We all have spirit guides and we all benefit from their assistance, whether or not we recognize it. Only a few people can hear and exchange verbal communications with their guides, or occasionally see their foggy, ghostly image materialize; some people only sense their guide's presence; others know the signs that indicate their guide's presence; and still others do not believe these guides exist, much less assist us.

Our relationship with our guide probably represents the highest level of personal relationship between two beings. If there were any other beings worthy of the term "soul mate," guides certainly would qualify. They know and understand us like no other.

Considering the experiences many of us have in life and the problems we often face, some of you may find it difficult to accept that our guides are there for us and work constantly to help us. In times of great difficulty, the human tendency is to question where these guides are when they are most needed. If they exist and are there for us, why don't they intervene?

To reach our individual goals in a given lifetime, we chose to have certain experiences. While many of these experiences may be unpleasant, they are for our good nonetheless. Our guides were there with us at the beginning when we made our choices. They understand our higher needs, those beyond our material and earthly needs. They know exactly why we're here and what experiences we must have. They know firsthand our cosmic obligations and commitments. And they know the magnitude of the pain associated with those commitments. In short, they know us and our needs better than we could possibly know ourselves while here on earth.

Because they understand our needs so well, they do not see many of our experiences as requiring intervention. They have an obligation to help and encourage us through those experiences, but they are not to interfere no matter how much we think we need divine intervention in our lives. For them to intervene would amount to failing in their obligation and doing us a disservice as our guides.

They can and do intervene only when there is a need to modify certain experiences to make them bearable so that we can make it through life without failing completely to reach our goals.

If you think you have never received any help from your spirit guide, the question is: Are you absolutely sure? Our guides, along with other cosmic forces, have infinite but often unobvious ways of delivering assistance, knowledge, and information to us.

For example, say you've spent time and effort planning a trip but because of a feeling of unease, or because something unexpectedly comes up that interferes with your plan, or for no reason that is apparent to you, you cancel it. Because you did not take the trip, it is easy to not even consider what might have happened had you taken it. It is quite possible that something was at work making sure the trip never took place - for your own life and safety. That something could well be your spirit guide.

How about that sudden idea or surge of inspiration that led you to the solution for a problem? Yes, the idea or inspiration came to you, but where did it come from? As I stated earlier, cosmic forces, including your guide, have infinite ways of transmitting information.

A thought may have come to you, but it may have originated someplace else. In the case of finding an answer to a problem, it is most likely that your guide transmitted some information that guided you to a solution. If you petitioned or prayed for help, your guide may have been consulted or asked to respond.

If you petitioned for help using the techniques discussed in my book Seeds of Luck: The ABCs of Creating Your Heart's Desires, your guide may have been one of the recipients of the petition since it was not directed to a particular entity or deity. Again, once our problems are solved, it is easy to take the solutions for granted and not think about their source.

Perhaps you remember a time you were distracted and pulled in a certain direction only to discover later that had you not been distracted and led away, you would have been exposed to danger.

(Continued in "Oringin of Certain Thoughts," Part II)

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