The following is an excerpt from the "Open Yourself to Divine Guidance" on-line course. If you would like to enroll in the course, click here.

In every culture on earth, in every period of history, people have sought counsel from the mysterious living universe of which they were part. They found beneficial guidance in signs, dreams, and wonders. Animals showed them the way. The arts of divination offered on-target advice. Shamans, prophets, and mystics uttered words of inspiration that healed the psyche.

In ancient classical times, these divine messages of guidance were called "oracles." The word comes from a Latin root meaning "to speak."

Oracles still speak to us today with as much power and beauty as they did in the temples of Delphi. But do we listen? Do we know how to listen? Not always. Most of us lost the touch at a young age. The good news is, our native abilities are alive and well just below the surface of everyday thought. We need only enter a state of mind that I call "oracular knowing." Oracular knowing is so natural to the psyche that it springs back to life with the smallest encouragement.

Oracles speak through many channels, including signs, dreams, encounters with animals, and signals in the body. But they all have something in common. They seem to address us personally. They take just the right shape at just the right time to convince us, "This is meant for you."

I feel sure you have been spoken to by oracles, whether or not you named the experience. Did you ever turn on the radio without thinking and hear a song (perhaps rarely played) that reminded you of a certain person? Perhaps you felt that "oracular jolt" I mentioned. Suddenly you knew you were supposed to get in touch with that person. You followed through and discovered how right you were. Possibly he or she was very troubled and urgently needed your kind words. Or the renewed connection opened doorways for you both.

You may have actively sought guidance by consulting cards, runes, the I Ching, or other divination tools. Although you had done readings in the past, this time was different. You really, really needed advice; your heart called out from the depths, asking to be heard, imploring to be answered. You'll never forget that moment. The message you received so precisely addressed your need that you felt the shock of "otherness" in your bones. Truly the oracle had spoken.