What kind of ”guidance” is this anyway?

When your soul speaks a different language

Hello! Welcome and thanks for stopping by for this week’s installment about living a soul based life. If you’re wondering what that means or what it looks like, join the club! I’m just following the breadcrumbs.

This week’s assignment comes from above. I asked my soul what I’m supposed to write about and got a very clear answer. Repeatedly.

“Paradise by the Dashboard Light”

🤔

When I say “clear”, I mean there was no question that this was the response to my question. It resonated with authority in a way I’ve come to recognize mostly by learning to regret not recognizing it. Hindsight is quite a marvelous teacher!

It’s the name of a classic rock song I learned by osmosis during my high school years. Decades later, and those lyrics are still locked in place. Isn’t it interesting how such memories remain secure over time? If you even need “Jenny’s” number, I’ve got it stored in my vault. 867-5309. It’s the only number I know besides my own. How very useful is that!?

However, I haven’t the foggiest idea what this song means in relation to this article. That part is as clear as mud.

When you ask your soul for guidance, the answers often come in encrypted form. When you base a blog on doing just that, well… let’s just say I feel responsible for reporting the wonky nature of living this way for all those who might be wondering if they’re alone in the abyss of confusion.

You are not alone! It’s not uncommon for my directives to be a complete puzzle to me.

That’s because we live in a world that values the logical, the linear, the analytical and the rational at the expense of the mystery. Anything that can’t be measured gets labeled as nonsense and we learn pretty early on to keep a lid on the inexplicable. Our intuition muscles atrophy and even when the messages do sneak through, they often aren’t understandable because our decoder rings are rusty from misuse.

Choosing to bring the soul (or intuition, which to me is the voice of the soul) onboard as an advisor does tend to rock the boat and challenge the status quo. It helps to not take things so seriously. A hearty dose of humor is the only reason I’m able to write this article about something that would have been frustrating, and probably embarrassing, years ago.

It also helps to realize that the soul often speaks in metaphors and symbols. I went down this rabbit hole and listened to the song prescribed. You probably know it. It has an upbeat vibe that invites head bopping and is rather long (8+ minutes), but I persisted. It’s performed by a character called Meatloaf on an album called Bat Out of Hell. The video is quite entertaining. None of that sparks any meaning for me.

It’s about teenagers on the brink of car sex when the girl demands a declaration of love and commitment. The boy wants to “sleep on it” but breaks down and swears to love her till the end of time. The grand finale is that he’s now praying for the end of time. Charming, huh?

Could the message be about examining vows that are no longer aligned? Sensing the likelihood of false promises in the heat of the moment? Don’t make out in cars? 😆

It was very popular one summer, ’88 I think, at the neighborhood pool. I can remember days spent hanging out, lounging, hopping in the water when it got too hot, reading in the shade, carefree and tan with blond streaks in my hair from the chlorine.

Is it a message about making time for lazy days by the water in the heat of summer?

But… my high school years were pretty miserable. Those memories paint a very different picture than reality.  

Am I meant to explore the illusion of false recollections?

The song is fun and when it comes on the radio, I’ll happily sing along. Could there be some wisdom here about enjoying pop culture even when it’s not mindful or compatible with my values? Or is the opposite? To be more aware of lyrics and more selective of the music I choose?  

Maybe it has nothing to do with the song itself? The word paradise isn’t particularly potent for me. Dashboard lights? I rarely see them as I’m such an early bird! Am I supposed to drive more at night? That’s going to really interfere with the entire bedtime routine. 😆

Basically, I have no idea. Not yet, anyway.

But I’m following through on the assignment and writing about this thing that I am utterly clueless about. I suppose there might be some insight in here for anyone new to a similar path and wondering why they aren’t getting explicit guidance. Rarely are there step-by-step directions. If so, it’s just like putting together furniture from IKEA. It’s part guess work, part instinct, part prayer and lots of cursing.

I explored the memories, the feelings, the memories of the feelings and the feelings of the memories, along with the literal and symbolic meaning of the words. I looked for associations, familiar or unfamiliar, and didn’t get worked up about the lack of result. Most importantly, I’m not making a meaning about it- not about myself (as a failure of a code breaker) or the process of asking for guidance (what kind of lunatic lives this way?!).

It’s just a funny story that might click into place one day and make sense at the time when I need it most. Who knows? Not me! I’m just here, following through on my assignment.

I’d love to hear from you about your own method of interpreting guidance. Any tricks you’d like to share? Have you ever cracked a code and gotten some juicy advice? Inquiring minds want to know!

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Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash