Archive | November, 2010

De-Mystifying Intuition

9 Nov

A week or so ago I was presented with the opportunity by fellow Owning Pink Contributor, Jennifer Shelton, to write a piece on “de-mystifying intuition.”  I was immediately intrigued and felt I had much to say about intuition and how it became an integral part of my life.  Jennifer included my piece on her website, FemCentral.  (http://jenniferlshelton.com)

Unbeknownst to me, my spiritual teacher, mentor and friend, Kathryn Harwig, had also written a piece about intuition and common sense.  When I read Kathryn’s piece in the November issue of THE EDGE, I was struck by how closely our pieces parallel each other.  Here is the piece I wrote.  Kathryn’s piece follows.

I have always been interested in spiritual topics.  ESP, psychics, near-death experiences, spirit communication have always held a special fascination for me.  For the first 49 years of my life it ended there, with just a fascination … I had absolutely no personal experience with any of it.

Little did I know what an integral role some would come to play in my life.  Tapping into my own intuition came at a huge price however — the sudden, tragic and very unexpected death of my 20-year old daughter, Elizabeth.

On September 20, 2003, Liz, along with two of her roommates, died of smoke inhalation from a fire that broke out in her duplex, just a few blocks from the University of Minnesota where she had just begun her sophomore year.

As shocking and unbelievable as the loss of my daughter was, it set me on a path to a spiritual knowing and understanding that I could have never dreamed possible.  As numb as I was during those first days, weeks and months, some part of me “knew” I had been set onto a spiritual path and I wanted and needed desperately to follow it.

The choice was always mine however.  I was never forced to do anything.  I could end my journey at any time if I chose to and it would have been fine, my life would have gone on.  I have never in my 56-years on earth felt so compelled to follow and felt so led and so loved by the God of the Universe.  That feeling propelled me down the path that has become my life, and I am eternally grateful.

People came into my life that had amazing spiritual gifts of their own and they showed me in no uncertain terms that my Elizabeth was fine.  She was happy and she was living a marvelous new life.  Of course I missed her physical presence in my life, but all a mother ever wants for their child is knowing that they are safe and they are happy — and I absolutely knew that was true for my Elizabeth.

But I continued to press the envelope … I wanted more and I didn’t even know what or how I wanted it.  I took advantage of an amazing opportunity to study intuition one on one with a wonderful author, teacher and mentor, Kathryn Harwig.  (www.harwig.com).

Could Kathryn really teach me to communicate with Liz on my own?  I certainly had my doubts, but I would never know unless I tried.  My classes with Kathryn were certainly life-changing.  Not only did I learn to communicate with Liz on my own, but what was even more amazing to me was realizing that by practicing the intuitive techniques Kathryn taught me, I was also able to obtain intuitive information for other people — friends as well as complete strangers!

The door to my intuition had swung wide open, when I realized that not only could I use my intuition to make my life better, but I could also help others make their lives better.  Not only that, but I also realized that I could communicate with the spirit world – receive information from spirits and be able to pass it on to their loved ones.   It was something that in a million years I would have never thought possible, but it was so concrete and so real that there was absolutely no denying it.

Tapping into one’s own individual intuitive abilities in not rocket science.  It is simply a matter of asking, and then being quiet, listening, and accepting whatever it is you receive.  “Ask and you shall receive” as the Bible says.  It really is that simple.  The hardest part is quieting the self-talk of doubt and that little voice that tries to tell you that it can’t possibly be correct.  For me, that is the hardest thing to overcome.  But, when you take the chance, be brave, step out and trust that what you received is of value and you pass it on, even though it makes no sense to you, that is when the magic happens.

This is not to say that you will always get it 100% correct.  You will not.  But if you always go in with your motive as purely wanting to help someone, you will not be led astray.  Always ask God to help you.  You can never go wrong with God.

It has been said that little children and elderly adults are closest to the veil.  Children have just come into the world and the elderly are closest to leaving it.  Imaginary friends that many young children have are  not imaginary at all, but are spirits communicating with the pure soul of a child.  In the same way, elderly people are sometimes labeled as delusional or demented because they may be talking to thin air — but again I say they are simply having a conversation with the spirit world.

Our lives in between childhood and old age are spent being busy — making a life for ourselves.  We go to school, we start and work hard on our careers, many of us marry and raise a family.  During this period of our lives, there is no time, (usually) to spend in introspection and searching for a spiritual connection.  Most of us have never even considered that intuition could be a valuable tool in our lives – we are just way too busy.

Everyone has intuitive ability, whether you believe it or not.  It is not some special ability that only certain people possess.  It is no different than musical or artistic ability – we all have it to some degree.  Some are better at it than others, but we can all learn how to use it.   When the time is right in each of our lives the opportunity will present itself and then it becomes our choice whether or not we listen and act.

Intuition is neither good nor bad — it just IS.  We live in a free-will Universe, which means it is always our choice whether to embrace something or totally ignore it and go in a different direction with our lives.

Intuition will always be there, in the back, quietly waiting and calling our name.  Whether we choose to quiet the chatter and listen and act is, once again, always our choice.

As someone who grabbed on with both hands I can only say to you that harnessing your intuition makes your life better.  It is a valuable tool for every day life.  You’re in a hurry and you need to make a quick stop at the store.  Ask your intuition to help you find a good parking spot.  You will be amazed at what will happen.

Another important part of intuition is acknowledging it, being grateful for it and thanking the Universe for sending it.  By following these simple steps, intuition will become an integral and very positive part of your life and the lives of your family, your friends, and everyone you come into contact with.  The choice is yours.

Intuition Versus Self Talk

8 Nov

Many of my readers are familiar with my spiritual teacher, mentor, and friend Kathryn Harwig.  She recently wrote a piece that is a very common-sense, down-to-earth expose on intuition.  I liked it so much I asked her permission to reprint it here:

Recently someone asked me, “How do I know if the information I am getting is coming from my intuition or from my own self talk?”  This is a very good question, and one that everyone who is serious about being intuitive needs to ask on occasion.  It is a challenge to be intuitive about yourself and most of us find that it is far easier to give someone else a psychic reading than to give ourselves good intuitive advice.

Why?  Because our own hopes, dreams, worries and fears tend to get in the way of our hearing our inner psychic, at least when we are asking for information for ourselves.  Many people solve this dilemma, at least in part, by consulting with other psychics.  But, we also want and need to use our intuition to make our own lives better.  So, it is necessary, I think, to be able to distinguish the voice of our inner self talk and the quiet voice of our intuitive wisdom.

I attended a talk once where the speaker said that our unconscious mind was unable to hear the word “Not”.  Her point was that when we make affirmations such as, “I do NOT want to be fat”, our unconscious mind only hears, “I am fat.”  I don’t know if this is true or not, but, upon reflection, I realized that my intuition almost never uses the word “not.”

I will hear, for example, “take this route to work” rather than “do NOT take your usual route”, or, “make this telephone call” rather than, “do NOT call this person.”  My “tips for better living” mind, on the other hand, is always telling me what not to do.  Thus, when I hear advice about what not to do, I am generally certain it is coming from the part of me that is fearful about something, rather than my intuition.

Another way I differentiate between intuition and self talk is that intuition speaks without emotion.  It often “hits” out of the blue with no relationship to what I am doing or even thinking about it.  It comes as an emotionless statement in my mind, or a mental picture or even a physical sensation.  Seldom though, does it carry a strong emotional charge with it. Even when I see, in my minds eye, something that would normally frighten me, I am able to view it intuitively as if I am watching a movie that doesn’t involve me.

My inner voice though, seems to thrive on emotion.  When I think about something and ruminate on it, I tend to feel a lot of emotions.  Whether the emotion I feel is excitement, joy, fear or worry is irrelevant.  Feeling that type of emotion along with a thought is a clue to me that the thought is not an intuitive message.

Another clue is that intuitive information tends to come without any value judgment attached to it.  My intuition gives me messages without any sense of “good” or “bad”, “right” or “wrong.”  Sometimes, after getting this information, my conscious mind jumps in, placing judgment on what I have received.  But, the actual vision or words or feelings never carry a sense of rightness or wrongness.  That is because intuitive information is valueless.  It is never right or wrong…good or bad.  It simply is.

Not long ago I got an email from some one who had heard me giving intuitive insights to audience members.  Her email said, “How do you differentiate between common sense and intuition?  When I listened to your intuitive messages, I thought, “this is just common sense advice.”

She made a very good point.  As I pondered that I thought, “Where does common sense come from?”  We talk about “common sense” as if it is something we can define and understand, but what is it, exactly?  I laughed to myself when I realized that common sense is just another way to describe intuition.  It is that wiser part of ourself that “just knows things.”

How do you tell what is intuition and what is self talk?  I would love to hear from you!

Blessings, Kathryn

http://www.harwig.com

Tags: , , , , ,