Throughout all of recorded history, human
beings have been seeking a higher source of wisdom and
knowledge. Ancient indigenous peoples and cultures sought
guidance from the spirits of nature and the cosmos
through human intermediaries. These human intermediaries
were the shamans, priests, oracles, and prophets who
carried messages between the world of the spirits and the
world of the people. The messages they delivered were
often received through experiences that involved dreams,
visions, voices, revelations, and visceral inner
prompting.
The messages from the spirit were
also often seen as being transmitted through natural
signs and wonders. These natural signs and wonders were
interpreted through the art of divination. Divination is
"…the attempt to elicit from some higher power
or supernatural being the answers to questions beyond the
range of ordinary human understanding" (Loewe &
Blacker, 1981, p.1). The process of divination took many
forms, and has been found in the recorded history of
Babylon, Egypt, China, Tibet, Japan, Greece, Rome,
Africa, and ancient European cultures. Forms of
divination can also be found in most of the world’s
religious traditions.
The many forms of divination
through which divine guidance and prophecy was sought
included the interpretation of natural and human signs
and omens. These signs and omens were seen through the
interpretation of patterns in the sky, lightning, the
flight of birds, tea leaves, animal entrails, sneezing,
chance remarks, and dreams. Systems of divination were
developed that included the casting of lots or stones;
gazing into water or a crystal ball; astrology; reading
tarot cards; communication with the dead; and geomancy, a
form of divination that uses signs and patterns of the
earth. Many of these divination methods evolved into
and/or included the guidance of an inner voice or voices.
In addition to methods of
divination, the world’s spiritual and religious
traditions developed systems of prayer, ritual,
meditation, philosophy, and right conduct to aid in the
development of contact with the Divine. Many of these
systems developed out of the guidance received by the
many mystics, saints, and prophets whose experiences of
Divine contact have been recorded throughout the history
of the world’s religious and spiritual traditions.
Their testimonials, and those of
others, speak of a long history of communication between
a higher force or idea and humanity. Mystics and saints
have told of celestial visions and intimate contact with
"…a still small voice" (I Kings 19:12).
Artists, poets, scientists and philosophers have long
sought and found inspiration from forces beyond them.
Most of us have struggled with that elusive way of
knowing called intuition. The Greek philosopher Socrates,
psychologist Carl Jung, Swedish scientist-mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg, Moses, Saint Frances, Mohammed,
and William Blake all have claimed to have received
Divine guidance and inspiration.
