1) Literal vs metaphorical guidance

For almost every part of the guidance, the following categories can be considered. Is it meant literally or metaphorically?

For example, the content of a dream could have a very literal meaning. When my deceased cousin visited me in a vivid dream, he just wanted to say goodbye.

On the other hand, when I have a dream with my younger son in it, I usually don’t interpret it literally. Rather, it is meant metaphorically as son = the sonship or the Christ in me and what the current learning experience is.

2) Does it relate to past, present, or future?

If it is meant metaphorically, is it just descriptive of the present? Is it an explanation of the past or congratulations for a job well done? Or is it about the future? And if it is about the future, is it a prediction, advice, or a warning?

For example, before important or possibly disturbing events in my life, I sometimes get a heads-up in a dream or in signs first. And after the event had happened, I would get a sort of explanatory statement. This can come as a dream or as some event or sign in daily waking life.

For example, around the fall of 2017, I had several dreams where I was shown pirouette-like dancing actions, and I was always asked the question whether I would like to learn to do the”‘whirlwind” or the spinning top. I did not answer because I was not sure what my guidance meant by that.

Then I was formally invited to a new, fledgling internet forum which just formed itself at that time and had only about four participants. I joined and participated because I was guided to do so, and thought that this was all about me getting an opportunity for sharing my experiences which I did.

But then one guy wrote that my experiences remind him of multiple personality disorder and another guy wanted to do battle over his viewpoint that all spirit guides are deluded or evil, and I started to feel some friction. I must say that I assume they only meant well, but their behavior pissed me off and I started to wonder why I would join such a forum in the first place. And so, I left.

Shortly afterwards, I saw a short film clip on TV from one of those Boston Dynamics robot dogs getting kicked and still keeping its balance. I understood immediately that this was meant as an explanation about the forum experience. The announcing dreams had been asking me whether I would like to learn to keep my balance (like a spinning top) under all circumstances. And the robot dog which got kicked and didn’t fall down was meant to tell me that this was what the forum experience had been all about: Keeping my inner balance and calm even under what felt like an attack. So, this was an example of guidance relating to the future first in the form of an announcement. And second, relating to the past as an explanation.

3) The very personal ‘dictionary’ of metaphors

In case the guidance is to be interpreted metaphorically, I think that even though there are metaphors which are true for many people, often it is the case that everyone has their own personal dictionary for interpretation, for interpreting signs as well as for interpreting dreams.

For example, I had frequent dreams of looking for a restroom, only to find that the toilet was dirty, clogged, and offered no privacy. I wondered for a long time what this meant and later found out that this dream symbol points to the need for emotional release and it would have been very helpful for me to look it up in a dream dictionary.

On the other hand, I had dreams about me doing some kind of dancing, (latin, folk, or ballet), and that usually meant coming out of the closet in real life, communicating my story, and engaging with fellow travelers on the spiritual path. In this case, the interpretation is very personal to me and a dream dictionary would have been only moderately helpful.

4) The meaning of a metaphor

In case the metapher is personal, how can the meaning be determined? I usually either already have a fixed meaning in my personal dictionary. Or if I am not sure what it could mean, then I write down all the associations that come with that particular thing. For example, when was shown the color mint (or even the word mint or minted) frequently, I wondered what it meant. So, I gathered all the possible meanings and associations from the soothing qualities of the color over the healing qualities of mint oil. I even asked some of the participants of the recent channeling class what they got about the meaning of mint. I also saw a meme with a drawing of a smiling mint leaf and the word ‘encourage mint’. LOL

Eventually, I settled on the soothing qualities of this color and now think that mint means that my guides want to send me a calming and reassuring message.

5) Divine guidance and the stages of the spiritual journey: There is a time for everything

In my experience, I have found that my journey had stages. After the initial awakening to the fact that there is something more besides the visible 3d world, there was a stage of dismantling of the old and of going inside. And afterwards, there was a stage of coming into alignment with guidance. (For more information, you can find the overview of my journey here.)

I am aware that all our journeys are different. I chose the metaphor of an uphill and downhill path, but you would probably choose a different metaphor for your journey. For me, an important milestone was coming to look back at that which is looking, i.e. looking back at awareness (which I placed on the mountaintop of the path). You might choose another thing as your important milestone.

Be aware of the stage of the journey you are in. If you are not sure whether guidance calls you to fight or rather accept, or whether you are guided to withdraw inside or rather go out and meet many people, this might give you a clue for the interpretation of the guidance.
On this journey, there is a time for everything.

There is a time for withdrawing into a cave for meditation,
and there is a phase for going out into the world again.

There is a phase for letting oneself be humbled.
And there is a phase for stepping into one’s power in alignment with guidance.

There is a phase for totally letting go of the self-will.
And there is a phase of resurrecting one’s will in alignment with Source.

There is a time for being still and accepting.
And there is a time for speaking up boldly and upsetting other people’s apple cart if that is what you feel guided to do.

There is a time for devouring tons of books (or going to millions of workshops).
And there is a time for putting books away and applying the knowledge in day-to-day life.

To sum it up, guidance can be literal or metaphorical. It can relate to past, present, of future. The dictionary of metaphors is often unique for each of us. And knowing about the map and the stages of the spiritual journey can give a hint about the meaning of the guidance.

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For more information about divine guidance, you can download my workshop script (pdf) here: https://karinfinger.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/divine_guidance_workshop_script.pdf

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Author: Karin Finger

Source: https://karinfinger.wordpress.com/2022/01/20/5-tips-for-interpreting-divine-guidance/