The Highest Authority Lies Within You

What if there was a TV channel, or radio station you could tune into, to receive direct revelation from God, Allah, Yahweh, or the Universal Spirit? Well, newsflash... here's a little secret in case you don't already know, the signal is being transmitted right now and is actually being sent, ALL the time. The problem may be your receiver is just a little dusty, or maybe a little bit out of use. The good news is you can always fine tune your receiver and learn how to tune in and listen to it often. Each of us has a direct link to eternal wisdom and a direct communication channel broadcasting a LIVE signal from our creator. It's like a built in walkie talkie. In the extraordinary book Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch, he says in reference to the voice within, "It is the radar that sets the course, steers the ship, guides the journey if you but let it."

This voice is what I am referring to by saying, The Highest Authority Lies Within You. Rumi said, "You have within you a deciding force that knows what to receive, what to turn from!" You have to learn to trust, and validate this voice, this force on your journey towards becoming a more integrated, authentic, spiritual being. This voice is the highest authority you should trust in your entire life. It will give you all the answers you need on your life's path. The beautiful thing about it is, it is already inside you now. The Highest Authority Lies Within You. It is your conscience, inner voice, inner spirit, your inner wisdom, or the voice of your higher self.

So, who is entitled to this inner wisdom? All of us can receive direct inspiration from our source or God. EVERYONE is entitled to this two way form of communication. It seems to me that much organized religion discourages people from thinking and living this way. They call it blasphemy. I have seen for myself and come to believe that a lot of religion oftentimes discourages you from seeking personal revelation, and from trusting yourself, or relying on yourself for wisdom, guidance and direction. I think a big part of this is because if you start to rely upon your direct wisdom from God within, then eventually you establish a strong connection, you get strong signals, and you don't need to rely solely upon the church anymore. Also, at this point, you don't have to rely on the church and church leaders authority. I believe this is the churches fear. Maybe it's because there is a lot of money and false sense of authoritative power there? Either way, this issue has been one of the biggest battles in the past two thousand years. Church leaders from many different traditions have done everything they could in their power to cast out and denounce any wisdom, teachings or texts that led members into a personal relationship to spirit.

I fully believe true leaders always lead you to uncover and discover your own guiding force, your highest truth, your highest, innermost wisdom though. Ralph Waldo Emerson said in his provocative book, Self Reliance, "The faith that stands on authority is not faith." I have to absolutely agree with that quote. I was raised in a religion that I was thrown out of for questioning authority.

But I think it is healthy and necessary to question authority. Abraham Lincoln said, "Question everything, even God." Questioning is how we find out for ourselves what is true for us. If you just accept everything on blind faith, then you miss out on forming a COMMUNION WITH THE FATHER. You miss out on a relationship with the highest authority, the guiding force which can shape and inspire your life. Wayne Dyer said once, "You are a divine creation of God. You can never be separate from that which created you." It's the same with a mother and child. There is a bond which time and space cannot ever separate! And with that bond, there is an ever present, always active energy/soul connection.

Copyright Justin Topik 2009

Honoring the Wise Guide (Inner Voice)

No matter where you go, there is always someone who can serve as a guide, someone who knows the landscape, the territory, who can navigate the foreign regions. It is the same with the inner voice too. No matter where you are at, you can ALWAYS tune in to it and ask for guidance and direction. It is an ever present, highly intelligent, guidance and operating system and an infinitely transmitted, fine tuned radio signal. Through my life's journey, I have come to fully rely on and trust the guidance and wisdom I receive from this soft and subtle, yet oftentimes unmistakably unignorable voice time and time again. It has never led me astray.

The thing about Honoring the Wise Guide (Inner Voice) though is you have to learn to trust it. It takes a lot of courage to learn to access and follow something you can't visibly see. And sometimes, the guidance seems downright ludicrous. But, it is radically instinctive and highly intelligent nonetheless. In her book A Still, Small Voice, Echo Bodine says this about intuition: "Life is not only more magical when we live by our inner voice but also extremely efficient. From the life-changing to the mundane, your intuition is always your best guide." That's because it knows, and it knows that it knows. It is God's voice within all of us, our direct link to the spirit realms infinite wisdom.

I remember an experience from a while back in my life. I was hiking in the mountains with my youngest sister, who was five at the time. She was running ahead of me most of the way, when suddenly I got a strong inclination to pick her up right then and there and carry her for a while. So I did just that, and not less than one minute later, a rattlesnake was sitting right in the middle of the trail we were hiking on, and began rattling at us as we approached it. She could have easily been bitten had I not listened to and trusted my instincts, or as I like to call it, my "inside information."

Everyone has intuition. Its when you know something and you're not sure how you know, but you do. It's that nagging voice deep within you saying, "turn around, walk another way, get away from this person, or a certain situation." It's that inner compass that points the way for us. It is constantly trying to communicate with us. You just have to learn to listen to and follow your heart, soul and intuition more. These are precious, holy gifts from a loving, compassionate creator to be used often and cherished. The problem with the still, small voice though, is that it is just that, A STILL, SMALL VOICE. And in our society, there is so much noise, so many distractions. These things can definitely prevent us from hearing the guidance and instruction from within. That is where taking the time to go within daily comes into play. The more you tune in through yoga, meditation, prayer, spending reflective time in nature, and etc. the more this voice becomes present and active in your life.

I have always felt God's presence and guidance in my life. I was raised in a highly organized religion, but left it when I became an adult, because I felt a prompting for a deeper, more sensitive, intuitive relationship with spirit. I always felt that there was more out there for me. I feel that most organized religions lead people away from listening to and following their own inner voice and promptings. That is why I don't subscribe to organized religion. It encourages you to seek much wisdom from bishops, pastors, the Bible or other various scriptures and etc. instead of encouraging you to go within to find the answers in your own heart and soul. That is where all the true answers will be found. There are no intermediaries now between me and God. There is a direct line of communication that is very present and visible. I work hard to keep it open and accessible. This direct communication is available to everyone, all the time.

The beauty of Honoring the Wise Guide is it leads you to your highest good, your highest calling, and your fullest experience of life's joy, bliss and happiness. It is the part of you that knows who you came into this world to be, what you need to do with your particular gifts and talents, and how to bring you into a harmonious union with all of life. If you turn away from it, you will lead a frustrated life and miss out on rich blessings. If you listen to it and follow it, it will lead you into a glorious, new experience of life. Listen to and honor the wise guide. It is certainly a true friend.

Copyright Justin Topik 2009

Walking Your Path

Robert Frost wrote a poem titled The Road Less Traveled in which he stated,"Somewhere ages and ages hence, two roads diverged in a wood, and I-I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." What is your path? the one that will make all the difference for you. I was in Pre-Med for almost 3 years with a 3.9 GPA. I dropped out and started my own business, even though my family thought I was out of my mind. I did this because I knew in my soul, I was walking down the wrong path for me! And I needed to find and walk my own path and be true to myself.

Walking through life is a marvelous journey, but filled with a myriad of possibilities and choices. Sometimes you just know when a path you're on doesn't feel right for some reason, so you decide to take an alternate road that feels right for you! We all need to feel like we are on target, living authentically, walking the right path for us.

On life’s journey, you will encounter much-narrow paths blocked by boulders, forks in the road shrouded in fog, deep valleys of darkness and despair, and bright sunny days in meadows of golden poppies. It is all a part of life's journey. And through it all, the only constant is that you are you, that you have an inner voice within you and a path to walk. If you allow your inner voice to tell you which fork in the road to take, if you allow that internal compass to tell you which mountain to climb, then you will do well indeed and have a fulfilling, interesting, and enjoyable life. If you go chasing after security, or living someone else's dream, then you will find yourself suddenly awakening in a deep forest without knowing where to turn. You will find yourself lost and confused, because you have lost touch with your own personal truth. And when this happens, you must just sit down in the forest, become very still, return to yourself and find yourself again before you continue walking, or else you will simply go around in circles, becoming more desperate and alone and lost.

In her book, A Still Small Voice, Echo Bodine had this to say, "Because the road that leads to God is not an easy one, many people choose the wide road instead. It may seem easier to follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing-following what appears to be the safe road in life-but the truth is, that road doesn't encourage individuality. Instead, it promotes a deadening conformity, and it keeps you farther away from God."

Have the courage and the heart, the centeredness and audacity to follow your own path. Be who you are and love being you no matter what. Your path is your path only and no one knows better than you which path to walk. Shine your light and show the world who you are, so that people who are looking for someone exactly like you can find you. Do not allow setbacks or even major betrayals to dampen your shine and your being. You are a shining star when you are walking your path!