Listening to your guides

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 12 Jul 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Trogon	12 Jul 2003
Okay... after the discussions on my first scrying experience I'm wondering about listening to one's spirit guides. I'll relate (hopefully briefly) my story; I was sitting in a coffee shop, late Friday morning, kind of studying the King of Pentacles. I noticed a woman sitting at another table, facing away from me. I thought to myself, "she's been sitting there longer than I have" (I'd been there sipping coffee & making notes on the K of P's for almost an hour). Mind you, this was a young woman, probably in her 20's. Believe it or not, I can be a little shy from time to time... :rolleyes: Anyway, I "heard" in my mind, "you should go say 'hi' and see if something is bothering her." Now... was this just my own thought... I tend to try to be helpful to people (occupational hazard)... or were my spirit guides trying to put me in contact with her? Unfortunately (or fortunately) my "shyness" won out - I mean what is a pretty 20-something woman going to think when this fat, unshaved, G.O.P. comes up to her and starts talking to her? Anyway... I'm wondering... how does one differentiate between an aural message from one's guides and just some darned thing one is thinking? I probably should've gone and talked to her, shouldn't I? :P Pfui...

Marion	12 Jul 2003
Yes, you should. I was downtown a few weeks ago. Just mostly sauntering and looking. The week before I been downtown and had left my little cloth carry bag somewhere, so while I had been walking I had also been inquiring, not that hopefully. I was about to go back to my car and go home. I kept getting insistent urges to go to a shop I had been the last weekend. A New Age shop which was several blocks out of my way and which i liked but did not wish to visit at this time. I finally gave in, and went to the shop. There was a young teenage girl minding the little store by herself. Did not have the bag. So I looked for a minute. Was about to leave when two drunk beligerent street people came in. I stayed right there of course and stared at them as they walked around the store talking loudly and they left after a few minutes. Chatted with the young lady who was saying how glad she was that I had been I the store. Honestly, I think my guides asked me to walk down there for just that few minutes.

zorya	12 Jul 2003
how i differentiate, is to go by the feeling i had when i 'heard' the message. what was the first feeling. was it calm and loving? or did it make me nervous or worried right away? our guides always speak to us from a place of peace. it is really important that i trust the first feeling because once i start analyzing it logically, i can become too worried, frightened or doubtful to trust the 'voice'. even warning messages come to us from a place of calm. imo, that calm can allow us to act. ever find yourself in an emergency situation and yet you stay calm? you are able to take care of the problem.... respond while others are stunned or panicked? then once the emergency is over, you fall apart?

HudsonGray	12 Jul 2003
For me it's usually a 'this is important' feel to it. An extra notice of soemthing where you'd normally just look away or dismiss a thought. ALL the ones that went bad on me happened after one of those 'wait a minute' thoughts that I dismissed--letting our klutzy cat stay playing in the bathtub where he rarely goes (he badly hurt his nose & front teeth trying to jump out & going face first into the porcelain), the car tire (flat later!), the take a different route today (car accident that trashed the Sunbird), etc. All those second look things you ignore that suddenly end up meaning something important from a few seconds to a few hours later. If you get that 'do it' feeling, better listen. There's likely a reason & it won't be because it's any casual daydreaming or random thought.

bluestar	13 Jul 2003
This story made me think of my experience with the fool card, which I suppose could relate to any experience of expanding into new/unknown territory; the message I get from the fool is often that on my adventure everything will be ok if I just remember to pay attention to commonsense and not forget a stupid detail I aught to have attended to. In your situation, perhaps you needed the (fool's?) confidence, knowing you are polite and upfront, which would come across to her. And after your meditation on King of pents , which I would describe as the booming & hearty earth king, who would come across as trustworthy!(Im sure you would have been vibing like the earth king!) In my notes on this card some advice is that resolute action will lead to good fortune! I agree about paying attention to your first feeling and the importance of calm. But I can understand that after being in your card meditation/note-taking for so long then having to pick a moment to go or not to go meet this person to an unknown reaction would be a bit initmidating!

Trogon	13 Jul 2003
Quote: Originally posted by bluestar But I can understand that after being in your card meditation/note-taking for so long then having to pick a moment to go or not to go meet this person to an unknown reaction would be a bit initmidating! Yes... a bit. :D You would think after 40 some odd years (we won't quibble over the finer details) of life in general, 20-ish years in law enforcement and 10 years studying the Tarot, that I wouldn't have that kind of reaction and nervousness anymore. :| Sheesh... you'd think I was a little kid who'd never talked to anybody before. :rolleyes: I guess thats going to have to be the subject of either my next Tarot reading or scrying. Thank you all for your input. I just pray that whatever was troubling her (if something was) that her guides found her someone else. I'm sure they did. I also hope that I'm a little stronger for this incident and for the discussion of it. We learn, as we go along, regardless of whether we get it "right" or stumble in the path. We always learn from it, else, why take the path at all...

MeeWah	13 Jul 2003
Since I "accidentally" wound up here after blindly clicking on what I thought was Talking Tarot, I read through this thread. It reminds me of a recent experience. At work, I prefer to keep a low profile regarding my interests due to the general climate (conservative & predominantly Christian) & due to not wanting to mix the two areas. Several co-workers know I do readings & I have read for a few. in the breakroom I oft encounter the same co-worker whom I do not know well but like. During those occasions we have been the only ones there. The last few times I kept getting the thought "Offer her a reading!" I am not consciously aware of guides, but I did not offer for all the usual reasons. Also since I prefer Tarotwork to the "day job", I was not sure the preference was what was prompting me. When I finally decided to act on the thought, she was very friendly & said she would think about it. A few weeks ago, she told me she had been thinking about her situation & wanted to take me up on my offer. I had already told her at the time of the offer not to tell me anything ahead of time & to reserve any questions & comments until after the reading. We arranged on a time & I did the throw & looked it over before phoning her. At the end of the reading, she said it helped to clarify a difficult personal matter (on which the cards were rather explicit). When I made my offer, she had been miserable & had already prayed for guidance for months. She had nearly given up that anything would result. In hindsight, perhaps I should have offered sooner but I chalk it up to yet another learning experience. Generally, I pay attention to what I see as "guidance" though I am not sure from where the various promptings originate. I have noted that they apparently occur regardless of whatever I may be doing at the time & even have the feeling of interrupting (whilst in the midst of a reading too like a news bulletin). There is oft an urgency accompanying the thought. Those qualities are what encourage me to act.

Moongold	13 Jul 2003
Trogon, What a wonderful thread. I have been aware for many years of the voice of intuition. Sounds quite impersonal doesn't it? Sometimes I've heeded it, sometimes not. For some reason I've found harder to attach the voices to persona like "Guides". Last Friday night I was in a state of indecision and inner conflict. I left the bookshop where I had spent a pleasant hour browsing and buying some books and stood in the street pondering what to do about the conflict. The choices ran through my mind again and one was presented to me with a certain softness and lightness. I also felt a physical warmth in my body. I disregarded that choice as it turned out, and deeply regret it now. I have thought about that moment many times since. It is a lesson that I'll learn - the overall experience was so strong. Yesterday, there was another moment, not about the same issue, but something very important as well. This time, there was no hesitation and it was as though my inner self acted right away. The usual voices of disagreement or doubt were absent. The action that I took at that moment was completely right and un-self conscious. Thanks for this lovely thread.

Baby Owl	13 Jul 2003
I also find this very interesting. I wonder if it might help to have a "second opinion" option when you get these feelings? For example, if possible, do a quick tarot consultation (I realize there isn't always time for that) or devise another way you can seek confirmation for the feeling on the spot. Just a thought. I have done this when time permitted. (For example, getting a message from a dream guide, then confirming it by tarot.) Baby Owl

isthmus nekoi	13 Jul 2003
Perhaps one of the greatest lessons I've learned in life is to be able to differentiate b/w the inner voice which calls you to individuation and the inner voice which calls you to ruin. It's not only a simple matter of trusting instincts, but to know *how* to trust them. If the intuition calling me to act is strong, but there is just a *hint* of a feeling of compulsion, I will not follow it, no matter how much I can rationalize it. I know it to be the easy way out. If I feel the same urgency w/o any *compulsion*, then I will follow this guidance anywhere. I second what zorya has said: the voice should come from a place that is calm. If there is no strength to the suggestion, then I don't feel there's any divinity behind it, and whatever happens is fine or at least, not terribly important ^_~

Sayonaran	14 Jul 2003
I don't know how to describe it, since most of the time, it's an internal thing. I've gotten a seperate 'internal thought' that something was important for me to grab my attention, and not just an empty thought on everyday things (should I go and really buy some new sneakers or just wait until these fall apart first?) Guardians act differently to people, so one exipirence with one is different from another. When I'm doing something I know I shouldn't I usually get punched in the right arm (hard enough to leave a bruise). It's not always just 'hearing a voice'. I've also seen my own Guardian twice when I was in a bit of trouble of some kind... I had gotten violently ill after doing some hard work programming and trying to sort bills after the Christmas rush. I'm in the hospital, angry naturally (I used to get sick often when I was younger, so I generally hate hospitals) and this strange doctor comes in to speak with me. Unnaturally positive I'd say. We talked for about an hour or so, and he leaves. My stay at the time was surprisingly short: 1 week, since when I usually came ill, it'll be between 1-3 months. No one else saw the doctor but a gabby sort of nurse, who had second sight. No one never heard of this young man nor was he in the offical database. It wasn't a fever that's for sure. The second time was when I first started going to college, and was so nervous that I couldn't keep anything down. I thought I was too sick to go, but went anyway. I chatted with this nice person who sat across from me and she told me about her kind and generous neigbor who gave her a ride that day (her car was being worked on). We met and chatted with him. He had the same odd looks and overly positive personality (just darker skin), and after speaking with him for an hour or so and gaining some good advice, he left. The girl transferred and her neighbor went 'on vacation' for some reason unexplained. That's all I have to say for now (i bet this is a lot to read!)

Trogon	15 Jul 2003
Wow! Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Also thank you all for sharing your own experiences! Its kind of good to know I wasn't just "hearing voices"... :D The ideas of a short Tarot reading (or, I suppose, a pendulum "reading") on the situation as well as the "feeling" of the message and the "feeling" about the source were very helpful. As I said though, I actually found all the comments helpful. I do find it quite comforting to know that I'm not the only one who has had to struggle with this learning process. Listening to this inner voice, or your guides, or whatever you choose to call this... it is a different thing for me now than it used to be. Not so much that the "voice" is different, but I think rather that I am now more consciously aware of it than I used to be. Before this, I might have gotten little subconscious nudges, or even had certain thoughts or ideas pop into my mind... but now I am making that effort to specifically identify this from just my usual thoughts and ideas. Again, thank you all... (I'll keep y'all posted on any new developments or thougths... ;) )

Red Emma	15 Jul 2003
I wish my guides were so ... apparent? I've finally realized that mine work in more subtle ways. They put obstacles in my way when I'm considering something I shouldn't. Most recently, a therapist advised me to take a more powerful anti-depressant than I had been. I didn't want to, didn't think I should. Then I didn't pay attention to "the signs" and took it. It's been six weeks, and I've felt so groggy and wiped-out from being over-medicated that it's been very difficult. The signs? First of all my HMO pharmacy wouldn't fill the prescription because the therapist hadn't properly applied for the medication...got that straightened out then the pharmacy had trouble getting the stuff. In the end, when I went to pick up the prescription the pharmacist said something, in a kind of throw-away tone, about it's effects. At that time I began thinking, maybe I shouldn't take this. But the therapist is well thought of, and I decided to over ride my hesitation. AFter all, she's a lady with multiple degrees and had otherwise worked very well with me. Sure wish I'd paid attention.

Celtic_Dragon	16 Jul 2003
On the surface I'm a pretty shy and easily intimadated while underneith my firey side is strong and fierce...sometimes....many times I argue with my guides before I finaly consede to doing what they want....hehe :D I'm stubborn.....But one day I remember walking home from school. I was really tired that day and all I wanted to do was get home....because I was in Denver and I had an hour and a half bus ride home to venture through before even reaching my city. Anyways I just wanted to get there and be home. On my way there were several homeless people, I would've liked to give them some money of some kind but I only had enough for the bus (being the poor college student that I am) but I did have an extra 50 cents, and there was this last guy sitting in a chair with a cast on his leg asking for just 25 cents. And as I approached him I kept arguing and arguing with my *voice* that I needed the money to make a phone call to let my family know that I was comming home....but I gave up and gave him the 50 cents. After that I headed accross the crosswalk when this car comes around and just about runs me over! well, my foot actually. I was knocked down and a little shocked at the time. She gave me her number and license and said that she would pay for any thing that the insurance didn't cover. I just kept thinking all day that if I hadn't stoped to offer that guy (with the broken leg) some money I'd have either broken my leg or dislocated my knee or something.....everyone agrees that I was lucky but won't go so far as to say it was fate or destiny or whatever.....I still think that I was warned.

buzzbee	16 Jul 2003
Sometimes I clearly hear my guide or other spirit, & it seems to be a voice outside my head - like another person speaking out loud in the room. And what is said doesn't necessarily have to do with what I'm thinking about or doing at the moment I hear the voice (unless I'm seeking guidance on purpose & they are responding.) When I do trance & bring thru a speaker, I'm too preoccupied to chat as they move in, but I can ask questions from the "peanut gallery" that the speaker will politely repeat for the benefit of the listeners and then answer. Most communications come when I dream of speaking with my guide. And I've kicked myself when I didn't listen to their suggestions ... sigh.

The Listening to your guides thread was originally posted on 12 Jul 2003 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.