“Nothing needs to be fixed. Everything is unfolding perfectly. So, when you stand in your now, accepting that all is well, then from that vibration you become surrounded by more and more evidence that all is well.”
-Abraham-Hicks
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Sometimes life is uncomfortable, even painful. Sometimes we struggle and feel like we need to fix the parts of ourselves that feel broken. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some kind of spiritual repair shop where we could drop off our egos and come back in a week to bring home a newly refurbished, fixed self?

 Sounds great right? Well, maybe there is... 

​OK, let’s look a little more closely at the form-list from God’s Repair Shop and what it means.
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I understand that it is my own perceptions about things that create struggle and pain in my life.

When we are in pain, struggling emotionally, most of us want to fix what we perceive as our broken selves. But are we actually broken? Do we need fixing? Or is this a soul-level opportunity for expansion signaling a need for a change in perception?

I understand that I make it hard for myself when I take too much responsibility for the aspects of my life which feel broken by thinking it is my job to fix them.

As we encounter discomfort in our lives, we often assume that it is up to us to make it better and fix it. After all, ego thinks, who else is going to do it? But that is like putting the cart before the horse. We’ll go nowhere fast. The more we try to fix what we think is broken, the more broken it feels. Our egos just aren’t equipped for the job.

 I acknowledge that I am ready to make a different choice.

The first step to change is awareness. We acknowledge that when we are in pain and discomfort, we have the opportunity for soul-growth. We have the opportunity to make a different choice.  

I acknowledge that I don’t have to know how to do that.

The beauty of this is, we don’t have to know how or what to change  because God knows what needs to be done. We make the choice to turn the whole situation over to God. We let go of trying to fix anything. As we do that, we open the door for our Spiritual Support Team to guide us through solutions and answers that will make real change possible in our lives.

​When you turn over your worries, and their attendant need to fix and control, to God, asking Spirit to be an active participant in your life, you may discover something wonderful.

You can relax. You may feel creative energy flowing and creative ideas popping into your mind. You may find that smiles and laughter come easily and naturally. Humor bubbles up spontaneously. You feel appreciative, grateful and loving.

All this from making a simple request  and a little change of perspective.

“If you allow yourself to expect guidance, guidance will show up.”    
 - Richard Bartlett 

A few years ago, I took a class on reading Tarot cards from my spiritual mentor. It was not your usual class because she was not your average teacher.

She saw guidance from Spirit all around, everywhere she looked, and she taught her lucky students to do the same, starting with Tarot cards.

We learned in that Tarot class to pay attention to what jumped out at us from the pictures on the cards. She taught us to look carefully at the card and then close our eyes, noticing what appeared to us in our mind’s eye from the card.

Then we analyzed the metaphor of the symbol of the picture that appeared in our mind’s eye. What did it symbolize to us?

I was delighted to spend time with my spiritual teacher as she pointed out symbols and messages from Spirit throughout the day, a license plate number that had special meaning to her, a particular weather pattern, the unexpected behavior of a bird or animal, these all contained messages to her from Spirit.  

It could be anything in the environment that caught her attention. She expected guidance to be all around her.

Symbols and metaphors are the language of the subconscious, the superconscious, and Spirit. They are the language of the heart.

What we find ourselves paying attention to in our environment is a message, a symbol, guidance from our intuitive inner Selves. That part of ourselves that is aligned with Spirit.

But here’s the hard part for me - just as with interpreting the Tarot, we need to discern the difference between what our minds are paying attention to and what our hearts are guiding us toward.

Our minds pay attention to ‘to do’ lists, judgments, self-criticism, our inner chatterbox. Our hearts pay attention to wholeness, balance and trust. We're looking for the heart's guidance.

What does your heart tell you is needed to be in your wholeness today? Guidance from Spirit is all around you, like the symbols on the Tarot cards, written in the symbolic language of the heart.

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“Tie your camel and place your trust in Allah.”
 - Muhammed, founder of Islam
 
Have you heard this ancient saying attributed to the prophet Muhammed?  The story is that Muhammed saw a Bedouin leaving his camel without tethering it and asked him why he was doing this. The Bedouin replied that he was placing his trust in Allah and had no need to tie the camel. The prophet Muhammed then replied, “Tie your camel and place your trust in Allah.”
 
What does this mean for us in our Western lives?
 
The other night I had a dream in which I was desperately seeking what it was I needed and I was unable to find it. It was unpleasant, I can tell you. Analyzing it afterward, I realized that I was feeling fearful about having what I needed for comfort and nutrition on our upcoming trips.  
 
Does this mean that I don’t trust God to provide what I need? Would careful planning and packing be a fear-based action or a love-based action?
 
Oh, the woes of self-questioning!
 
As I worried about it, the above quote came to mind, only I remembered it like this, “Trust God but tie your camel.”
 
I love how guidance comes. This time it was a gentle reminder in the form of a misquote.
 
Worded like that it implies that I did not trust God to provide what I needed.
 
I looked it up on-line and the quote is better translated as “Tie your camel and trust God.”
 
That implies action on my part and then allowing God to do the rest. The former is a fear-based translation, the latter, love-based. The difference is very important.
 
The action looks the same either way, the motivation is very different.
 
I strive to learn to take action motivated by love. Therefore, I choose to tie my camel and trust God. I choose to do my best and leave the rest up to God. I choose to take action over what I have control of and plan and pack what I feel I need. Then I choose to let go and invite God in, knowing I am supported by my own efforts and by God. 
 
There is a saying, often attributed to Benjamin Franklin.
“God helps those who help themselves.”
 
We can lovingly do what is there for us to do, and then let go of all else, leaving room for God to enter in. We can do our part and we can trust God.

“Let your life reflect the faith you have in God. Fear nothing and pray about everything. Be strong, trust God's word, and trust the process.”
- Germany Kent 

"God is very current, you know, said the angel, almost laughing."
- Lee Carroll/Kryon, The Journey Home
 
For several days now I’ve been feeling confusion and lack of clarity about where I am going in several different areas of my life. Along with the confusion comes fear.  What’s up with these feelings?

When I was an anxious teenager wanting to know my path ahead and what choices I should make, my mother advised me with what her mother advised her.

She said that we are on a path of stepping stones and all we can see is the next stepping stone ahead. We can always see that stepping stone if we pay attention. We are not given anything more than that, just one stepping stone ahead of where we are now.

She said we always know the next step to take, we have only to look for that next stepping stone. 

How is it then that I forget to follow that sage advice?

Perhaps because implicit in that wisdom is the necessity to trust that the path won’t dead end, or lead off a cliff, or into deep water. Implicit is the need to trust that God/Spirit will provide that next stepping stone, and the next after that, and that each step will lead to where I want to go. Trust is needed here.

But what if the path doesn’t lead where I want to go? I have to trust that if it doesn't it will lead  to someplace better than I could have imagined.

Years ago when I was suffering over my own angsty teenagers, feeling fearful, anxious and not knowing how to get off the fear train my thoughts were on, I received a message.

“You don’t believe in God.”

Wow, that blew my mind. I was offended! Of course I believed in God!

“Then where does all this fear come from? If you really believed in God you would trust that God is in charge and taking care of you and your daughters.”

Understanding soaked in. If I really, deeply believed and trusted in God/Spirit, I would not be caught in a loop of fear. God/Spirit knows what I want and need. My job is to look for the next step on my path, the next stepping stone, take it and trust the rest to God/Spirit.

Fast forward twenty years and I am still reminding myself to trust God.

 All that's needed is to look for that next stepping stone. 
 
Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash