author's name sound so familiar?  I soon realize that she is a blogger that I have read sometime in the past.  Holding her book is a tactile pleasure in itself.  The book feels so smooth and silky!  Colors pop throughout the multitude of unique illustrations.  As her blog proclaims, her book is not a self-help book, but a soul-help book.  Without hesitation I buy the book.

After our friends head back to Ohio, I nestle my derriere on the couch to soak myself in this book for awhile.  My flash bite shows up during a writing exercise.  I become aware that I've put myself in a pissy funk by comparing myself to others who are better writers, better bloggers, know more than me, ad nauseum.  I'm filled with a sense of mean smallness towards myself.

Simultaneously something else comes through - call it soul help.  I feel a physical sense of warmth come from my heart.  I feel my heart expand and open as I sense a loving, compassionate presence.  I flip from holding myself with disdain to a sense of deep love and gratitude for being me.  I do feel a regret for the wasted time, but make a contract with myself to do something loving or compassionate for myself each day. 

The following morning, I decide to stop multi-tasking at breakfast.  I don't check email while eating and watching Good Morning America before rushing off to Jazzercise.  I give myself the gift of being present.  The rest of the day unfolds without the typical sense of urgency and pressure that I inflict upon myself.

And so it goes . . . as I learn to be more present, flash bites find a receptive state as I move through my week.  What I wish I had done, and will do from now on, is jot down my flash bites as they come through.  I hope to capture as much of the essence of the message, and the feeling as possible.  Later, when I fall back, I can turn to my written flash bite and "remember" again.

Forgive this rambling story.  I tell it to myself to understand how the Universe supports me, tracing my steps back to Malaprops, and taking note of the numerous flash bites that have come through since then just this week.  Take heart, Deb, you are never alone.  And neither are you!

Photo Credits:  Light in sky - Dimitar Tzankov; Malaprops Bookstore - Malaprops website

What I Know For Sure

If someone asked you the question:  "What do you know for sure?", how would you respond?

I find myself answering this question last night at the instigation of O Magazine, where Oprah answers this question as a monthly feature found on the last page of each issue.

What I know for sure . . . is that I know far more than I ever give myself credit for, and that's a damn shame. 

When I awaken this morning, before getting out of bed, I feel emotion surfacing.  I reflect on my answer to the above question and sense sadness.  I understand at a heart level that when I don't acknowledge what I know, I diminish myself.  Like the dimmer set low on our dining room chandelier, I fade out.  The whole point about being in this world is about allowing my light to emanate out.  To  connect to other lights, and to lead the way for those looking for the light.

What I know for sure is that when I still myself, even for a few seconds, I am graced with  understanding what I know.  Perhaps I need to still myself longer to remember what I know.

I leave you with the question at the beginning of this post:  "What do you know for sure?"  Please feel free to share your answer here!

 

Taking My Cues From Mickey

A couple of weeks ago we returned from a business-related trip to Orlando.  We added a few days prior to the business event to head out to Disney.  Amidst the crowd, the heat, and the infamous Floridian humidity, we enjoyed our favorite thrill rides, and a bit of the signature trademark magic unique to the Disney parks.

On my last night there, I browsed through a store of Disney merchandise located on the Boardwalk.  Besides purchasing a cool v-neck T-shirt in my favorite shade of pink, I found an irresistible little Mickey with his sorcerer hat perched on his head.  This is the same Mickey found at the Hollywood Studios Park in a giant sculpture.

I scooped up Mickey.  I just knew I needed to take him home with me.  He sits on my desk.  He smiles and reminds me that I can create the magic in my life. And it all starts with remembering that my own inner wizard waits within.  She's only a silent moment away.  She was the one, after all, who told me to buy Mickey in the first place. 

What I'm Learning About Asking for Guidance

Lately I have been making specific requests for help from my Spirit Guides, and getting swift answers back.  It's like speed-dialing both ways - I cut through the red tape immediately, both in the asking, and in the receiving.  I'll admit I'm a bit taken aback by all this, being "doubting Debbie."  More on that in a moment.

Several incidents of asking/receiving in the past 2-3 weeks have captured my attention.  In a previous post I described how I asked for guidance on choosing between two housecleaners I was considering hiring.  The answer that came through resonated for me and the housecleaner "recommended" has exceeded all my highest expectations. 

The 2nd request centered on finding an administrative assistant to help in our real estate investing business.  February 26th's post described how I asked aloud for help with this and found my assistant within the next hour!  She inspires confidence and I find working with her easy.  So far, so good.

This past Saturday night my husband and I walked out of a downtown restaurant after dinner, and decided to linger in the nice weather by walking downtown.  Two blocks after we began walking I reached up to my throat and realized my necklace had slipped off.  I became upset immediately.  It wasn't valuable.  But it was unique and irreplaceable.  My husband had picked it out for me several years ago when we vacationed in British Columbia. 

We retraced our steps, scouting the ground on the way back to the restaurant.