inner guidance
A Quick Guide To Safer Online Dating
Despite widespread skepticism, I still believe that online dating is one of the best ways to meet someone special, especially for those whose lifestyle limits their ability to meet other singles in their daily lives.
Statistics back up the success of online dating. According to the Pew Research Center, for example, approximately 5% of Americans who are married or in a committed relationship met their partner online.
A study by the National Academy of Sciences found that more than one-third of marriages in the U.S. begin with online dating, and these couples report slightly higher levels of happiness than couples who meet through other means. In fact, Match.com reports that only 9% of women and 2% of men find relationships in clubs or bars.
Clearly, the Internet plays a crucial role in bringing people together!
However, it’s important to realize that no form of dating is completely risk-free. Meeting strangers online always carries some risk, but there are ways to minimize these dangers and protect yourself.
The reality is that most people who engage in online dating do so safely, which is why these platforms remain popular. Still, it’s wise for online daters to be aware of the potential risks and take precautions.
I know several friends and clients who have had unsettling or even frightening experiences with men they met online. For example, one friend found herself being followed home after a date by a man on a motorcycle. She acted quickly, running several red lights to lose him and eventually pulling over in front of a police station, where he fled. Another friend escaped a potentially dangerous situation by convincing a man to let her return to a restaurant to retrieve her phone, where she asked the manager to call the police.
The Role Of Angels And Guides In Your Life
The various roles of angels and spirit guides in our life journey is a subject that is not discussed as often as it deserves to be.
While many people are familiar with the idea of spirit guides, the role and importance of angels in our lives is often overlooked. These celestial beings have a long history of interacting with humanity, and understanding their presence can provide profound comfort and guidance in our lives.
Angels are spiritual beings who play an important role in our lives, but they function differently than guides. Unlike guides, angels have never walked the earth as humans. They are divine beings of unconditional love, compassion and wisdom. Angels are associated with protection and guidance, and many people feel their presence in times of need or crisis.
Spirit guides are spiritual beings who help and support us throughout our lives. Unlike angels, guides have lived on earth as humans before transitioning to the spirit realm. They have experienced the complexity of human emotions, life challenges, and physical experiences, which makes them uniquely equipped to help us navigate our own lives with compassion, love, and non-judgment.
Guides can be your deceased loved ones and ancestors, or they can simply be previously incarnated souls that you have never met. Guides choose to help us because of the spiritual connection they feel with us, and they can offer wisdom from their own experiences.
It is important to understand that these beings are no longer ego-focused; they exist purely as soul energy, unencumbered by the limitations and biases that may have influenced them during their earthly lives. This means that their guidance is often pure, rooted in unconditional love and a deep understanding of your soul’s journey.
Trust Your Gut First, Your Heart Second
How do you know that what you are doing is for your highest good? How do you know if what you want out of life is based on your own desires, or if it has been placed there to be achieved by the Universe?
Everyone has a higher purpose in this lifetime and yet many never seek it out or achieve it because the ego starts to become more prominent in their lives instead of their higher self.
When you were born, a deep-seeded life calling was placed within you. As children, we were able to tap into it, always knowing that we wanted to be a fireman, a policeman, a doctor, an astronaut, an artist, a lawyer, a dancer, a scientist, or a princess. Some of us just wanted to help others, even at a very young age. We would be kind, caring, and giving to other people, whether they were children, adults, or seniors.
Unfortunately, this energy has been buried over time by the society and culture we live in – whether it be teachers, parents or mentors.
Has anyone ever laughed at you when you told them what you wanted to do or be? Did someone say, “Go back and think about that, because that will never happen”? Each of us has a different story as to why we do or do not achieve our passion and purpose in life.
Today is the day to decide, “I will achieve my dreams as long as they come from spirit and are for my highest good.
Always Pay Attention To The Signs
Paying attention to divine spiritual signs is essential to aligning with one’s highest good and purpose.
These signs, often subtle and easily overlooked, guide us along the paths that resonate most harmoniously with our true selves. By attuning ourselves to these spiritual signals, we can navigate life more effectively, avoiding pitfalls and embracing opportunities for growth and love.
But the journey is not always straightforward. Sometimes our desires and obsessions can cloud our judgment and lead us astray from the divine guidance that is trying to guide us.
One of the most common distractions is becoming obsessed with a person of interest. This obsession can create a narrow focus that blinds us to the signs and messages that point us toward true love and fulfillment.
It is easy to mistake intense attraction or infatuation for destiny and ‘meant to be,’ but these feelings are often the result of unmet emotional needs or unresolved past experiences rather than a genuine connection orchestrated by divine forces.
I have experienced this firsthand. There was a time when I was hopelessly in love with a man who, in retrospect, was not aligned with my highest good. My obsession with him was all consuming. I interpreted every little gesture, every word he spoke, as a sign that we were meant to be together. I convinced myself that our connection was fated, despite numerous red flags and gut feelings that suggested otherwise.
The True Meaning Of Being Balanced
Spiritual teachers often emphasize the importance of achieving and maintaining balance as a fundamental aspect of well-being, personal growth, and spiritual development.
But what does it really mean? Is it about having a healthy work-life balance? Is it about a balanced diet or exercise routine? No, these are just some of the smaller elements of achieving true balance.
Balance refers to being holistically balanced in all aspects of our existence: body, mind, and spirit. Achieving and maintaining balance means creating a harmonious and integrated life in which all aspects of our being support each other, leading to overall well-being and a deeper connection with our true self.
We are more than our physical health, appearance and fitness levels. We are more than our thoughts, ideas, and knowledge. And we are more than our spiritual beliefs and practices. We are a wondrous compilation of all these things that make up our body, mind, and spirit. When any part of us is unhealthy or dysfunctional, it disrupts our alignment with our higher self. This is the true meaning of being out of balance.
Striving to be true to your higher self should always be your priority. Your higher self is the real you, the you that exists in harmony with the universe and is an expression of the divine. It is only when we are in alignment with our higher self that the world truly opens up for so much more to flow into our lives…instead of out of them.
Understanding The Higher Self
In modern spirituality and metaphysics, the concept of the “higher self” is generally considered a cornerstone of spiritual awareness and conscious living.
The idea that we have a “higher self” is found in many spiritual and mystical traditions, although it may be called by different names and understood in different ways.
Despite these differences, the underlying idea is that there is a higher, more enlightened aspect of our being that we can connect with and embody.
Often mentioned in discussions of intuition, mindfulness, enlightenment, and the search for deeper meaning, the higher self is seen as a guiding force or eternal soure of wisdom that transcends our everyday consciousness.
Yet despite the common use of this term in modern spiritual communities and teachings, there remains a great deal of confusion and variation in how the higher self is understood and interpreted. There are many different opinions and beliefs. Some see it as our inner connection to the divine or universal consciousness. Others see it as the true spiritual essence, free from the limitations of the human ego. And some simply see it as an alternative term for our eternal spirit or soul identity.
In my experience, most of the confusion and misunderstanding arises because the higher self is mistakenly seen as a distinct and separate entity from the soul or spirit. From this perspective, the higher self is seen as entirely separate from our soul, representing our connection to something greater than ourselves, to the divine or universal consciousness.
Consciously Connecting With Your Spirit Guide
Have you ever felt a gentle nudge, an intuitive whisper, an inner knowing guiding you? It is your spirit guide supporting and protecting you. Sometimes our guides succeed in getting our attention, but sometimes the messaging fails, with potentially disastrous consequences for our safety, success, or well-being.
This is why it is wise to be more directly familiar and connected with your guide. It is like having the spirit realm ‘on speed dial,’ which can come in very handy in difficult times, and especially in emergency situations! Consciously connecting with your guide is a spiritually rewarding, uplifting and highly beneficial practice.
A spirit guide is a higher non-physical entity or spirit being who is dedicated to supporting our life journey and spiritual mission in our current lifetime by offering us ongoing guidance, support, wisdom and protection. Think of them as our celestial cheerleaders and bodyguards, always rooting for our highest good!
Depending on our chosen belief system and personal background, our guide may be one of our ancestors, a totem or spirit animal, spirit guardian, angelic guide, saint, bodhisattvasa, enlightened being, ascended master, deva, djinn, deity, or other divine being.
Regardless of who we personally understand our spirit guides to be, they are with us from the day we are born to provide support and insight to help us navigate life’s challenges, make wise choices and decisions, and pursue our spiritual growth and soul purpose. Our guides communicate with us through intuition, signs, symbols, synchronicities, physical sensations, dreams, and even other people, conversations and various forms of media. They are always guiding us toward our highest good and spiritual development.