THE GUIDE WITHIN ME

Get into a relaxed, meditative state with eyes closed. Then imagine yourself in a beautiful place. It might be a room, a place in nature. Wherever it is, let the beautiful environment form around you in your imagination. See it in your mind's eye, feel the experience of being there. Look around you and take it all in.

Still keeping your eyes closed and being in your beautiful environment, let an image appear before you. This might be a person, animal, object. Observe the image and notice its appearance in detail. Experience its presence. Then let the image speak to you. Ask its name and why it is appearing. Tell the image what you think and feel about it and what you want from it (assistance, advice, a gift of some kind). Then ask the image what it wants from you and for you. This image is your inner guide, the wisdom within you which is being personified or embodied through imagery. After you have conversed with your guide, thank it and release it to dissolve back into the beautiful environment. Then slowly let the environment fade and say goodbye, knowing that you can come back whenever you wish.

Write out your conversation with your guide. You may want to do this as a right/left hand dialogue. Let your guide speak with your sub-dominant hand and respond with your dominant hand. Writing with the sub-dominant hand is optional in this exercise.

Uses: This exercise is intended to help you contact your own wisdom that lies hidden within. Often, we search for gurus and advisors in the outer world, hoping they will furnish us with answers to our problems. It is easy to ignore our own inner resources, the wise spirit or higher self that resides within us.

Here is one woman's dialogue with two of her wisdom guides, the Snake Woman and John, the Healer. Snake Woman, please help me. I'm feeling inundated and overwhelmed.

S.W. These issues (problems) are a test for you to be true to yourself and your innermost convictions. God is guiding your path. It is not in your control. It is not known to you! You are being brought into a new place and the doors that will open to you are full of surprises. John, the Healer, is important to you at this juncture. He is used to many trails in the wilderness above and below ground. He will not abandon you. He is able to walk in the dark, he is not fearful. All is transitory. John, help me with this confused, dark, crazy problem, please?

J.H. Jane, come. I am not able to save you from the pain when you hurt. I will assure you, it won't last long. Your anxiety is what you are lost and entangled in now. Come on out and look at the long view the mountain ranges. You must look at the distance instead of the mire.