Inner Guru

"The invisible intelligence that flows through everything in a purposeful fashion is also flowing through you." (Wayne Dyer)

When I was a kid, I heard my hero, Kermit the Frog sing the following words from one of my all-time favorite songs, "The Rainbow Connection": "Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices? I've heard them calling my name. Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors? The voice might be one and the same. I've heard it too many times to ignore it. It's something that I'm supposed to be."

Back then, the world seemed a wide open place full of places to explore, things to do and people to meet. It still does, although now it doesn't seem quite as big as it once did. I can vividly recall hearing Kermit's words and wondering what exactly it was that I was supposed to be. And although I can't fully explain it, I think there was something in the 10 year old me, that somehow knew that all these years later, the 42 year old me would be exactly where I am today. That's not to say that the 10 year old me knew the specifics, but there was a part of me that could see where I wanted to be even though I didn't have the words to articulate it or the life experience to really know what it meant.

Some say that we all possess something like an "inner guru" (guru, intuition or a "gut" feeling, whatever you want to call it),  a wisdom, a truth deeper than our understanding that helps guide us along our path to awakening.  We hear the word "guru" often but what does it really mean?  In sanskrit, "gu" = dark and "ru" = light, so a guru is someone or something that leads us from the darkness of ignorance into the light of knowledge all while Illuminating our innate brilliance to show us what our gifts are to offer the world.

The problem is that we're often so busy "doing" that we can't hear our own inner guide.  The voice of the inner guru gets lost in the commotion of our lives - it's still there, just unable to be heard, felt or noticed.  So we practice yoga and meditation to shift from "doing" to "being", to heighten our intuition and to establish a daily connection with the source of our wisdom - something greater than ourselves.  

The greatest teachers are those who emphasize finding your own path and not that peace can only be found by following theirs. Kermit the Frog was such a teacher for me all those years ago, encouraging me with his song to listen to my inner guru. As the saying goes: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears".  

What are you ready for?  What do you need?  Which direction will you move in? 

When we connect with our inner teacher, we realize that we don't have to follow in the footsteps of anyone else and we don't have to walk someone else's path.  We can take the wisdom set forth by the teachers we encounter in life and find all of the ways that this wisdom works and doesn't work for us, and turn it into a path of our very own. 

Have the courage to trust and follow your inner guru.  Follow with passion, joy and curiosity!

Until next time...try this:

Inner Guide Meditation:

Get settled and begin breathing deeply. 

Quiet your mind and allow silence to seep into your being. 

Cast your awareness into your heart and picture a small doorway there. See the doorway open and feel a warm and welcoming presence calling you to enter. 

Step through the doorway and find yourself in a sacred place that you know to be your inner temple. In the middle of the room is a figure sitting silently in prayer. Wait patiently. 

When finished, the person turns and you look fully at this person. Opening arms to you, you recognize this being as your inner guru.  

Walk forward and stand in front of this wise person. 

Speaking to you, the wise one shares knowledge of your own inner wisdom and knowing. Open your heart and listen, feel, and know. 

When you are finished, you and the wise one bow together. 

Finally, the wise one bids you goodbye with a word and a bow. 

With one breath, you remember the word. 

With a second breath, you return to your space, and with a third breath, you open your eyes. 

Breathe in the word and remember it as a key to your own inner wisdom.

 "The Master is within; meditation is meant to remove the ignorant idea that he is only outside." ~ Ramana Maharshi

‎"Be your own guru: begin to watch how you think and speak...notice how often negativity rules your world and begin to bring your attention to those thoughts and speech patterns. When in doubt, sit quietly and quiet down on the inside. The answers are always revealed when we stop the whirlwind of the outside drama." -Stephanie Keach