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Listening to the little voice By Elizabeth Sterling 12.10.2005 A few weekends ago I had the privilege of attending a Sound Healing workshop led by Ash Dargan, an Australian who has been trained by Aboriginese elders. One of the things that really I walked away with from the workshop was that as Westerners we fail to listen to our intuition. He gave a great example. An indigenous person walking in the bush might walk down a path and get a strong sense that he should not continue walking on the path. So, what do they do? They get off the path and walk sensing where it is safe to walk. As a Westerner faced with the same situation, we may not even sense the warning because we might be too busy thinking about something else or talking on our cell phone;). But if we were present and sensed the warning, we would be quick to question it. Why should I not continue on the path? I don’t see anything in the path that should be a problem. If I go off the path, it will take longer or will require more energy, etc…And we rationalize our way out of listening to the little voice. Well, on my way home I noticed that I was getting short on gasoline. The problem was that there were only 2 gas stations between where I was and my house. Neither were full-serve stations and being pregnant I do not like to expose my baby to the gasoline fumes. I was coming up on the first station, and I thought, perhaps, I can convince someone to pump my gas for $5. When I got to the station, there was a guy sitting on the curve with what appeared to be his girlfriend. I just couldn’t get up the nerve to ask. So I decided that this one time would not be a big deal to pump my own gas. I knew I did not have enough gas to make it home and I didn’t want to get stranded. I went to use my credit card in the pump, still trying to work up the nerve to ask someone else to pump it for me. I went through all the steps and a message came up on the screen <network error> . So I went through the set of steps again, and the same message came up <network error>. I thought back to the story that Ash Dargan told in our workshop that afternoon. Two warnings were enough. I got in my car, and drove toward my house. Right before I got to the last gas station on the way home, the fuel light came on. I thought maybe there will be someone at the pump that I can ask for help. When I got to the station, no one was at the pump. I got out of the car, and an older teenager was standing across the parking lot. He looked right at me and said, “Hi!” in the kind of goofy innocent way that only a teenager has. I said hi back and recited my rehearsed offer. He said, “I’ll pump you gas for free.” In that moment, I felt so universally protected and affirmed. God is always watching out for our best interests even when we don’t know what those are most of the time. We can let our rational minds be in charge and try to convince us that these circumstances were coincidence, or we can affirm the way that God is constantly trying to lead us on the best path for our highest good. He is the Shepard gently nudging us with the staff and when we fail to respond sometimes a whack with a rod is necessary too. When we acknowledge the little and big miracles that save us from harm or bless us in some way as a gift from the Divine, we open the channel a little wider for God to come into our hearts and our lives. The little voice becomes a little louder and easier to trust. Try it. The next time something good happens rather than saying “boy, that sure was lucky” try acknowledging God’s work and Grace instead. See if it changes the frequency and magnitude of the blessings in your life. It has mine! Quotation "One in whom persuasion and belief – William Wordsworth The Excursion book iv Prayer I abandon my mind to You. I open my heart to You. I trust You. And when I say I love You, I feel enshrouded by your presence. You are my peace, my safety, my Wisdom. I thank You for these blessings. Amen.
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