Signs When You Need Them

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Signs When You Need ThemBy Alan CohenWhile driving home one day, I noticed that someone hadposted some cardboard signs along the roadside,leading guests to a party on my street. I live out inthe country where there are no city blocks, with manycurving roads and irregular intersections. I saw that the person who had posted the signs, placedthem at the crucial intersections. At every importantchoice point, there was a sign. I drove for longstretches past numerous smaller intersections, where there were no posters. Then, when I againreached a crucial intersection, there was anotherclear marker. It occurred to me that this is how Spirit gives usguidance - we get signs when we need them. Wheneveryou arrive at a critical choice point, informationshows up to help you decide. If you are not getting a sign, you are probably not at a crucialintersection. That's the time to just keep going and enjoy the ride.When you are ready to know, you will. If you don'tknow, it is not time yet. In the meantime, justbreathe, trust, and find the blessing where you are. If you are seeking direction, pray for guidance. Thenlet the universe deliver your answer in the right way,place, and time. If, upon completing your prayer, youdo not hear a voice boom from heaven, shout your name,and bellow, "This is what you must do!" don't freakout. Give the Great Spirit a chance to deliver your message when you most need it. It will come. Guidance often arrives in uncanny and synchronisticways. I met a fellow who prayed for a sign to help himdecide whether or not to accept a promotion that wouldrequire him to relocate his home and family to adistant city. Then one night he came home late and sawa "For Sale" sign on his lawn. Since his wife wasalready sleeping, he did not want to wake her. Thenext morning he asked her about the sign. "What sign?"she asked him. "The one on the lawn," he told her. The two walked outside, and no sign was to be found.The fellow deduced that he had indeed been given asign. He took the job, and the move ultimately turnedout to be a success for everyone. A man at a seminar told me he prayed for direction onemorning, and then that afternoon as he walked out of arestaurant, the wind blew a piece of paper against hisknees. He picked it up and discovered it was a flyerfor my seminar that evening. He attended, and subsequently his life changed.Another friend decided he wanted to becomeindependently wealthy and retire at a young age. Heprayed for help with this project. The next morningwhen he went out to jog, as he turned a corner he sawa book someone had left on top of a trashcan: YourMoney or Your Life. He took the book, read it, andfound the wisdom he needed. Now he is well on his wayto riches and early retirement.If you act anxiously to hasten your answer, youinhibit your ability to receive guidance, and delayits arrival. In such a situation your wisest move isto step back from frenetic activity and return to peace. I once needed to find a particular document toresolve a financial snafu. I searched for itnervously, and only grew more confused and frustrated.Finally I realized I was getting nowhere and decided to sit down and meditate to clear my mind. Ilet go of trying to locate the paper, and relaxed.Toward the end of my meditation, an image popped intomy mind, showing me a certain folder toward the rear of a file cabinet. I looked in the folder andthere was the document. I use a very successful method to receive guidance. Icall it "The Truth Smoke-Out." Whenever I am not surewhat to do, I say to the universe, "Just show me whatI am to do here. I am willing to do whatever is in thebest interest of everyone involved. Give me a clue,and I will follow." Then I release the situation. Igive up any preconceived notion about how this issupposed to turn out, and when I am supposed to know.Sometimes the answer comes instantly, and sometimes it takes a while. But it always comes. In the Greek version of the Bible, the firsttranslation from the original Aramaic, two differentwords are used for our word "time." One is chronos,which is equivalent to our understanding of time in seconds, minutes, and hours. The other word is kairos,which can best be translated as "in God's time" or "atthe right time" or "when the time is ripe." In ourculture we are used to living in chronos. But there is an entirely more important element of time,which is timing. That's kairos. Practice living inkairos, and answers arrive at the perfect time. God isat least as smart as the person who put the signs upfor the party.The author is Alan Cohen.