Startled by a loud crash, we swung our heads in time to see an enormous plank of wood falling past the window of the third floor apartment. Running over and gazing down, my friend and I saw nothing on the pavement, no sign of the fallen debris. As we stared at each other in disbelief another terrifying realization set in: we had heard the crash before seeing the plank fall. How was that possible? It wasn’t. Not in this reality anyway. Rushing out of the apartment, we vowed never to meditate there again, convinced that we had stumbled across an intersection with some strange off-kilter world.
From that event in my twenties I learned that the spirit realm was not all angels and harp music, and that I needed to point my arrow clearly at a definite target to attract the type of uplifting and inspiring experiences I desired.
The world of Spirit contains in it the same range of personalities, predilections, and lost souls that our earthly world does. Just as we are presented each morning with a banquet of choices – How will I respond to this argument today? Can I smile kindly into the eyes of a stranger? Shall I be authentic today or hide once again? – so the world of spiritual experience presents us with an infinite field of possibilities.
Bursting out into the day without first allowing time for meditation or centering means that we may come up against any number of circumstances with no keel stretching into the water to stabilize us. Similarly, when we enter into meditation, if we have not determined what types of experiences and entities we want to associate with we may find ourselves encountering any number of odd companions, from curious passersby to otherworldly scientists doing research, to disembodied and lost souls wandering around in the quest for a home.
That’s fine. Some people like that kind of interaction. It’s a whole crazy marvelous world out there just as it is here. But I’m not in this for the novelty or the drama. Neither am I interested in chatting with your Aunt Jane who died three months ago. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just not my thing. Devotional by nature, my goal has always been communion with the Divine. I perpetually seek a re-creation of those moments of spiritual rapture that have unexpectedly blessed me, changed my vision, and kindled my heart.
What it comes down to is this: since it is in your power to choose what you attract, why not decide consciously so as to direct and inform your experiences?
Dipping deeply into your heart, ask yourself: What do I seek? What is my heart’s desire? Once you feel a concise and clear answer, set your intention. For instance, let’s say your heart’s desire is to find and live out your soul’s purpose. Not a bad desire, right? So then your intention for spiritual practice might be: “I enter into meditation to experience and interact with only those energies that encourage and illuminate my soul’s purpose.”
Or let’s say you want to focus more on opening your heart to benefit your personal relationships. Your prayer of intention might be: “God, please illuminate and open my heart that I might understand better how to fully love my friends and family.”
The spirit world is filled with loving guides and helpers whose greatest desire is to be of service to us. Those are the ones I call out to every morning before I start my day. I might pray: “Spirit guides and angels, please surround me and help me feel your love and comfort. Guide me today that I might move more and more into communion with Divine Love.”
When we start our spiritual practice with a stated intention we attract our expressed desire. We get what we ask for. It’s as simple as that.
Set your sights. Choose your level. Call out from your heart and feel yourself fill with grace as the Universe responds.
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