Practitioner's Corner

I love the idea that I am just as much a receiver of Divine Truths as anyone else on the planet. With the realization of that, however, there is a common question that comes up for students of New Thought. How do we recognize true revelations? How do we tell the difference between intuitive guidance from God and ego? Sometimes this can be a difficult thing to do, since our deep subconscious beliefs can create some amazing things that are definitely not anchored in truth. Ernest Holmes gives some guidelines in his book, Living the Science of Mind. He shares, "In the pursuit of Truth, one seeks to wed oneself to reason.... What we say is that when it seems as though this Guidance directs us chaotically or counsels men to destructive acts, it is not Divine Guidance at all. It is some form of opinion or desire, masquerading as reason, seeking to justify itself by claiming to be the Voice of God."
This spiritual philosophy is such a fascinating marriage of reason and mysticism. I am always intrigued by the ability to take life situations and to see both the science of understanding how spiritual laws work and the mystery of the Divine essence weaving a beautiful tapestry that is too complex for any one person to understand. I have learned that Spirit's guidance has to be anchored in spiritual reason. God is love, peace, harmony, balance, joy, creative genius, wisdom, intelligence, good and more good. If I receive ideas or urges that suggest anything other than what God is, I always stop to look into any deep personal beliefs that may be influencing me. This is not to say that I listen to my intuition only when it tells me something conventional according to the reason of the world, but if I come up with ideas that contradict or confuse, then I always take more time to pray, meditate and ask for clearer instruction. My rule of thumb is that if I keep pushing into something and trying to force an idea to grow, chances are that it is my ego that generated the idea. If I have received true spiritual guidance, then the universe will conspire to support me as I move along.
Doing spiritual practices of meditation, prayer, classes, visioning, reading and being supported by a spiritual community also help me stay centered and open to hearing the intuitive voice of Spirit. It's so empowering to know that I get to commune directly with God and that God wants only Good for me and for everyone. How great to be open to receive that!

                                                                                                               Much love,

                                                                                               Cheryl Parker, RScP