The voice of God is like a "Wakey-Wakey" alarm clock: at first it rings quietly; then it increases in volume until it gets so loud and clear that you have no choice but to wake up and heed its message.

"Why do you have that big bandage on your leg?" I asked my friend Corey. "I burned my leg during a Sweat Lodge ceremony," she answered. "I was sitting in the back of the lodge, and the heat started to become too much for me. I thought to myself, "I should probably get out now," but I judged myself for being a wimp, and decided to hang in there. Soon I began to feel faint, and I told the leader that I wanted to leave. He and everyone else told me, "You are being tested; just push beyond your limits." I gave in to their influence for a few minutes, but then I really began to feel woozy, so I headed for the door. By that time I was so disoriented that I lost my balance and fell against a hot rock."

Corey's experience is a classic lesson in the importance of following our intuition when it speaks to us as a quiet whisper in our heart. The voice of God is like a "Wakey-Wakey" alarm clock: at first it rings quietly; then it increases in volume until it gets so loud and clear that you have no choice but to wake up and heed its message. A friend of mine calls this process, "In-Your-Face Productions."

We don't have to learn by suffering, conflict, stress, or drama. These situations arise only when we have not hearkened to our inner knowingness, which spoke to us long before a situation comes to a head. Seen in this light, major crises are not random events or punishments, but expressions of a loving God, pulling out the heavy artillery to get our attention to make important course corrections and get us back on our right path of joy, our natural state.

The good news is that In-Your-Face-Productions works not only through pain, but delight. The voice of love is ready and available to point us toward actions that reward and support us for walking our right path.

After I had self-published my first book The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore, I came across the catalog of a distributor who specialized in books related to A Course in Miracles. I thought about sending my book to this company, but, not having a penchant for promotion, I tossed the catalog into the waste basket. A week later I received a letter from a friend who enclosed a copy of the very catalog I had discarded, with a note, "I think you should send your book to this distributor."

How big a billboard did I need?! I contacted the distributor, who loved the book, launched a significant marketing campaign, and paved the way for national recognition. Thank you, In-Your-Face Productions.

Nature has imbued all creatures with the ability to discern at subtle levels. I notice how my dog Munchie (who channeled the classic text Are You as Happy as Your Dog? though me) approaches food I put in his bowl. First he sees it from a distance, then he draws nigh unto it and studies it for a few moments. Then he sniffs it. Then he licks it. If all of these gradually more obvious signals are to his liking, he goes ahead and chows down.

It appears, however, that we humans have not gotten this method down just right yet. Often we chow down before sniffing or licking. Take relationships, for example. How many of us have fallen in love with someone, declared them to be our soul mate, gone to bed, and/or gotten married before we developed a relationship with our partner? Then one day we wake up and say, "I don't even know this person!" In-Your-Face Productions strikes again. Thank you, God.

Intuition is one of our most important gifts from God, and everyone has it. Not just women or psychics or sages. Everyone. Intuition is the voice of God speaking to us at every moment, reminding us where the diamonds of our well-being await, and how to mine them.

The key to guidance is to be open to hearing it. My car antenna moves up and down only manually, and when the antenna is up, it bumps into my garage ceiling. So I usually lower the antenna before parking in the garage. When I first had the car, I drove out of the garage one day and noticed I was receiving only two radio stations out of about a dozen in my area. I scanned repeatedly, trying to pull in more stations, wondering where all the stations had gone. Then I remembered that I had left the antenna down. I reached outside and raised the antenna, and voila, ten more stations were instantly at my disposal - by raising the antenna but eighteen inches.

Eighteen inches is also the distance from the top of the head to the heart, and that is the extension we must make if we are to hear the voice for God. By now, you probably realize that you are not going to succeed at life by analyzing or figuring it out. Yes, the mind is important -- but yes, the heart is even more important. God's most important guidance comes not through your thoughts, but through your gut instincts and your inner knowingness.

You know, and you know right now. The answer you have been seeking has been seeking you, but you must be willing to hear it and act on it. You know that question or problem that has been nagging at you? You already know the answer. Admit that your mind is an extension of God's, and everything that God knows is available to you to make your life more and more wonderful every day.

Alan Cohen is the author of many popular inspirational books including the best-selling The Dragon Doesn't Live Here Anymore. To order Alan's new book Happily Even After or request a free catalog of Alan's books, tapes and workshops, write to Hay House, P.O. Box 5100, Carlsbad, CA 92018 or call 1-800-462-3013. For info on Alan's Mastery Training in Hawaii, contact 455A Kukuna Road, Haiku, HI 96708, (800) 568-3079, email: mastery@alancohen.com. Check out Alan's Web Site at www.alancohen.com