One of the biggest obstacles in one’s spiritual growth, is conditioning. This conditioning is a set of beliefs we have formed as a result of hearing something repeatedly from parents and other family members, teachers, friends, the media and the like.

And one important aspect of this conditioning, is that life is meant to be problem-free. In pursuit of a problem free life, people try a variety of things. First they seek ‘security’, then they want to ‘start a family’, then they seek success, money and when they realise that none of this brought them a problem-free life, they turn to God. Some give up on that too and turn to something else, but mostly people are dead by the time they realise that that didn’t work either.

It is this pursuit of God, this wonderful chase, that has created a probably multi-billion dollar industry catering to religious and spiritual seekers. There are, of course, people that are fake outright, meaning to con people. But I believe that for most part, people are genuine. However genuine is not the same as never misguided, and even the best can have a few misguided moments some times.

Here are a few signs that the guidance you are receiving is taking you down the wrong road.

1. It takes you to the future (gives you hope)

One very popular tool in this regard, is the tool of prediction and divination. It could be tarot, clairvoyance, communicating with angels, tea-cup readings, and many more things. People turn to these when there is confusion or too much pain in their lives, seeking some respite through a happy prediction of the future.

If the guidance you receive – either through someone else or through your own sources, maybe through the angels or in dreams, talks about the future – it is not spiritual guidance. Even if you are being given hope that a desired situation will come true. Such information encourages you to take away all the energy from the present and invest it in an imaginary future. This prevents you from learning the lessons you are meant to learn through this ordeal, and postpones and retards your journey.

2. It takes you to the past (brings you guilt)

It is of course, very important to learn from one’s lessons. However, guilt and learning lessons are mutually exclusive. Guilt is a trick that the mind uses to avoid learning lessons, so any guidance received to that effect, whether from a teacher or from some other source, is not beneficial to you in any way.

3. It makes you feel small

In a path where the very essence of the teachings is oneness, there is no place for big or small. The ego however, loves to trick itself and create separation. With gurus, people often put them up on a pedestal and make them big, even if they don’t encourage it themselves – and some do. Then there are those who communicate with beings from other realms or dimensions, and convince themselves that they are higher, purer and better.

Take a rain-check if you feel like you’re so small that you have a million lessons to learn and a long journey to make. Again, it takes your energy away from the present and places your hope in a distant future where you might be happy. While happiness comes when we give up the chase, this path makes you chase harder.

4. Or big

This one’s a no-brainer, but it is a mistake that most spiritual aspirants make anyway. Of course, the obvious trap is when a sect makes you feel special simply because you are a part of it, but there are subtler ways.

You can sometimes receive guidance that you are special. You’re here for a purpose, to improve people’s lives, to change the world, etc.  Then there are ‘spiritual’ paths that award titles, or articles that help you attach yourself to a label, like light-worker, empath, earth angel, etc. Anything to make you special, to give you an identity. These are tricks the ego usually conjures up to avoid coming face to face with its own insignificance.

5. It is confusing or vague

This is more relevant to information received through inner guidance or dreams. It is easy to mistake them for spiritual guidance when they come from this source, but if the information you receive is unclear, vague or confusing, without an option for you to ask for clarification, then it is definitely not meant to take you in the right direction.

6. It takes your power away

Any system that gives an object, a place, an institution or a person greater importance than your daily practice and personal conduct, is clearly more a marketing gimmick than a spiritual pathway. We see this everywhere – religious people skipping their daily practice and feeling redeemed by visiting places of worship, energy healers cutting corners and trying to substitute practice with crystals and symbols, even yoga practitioners thinking that getting into a complicated asana is somehow better than learning to say, follow the yama and niyama.

Spiritual guidance can be very powerful, and life-changing when it comes at the right time and in the right way. But be careful, and assess it well before embracing it and making it a part of your life.