Inner Guidance (19 page)

I was amazed at how a seemingly subtle shift in attitude could produce such notable results.

I
n the months that followed the Grace truck incident, I gained deeper insights into the spiritual prin-Inner Guidance_CH 16-21.p65

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ciple behind that experience. In studying the teachings of Eckankar, I have learned that Soul exists because of God’s love for It. Grace is divine love and protection that is freely available for all people. To receive the grace of God is to be blessed. The fact is, we are all blessed. We are watched over, guided, and protected at all times, whether we are aware of it or not.

“The waking dream is usually an outer experience given by the Mahanta. Its purpose is to point to a spiritual lesson through an example in your outer life,”24 writes Harold Klemp. I’ll always remember that morning I met the Grace truck and its driver, the morning I learned an important lesson about the mystery of life and the blessings that surround us.

I had another moment of surprise when I researched the word
grace
in the library. It turns out that my name, Anne, means “grace.”

I laughed at the subtle play of Spirit at work. This knowledge brought more breadth to my experience and personalized it even more.

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17

Miracles I Can

Do in a Minute:

Inner Guidance and the

Application of Spiritual Principles

Often people are afraid to follow their inner
guidance. It sounds like such a foolish thing to
do, especially if they have to face other people and
explain why they are doing what they are doing.

—Harold Klemp

The Slow Burning Love of God
25

ou can’t just
create
miracles, or they wouldn’t

“

call them miracles! And no one can do the

Yimpossible
,” my students were insisting.

They needed something to shake them up.

Friday afternoon, following an inner message, I’d written these challenging words on the blackboard in bold letters: “Miracles I can do in a minute. The impossible takes about three days.”

The words were not mine, and I was not really sure who said or wrote them, but the principle was intriguing. I had asked what might work with this group to help 157

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open their eyes a bit, and this little bit of philosophy is what I was guided to inwardly.

My students argued, but I knew they wanted to believe that this spiritual principle was true. Right now, however, they were challenging me.

The discussion centered on the proposition that we have far more control over our own lives than we believe, if we follow spiritual principles. By stepping into agreement with the Divine, we move into a world of opportunities greater than any we might otherwise have expected or experienced in our lives. This concept pushed the students right to the limit of belief.

They challenged me for an example from my own life. I started to tell them some of the stories from my past. “No, not stories! We want you to prove it now,” they insisted. They wanted more; they wanted to witness this principle in action.

Collectively they demanded, “Just do it for yourself!

Find a goal you want, and show us how it works.”

Suddenly I was in the hot seat. I needed to somehow demonstrate the truth of what I was saying. I felt the pressure.

I knew that one of the most important things we can do is learn to apply spiritual principles in our lives at all times. In fact, there is nothing worse, when attempting to accept responsibility for our own lives, than thinking that miracles are something that only happened in biblical times. This was something I wanted to teach these students—to really demonstrate—and they were insistent that I put it into practice
now
.

Was there some goal, some little seemingly impossible thing, I might achieve as they watched me apply this spiritual principle?

Just then, my inner guidance offered me a direction.

Inwardly, I was being shown something I had been Inner Guidance_CH 16-21.p65

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Inner Guidance and the

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longing for recently. I had wished I could go sailing in a hot-air balloon and enjoy the splendor of the autumn colors from on high. But I had dismissed this goal as frivolous and too expensive for me right now.

Smiling at the students, I said, “I want a hot-air balloon ride. I don’t have money for this adventure. Yet, here is how I understand I can help manifest that ride: Imagine a goal clearly; assume you already have it—

really feel it and accept it and imbue the image with love; and then surrender the outcome for the good of all. And it will manifest if it is for the greatest good.”

The students still appeared mildly skeptical, but I continued, “If we want our goal to manifest in whatever way is really best, we must surrender it to Divine Spirit.

For the surrender part, what I like to declare is, ‘If not this, then something greater!’ We might also surrender it to the will of God by saying, ‘Thy will be done.’”

Pausing to answer questions as I went, I added, “If we imagine the best outcome, and then surrender it for the good of all, we open the door to miracles. Of course, we must follow our inner guidance and act accordingly.

We have to do our part and then allow the new desire to come into reality. Just do all we can do, and then see what happens.”

They wanted application of the law, not just theory.

That was fair. “OK, here we go,” I said. “I assume I have my hot-air balloon ride. I am in the balloon, floating along, happy and free.”

I described myself sailing over the Ohio River, brushing the tops of the trees in a vividly colored hot-air balloon. I said, “It’s big and bright and beautiful, and I am in the balloon, smiling and jubilant! I feel the sense of freedom, soaring through the air. I love every minute of it. Look at the birds below! Look at the treetops. How wonderful is this?”

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The students were mesmerized by my images. “Ah, this is fabulous,” I declared, as if I were already sailing through the air. “I am experiencing my hot-air balloon ride, and I am grateful! And now I surrender the whole picture with love, and I expect either this or something greater.” Smiles filled the room as many of the students caught the idea and felt the reality of the scene I had described.

This was Friday. If the impossible takes about three days, we had until my first class on Monday morning.

“I’ll research balloon rides and keep my attention positively focused on this picture,” I said. “I’ll stay open and follow my inner guidance. But to manifest a first-class hot-air balloon ride will definitely be a miracle for me now.”

I ended the discussion by explaining, “The final step is surrender. We can simply say, ‘May the blessings be.’”

The school bell rang, and we closed the class, keyed up with curiosity about our grand experiment and the potential results.

T
eaching in this new position in Cincinnati was very stimulating. As I’d done in other schools, I used philosophy to inspire the students and shared it generously on the classroom walls. Uplifting quotes filled the room—quotes by Socrates, Plato, Emerson, Thoreau, and now also Paul Twitchell, Eckankar’s founder.

Twitchell’s writings especially seemed to move the students, giving a foundation to comprehend life from a greater perspective. He presented an enhanced understanding of our spiritual nature and provided tools to lead an individual to a greater mastery of life.

The students were always curious and questioning, thirsting for more. Responding to their growing interest, Inner Guidance_CH 16-21.p65

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I had posted the two enticing lines: “Miracles I can do in a minute. The impossible takes about three days.”

Now my students had confronted me with this whole hot-air balloon challenge, and according to the three-day formula for the impossible, I had until Monday morning to get my ride figured out!

When I left the school building that afternoon, I could not help but wonder about the wisdom of what I had set in motion. I was more than a little curious to see what the outcome would be!

After a quick supper with my daughter, I went to the coin-operated laundry nearby. There, a young man approached me, selling raffle tickets for a children’s charity. He had only one more ticket to sell, he mentioned hopefully.

I started to shake my head no, since I did not have very much money left. But suddenly my inner guidance unmistakably advised me: “Buy that ticket.” Was I supposed to support this cause? It sounded worthy, but after my recent move, I was very short of money. Yet, my inner guidance was clear: “Take that ticket!”

As I relinquished my last five dollars, I was astonished at myself. This was decades ago, when five dollars was a lot of money for me. I did not want to even think about how tight cash was at this point. For I was now left with absolutely no money to spare until my next payday and would have to make do with whatever I had.

I took the ticket, wrote my name and phone number on it, and kept the stub. For a fleeting moment, I wondered about my judgment. Yet, foolish though it appeared, I actually felt really good about buying the ticket.

I had followed my guidance, and I felt pleased with my actions. I would make it till my next paycheck, and I was helping children in need.

The next morning, Saturday, I woke up intending Inner Guidance_CH 16-21.p65

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to inquire about hot-air balloon rides. But before I had even eaten breakfast, the phone rang.

“You won the charity grand prize!” said the caller.

“You’ve won a spectacular hot-air balloon ride over the Ohio River and the city of Cincinnati. It’s tomorrow in the late afternoon, just before sunset. Congratulations!”

O
verjoyed, I saw that in my attempt to demonstrate this spiritual principle to my students, something amazing had happened. Divine Spirit was illustrating the spiritual laws in a more outstanding manner than I might ever have imagined. And it had not even taken three days!

What had happened here? The inner nudge, my

guidance, had pushed me forward. Because the raffle ticket was for needy children, my heart had opened.

Love had poured in, and I was willing to offer up my last five dollars unconditionally and without any expectation of winning anything.

Yet, miracle of miracles, just hours later the balloon ride was a reality.

W
hen I arrived at the balloon site on Sunday afternoon, a large crowd had already gathered. Making my way through the milling throng, I proceeded toward the brightly colored balloon, which was primed and ready to go.

To my surprise, a plethora of dignitaries waited in anticipation of meeting me! I was very warmly welcomed and immediately introduced to the media. The television reporters wanted before-and-after interviews with me! There were politicians, celebrities—and
me
.

And a short time later, there I was, sailing over the Inner Guidance_CH 16-21.p65

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Application of Spiritual Principles

Ohio River and the trees dressed in their autumn finery.

It truly took my breath away. This miracle was far beyond my creation; it was a miracle of inner guidance.

In the midst of all this, I clearly recognized the handiwork of the Inner Master, the Mahanta, opening a spiritual door for my students. I smiled quietly in gratitude for the inner guidance that opened my heart to more love and so wisely urged me to spend my last five dollars on a cause that was far more worthy than I knew.

Many of the students saw the outcome of our Friday classroom discussion on Sunday night’s ten o’clock news.

Then, on Monday morning, it was also in the newspaper.

The students were completely awestruck with the spiritual mechanism by which this little miracle had come about. “How did that all happen?” they asked. And when we talked about it this time, they definitely paid attention.

Even more faithful now to my inner guidance, I continued to witness the many practical benefits of applying the spiritual principles, the laws of life that are taught in Eckankar.

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18

Men in the House:

Asking for Inner Guidance

Opens a Door to Spiritual Worlds

Spirit is always with us, always guiding,
always protecting, always attempting to bring
joy and make our life better, but that doesn’t
mean that we are always aware and listening.

—Harold Klemp

How to Find God
26

ommy, there are men in the house!”

“

When my daughter, Sarah, woke me that

M
night, I was sound asleep. She had crawled into my bed and was sitting up next to me.

“Wake up, Mommy, wake up!” she said as she tugged on my arm. It was midnight. I was barely able to rouse myself. I looked at Sarah to see if she were sick or just wanting to sleep with me. Then, I heard the words she was repeating, and I was alarmed.

“Mommy, there are men in the house!”

Quickly, I sat up in bed and whispered, “Men? Where did you see men, Sarah?”

“They are right here at the foot of your bed, Mommy.