“Every human being is a doorway
through which the Infinite passes into the finite,
through which God becomes human,
through which the universal becomes individual”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spirit speaks to everyone. God is not something separate from us that we must seek, and then try to please, and only hope to be accepted by, loved, and blessed. We are all Gods own. We are all just about as loved and blessed as we allow ourselves to be. According to what we ask, believing, we are unfailingly given.

Spirit, God, the Higher Power by whatever name, is the deepest truest essence of who we are. It has great power to create, and is doing so through us, all the time whether we are conscious of this or not. It is from this Inner Essence which Jesus called “the Christ in you” that your life and circumstances are constantly being created. Nothing outside of you really controls you or your circumstances, unless you choose to let it, or you choose to believe that it can. In truth, the power-point on which all outer events turn, is inside of you.

When we trust the God of our Being, believe in joy, and focus our thoughts on whatever we can find that’s good in any situation, our life turns out to be mostly joy. When we believe in worry, fear, lack and limitations, and fill our thoughts with the discomforts we find in life, then we can be sure that our life will be mostly about limitations and discomfort. The choice of what our life will be, down to the smallest detail, is always ours to make, and our own held-beliefs make it come true.

Often it’s very hard to see what’s best to choose, and so we look for guidance from our friends, family, the media on TV, the Bible, the Koran, or other great books and teachers. And we look to sources like our logical mind, our experience, and other people’s opinions and experiences. Some of those may be good resources, and some may not, but none of them are as reliable or as true, for you, as the Inner Guidance that God has entrusted to you, the “still small voice” within.

In every life, there may be times when you feel you have searched out every possible solution and there seems to be “no way out.” Recognize and surrender to the reality that right now, your life is troubled, and you cannot handle it alone. Stop struggling; stop everything else, and turn within. There is an answer, the right and perfect answer for you. Ask and it will be given, and very often the answer is not what you expect at all.

Our expectations are constantly being influenced and limited by the rules of the physical world. But God’s resources are unlimited and much greater than the physical laws. To receive the answer to the unanswerable question, to solve the unsolvable problem, or to achieve the impossible achievement, turn within. All the wisdom and strength of God is waiting there for you to ask and be willing to trust and receive it. Ask for the answer, the wisdom, the strength, and believe you have received it. Then trust God to bring it forth in due time.

God/ the universe operates by spirit, which is always stronger than any physical thing. And Spirit is set in motion by faith. What we believe is what we receive. When we deeply desire something, whether it’s a return to health, the resolution of a personal conflict, or a new car - If we are only hoping to receive it, but not really believing it will happen, then it probably will not happen. Prayer without faith is just stronger worry, which is negative prayer, and the universe delivers accordingly, just what we expected - the thing we wanted doesn’t come.

We must pray believing, and this is no easy task, especially if your history has been one of trouble and disappointment and lack. When we pray believing our request will be given, and we are ready and willing to receive the gift we ask for, then large or small, the miracle must manifest, for this is an eternal universal spiritual law. The catch is, big things are harder to believe in than little things. But nothing is impossible to God, and there is no degree or size to God. All miracles are equally easy tasks for the God of the universe who created all of this. Because all of it, and all of us, are His.

However sometimes we ask for what our logical mind thinks we want, but our soul knows is not the best for us. So there is uncertainty and doubt, and conflicting messages to the universal law. The miracle bogs down in doubt and indecision. When you are truly not yet ready, your inner essence is holding off the gift.

How can we know what we really want and need? How can we know what to do? Life is so complex. So many times, what seems to be the answer to our problem just turns out to be a relocation of the same problem into a different form or circumstance, but the pattern is still there. We will not find all the answers in the physical world of logic and numbers; we must go deeper.

Take the question to God, and it will be answered in some amazing way you never expected. Turn within. Sit still in a private place. Get quiet; empty your mind of all the clutter of thoughts and worries, make it a blank white sheet of paper. Then ask the question that is in your heart, and wait quietly for the answer to come.

God, the universal consciousness, the Christ-mind, Spirit, is always there, within you. It is a permanent essence of You. But it does not shout, and it does not intrude on your thoughts and activities. It waits to be invited into your conscious thought, and is always there when you call upon it. Everyone has this inner Counselor. Nothing can take it away, and nothing can harm it. This Spirit of God In You guides and directs your life to the degree that you call on it to do so, and protects you at all times even when you do not call.

Who You Are is one of the infinite forms of God expressing in the physical world. Most things and creatures live by cycles of nature - the turning of the seasons, the pathways of the stars through the night sky, the life span of a flower. All these do not really have choices. Animals live mostly by instinct and habits learned from ancient ancestors. They do not consider what to do or what to become. You and I are different.

Only mankind has dominion over the things and creatures of the earth, and only we have the gift and responsibility of creating our own lives and circumstances. God has given us the gift of free choice - not only the power, but also the responsibility to choose and create our lives, either by conscious awareness, or by default. When we first realize this, we are overwhelmed. We know we cannot do this alone. But for many of us it seems like we are, and we believe we are, alone in a dangerous and troubling world.

We are not alone. We never were, and never will be. When we call, God will always answer. Everyone who seeks, finds, and everyone who asks, receives what they have believed in. The physical world is limited, but God is not. We are only superficially influenced by external circumstances. Whatever we witness in our world is always and only the reflection of what we hold in mind. When we change our mind, our world changes to reflect it. Our lives are really built from the inside out. Unfortunately we often live out the patterns and beliefs we learned as children, without realizing that we have an infinite number of other, perhaps better, choices.

We learn this truth almost immediately, when we go within ourselves to ask our own heart what we really want in life, because our inner voice always tells us the truth. Once we learn that God/Spirit is always working through us, we can consciously choose our truest desires. When we practice faith and believing in those things, and make ourselves ready and willing to receive them, our desires must be fulfilled and manifested in our lives.

Therefore, choose well, and be sure the goals you seek come not from your mind but from the voice in your heart, and you will be led into a life that is joyful and abundant, if that is what you seek.

The big questions in life are the same for all of us: How can I know the truth of my being? How can I know myself and know God? How can I know what I really want, and how can I dare to receive it even when it seems impossible?

Books and sermons and great thinkers may inspire us, and give us valuable clues and momentary glimpses of direction. We look at great paths to find guidance for our own. But our path is different, and the truest guide for our happiest life will not be found in any book or sermon. It can only be found inside, because God has placed it there, and that is where it is.

Your personal Spiritual Guide is not a guru or a priest, rabbi or minister, though they may help by shining some light on part of your way. But your personal unique Spiritual Guide is the God-Mind, the Christ-Spirit, the Atman, the I Am, that always was, and always will be, inside of you.

How can you hear the voice of Spirit? There are many avenues to the same connection point. Meditation (Listening Prayer) is one way to seek for the voice of Spirit in you, and prepare to receive inner guidance. Trust your intuition. Spirit often speaks to us through intuition, dreams, or seeming “coincidences” even when we are not deliberately or consciously seeking guidance. Or the practice of a simple form of Yoga may be a good way to quiet your physical-world-focused-mind and open it to receiving.

When a quiet state is reached, look gently at your troubling experiences, one at a time, and ask your inner self “What is the message for me in this event?” Remember the old saying “This obstacle has come into your life to bless you” and look for the blessing in it. It may surprise you, but when you see it, you will recognize it.

Some meditations may happen in rhythmic movement like drumming, dancing, swimming, or riding a bike down a familiar park road. Any activity where the rhythm can take you away from your intense focus on doing-things, and just let your body flow. Or you might simply approach your usual prayer-time or spiritual practice with a new focus and intention: to listen.

Set aside time for God in your life and in your day. Sit quietly in a calm, beautiful place, close your eyes, and let go of the mind-baggage you usually carry. Like the book-bag full of papers and "stuff" you carried in elementary school, when school was out for the summer - just happily toss it aside for a while. Open up some clear empty space and invite God in.

Turn off the i-Pod, turn off the TV, turn off your cell phone and leave it off. Don’t let any thing rob you of your quiet time with yourself and God. Spirit speaks to everyone. The determining factor is really, who listens.