'Where would you have me go?'
'What would you have me do?'
'What would you have me say? and to whom?'
These are the questions Marianne Williamson, internationally acclaimed spiritual teacher, suggests we ask throughout the day. She talks about the fact that we don't have to make any decision alone...we can always ask 'God'.
I sometimes wince when people talk about 'God' and 'him. Now, I just translate the word 'God' into 'Life'. The term 'Life' applies to ALL people of ALL faiths. My friend Anna Cowan inspired me to call 'it', 'him' or 'her' by the name 'Life'. She is often reminding me that 'Life loves me' and that I can always ask 'Life' for guidance. Whether you call it 'Life' as Anna does or 'God' as Marianne does or 'Light' as personal development pioneer, Shakti Gawain does in her book 'Living in the Light' or 'higher self' as others call it, we all have 'it' to call upon as we navigate through our daily lives.
Jerry Jampolski, holistic psychiatrist,in his book 'Teach Only Love' talks about making decisions by paying attention to 'Peace'. He says whenever you are faced with a choice to make, simply move in the direction of 'Peace' and the decision will reveal itself. Which choice brings more peace? If you follow the sense of Peace inside yourself, that choice will become clear in time.
This attitude takes out much of the angst in decision-making.
Following 'Life' is not to say that we can relinquish all responsibility in making decisions. Personally, I like to journal, write pro-con lists and to talk about big decisions before I make them. I remember when I was facing the decision to stay on the east coast of the states, where I was living at the time OR to move back to Hawaii. I did my pro-con lists, then watched what Life offered me as feedback. I was offered teaching jobs in both Kauai, Hawaii and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. When I visited the school in Pennsylvania with my family, we felt many 'clunks' inside...such as no health food store in the area, no apparent alternative practioners, no beach, no ocean, and a general 'feel' that the area was a bit depressed.
When we looked at pictures of Kauai, we felt exhilerated, happy, and
excited. We noticed also that we started playing Hawaiian music in our house and really liking it. We also noticed that my partner's boss was in the process of letting him go which freed him up to move.
We also noticed that there was a great special on airfares to Kauai happening. We noticed that there was a great deal on a house on Kauai where we could rent out an attached unit to pay for the mortgage. Basically, the decision to move to Kauai revealed itself one step at a time without us having to force it.
Likewise, when we were living on Kauai five years ago, the decision to move to New Zealand happened easily as well. The Steiner school that my son was attending and where I was teaching was sold to a larger private school on the island. I was unemployed and my partner really wanted to move to New Zealand. It just so happened that New Zealand had a registered teacher shortage at the time and it was easy to find Steiner schools who needed teachers. I interviewed with two schools on the phone and it just so happened that the very next week, my friend Ursula called me to let me know she was going to New Zealand in one week due to a super cheap special airfare. I noticed I called up to book myself on the flight with her. In another week, I was interviewing in person at schools in Wellington, Hamilton, and Auckland. I was offered two teaching jobs, and I accepted the one in Auckland. So, two weeks later, our whole family was moving to New Zealand...the decision had revealed itself naturally in perfect timing.
So, next time you're faced with a decision from 'what to cook for dinner' to 'where to move' or 'which job to take' or 'which direction to go in', try asking yourself the question
'What would Life have me do?'
I assure you that it will take the pressure off YOU and help you to feel that you have a special, supportive partner there by your side, right inside yourself, speaking through your own intuition...that partner is Life :-)
Lots of Love...
Sally
