"Look in the Yellow Pages!"

It was the late 1980s. I was out of a job, living on savings and donations from students who attended my classes in A Course in Miracles. One Monday morning I began to think, "I'm going to need a job pretty soon."

My inner voice spoke up and said, "You'll be going down to the State Job Service on Friday!"

Immediately I got eager. ("eager" rhymes with "ego-er", doesn't it?) I said, "Why can't I go today?"

My inner voice felt insistent as it said, "No! Friday!"

So I gave up resisting, which is always a good idea when listening to one's inner voice. I went about my business that week playing and hiking in the mountains, eventually altogether forgetting about Friday.

On Friday morning I was enjoying being slow about getting breakfast and getting going when my inner voice began to tell me to sit down, get quiet, and listen inside carefully. I wanted to take my time and get breakfast, but the voice was insistent.

When I sat down, got quiet, and cleared out my mind, I heard clearly "Look in the Yellow Pages! Look up vending machine companies."

At first I resisted, as people often do when they hear something inside. But I finally got the Yellow Pages out and looked up vending machine companies. To my surprise, there were several in town.

My inner voice said, "Start calling them one by one. Ask if they need any help."

At this point, big resistance surfaced in me. I had been a Unity Minister for 12 years, a teacher of A Course in Miracles, and a sometimes computer programmer. No way was I going to go to work for a vending machine company!

My inner voice said with full authority, "Do it!"

"Okay...." I started calling vending machine companies.

The first one said, "No, we don't need any help." My resistance got stronger.

My inner voice said patiently, "Keep calling!"

The second company said, "No, we only use family members." My resistance kept getting even more firm, as if I was fighting being sent on a wild goose chase.

My inner voice said, "Keep calling!!"

I think it was the fourth company I called that said, "Yes, we are hiring right now. We have an opening. But we don't hire directly. You have to go down to the State Job Service."

Suddenly I remembered what I had been told Monday about going down to the State Job Service on Friday. My inner voice said, "Now ... get dressed ... quick ... and get down there!"

"Wait a minute! I wanted to have breakfast. And I wanted to do some Yoga exercises."

"Get dressed and get down there ... quickly!"

"Okay."

Normally the parking lot at the State Job service is overflowing and the lines are long. On this particular morning when I arrived the parking lot was near empty. I thought to myself, "Why is my inner voice sending me here when it is closed?"

You might imagine it wasn't closed after all. I walked in and there were no lines of job seekers. I walked up to the receptionist and told her the name of the agent I was assigned to. She said, "Well, it's not too light back there because the electricity is off, but he should be by his desk."

I went back and met the agent and he said, "Well, the computers are all down, so I don't know if I can help you." The rules were you had to interview for only the one or two types of jobs you were specified for in the computer. But I said to him, "I think I'm here for a job with a vending machine company." I was certainly not in the computer for such a job.

He said, "Let me go talk to one of the counselors on the other team."

When he returned, he said, "This other counselor has a job on his desk for a vending machine company. I'm going to take you over and introduce you to him."

The other counselor talked to me for a little while and finally said, "You know ... I'm not supposed to send you out for any jobs you are not specified for in the computer, but the computers are down ... and I like you ... so I'll send you to interview on this job."

So I got the job, true or false? Listen inside.

And it was a job in which I had an opportunity to learn the just perfect spiritual lessons, true or false? Listen inside.

So it pays to follow your inner voice, true or false?