Spiritual Guidance: 5 Big Reasons Your Soul is the Best Guide
The spiritual guidance that comes from within, specifically from the soul, is the best guide.
Because the soul holds what’s possible for you.
Think of the soul as an inner compass, guiding you where you’re destined to go. How to find yourself spiritually, means following that inner compass.
Spiritual guidance from within.
For those of us on a spiritual journey, John O’ Donohue, author of Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom, offers us a beautiful description of the spiritual guidance that exists within us…
“Your soul knows the geography of your destiny. Your soul alone has the map of your future, therefore you can trust this indirect, oblique side of yourself. If you do, it will take you where you need to go, but more importantly, it will teach you a kindness of rhythm in your journey.”
The first time I heard this, my heart stopped. My soul knows the geography of my destiny... Oh, man. The individuality of it! The inner knowing of it! The power of it! Trusting oneself! I was practically drooling.
When he says, “this indirect, oblique side of yourself” I melt at the idea of other sides of me being finally acknowledged. Other sides! What are those sides and what do they have to express?
If everyone who is angry, rage-filled, or disappointed could possibly acknowledge their other sides, we might see less violence, narcissism, and cruelty in our world.
Then he goes on to say, a kindness of rhythm in your journey… His choice of wording here is magnificent. He’s found a simple, beautiful, and original way to describe self-love and leaning into your spirit.
Be true to what calls you.
As a Jewish woman, I’ve had countless people suggest their way to God versus mine. More on my story here. However, spiritual guidance is within us because each soul has a unique road to travel.
Below are 5 big reasons why spiritual guidance from the soul is so valuable to you. Let’s jump in!
1. Each soul is unique and has a unique road to travel.
The higher power that resonates with your soul’s path will call out to you. You’ll feel it.
It’ll sound like a song your soul longs to hear.
You’ll sense spiritual guidance and as you listen to it, your calling will serve the greater good.
Be true to that soulful calling and your innate power. Ask what you can do to fulfill your destiny. Or, as Elizabeth Lesser suggests in her book Broken Open, ask yourself: What does my soul want to learn in this situation? Or, in the world.
No one else can tell you what’s true for you. That’s between you and God/Source/Universe.
What does spiritual mean?
According to the Oxford dictionary, the word spiritual is “relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.”
“Spirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience…” says Dr. Maya Spencer at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
There’s something greater than yourself… and it’s cosmic or divine in nature. Whatever that is for you, in nature or otherwise, as you acknowledge that you do not walk your path alone, you become clear about your spiritual guidance.
Spiritual practices are referring to the things you do regularly to connect you to your sense of spirit. Whatever spiritual practice you choose, it must resonate with your soul.
Because each of us is called to different spiritual points of view, our spiritual practice must feel like a song we long to sing.
2. The soul is the seed of potential.
As you connect with your soul, you tap into your inner potential.
The seed of potential.
In The Soul’s Code by James Hillman, on page 6, he writes about Acorn Theory:
“In a nutshell, then, this book is about calling, about fate, about character, about innate image. Together they make up the “acorn theory,” which holds that each person bears a uniqueness that asks to be lived and that is already present before it can be lived.”
It’s present before it can be lived, meaning the image of you exists before you do.
There are moments when I question this idea because it’s so outside of what I see in my day-to-day life, so I understand if it seems impossible.
Or, not? Some people quickly believe this.
Either way, expansive thinking can help you open up to the spiritual power within you. Mr. Hillman goes into more detail on page 8:
“The soul of each of us is given a unique daimon before we are born, and it has selected an image or pattern that we live on earth. This soul-companion, the daimon, guides us here; in the process of arrival, however, we forget all that took place and believe we come empty into this world… your daimon is the carrier of your destiny.”
Just in case the word daimon is confusing, no it is NOT the same as daemon, which is referring to the opposite (boo) of what we’re talking about here.
Daimon definition – The Academy of Ideas states, Hillman conceived the daimon as a psychological complex or force existing in everyone, whose function is to help us find our personal calling, and provide us with the motivation to follow it.
We’re given both a calling and the motivation to step into our spiritual power and follow our destiny.
3. And then you have spirit guides.
Personally, I rely on spiritual guidance from my spirit guides quite a bit. And, you can too.
I mean, all the time.
When I wake up in the morning, I can thank my spirit guides for giving me comfort and support. Then, I have a conversation with my spirit guides about what I want to accomplish during the day.
You can have a conversation with your spirit guides all day long, every day.
After my husband passed, my mom’s friend was helping me with my book, The Thought Store, and she told me that my husband was a spirit guide of mine. It turns out that she was a medium.
I had no idea.
You too have spirit guides; one or two might be a deceased loved one. However, loved ones who’ve passed aren’t always spiritual guides. Rebecca Rosen’s Spirited is the perfect book to read if you want more information on spirit guides.
In The Butterfly Silhouette my heroine, a caterpillar who doubts herself, goes on a spiritual quest. Along the way she must not only confront her fear and self-doubt, but also her lack of connection to the universe.
Then, why is life so hard?
If we’re given all of this spiritual guidance, why is life so hard?
Because we have things to learn before our destiny is fulfilled. We each have our own thoughts about what we can and cannot do! This is an important thing to bear in mind when you are struggling.
Your destiny.
For example, if part of my destiny is to inspire people, I might be afraid of public speaking. Or, I might be afraid of putting my ideas out there for the world to see. This was true of me… so I’ve lived this.
Or, if you’re here to heal others, you might be insecure about yourself. You might not believe in your own power. You’ll doubt you’re big enough, strong, or skilled enough to heal others or yourself.
Believe it or not, our destiny or calling is often the thing that’s hardest for us.
Care for the inner aspect of you.
Thomas Moore’s, Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life has influenced me more than any other book.
I found this book in my 30s when I was excited about starting a family. However, I was bored with my job and felt disconnected from a part of myself that I couldn’t name.
Basically, I felt a spiritual hunger and I was yearning for spiritual power.
4. A grounded form of spiritual guidance.
Thomas Moore’s soul-centered spirituality spoke to me and my desires more than any church, synagogue, or meditation practice. It was exactly what I needed: self-acceptance, forgiveness, personal power, and spiritual connection.
Mostly, I longed for a connection to this vast universe, to something that didn’t judge me and make me feel bad about myself or my origins.
That’s the beauty of the soul. You’ll be compelled toward those things you need to fulfill your soul’s destiny. Furthermore, as you know your soul, you’re tapping into the natural power within you.
You’ll be guided to your truth.
5. Spiritual guidance from unexpected places.
In Care of the Soul, chapter 6: The Soul and Power, Thomas Moore writes…
“What is the source of this soul power, and how can we tap into it? I believe it often comes from unexpected places. It comes first of all from living close to the heart, and not at odds with it. Therefore, paradoxically, soul power may emerge from failure, depression and loss. The general rule is that soul appears in the gaps and holes of experience.”
This is such a self-accepting way to look at our failures and weaknesses… as our gaps and holes of experience in this life. We don’t have to make it more than that right?
We’re eternal learners, stepping in many potholes along the way.
In your search for meaning and self-love, caring for the deepest part of you is a tonic for so much.
On Indian Matchmaking.
The award winning Netflix show Indian Matchmaking is so good, I can’t look away.
In season two, Viral Joshi is talking with Aashay, who Sima Auntie has arranged for her to meet. I love how Viral’s mind is stimulated as she asks, “Is it free will, or is it destiny and you just take that path?”
But, it’s not really one or the other. Here’s one way to describe the relationship between free will and destiny:
Our destiny is there before we are. However, we determine when we will fulfill our destiny with our choices or free will.
It’s only a matter of time.
So, the possibility is there, within you. However, your choices day by day affect how and when you will fulfill what’s possible in your life.
However, try to not be too much in your head about these choices. Innate power doesn’t come from overthinking.
A big part of living with self-love, and living as a spiritual being, is to focus on learning, healing, creating, and expanding… not analyzing.
Focus on learning and creating to ultimately produce the results you desire.
When you find your soul you grow confidence.
When you find your soul, you don’t need others to validate you. You know your own power.
However, it’s a process, and it doesn’t happen overnight.
And that’s ok because your soul is here to learn lessons in life… like belief in yourself, your power is within you, not needing others to feel good about your goals (even though support is nice!), being confident in a given situation, being secure in yourself, and being compassionate to you and others.
Oh yea, the soul is busy.
It might sound like a lot, but your spiritual power is right there.
Your soul and spirit is here to learn, so ratchet back your expectations. As you’re learning think: Oh, interesting. Oh, I can see that way of doing things. Yep, I’m going to try another route.
On the spiritual path, self-compassion over self-criticism, moment by moment, is your friend here.
It’s a conversation between you and a higher power that you invite in to help you be your best self.
That’s accessing your true spiritual power.
