She’s bold.. She’s shy. She’s quirky. And she’s been hiding in plain sight.

For the last several years I’ve been a bit at sea in my spiritual journey.

Yes, I was blessed with peer support groups where people use kumbaya language generously and uncynically. Yes, I was blessed with friends who will share their soul journey and hear about mine with respect and kindness.

And it was good.

But still I craved that certain someone. A teacher, a pal, a coach, a counselor, a guru a little (or a lot) farther along the in the journey, to help me on my way.

I’ve noticed in my reading over the years in different faith traditions that there are a lot of common themes. One of them is, do not go this journey alone. My own intuition informs and supports that wisdom. You hear about so many people who go off the rails listening to some call that turns out not to have been in anyone’s best interest. This, I think, is how cults get formed. In the extreme, it can define psychosis.

My friend Karen used to tell the story of how when she was first trying to access the higher power she wanted for a better, healthier life, she meditated for hours every day. And one day in during the mediation, she saw the entire next day. A sort of movie of everything. When the next day actually unfolded exactly as she had seen in her meditation, it freaked her out. She joined Unity and there met a kindly couple who became her spiritual mentors.

For about a decade, I had a spiritual director, someone whose role it was to talk to about what I was thinking, feeling and doing to feed and fuel my soul, achieve richer fuller health, and be of some use on the planet. Our relationship was nurturing and helpful, but ran its course.

But I’m still on the path. What to do? I asked and asked the universe to send me my next teacher.

And a few days ago, during my morning meditation, she finally arrived: She is me! I was so busy consuming self-help books and courses and ideas that I hadn’t allowed myself any time to assimilate them.

For years, I’ve heard that we each have everything inside that we need. The answers are there and all.  I sort of knew  what people were talking about, but I just couldn’t settle down and listen.

Time to do that, my new teacher said!

Let’s be clear about one thing, though. The me we are talking about here is not my ego or my willfulness—what some might call the lower self.

No. We’re talking about the higher self. The part of me that’s totally plugged into the greater whole. What some might call God. What Elizabeth Gilbert calls the God that lives in me, as me.

That’s the me who’s my new teacher.

Who am I to say “no” to royalty???

So this teacher? She’s given me my first assignment: Slow down and listen. Just listen. Don’t run away from anything. Don’t push toward anything. Just listen. Amazing! Thanks, Teach!