Tuning into the Subtleties of Spirit’s Guidance by Colin

We are into the final week of our 3-week Silent Retreat here in Yowrie. This has been a great opportunity for me to start tuning in more and more to guidance as this retreat has not only been mainly in silence but also there has been very little structure.

Earlier this afternoon I felt a prompt to go for a walk. It was not like it came with a thunderous invitation with trumpets blowing, just more of a quiet feeling. It was followed by a doubt thought that argued I had already gone for a walk in the morning. So I asked Spirit to make it clear if I was to go for a walk. And then a bird started singing. Now being open to this kind of thing feels very new to me but to be honest I am noticing every time I remember to ask I am hearing responses like this a lot. And it feels very joyful and relaxing. I feel as though Spirit really is with me and answering my every call.

So whilst on this walk at one point I started to question if it was time to turn around and head back, which is what I did after pausing briefly. But as I started walking back something did not feel right. My legs started to get heavy and suddenly even the weather seemed oppressive. So I stopped again and asked which direction I was to go. This time I was given a vision of a rock I knew of and it was in the opposite direction to the way I’d been going. I joyfully turned back and made my way toward the rock and it was as though with every step Spirit was affirming His Presence; a gentle, cooling breeze, more joyful birds singing and renewed strength and freshness in my legs.

And later, nearing the end of my walk I was prompted to write this blog. I’m getting glimpses that this is the way my life can be, in fact this effortless flow feels like the natural way to live.

None of what I am saying is revelatory but it feels so simple and so good. Jesus says in ACIM that to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance is the way out of guilt because to make decisions on my own is to take on a role that is not mine, which must inevitably result in guilt. So it’s kind of humbling to be doing something as simple as going for a walk and to stop part way and recognise I have no clue what I’m doing, where I’m heading etc. but there is also something refreshingly honest about it. And to feel so light and guilt free is wonderful.

So I feel like I’m going to relax and enjoy the remainder of this retreat and really keep asking Spirit any time something is not clear about what I am to do. In ACIM Jesus says that he is no different to us in that Spirit is also in our minds. The only difference is that Spirit’s voice was all Jesus heard. That feels like a very exciting goal, to hear only one voice. To be completely free of any egoic conflict. I feel like what I describe above is a very humble beginning but this is where I am at.

Thank you Spirit!