The Bugaboo and The Still, Small Voice

This morning, on my way to my office, I was contemplating the topic of my next blog. I've been feeling the compulsion to write again ~ the desire seemed to have abandoned me in the last 3 months or so ~ and I had an idea that was percolating as I sat in the traffic, listening to the windshield wipers as they swept away the autumn rain. The topic was there, just beyond my reach, and that was my signal to step back and let Spirit bring me the topic.

I checked me email, as I usually do, and read an email from a young woman that I am getting to know. She is one of the sweetest spirits I've encountered on this path, and I can see the heart shining through her eyes, even as she is addressing this situation. She is dealing with a condition in her life that is no longer serving her, and desiring change in that area of her life. Do you have something that you are transforming in your life experience ~ whether it's health, finances, relationships, career? Does it give you a sense of powerlessness ~ "I have success in other areas of my life, why not this one?" I call it the Bugaboo. Do you have a Bugaboo?

Struggle, frustration and confusion are the hallmarks of a Bugaboo. Bugaboos say to us, "You can't change me, this is how it is, this is how it's always been. Just learn to accept me the way I am. There's no use even trying. I'm here to stay."

Some of us concede defeat to the Bugaboo. We don't know yet how powerful and strong and inspirational we are. We've been taught, "Life is hard," "We weren't put here to be happy," "You've got to play the hand you're dealt." We look around at the Others and what we see pretty much mirrors these platitudes.

But the Bugaboo has its opposite ~ as does everything in our YOUniverse. Everything has its opposite. Every subject is two subjects ~ the subject and the opposite of the subject. Lack and abundance. Light and darkness. Health and illness. Up and down. In and out. Past and future.

The opposite of the Bugaboo is the Still, Small Voice. All of us have the Still, Small Voice. Without exception.

The call of the still, small voice ~ the voice that is your Inner Guidance, the voice that is your Guardian Angel, if you will, saying, "Stay with me, come with me , follow me. I remember Who You Really Are. We'll go into this new experience together. I know all 'that out there' seems real to you, but I promise you it's not, it's all an illusion that we can change together, by staying focused in this direction. This way, come this way. Stay with me, stay with me . . . ."

Yes, the voice is small and quiet, and that can be misleading. You believe that if you are "doing it right," the voice will be loud and booming and you will be over-run with confidence. But that's a misconception. There is a reason it's called the still, small voice. It's still, and small, and quiet so you will stop and strain to hear it ~ you will purposely, deliberately and consciously stop and strain to listen. That's how you know it has your attention. Have you ever met someone who spoke in a low timbre, and you had to focus to hear them if you wanted to communicate with them? I have ~ my teacher, speaks that way. I have to turn my left ear toward him, and I have to focus and be present to hear what he's saying. That's the way with the still, small voice, too.

Doubts are normal, they are present, but they are not important. They are like loud, boisterous, obnoxious children, shouting and clamoring and causing a ruckus to keep your attention. You know the old saying, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." It's easy to focus on them because they are loud and in your face. But that doesn't mean they are more important or meaningful or powerful. There is much more power in the Still, Small Voice. See how powerful it is, that you will stop and focus deliberately and be present? You hear the low murmuring, under all the din and the cacaphony, and it's always there, whispering and murmuring, until one day you finally say, "Do you hear that? What is that sound? Shhh, shhh, shhh, everybody, listen, what is that?"

We can change those conditions in life that no longer serve us. Focusing on how you want to feel is how you change direction and how you arrive at your desired destination. When you listen to the Still, Small Voice, you feel peaceful, calm ~ all is well. When you listen to the Bugaboo, you feel just the opposite. "Be still and know . . . ." In the stillness is the peace and the change you are desiring. "Our ships come in over a calm sea."

For many years, you were focused in one direction ~ hello, Bugaboo. So you had momentum going in that direction for what we would call "a long period of time." And now, you are changing your focus toward another direction. The Bugaboo protests, loudly and often. The Still, Small Voice whispers, and beckons gently. It's only a matter of choice, despite how "real" and intense it all feels and looks.

Let your feelings guide you, they will not steer you wrong. Your feelings will tell you whether you are focused on what you desire (relief, happiness, peace) or what you do not desire (chaos, pain, struggle, suffering).

Which will you choose? That will determine your experience.