The relationship between love and guidance is the relationship between light and lamp.

Even our brilliant sun is a great lamp in service to Divine Light. And our hearts, to the degree that we tune them to Divine Love, become our true guides through the maze of the human life experience.
In our own lives, we gain greater and greater access to our Inner Guidance as we align with Unconditional Love. This love then becomes the vehicle of our guidance and its destination.

The relationship between Unconditional Love and ordinary love is the relationship between ocean and droplet.

One is all-inclusive and commanding. The other is small and separate. The ocean has power while the droplet must depend on conditions to keep it intact. As our hearts become oceans of love, we are no longer separate. Once we achieve this state, we can honestly “Love our neighbor as ourselves.” However, when we are droplets, we live in fear, always needing to protect ourselves from evaporation.

You can increase your awareness of the kind of love you are being by tapping into your Inner Guidance. If your love feels threatened or vulnerable to loss, that uneasy feeling is your guidance telling you that, at this moment, you are being a droplet. On the other hand, if you feel centered in a love that is all pervasive and as present as the air you breathe, that extraordinary feeling is your guidance telling you that you are, in this moment, being the ocean.

If you find you are feeling like a separate and fearful droplet, you can merge yourself back into the all-powerful ocean of love. It takes just about no time and anyone can do it. Almost all spiritual paths have a prayer or practice that leads your consciousness back to its Source of Love.

Here’s a little process you can try:

Close your eyes and sense your body. Notice any area where you are holding tension. As you let that area relax, imagine Divine Love flowing in to replace the tension. Feel this fluid presence soothing, nurturing and loving you unconditionally. Continue moving your awareness through your body in this way until all tense areas have been eased by the rich flow of liquid Love you have invited. The process is complete when you are relaxed and naturally smiling.

The relationship between Inner Guidance and outer guidance is the relationship between pull and push.

Inner Guidance is a pull, an attraction, a joyful drawing towards. It feels like falling in love or childlike delight. Outer guidance is a push. It comes from behind nudging you in a direction that is not your own. It feels like “have to” or “should.”

Since love is what you are made of, it can never be disharmonious to your nature. Since love is your heart’s destination, it is always available through Inner Guidance. If you are headed somewhere that does not feel like love, it may just be that you are on a trail of outer guidance. Fortunately, you cannot get too lost because your heart is always guiding you and detours only make life interesting.

If you find yourself on a strenuous, lack-luster journey, try this affirmation: Every step I take leads me to Love.

Beacons of Love

In order to be a lamp of God’s Light, an Ocean of God’s Love and a traveler on the path of Inner Guidance, while still being human (that’s the catch!) it helps to have a practice. A practice can look many different ways, but most importantly it catapults you out of your ordinary switched-off-lamp-separate-droplet consciousness into your heart of Love and your ocean of awareness.

Here is a simple practice you can begin right now:

See God everywhere. In other words, see love everywhere. Begin with your body. Extend out to the paper in your hand or the computer screen before you. See God as love in your furniture, in your home, in all the inanimate things that surround you. See God in your family members, neighbors and coworkers. See Divine Love in your pet (that’s easy!). See God and Divine Love everywhere.

This is a practice. It leads to an awareness of the ocean of love that is your true nature.

© 2005 Rebbie Straubing

Dr. Rebbie Straubing, developer of The Yoga of Alignment (YOFA), is a workshop leader, Abraham Coach and spiritual writer. Her free e-course, 7 Secrets for Manifesting Your Heart’s Desire is available at www.YOFA.net . Rebbie’s meditation CD, Affirmative Contemplation: I Am Love and downloadable recordings are available at www.AffirmativeContemplation.com.