intuition development

  • Intuition Chronicles is my tracking system where I document the internal messages I receive and the results of heeding or ignoring them. I’ve shared a variety of my learn-the-hard-way stories in previous posts. Ugh! Happily, this is a success story, but I didn’t know it till months later. Since the outcome of following hunches isn’t always immediately apparent and can easily be overlooked, I’ve found that having a record to review is a great teaching aid. 

    While I do learn quickly by experiencing the inconvenience, discomfort, or expense of discounting inner guidance, I prefer to learn the easy way! I don’t always know until later that I’ve had a successful intuitive encounter, so I keep track of the nudges that don’t seem to make sense as well as the hindsight-activated realizations that I unknowingly acted on a nudge. I can use all the experiences for learning.

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    In December 2019, I got a wild hair to buy allspice essential oil. I didn’t know why and had no clue what I’d do with it. Some exploration online taught me that it’s an antiviral spice and combines nicely with several other antiviral herbs and spices. I purchased the lot and made a batch of air purification spritzers for my home and office and to share as gifts. 

    It wasn’t until the following spring that I recognized that “wild hair” purchase as an extrasensory “knowing”. It didn’t come in the verbal format I’m accustomed to. I never heard a voice in my head saying, “Buy this; you’ll be glad later.” My attention was inexplicably drawn to the product and I felt an urge to buy it. When antiviral oils became hard to come by in 2020, I was extremely grateful I had an adequate stock on hand, and the epiphany blossomed. If I didn’t have an active practice of recording intuitive messages, I likely would have never perceived this as a victory.

    This is when people usually point out that they frequently have sudden desires to buy items and wonder how they can tell the difference between impulsive shopping and an intuitive hunch. Valid question! Who doesn’t get urges to spend money out of the blue?

    I have a two-pronged answer to that. A) Keeping track in a journal makes it easy to look back and say, “Aha! I was guided to do xyz and that proved incredibly helpful in the future. I’ll pay attention the next time a message like that appears.” Or, “Yikes, I regret spending all that money on something so frivolous. Next time I’ll be more mindful.” B) My intuition speaks to me calmly, but firmly, without any sense of desperation, whereas impulsive shopping can feel like I absolutely must have this thing or else I just won’t be ok. My intuition knows that I’m already ok and isn’t trying to prove my worthiness to me; it’s trying to make my life and my calling easier. Both the quality of the message and the act of mindfully recording it help me discern the difference.

    I know that learning to recognize and interpret subtle directives from the metaphysical realm can seem daunting. At first there might be some confusion if the memo was issued by the soul or the consumeristic conditioning we’ve all been exposed to. To add to the complexity, there are a variety of ways intuition can communicate. Sometimes my eyes are mysteriously drawn to an object. Other times I get clear verbal instruction, have a gut feeling, or just know that I need to do something. Synchronicity is another guiding factor and too big of a topic to address today. (More on that in a later post.)

    The more I’m tuned into the intention to receive and decipher guidance, the easier it is to notice it. Just like learning a language or instrument, we get better with practice. Even if you don’t feel confident following through on your intuition just yet, you can build your confidence by making notes and beginning your practice today. Soon you’ll be fluent in this new language.

    Intuition Chronicles: Success Revealed in the Rearview Mirror

    Intuition Chronicles is my tracking system where I document the internal messages I receive and the…

  • Welcome to Intuition Chronicles, my records of intuitive messages received and the results of following or ignoring them. I’m sharing them here for the purpose of illustrating the practice of learning to trust intuition. Yes, for most of us it is a practice. And tracking internal nudges is one of the foundational exercises I suggest for my Reiki students who aspire to be intuitive adepts.

    Me: What’s up with this fatigue that doesn’t fade no matter how much sleep I get?

    Intuition: Vitamin D. (My guidance isn’t always this clear, but I often do have a sudden, inexplicable inner knowing in the form of words or phrases. The key, and reason for the journal I keep, is learning to recognize it.)

    Me: Maybe I should have some tests run before I buy a supplement. (I tend to second- guess my instructions. Keeping track of the price I pay for this lack of trust helps me better recognize future messages as the blessing that they truly are.)

    Two months later, a bill close to $1200 from bloodwork being carelessly sent to an out-of-network lab, one missing vial of blood that would have been tested for Lyme disease, having to read my own results in the online portal as the doctor didn’t bother to follow up, and a massive reminder of the value of listening to my intuition: I’m deficient in vitamin D. 

    Me: #$^%

    Intuition: 

    (Fortunately intuition doesn’t gloat.) 

    Two days later, after purchasing a $25 bottle of vitamin E drops at the health food store, I feel much more energized and commit to listening to my inner guidance moving forward. Again.

    I’m not at all proposing that people don’t get medical treatment when it’s called for. But in this case, there would have been zero risk to buying a simple vitamin supplement and seeing if it worked its magic. Society has conditioned me to place my trust in the medical industrial complex rather than my gut. This particular episode was rather costly and therefore an excellent reminder that my soul always steers me toward my greatest good. 

    When “magnesium” came up three times in two days recently, I didn’t think twice about doing my own research online about the signs of deficiency and excess, best sources, and dosages. (Stay tuned for an upcoming post about deciphering synchronicity with intuition.) No need to learn this lesson twice!

    Learning to trust my inner wisdom is an invaluable resource when it comes to cultivating health and wellness. I have no doubts that my intuition will steer me toward a medical doctor if that’s ever the necessary course of action. It’s my job to keep listening and to act on the information I’m given. Ideally without expensive detours. 

    Intuition Chronicles: The Price of Not Following Through

    Welcome to Intuition Chronicles, my records of intuitive messages received and the results of following or…

  • Welcome to the series detailing my personal journey of intuitive development. So many students ask me how they can learn to connect to their intuition that I decided to dive in to this complex and fascinating topic.

    I keep track of the intuitive messages I receive in order to help strengthen my listening muscles. Hindsight is indeed 20/20.`One way that I learn is through contrast. When I ignore a nudge and experience unpleasant consequences, it highlights my desire to avoid future unpleasant consequences and activates my willingness to comply. 

    Intuition is constantly speaking to me. It’s my job to pay attention and take action. Free will allows me to override the messages I get, and sometimes stubbornness gets the best of me. When I record results, both positive and negative, I have a map that helps me move forward in the direction I wish to go. I think these particular episodes, as cringeworthy as they are, will be particularly effective at making my point.

    Intuition: Bring your phone. 

    Me: I’m just going to the next room. I’ll be fine without it for now. 

    15 minutes later, entrenched in a project, my lap covered in layers of notes and books, thinking… I need my phone, why didn’t I just bring it? 

    This has literally happened dozens of times over the years! These incidents have been an annoyance, but hardly catastrophic, which is why it took so many repetitions for me to learn. Just take the darn thing when instructed to do so! Intuition can make my life easier, even in small ways; but only if I listen.

    Intuition: Move your phone. 

    Me: No way! I’m going to need it any minute, I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll just let it charge while it sits on the table next to me. 

    30 minutes later, tripping over the cord, and praying the screen hasn’t cracked when it crashed to the floor. ARGH! Fewer applications of this lesson were needed. Intuition wants to help me avoid needless disasters, large and small.

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    Intuition: Don’t use that pocket. 

    Me: Whatever. I know it’s not a secure pocket, but I’m in a rush. It will be fine.

    2 hours later, where is my phone? Did it fall out in my friend’s car? What the … bleep… she’s gone on a silent meditation retreat for the weekend and is notoriously bad at responding to messages even in real life. I won’t even know for sure that it’s under her passenger seat for days upon endless days. GAH! A minor crisis, all things considered, but an inconvenience intuition tried to help me avoid.

    Intuition: Don’t use that other pocket. 

    Me: 

    3 minutes later, whoops! The phone falls in the toilet and now I must purchase a new one. Pocket lesson learned after two applications. Minor crisis, major expense, could have been avoided.

    Intuition: Put your phone in your pocket. (Seriously!)

    Me: I’m just going to let it charge for a few more minutes. 

    45 minutes later on a train, dependent on my phone to connect to the world whilst traveling for 8 hours, realizing it’s still plugged into the socket at my friend’s house. Pocket lesson variation, learned immediately. Major inconvenience, could also have been avoided!

    This is how it goes for me. My intuition is rather bossy. It tells me what to do to avoid pitfalls. It tries to guide me towards my highest good and frequently my ego argues with it. Ridiculous! Looking back, it’s obvious to me which voice I’d prefer to follow going forward. 

    It’s easy to overlook these nudges when I’m not paying attention. It’s impossible to overlook when I’m tuned in. When I start the day by activating an intention to receive and understand soul messages by applying Reiki, even for just a few minutes to anchor this goal, I’m much more likely to catch on. Keeping a record of messages, received and ignored, helps me to be more aware the next time a message comes through. 

    This is the equivalent of practicing scales for musicians or conjugating verbs for language learners. It provides the foundation necessary for a more nuanced experience in the future. In this case, I’m learning to recognize and trust my inner voice. It never steers me wrong and my life would be so much easier should I just follow instructions!

    The Intuition Chronicles: Cell Phone Edition

    Welcome to the series detailing my personal journey of intuitive development. So many students ask me…

  • For those of us who are healthy and confined at home, this is an opportunity to slow down, get quiet and listen to the still, small voice within. We’re faced with such a huge volume of information, much of it conflicting, some of it utter nonsense, that it’s often hard to make sense of it all.

    When in doubt, I trust my gut. My intuition has been guiding me for months now to prepare for this crisis. I’ve been stockpiling books and tea and essential oils without knowing why. Now I know! Hundreds of subtle nudges have led me to be much more comfortable in this situation than if had I ignored them. (If only I hadn’t overridden the message to not purchase a monthly transit pass for March, I’d have an extra $130 in my pocket. Oh well, I have taken note! Don’t argue with the gut!)

    As I lean into this internal guidance system, my trust deepens and the messages are easier to decode. Generally I don’t know why I’m urged to go to a particular place at a seemingly random time until I get there and find the very thing I didn’t even know I was looking for! Given that I’m mostly moving between the chair and the couch lately, the messages are more often related to reaching out virtually to someone or which meditation or yoga class to enjoy. Still, each step in the right direction brings me closer to my greatest good.

    My sense that I’ve been gently herded towards maximum health, safety and comfort by a higher power was confirmed when I received a message with this picture attached. My dear friend Rod is creating a multi-layered chakra affirmation painting for me. He started with root chakra affirmations, painting each next layer on top of the last and for some seemingly random (but I know otherwise!) reason captured the 6th chakra and shared it with me.

    I wrote these words several months ago and believe them to be true. Yet it was still very powerful to be reminded of this Truth. I am guided. Every step of the way. And when I remember this and take guided action, I am empowered and more likely to experience my optimal reality.

    Won’t you join me in taking this time-out in our collective narrative to tune-in to your inner guidance system and develop a relationship with your intuition? It does take patience and practice, but I can promise you that it’s worth the effort!

    Shelter at Home, Tip for Sanity: Trust Your Intuition

    For those of us who are healthy and confined at home, this is an opportunity to…