We can often find ourselves searching for teachers, mentors, gurus or other forms of sage wisdom in the midst of life’s most difficult moments. It can feel so reassuring to have someone wiser provide us with a direction to take or an answer to our problems. Particularly when we are feeling confused, tired and uneasy about the best course of action. There is nothing wrong with this approach. In fact, these special figures in our lives can often direct us toward or help set us on the path of personal unfoldment. Their support, encouragement and teachings can be instrumental in unlocking our own latent potential.

The only caveat is that we can grow to become too dependent on this outside guidance and begin to subjugate our decision making to others. When this happens, we are entering dangerous territory. What was once helpful can quickly become a crutch. We can even become unable to act or make decisions without getting guidance, consultation or assurance from whomever we deem as wise and knowledgeable. In essence, we perceive them as better suited to handle or advise us in the current crisis du jour. The truth of the matter is the presence of all teachers or gurus in our lives are meant to serve as a wake-up call and reminder of the power we hold within ourselves.

We come into these human lives with everything we need for the journey ahead of us. Life is tailor-made to provide each of us with just the right circumstances, situations and people to take us where we are meant to go. Our individual paths of self-realization are varied and unique, but the commonality is that we carry everything we need within us. From this perspective, it is less about seeking for the right guidance from outside advisors and more about turning within. In fact, the best mentors and teachers reinforce the idea that we should always honor our own inner knowing above any advice or guidance from an outside source.

When we find ourselves staring down a seemingly immovable problem or faced with another intractable situation, we can pause, breathe and turn inward. We take our inquiry within, not to the analytical or rational mind, but to our own heart-centered wisdom and inner compass of knowing. The simplicity of the process should not be confused with its power. The steps themselves are quite easy. We start with quieting our minds, then make our inquiry, next we let go of any agenda and become open to the guidance, we wait for an answer knowing that it will surely come. Our job is to be aware that the answer may come in an unexpected way and typically with a solution that we had never considered.

We build the muscle of connecting with our own wisdom and begin to trust ourselves in the most beautiful, genuine and natural way. From this vantage point of deep connection to our own selves we can see how every experience, encounter and person along the way helped to unearth the wisdom we hold within.