Connecting with My Guide (wolves, bathing caps, tambourines and all)

 

She has so many names. We call her all sorts of things: inner self, authentic voice,  soul, the true you, or our intuition.

I call my inner knowledge my Guide. She is my connection to the essence of me that believes in goodness and joy and peace.

Our job is to open our connection to our Guide… or discover her, maybe for the first time. By personifying our Guide (or Guides in my case!) we can more easily tap into her knowledge. We can recognize her signals of “yes” and “no” more quickly. We can trust her when inklings of soul connection pop up in our busy lives.

Your Guide already trusts you.

She knows that you are worthy. She knows you’re deserving of your dreams, of love, of being at peace with your day-to-day. She knows you’re absolutely 100 % capable of your heart’s desires.

Your Guide is the part of you that seeks, belly laughs, and listens intently. She is the spirit of wholehearted living. She’s that physical presence of feeling connected, on purpose, authentic and present. Your Guide communicates through physical feelings of “hell yah” and “so, so wrong”, through dreams and gut feelings, through blissful moments of complete presence.

Your Guide is singing to you in those moments when you feel totally alive.

It’s your job to tune in, to recognize her, to separate her whispers from those of your inner critic and committee of ghosts.

She’ll speak up more often, and with clearer signals, when she realizes you’re listening… Make the time to identify your Guides and develop practices to keep the channels open: dance, pray, journaling, meditating, or walks in the wilderness are all lovely places to start.

I’ve identified two Guides that I regularly ask for advice, for hints of which choice to make, for connection to my true path. We have regular pow wows in my journal or conversations at the beach. They are me, yet imagining them as these two women help me separate my fears, my ego, and my selfishness from their message of connection and truth.

Molly B at 80 years old.

She’s seen a lot of life: love, trial, triumph. Nothing fazes her, though she still feels things deeply. She’s overcome enough hardships through the years to know what really matters: love, family, freedom to be just who you are, compassion for all people. She has long ago given up caring about popular opinion and dances to the beat of her own drum.

Molly B believes in a universal connection, a natural goodness among all of us. It’s hard to embarrass or ruffle her feathers. She spends time in silence appreciating simple beauty. She spends time in laughter with soul sisters, grandchildren, and legacy makers she’s met throughout her long life. She spends time being present to the tiny moments of glory.

Her life is a beautiful creation, a conglomeration of choices made on her own terms, full of cherished relationships above all else. She appreciates all the creative risks she took, how she started “really living” at a young age, that she was blessed to do work that changed peoples’ lives. She wouldn’t trade her family or her stories for anything else in the world.

She is not cynical or hopeless. She has an open heart and a generous spirit. She drinks tea and whiskey, sings loudly, dresses to please herself. She withholds judgment, but speaks her truth. She is supportive of women, of wildly using your imagination, of making love in the outdoors.

Molly B realizes the beauty is in the journey and reminds me of this on a daily basis.

Magdalena.

Magdalena smells like orange blossoms, runs around barefoot, and is totally connected to a higher power. She has a wolf named Horizon and a mass of blond curls.

She plays the piano in the moonlight. She has pity for those who don’t realize they are wearing masks. She swears when it’s true and holds her tongue when words would cause unnecessary damage. She inspires in her dedication to living her life out loud.

Dancing wildly with little reason is one of Magdalena’s favorite delights. She adores the spotlight, but doesn’t actively seek it out. She is fiercely protective and loyal to those she loves. She doesn’t pity fools, though she hopes they’ll snap out of their judgment in this lifetime. She swims naked, without an ounce of self-consciousness.

She relishes personal expression and physical connection and mountaintops. She has no tolerance for half-truths, or undervaluing ones self, or seeking outside validation. She’s wise, courageous, and a powerful feminine force.

Magda is the ultimate free spirit. She’s not afraid of being seen as an outsider or trailblazer.

Joy is found everywhere in her world. Questions are explored and appreciated. Bullshit is called out with compassion. She is curious about people and freely connects others to their power, their strength, their bliss.

Magdalena knows we are responsible for our own happiness and reminds me of this on a daily basis.

Connection.

My Guides hold the answers to my questions. They are the wisest, truest part of me.

Molly B reassures me that everything turns out the way it is supposed to. She reminds me that what seems so urgent in this moment is a tiny spark in the wildfire of my life, that I know who I am and always have, and that love and connection happen in small moments of grace, not loud declarations.

Magda helps me take more risks, stand up for what I think is right, ignore the haters, do what pleases me, value freedom, and stay connected to the wildly powerful feminine force within me.

These Guides do daily battle with my inner committee for me. They gain strength as I give them more notice, as I place more importance in their presence.

Part of worshiping them is worshiping myself, my greatest self. Part of listening to them is listening to myself, my truest self. Part of respecting them is respecting myself, my rightful self.

That? That is beautiful connection.

 

images: tambourine, molly b, magda

This post was originally written for the lovely Hannah Marcotti’s April Joy Up.