Inner Guidance (29 page)

They left the boat at the shoreline and began to climb the hill, laughing and chatting all the way. As they moved up the slope, I noticed the boat being gently swept back into the lake. I was about to call out to the picnicking group and warn them to rescue their escaping vessel.

But just then, a woman among them noticed the boat floating away into the bobbing waves. As she called out to the others, she pointed at their craft and laughed.

They all ran back down the hill and straight into the Inner Guidance_CH 22-27.p65

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lake to recover the boat. Waist deep in water when they reached it, they began to frolic and play. Laughing all the while, they dragged the vessel back to the shore.

As they emerged from the water with their clothing soaking wet, they remained relaxed, enthusiastic, and joyous.

I would have been upset to have gotten my clothing wet, but this group had turned it into a happy romp in the water! What a difference between my attitude and theirs. I had been anxious about the boat, wanting to shout out in distress, to issue a warning. But they laughed and turned the situation into a delightful interlude.

Clearly, there was something important here to learn.

N
ext, my attention was drawn to a herd of horses, galloping along a ridge. They were behind a pristine white picket fence, but the gate was ajar. Again, I was concerned.

“The horses,” I called out, “they’re escaping!”

The head wrangler heard my cry and acknowledged me with a friendly wave. He tipped his hat in my direction and smiled.

To my astonishment, he opened the gate even wider.

When he realized the horses wanted to go for an unfet-tered run on the other side of the fence, he seemed to approve and accepted it gracefully. Apparently, people in this place were in the habit of regarding each event as genuinely wonderful, even when things happened differently than planned.

We trekked on, and a magnificent temple near the top of the hillside caught my eye. It was an enormous structure, gleaming with translucent gold, so radiant in the sunlight that it was hard to look at it for long. People were streaming in and out of the temple, and I felt a Inner Guidance_CH 22-27.p65

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longing to enter it myself.

As we approached this imposing edifice, I looked around. “What is this place, really? Where are we?” I asked.

“This ‘Land of Wealth,’ as you call it, is your true home.”

“This is my
home
?”

The Master only smiled. I was mystified. How could this place be my home? I didn’t think like these people.

Nor did I yet feel comfortable in this lavish opulence.

All of this was beyond my imagination. This land was breathtaking to be sure—but
home
?

“Take a deep breath,” said the Inner Master. “Smell the air. Use your senses.”

I inhaled deeply, breathing the air, trying to relish and enjoy the feeling as well as the scent. I took several deep breaths and held each of them for a moment.

At first, I searched for a scent I might actually recognize, and although the air had a sweet perfume about it, there was something else that intrigued me.

I vaguely recognized something familiar and wanted to figure out how to best describe it. I breathed in again and again, holding each breath to savor it.

The Master asked me what I sensed. Suddenly my own inner knowing provided the answer.

“It is the essence of
calm
. That is the only way I can express it: calm. It is a deep sense of calm and ease!”

I exclaimed.

Wah Z nodded and smiled at me, obviously pleased with my response. “Exactly,” he agreed. “That is precisely the essence of this place, your true home, and it is just as you have described. Calm and ease are its hallmarks. You can return here anytime. Breathe it in now, so that you will remember what it is like. Recalling Inner Guidance_CH 22-27.p65

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this essence will help you come back whenever you want. It will help to lead you home.”

We continued to walk together, talking.

Looking at the Master, I smiled, knowing that I had been given a great gift—and invaluable guidance about an important secret of life.

When I awoke in my bed, I was filled with that same feeling of peace and contentment. The Inner Master, using a dream, had taken me beyond my own limitations to a new state of consciousness, into the Land of Wealth!

It was just as Harold Klemp writes: “As the Inner Master I come to [people] in the dream state. I talk to them and meet with them. Gradually they become aware of the secret, inner teachings, through the dream state. Then I can begin showing them there’s more to life than they could ever have imagined.”38

Wealth meant so much more to me now; it meant ease, peace, love, and greater harmony. It meant letting go of limitations and accepting beauty and joy, and it meant home—my true spiritual home.

If I could become comfortable with my place in the spectacular and opulent inner worlds of God, I could release the restrictions in my outer life too.

W
ith this new awareness, outer circumstances began to reflect the inner wisdom and gifts I had been given. It was important not to fear success. I had been pushed by the Inner Master to a new level of experience and awareness, and I now could open myself to a larger vision and more abundant blessings—with greater trust of the Mahanta.

If we are to fulfill our greatest spiritual and physical potential during this life, these are important lessons we must learn. Now I was approaching life with a much Inner Guidance_CH 22-27.p65

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greater sense of adventure. Traveling in the inner worlds of God and receiving guidance and instruction was positively affecting everything I did.

My inner changes brought new levels of richness—

spiritual and material. And soon, important changes manifested in my everyday life. An entirely new aspect of my career began to open to me, and I fearlessly moved into the new career directions, taking on big business projects. I opened myself to new opportunities that I previously would never have imagined, and I was delighted by all the positive changes.

Years later, I still contemplate this inner dream experience for the wisdom and guidance it contained.

It is interesting how we can use an experience of the past to take us to a new spiritual level, even years later.

Such is the wisdom and long arm of the Mahanta.

As Harold Klemp writes, “The dream state is generally a very easy way for the Inner Master to work with Soul because the fears are set aside.”39

My dream experience in the Land of Wealth was truly a healing from self-limiting beliefs. I was learning to live gladly with abundance on all levels, as a divine gift to Soul.

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27

Life or Death

in West Africa:

Inner Guidance

in Service to All Life

Things happen to us as the ECK guides us to
take a step to make something work out right for
ourselves. Sometimes It gives warnings. An alarm
going off, for instance, might not be for the apparent reason. It could be the ECK signaling us
to be alert, be aware, be on the lookout for other
things.

—Harold Klemp

Cloak of Consciousness
40

T
he hospital conditions were dreadful—hot and humid, with no air conditioning. At this time of night, it was packed with people. The large

doors of the facility stood open, and I could see people sitting, standing, or lying around everywhere, suffering from all manner of illness or injury.

My husband had asked me not to go inside this facility, but “Go in and take over” was the clear message I received.

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I stepped over a man lying stretched out, half in and half out of the door. The smell was almost overwhelming as I entered the packed waiting room.

“Take over!” Every fiber of my being protested. I definitely had no intention of doing that. Inner alarms were sounding insistent warnings. They were, however, not alarms telling me to stop. They were alarms urging me to hurry along, be alert, and be careful as I entered the hospital—for there was much to be done.

Feeling unable to stop myself, I walked in and asked to hold the dying baby. I knew it was the right thing to do.

I
t was the last week of our trip to West Africa.

Alden and I had arrived in Ghana earlier that night, exhausted from the previous week of traveling and speaking at the Eckankar seminar in Nigeria. We were looking forward to our workshops and talks in Ghana, but this first evening was just for relaxation.

Our hosts welcomed us warmly; then we sat down with the family to sing HU. This ancient name of God is widely known and highly respected in parts of Africa.

Any and all significant occasions may signal that it is time to sing HU together.

When the phone rang, it was startling. It seemed far too late for normal calls.

Our host, Irene, left the room to answer it. Immediately, I was nudged into high alert. I was longing for bed, but suddenly I became aware inwardly that we would need to leave the house and rush to someone’s aid.

When Irene returned to the room, her husband asked if everything was all right.

“It will be fine,” she answered with a creased brow.

“I am going to the hospital.”

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Addressing all of us, she asked, “Do you want to come with me?”

Alden shook his head. There was no way he could go anywhere. But my two friends and I stood up to join Irene. We women would all go to the hospital together.

“You have to be careful,” Alden said to me privately.

“You can’t afford to fall ill. Don’t go inside the building, Anne, please. Maybe you can stay outside the hospital and be supportive that way.” He gave me a sweet smile of encouragement, but I knew he was serious.

In preparing for this trip to Africa, we had consulted with an international doctor who prescribed malaria prevention and other medications. The doctor gave us a list of things to watch out for: “Don’t eat fresh foods.

Don’t drink the water. Be careful in the shower—keep your mouth closed. Don’t walk in forests or jungles.

Don’t swim in the water.” The list went on and on.

Now I had to add this caution from Alden: “Don’t go inside the building.”

The call was from a grandmother whose grandson was dying. The child’s parents were away in London. The woman was a member of Eckankar, and she had telephoned Irene for spiritual support and assistance. It did not look good for the child. She had already taken the baby to one hospital, where she was told they could not help. She was going to the military hospital now, where Irene said she would meet them.

A
s we approached the hospital, I felt an inner alarm go off—an inner sense that told me to stay on high alert. It was not an alarm about the hospital and any dangers lurking in it. My sense of it was clear: there was work to be done here. I needed to move into high gear, spiritually and physically, and pay close attention inwardly.

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My inner hearing needed to be fine-tuned. I stilled myself and sang HU silently within.

Just walking into this place broke every rule of personal protection. It was anyone’s guess what kinds of illness we would be exposed to here; there might well be diseases our bodies could not resist. Normally I’d have hesitated, but inwardly I was sure there was no time for vacillation or protest. A baby was dying, and we were here to help.

The inner guidance was clear: I must go in.

We found the grandmother waiting in a line, holding the baby. Her grandson was small, very dark, frail, and dripping with perspiration. He did not appear to be conscious. He lay in his grandmother’s arms with his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Only the whites of his eyes were showing—an eerie testimony to his nearly complete absence from this body. His tiny limbs hung loosely.

The doctor at the other hospital could not help him. The baby’s veins were too tiny, collapsing in attempts to insert an IV. His lips were parched and cracked. It looked as if he might take his last breath at any second.

I asked immediately if I could hold the baby. The grandmother passed him into my arms as she was handed some forms to fill out.

“Go in and take over,” I heard inwardly again. What did it mean? What could I actually do? I had the nudge to step forward and ask for assistance.

We moved out of the line together and into the medical area, where I insisted on immediate attention.

A nun came to help us. “Only one person can come with the baby,” she said, indicating the grandmother. I looked at Irene and the grandmother.

“We’re all going in together,” I said. I stepped forward with the child, and the nun reluctantly stepped aside.

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We walked into the emergency ward of the hospital through a hallway lined with people in terrible condition—bleeding, crying, and seriously ill.

An inner message of caution alerted my consciousness. “White woman,” it said, “be very careful here.”