I don’t hear voices or see things—at least, not in the way that psychotics do, thankfully. Nor do I channel. But I do try my best to be sensitive to the leadings of my heart. That way goodness lies.
Everyone says from time to time, “I just had a feeling . . .” or “Something told me that . . . . “ A mother may feel when her child is in danger, a cook may sense when the roast is done, a cop may make an unplanned left turn and come across someone who desperately needs help—now.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be led all the time? It turns you into a genuine servant of the living God, of the Christ in you that is your Higher Self. Some people do live this way, all the time. It’s just a question of getting there.
I think the first step in the process is honoring our experiences when we are led, no matter how small or insignificant these experiences seem.
Some of my first promptings were in shopping for clothes (of all things!) when I lived in the city. Once I was looking for a white dress to wear for my wedding—not a bridal gown, just a white dress. I was in a new city, walking around more or less at random, when I passed a women’s clothing store and saw a flash of white through the window. I walked in , found the aisle I was looking for, turned and walked to the flash of white I had seen, and put my hands on the dress at the end of the rack. I tried it on, and the other women in the store started whispering to the clerk who was helping me, “Tell her that’s the one!”
Was I not led? Some people call this kind of experience a blessing, and indeed it was. But being led is an active blessing—you have to be receptive and responsive to it, or you may just ignore it and decide to go to the coffee shop instead.
Receptivity can be life-saving. One time I was hiking in Yellowstone Park (by myself—not a recommended practice), trying to follow a long and somewhat isolated trail, a 14-mile loop up into the mountains and back down by another route. But the markings on the map I had brought were different from the markings on the trail, so I had to go more or less on instinct.
Things were going okay, I thought, until I came to a marker and had to make an abrupt turn across a meadow. It was spring, and the ground was soggy. The trail disappeared about halfway across the meadow, and I had no idea what direction to go in. I looked up to the hills on the other side of the now-marsh, and saw a trail leading out of the meadow and up a hill. So I set my sights on that trail and headed for it.
But as I neared the edge of the meadow, I noticed that my feet were going to the right. Puzzled, I decided to follow my feet—which led me safely onto the trail down the mountain.
Certainly I was receptive. Fortunately I was receptive. Being lost in the park would have been very dangerous, even life-threatening.
As a novelist, I also am led. For a long period of time, I was waking up at 3 a.m. with the next chapters I was to write. They played themselves out as scenes in my head. When I got up, I would write, for however many hours it took to record and refine what I had been given during the night. Then I was done, until the next night. I have heard of other authors having a similar experience.
There is one caveat, of course. One can be led by the bad as well as the good. That’s why I think it’s advisable to start small, with little things that don’t much matter (like buying clothes), until you are sure that you can identify the good promptings. The Bible talks about “trying the spirits” to see if they are of God. It’s an important warning.
But on the basis of my experience, I can say that there is nothing like being led. Carefully cultivated, being led turns into a very exciting, joyous, creative way of life.