Guidance is in the Details

             With each new client, there is an in-depth exploration around God, Spirit, Intuition, or whatever names that person calls their spiritual connection. An essential aspect of Inner Bonding® Counseling is correcting any false beliefs around what spirituality is, what it means, how it relates to the history of spirituality for each person, and any resistance that is linked to that subject. This can happen quickly as the false beliefs are cleared and the client opens to experiencing their Guidance. This process can also take a bit of time, the issue surfacing and re-surfacing through the years as life presents its various challenges. Often, what I hear from people is that they believe Guidance is available for emotional comfort but not logistical comfort.They believe Guidance can be a vague presence or a sense of loving kindness but nothing more. 

            I'd like to talk about my relationship to my "Guides" (I have a group of spiritual helpers) as a way to illustrate a more specific relationship to Guidance.  I have been practicing Inner Bonding® for at least 12 years and honestly, my Guides and I have long talks on all kinds of subjects. They guide me around huge human struggles like why people hurt each other, to specific life situations like, do you think this doctor is a loving choice for me? I check-in about finances, buying a car, handling a conflict with a friend, where to vacation, what to say to someone who is not respecting my boundaries, what to do for the evening, when to rest, when to exercise, etc. My relationship with Guidance is not vague. We have a detailed exchange and I feel I am being parented in a way that I never was as a child, not even close. The good news is that now I am an adult so I can actually do what my Guidance tells me to do. I can follow the loving action and see where it leads me. This has been my saving grace, I kid you not. 

            Through Guidance, I have gone from having no career to one I adore, from picking men not quite right for me to choosing a wonderful husband, from feeling very isolated to having a large community of friends, from feeling terrified to perform to being able to perform dance and theatre with joy and ease. My life is not perfect - it's just that I have followed my Guidance and taken huge leaps into the air, into the unknown, out of my head, following deep, seemingly illogical callings. I have not regretted this path for one second.

            Learning to listen to Guidance is a practice that requires utmost commitment. Just like learning to do math or play an instrument, it takes time and a willingness to be a beginner, to make mistakes and keep going. Sometimes, you won't be sure if you are hearing your Guidance so you'll need to sit with the answer and ask again in a few days. Sometimes you may just need to try it and see how it feels to follow what you are being guided to do. There is often a"rightness" that is felt when you follow that inner call. Sometimes Guidance just wants you to stop judging yourself and be kind to yourself. Sometimes Guidance will lead you into sitting still and meditating. It's not always a huge act; it can be one small detail that makes the difference.

            One important tip is that in order to get information on what is truly loving for you in each moment, you need to be open to the answer. If you are using Guidance to control another person or the outcome of a situation, you will not be able to hear the true answer. This is another reason to practice opening up. Practicing the six-steps of Inner Bonding® is the best way I know to foster this connection. Then once you feel connected to yourGuidance/Source/Spirit/Higher Self, you can begin to get answers to all kinds of questions big and small. But you have to ask!

Rythea Lee is a certified Inner Bonding® counselor with a private practice working individually with clients and groups for the past 11 years. She works out of her office in MA and gives phone sessions to people from all over the country. She recently published "Trauma into Truth: Gutsy Healing and Why It's Worth It" which includes prints of her paintings throughout the book and can be found on Amazon.com. This book integrates her work with clients with her own inspired discoveries of healing.  She loves being part of the IB Village.