I went to mow the lawn yesterday.

It takes me 2 hours to mow our lawn, and so I usually listen to music, or an audiobook, which I crank up loud so I can hear it over the scream of the lawnmower.

When I made a commitment to spiritual development, a while ago now, I decided I would reduce my reading of fiction – which I love – and prioritise books on things spiritual.

Since then, I’ve read a few fiction books – often on planes – but largely I’ve been playing catch-up on the kind of books that Jennifer has been reading for the past twenty five years or so. Books such as the I AM series, the Kryon books, A COURSE IN MIRACLES, books by Emmet Fox, Caroline Myss, Alice Bailey, James Van Praagh, Norm Shealy – and so on. Not to mention Jung, Daniel Kahneman, Fritjof Capra – the list just goes on and on.

So much to read.

I do a lot of my reading while I walk, on audiobook. But sometimes, reading esoteric books while I walk is just too much.  I tried reading A COURSE IN MIRACLES on audiobook while I walked, sometimes with traffic thundering past, and I couldn’t get into it. It was too dense. With a book like A COURSE IN MIRACLES every word is important.

I’m reading a book at the moment called THE HUMAN SOUL REVEALED, by Monika Muranyi. It’s a compilation of Lee Carroll’s channeling of the entity Kryon. As it’s title states, it’s about the nature of the human soul, and how it all works. It’s fascinating.

Back to the mowing.

I’d decided that because I’m reading that book at the moment at night, I’d read something lighter while I mowed the lawn. So I put the latest Stephen King audiobook on my iPod, and cued it up to start at Chapter One, and then I went outside to mow the lawn.

I started up the lawnmower, and then I pressed play on my iPod, and up came…
… the Bhagavad Gita, translated by Paramahansa Yogananda. I’d put this audiobook on my iPod a while ago, but hadn’t yet got around to reading it.

But hang on, I’d cued up Stephen King.
What just happened?

Your interpretation could be that it was just a technical glitch, or I’d simply made a mistake and hadn’t cued up Stephen King properly, and the iPod had just randomly selected the Yoganada book.

My interpretation is that the Universe kicked in and told me that I was wasting my time reading Stephen King, and that I had to read the Bhagavad Gita, through the eyes of Paramahansa Yogananda. (He’s the guy that wrote AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI)

I didn’t see it as a technical glitch, or a mistake – I regarded it very clearly as a directive.
As a sign.

The thing about signs – you can either rationalise them and dismiss them, and refuse to see them for what they are – or you can recognise them as being a part of your guidance system – your personal guidance system. It’s your intuition working in discreet ways to keep you on your path. Your guides ask you to follow, and you have the choice to ignore them and get on with your life, or obey.

Obedience.

It’s not a comfortable word, is it. It has the connotation of giving up something. Losing status. Taking a subservient position to someone or something else. Handing over your power.

But what if this power is yourself? Your divine self. Your intuitive self. What if you’re being asked to obey your innate wisdom? That wisdom within which knows better than you.

The other thing about signs, about intuitive prompts, is that for the system to work effectively, you have to exercise it. And like with any exercise, it’s always best to start off small.

If you wanted to get fit you wouldn’t begin an exercise program by running a half marathon, would you? You wouldn’t go to the gym and try to lift three hundred pounds.

Same with your intuition.

Start off small. Ask for guidance on little things.

Should I go to the Post Office this morning or this afternoon? Should I call Mary for a chat?  Should I take a raincoat to work today?

Ask yes or no questions. Listen to the response. See what comes back. Feel what comes back. Note what happens as a result of your decisions. Start a dialogue with your intuitive self.

Soon, maybe sooner than you think, your intuition will start to talk too. And you might be surprised at what it tells you to do.

I didn’t listen to Stephen King yesterday. I listened to Yogananda’s take on one of the fundamental texts of spiritual learning.

I turned it up loud so I could hear it over the lawnmower.