Inner Guidance Training

Introduction
If we are facing adversity it is important to discriminate between what we can change or improve and what we can't change. If something has happened in our life that we cannot change, like a disabling condition or a divorce, this needs to be accepted with good grace. Remember St. Jude's prayer, "Lord give me the strength to change what I cannot accept, to accept what I cannot change and the wisdom to know the difference." Accepting what we cannot change will bring up feelings of grief and loss. Allow these feelings to surface and be expressed. We need to ask our inner guidance to show us areas of our life where improvement is possible. Focusing on what we can improve and on what we can do brings back hope, optimism and a sense of progress. We need to see these adverse circumstances as an opportunity to develop our character. Remember we are not alone. There are many potential resources on which we can draw for help and support - family, friends, charities, government and statutory bodies, health services, our local community and this website. In a quiet moment we can ask where we might seek help and follow up any inner promptings with action. We can feel stuck and overwhelmed by our circumstances if we do not focus on what we are able to do.

For Example
It was a severe car crash - so severe it was even featured on the local evening news. Richard awoke in hospital to find that he couldn't move either of his legs. His wife broke the news - he would be paralysed in both legs for the rest of his life. Richard was shattered. He remembered the football matches he loved to play with his friends, the times he went sailing and his work as an electrician, travelling from house to house. Although he felt an overwhelming sense of loss he rarely showed any grief or anger. When he returned home after a period of convalescence, he sat for days watching television, feeling sorry for himself. His wife thought he needed more time to talk about his feelings and find a way forward but as the months passed she realised he had slipped into a dark depression.

An Exercise in Using Inner Guidance to Rise Above Adversity
Take a quiet moment and describe your situation on paper. Write down what you need to accept, allowing any feelings of grief and anger to surface and be expressed. Revisit this painful place until you feel a degree of acceptance take hold. Take a break for as long as you need be it hours, days, weeks or months. Then when you feel ready take another quiet moment and write down what you can do to improve your situation. Let your inner guidance point to the way forward. Take another break for as long as you need. When you feel ready take out your list of suggestions and follow them up with action.

Also See:
Your calling is elevated through the release of pain - Unfold Your Wings p.66-72
Your calling is elevated through meditation - Unfold Your Wings p.50-59
Your potential embraces the whole of life - Unfold Your Wings p.95-96
Your potential is as unique as you are - Unfold Your Wings p.97-99
Your potential absorbs unusual happenings - Unfold Your Wings p.110-112
Your healing from a wounded heart - Unfold Your Wings p.159-160
Your healing from adversity - Unfold Your Wings p.179-185
Your healing from inability to solve problems - Unfold Your Wings p.206-209
Your healing from fear, anger and grief - Unfold Your Wings p.223-226
How to Use Inner Guidance to Develop Inner Strength
How to Use Inner Guidance to Solve Problems
How to Use Inner Guidance to Make Decisions
How to Use Inner Guidance to Develop Faith in God

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