Come back to
what you
already know.

You make a decision and for a little while it makes sense. Then you begin wondering what somebody else would think. You ask for an opinion, feel better for a day, and find yourself reopening the whole question again.

I've been there. We have all been there..what interests me is what happens between recognizing an answer and beginning to doubt it.

Sometimes something really has changed. You learn a new fact, or discover that somebody who will be affected sees the situation differently. Those things deserve your attention. But sometimes nothing has changed except your willingness to live with the choice.

Before asking one more person, try asking yourself “what are we still missing?” Is there information you need? Is somebody else's agreement genuinely part of the decision? Or are you looking for the reassurance that you won't disappoint anyone and that everything will turn out exactly as you hoped?

I don't believe we should make every decision alone. I do believe we can learn the difference between seeking useful guidance and hoping someone else will take responsibility for a choice that belongs to us.

I think we sometimes confuse self-trust with never having doubt.

I've made choices because I was excited, only to realize that the excitement had passed and I didn't actually want what I'd chosen. I've also given too much attention to what might go wrong. Neither experience means that something inside me is incapable of making a decision.

For me, trusting myself has become a practice of listening, giving the first reaction time to settle, and looking honestly at the situation in front of me. You can pay attention to a feeling without treating it as an instruction. You can seek counsel without handing somebody else your authority.

And you can change your mind. I don't need every decision to prove that I was right the first time. I need to be able to recognize what I've learned and make the next decision with a little more understanding.

Maybe your next step is a conversation you've been avoiding. Maybe it's an hour set aside for something you keep saying matters. A small, considered action can tell you more than another week of going over the same question.

I used to read people's Akashic Records. I understand how meaningful it can be when somebody speaks to a question you've been living with for months. I also know the relief of hearing another person confirm something you already suspected.

What troubled me was that a meaningful answer didn't always change what happened afterward. Someone could leave a session deeply moved and return to the same question later. I started examining the part I played in that pattern, and I recognized something of it in myself.

I eventually began asking a different question: what if the purpose of guidance is to help someone have a better conversation with themselves?

I still value prayer, meditation, teachers and honest conversation. But I don't want to become the person you need to consult before every important choice. And I don't want you to believe you have failed spiritually just because uncertainty comes back.

Sometimes I doubt myself too. That's part of having faith, at least as I've lived it. I return to what I recognized, look at what has changed, and try to take the next responsible step.

You don't have to arrive with a vision or a dramatic spiritual experience. Maybe you pray and wonder whether you've heard anything at all. Maybe you know what you want to do but still can't begin. Or maybe you're tired of asking different people the same question.

Start with the part of your life that keeps asking for attention.

You Already Know introduces the Akashic Gateway, my inward contemplative practice for learning how you recognize your own responses. It also asks what happens when you return from meditation and have to make a choice.

The book is a place to explore on your own. Walking Each Other Home is available if you want someone beside you while you put what you've recognized into practice.