About ten years ago I was blessed to be among several women invited to stay in a “cabin” in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.  (Read: gorgeous two-story home with cathedral ceilings, several bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a wonderful deck overlooking a lake.) It was an exquisite weekend filled with luscious leisure time sunning, swimming in the lake, sumptuous meals, walks through the woods, hot tubbing under the stars, and hours of good conversation.

During this weekend, I was blessed with an amazing dream.  In this dream, I was effortlessly guided and led in all that I did.  I didn’t have to make conscious choices because my mouth was guided in the words I said, my hands were guided, my feet were guided, my body floated to where it needed to go.  Good things happened.  Situations were healed.  People were healed.  And all I had to do was allow myself to be in that incredible state of flow and grace.  It was quite a remarkable feeling.  At one point I felt myself getting stuck.  Some “bad men” were coming after me and I became afraid.  Then I realized the fear was preventing me from being in the flow.  So I consciously relaxed and with that relaxation I returned to that incredible state of grace.  My body effortlessly flowed out of the dangerous situation and again all was right with the world.

As I started to return to waking consciousness I began to worry how I would ever be able to maintain this delicious feeling.  Real life was complicated.  I was worried I would never be able to feel that kind of guidance for very long.  I was worried I’d fall short. Would I ever be able to be so helpful to the world, so guided, so able to heal?  Fortunately for me, I was still at the cabin in the company of some truly wonderful women.  And as I emerged from my room and sat among them, I realized I didn’t have to do anything.  I was feeling really mellow in the afterglow of the dream and I had no energy to get up and cook, get up and clean, nor even to really participate much in the conversation.  I just sat there.

It turned out that I didn’t need to “effort” to stay in the deliciousness of that dream state.  It turned out that I didn’t necessarily need to be active or to participate in acts of service.  It turned out that self-care was exactly what I needed to do.  As I listened to the needs of my body and spirit, I felt the grace that I had felt in my dream.  As my own dream told me, I simply needed to relax to be in that state of grace. 

What do you need to do to be receptive to divine guidance?  The answer may differ for each of you, but I am pretty certain the answer will not be “Do as much as you can for as many people as you can as often as you can and ignore all of your own needs.”  We have to allow for stillness and receptivity in order to hear/feel/intuit the guidance we are given.  Remember that even Jesus took time away from the multitudes on a regular basis.  Remember Moses climbed the mountain when he needed clarity and guidance.  Remember Gandhi had long periods of time in prison during which he could reflect, fast, pray.  And Joan of Arc took time out to be among the trees so that she could hear the voice of God.

I wish for you the ability to tune in to divine guidance.  I wish for you that beautiful state of grace.  I wish for you the opportunity to be still.  I wish for you peace.

When you are guided and when you listen to that guidance, not only you, but the whole world benefits.

Blessed be.