Guidance
When I was pulling something out of the refrigerator for breakfast one Saturday morning, I noticed that the shelves were in need of wiping down. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I had taken everything out. When I realized that this job was going to take a while, I decided to turn off the refrigerator. After I had washed everything down thoroughly, chipped the extra ice out of the freezer and replaced the food, I tried to turn it back on, but there was no response.
I turned the dial to the “off” position and back to “on” several times just to make sure. Still nothing. When in doubt, the saying goes, give it a sound thump on the side. So I tried that just in case something was loose somewhere. Still nothing. I checked to be sure that it was still plugged in and even went so far as to check the circuit breakers to see if one had mysteriously gone off by a mistake. Everything was fine there.
I decided to call for help, since I had exhausted my repertoire of solutions. When I asked for someone in the service department, the woman who answered the phone said she could probably answer almost any question I had. After I explained my dilemma, she suggested tapping the thermostat because, as she explained, “sometimes it sticks.” I had to ask where the thermostat was. She directed me to the dial with the numbers inside on the back. I thanked her, hung up and decided that my rolling pin was an appropriate tool for the job. I tapped cautiously. Nothing. I tapped a little more enthusiastically. Nothing. I waited, thinking that if I gave it a break, something might be different. Still nothing.
By this time, I was beginning to get a little upset, so I called her back. Could she please send someone out to fix the problem? “I’m sorry, but this is Saturday, and there are no service men here. Call back on Monday.” All I could see was that the rest of the day would be spent cooking all of the food in my freezer in order to preserve it. That was not what I had planned to do for the day.
Then it occurred to me. If Devas are responsible for bringing energy into form, then there must be a Deva for the refrigerator. I decided to call on the Deva of the refrigerator and see what would happen. My whole body shook with the incoming energy as the Deva enthusiastically joined me, as if to say, “What took you so long to ask?” When I explained the problem, I asked if I should lay my hands on the refrigerator to jumpstart it.
I was remembering the winter before, when the battery in my truck had given out half way down my long hilly driveway. I had called the tow truck for help. He had tried a number of times unsuccessfully to get it started and had begun to make noises about towing it into the service station. Several thoughts had flashed through my mind at the same time. One, towing would cost more money than I had to spend at the moment. Two, I really needed my truck for other things I had to do that day. I asked if he would try just one more time. I had no idea if this would work, but I placed my hands on the hood of the truck and imagined lightning bolts coming down into the engine. Much to my surprise, the truck started right up. I did end up needing a new battery, but I drove myself to the store to buy it. It sure beat the money and time required for being towed to the garage!
Unlike the Deva of my truck, the Deva of the refrigerator did not like the idea of a jumpstart, so I began going down a list of possible solutions. Nothing I could think of was the proper solution. I was uncertain. What now? I told the Deva I was really going to need some help, because I couldn’t think of anything else. Amazingly, the thought of a fox came immediately to mind. I actually had a fox skin in my freezer. It had been there for about three or four years. Soon after I had moved down to the county, I had come across a beautiful red fox that had just been hit. I don’t usually stop for road kill, but he was so beautiful. I offered a pinch of tobacco as a gift in return for the fox and put him in the back of my truck. I decided that it was important for me to take responsibility for my actions and learn how to skin the animal myself. His pelt would make a beautiful pipe bag. A friend came over, brought his tools, and we worked for most of the day. The job was not quite done when he had to leave, so I rolled up the remaining skin, telling myself I’d finish it soon. He had the tools, and I never got back to the task. The fox was still waiting for me in my freezer some four years later.
Apparently, the Deva thought it would be a good idea if I took it out and buried the remains, giving the fox back to the Earth Mother. No sooner did I take that fox out of the freezer and close the door, than the refrigerator started right up. I was awestruck.
One moral of the story is: there is a lot of help available when you take the time to ask! Another might be, don’t be outfoxed. Guidance can come in many different forms. All we really need to do is ask. It is important to be open to a myriad of possibilities. If I had kept a set of expectations about the way I would receive help, I might not have accepted the information in the form in which it arrived, because I would have been looking in another direction.
