Rediscover Your Spiritual Self

A Greater Good

While most of us rely on gut feelings to alert us to danger, spiritual intelligence usually nudges us toward some action that will lead to a greater good.

This is a lesson that Charlene Baumbich, an author and speaker in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, has learned well. Several years ago she was convinced that she couldn't write a book she'd contracted to do. The day before she planned to scuttle the deal, she went to a crafts fair. There Baumbich found a photograph of a chubby toddler opening a treasure chest -- out of which flew butterflies.

"There was a voice that said, 'Just open the lid. Write the first word.'" So she did. And that book, How to Eat Humble Pie and Not Get Indigestion (Arbor Hill, 1997), was a success. Her advice to other women curious about tuning in to their inner wisdom: Take the first step. Peer inside yourself. And don't be surprised if you find butterflies.