September 10, 2013
Dear Friends,
In my second book, Further
Down The Stream, I devoted three chapters to divine signs. In the first one,
I focused solely on the kind of signs that are literal—that is, they are actual printed messages on a poster, a
bumper sticker, or some other surface—and I shared a great story as an example
of that. Today I would like to share a similar story. It’s a story I often
share in my workshops, but have never written down . . . until now.
When I published my first book, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, it was my intention to make my living as a
full-time spiritual author. But I soon began to doubt the feasibility of that,
and I began to worry. I was constantly thinking, “I’ve got to sell more books!”
“I’ve got to sell more books!”
One day, Carol and I were invited to participate in a
special event hosted by a nearby Unity church. The point of the event was to
help the participants affirm something for themselves. Each person was to
choose a word or a phrase that would support him or her in accomplishing a goal
or healing an issue. Then, the lights would be lowered, incense would be lit, a
gong would be struck, and we were to spend the next 45 minutes quietly
repeating to ourselves the word or phrase we had chosen . . . giving it enough time
to deeply seat itself within our hearts and minds.
Naturally, the first phrase I thought of was, “I’ve got to
sell more books!” But I had to laugh at myself, because I knew that was not the
kind of idea that was going to support me in my new career. In fact, that kind
of fear-based thinking would only serve to sabotage my efforts, interfering
with my ability to be attuned to divine guidance.
And that’s when I remembered something important: I didn’t
write my book just so I could sell it and make money! I wrote my book because I
had a message to share—a message I felt divinely compelled to share with others
whether it generated an income or not! It occurred to me that my job was not to
“sell more books.” My job was simply to “spread the word,” and let the Universe
take care of everything else . . . including my income. So the phrase I chose to
focus on that night was simply, “Spread the word.”
The lights were lowered, the incense was lit, the gong was
struck, and I began to silently repeat to myself, “Spread the word.” “Spread
the word.”
When the 45 minutes were up, my mission seemed very clear, and
I felt divinely supported in that mission. And based on what happened next, that
certainly seemed to be the case.
Carol and I were driving home, when we had to stop at a red
light. As we waited for the light to change, a bus crossed in front of us. Posted
on the side of that bus was a sign. But not just any sign. For me, it was an
unmistakable divine sign. It was sign
with only three words on it—three words painted in my favorite color of purple:
To this day, I don’t know what that sign was actually promoting.
Neither Carol nor I noticed a logo, and we never saw that sign again. Was it telling
people to spread the word about how convenient it is to ride the bus? Maybe. All
I know for sure is this: It was just the confirmation I needed to know that I
was, indeed, on the right track . . . and that my job was simply to “spread the
word,” and let the Universe take care of everything else. And you know what?
The Universe has done just that.
Steven
© 2013 by Steven Lane Taylor
Steven Lane Taylor, LLC
