Divine guidance from the Spirit world comes to us in many ways...

- through visions, images, pictures that come into our head

- through sounds, voices or words inside or outside our head

- through strong feelings, gut feelings, hunches, premonitions

- thoughts, ideas, impressions, an awareness or a solution
   that pops into the mind out of nowhere, 

- through a  strong knowingness about something that
   comes to mind

- through meditation

- through our dreams
 
- through the animals that the Native Americans made a
  sacred part of their lives

- through synchronous events

The messages we receive can be very direct at times and leave no doubt that we've received a communication. There are many stories about people who heard a voice or had a profound vision telling them do this or that, and it turned out to be extremely helpful in their lives, often times preventing a tragedy.

When this "voice" comes into your life you'll know it wasn't you speaking to yourself.

The guidance could also be a vision or series of visions in your head that pops out of nowhere, it doesn't require any guesswork on your part, and serves a very valuable purpose. 

How do I know this is possible? Twice I had a voice speak to me in my head: once during a time of extraordinary stress and the other during meditation when I asked for and received the name of my twin soul. I've also had three, crystal clear, living color images appear in my head during separate meditations, one of which predicted an unknown pregnancy, within a month of it being discovered.

These kinds of communications, the direct, obvious ones are easy to understand. The more challenging, but equally meaningful communications, are the indirect or subtle ones. With these we have to remain more aware while listening for clues and then try and figure things out on our own when they happen. 

Let me give you an example. You ask God or your guides a specific question, "Should I take a new job that became available the one I really like?" For days, you receive no answer. A week later you head for the job interview, your car breaks down and the interview is postponed. Several days later you are told someone else filled the job. Spirit has told you this job is not for you. Five months later you learn that this company went out of business.

Here's another that can occur without even asking a question. You are driving to the store. Halfway there a thought pops into your head telling you that you left your money at home (usually we get angry at that moment). You return home and discover a message on your answering machine that your 5 year-old daughter is not feeling well at school and needs to be brought home immediately.

Here's another. You ask your guides, "Will my relationship with my loved one lead to long-term partnership?" Several hours later a song you are listening to sends a message or confirmation to you. Or several days later you are reading a book that affirms your question. Or a day or so later you happen to overhear a conversation and the words you hear address your question. Or perhaps a voice within a dream you have responds to the question and you "feel" or "know" your question has been answered.

Here's another. You've been thinking a lot about someone, but are hesitant to contact him or her. So you ask your guides, "Should I call?" A day later, while stopped for a red light, you see a truck in front of you. On the back there is a word or several words that remind you of that person such as their name, or street or town he or she lives in. There, in big letters, is the word CALL (which is the "800" number of the company truck). Here Spirit relies on us to make the connection. If we fail to act on this message, it will probably become more pronounced. Over the next week or two, similar messages will probably be sent to you.

The Spirit world can be quite persistent. And it often takes courage to believe in the subtle or symbolic answers we receive. That is why several messages received in a burst over a short period of time should be taken seriously. Repetition is important. Our Angels know we may have difficulty making associations or picking up the clues they are sending. They also know we sometimes do not have the courage to act on the subtle answers received.

If at times you are confused or can't seem to "hear" a response, don't hesitate to ask again. Spirit/angels/guides love this interaction with you.

I cannot stress one point enough. If we ask a question, it will be answered and it won't take long for that to occur. This is guaranteed. Furthermore, the Spirit world is sending us guidance all the time whether we ask a question or not. It is crucial that we become more sensitized and receptive to this. 

As mentioned above, one of these forms of guidance is called a synchronous event. This is an experience or set of circumstances that come into our lives unexpectedly... something we didn't plan on. It just pops in out of the clear blue. These kinds of events can be major and change the course of our lives, medium, which are less dramatic, or small which fine tune our paths. They are all forms of guidance and communication.

It's also important to keep in mind that if no answer is received, it is an answer. It most likely means that guidance would not serve one well at that moment or that other things might have to fall into place before an answer is available. So just sit tight, don't get frustrated because you have no guidance. Wait a bit and ask the question again. And don't be afraid to ask the same question several times over if you are a bit unsure of the guidance you received.

Another remarkable way in which a question can be answered or a form of guidance received is through the animal world. And the Native Americans knew this well.

Here's an example of "animal speak." Several years ago, I was entering an Interstate ramp and noticed a hawk gliding close to the left hand side of the car. It stayed there for 5-10 seconds and then veered right in front of me and then out of sight. This was quite unusual (animal messages need to be out of the ordinary to be meaningful). Hawk medicine typically stands for, "Be observant, keep your eyes open for something, life is sending you a signal, be on the alert for something, etc."     

A day or so later, while driving down a country road, a wild turkey walked out onto the roadway and I had to stop my car. Slowly and methodically, it crossed the road in front of me just taking all the time it needed. If turkey medicine comes into your life, it generally means you are being given a gift.

I put the two animal medicine messages together and took them to mean, "Look out for a gift that will come into your life." Several days later my daughter was opening a letter from her college while I was on the phone. I heard a shriek! She told me she had been awarded over $10,000 in financial aid!

I have had many other unusual animal experiences, which served as messages or guidance. Once, when I was feeling very low and surrounded by negative energy, I was entering the basement door of my brother's house. The door was solid on the bottom and had a pane of glass on the upper half divided into sections by wood trim. On one of the ledges of wood, approximately 31/2 feet from the ground was a tiny, green frog, no bigger than a bumblebee. I was astonished. I couldn't figure how such a little frog could have jumped onto that small ledge of wood. But there it sat looking up at me.

I instantly frog as "medicine" and then gently placed the frog in a nearby woods. What is frog medicine? In part, it means we should cleanse ourselves with water to remove any negative energy and, in the process, we help cleanse the soul and feel more balanced.

How can we tell when the Spirit world is talking to us? Divine guidance is always love-based, brings you joy (even though it may not be the answer you want), is supportive, has a loving energy to it, empowers you, and so on. 

False guidance is fear-based, normally creates anxiety, discontent, does not feel right, jumps from subject to subject, creates competition or conflict and weakens you.