THE INTUITIVE YOU - Discover Your Authentic Self: Be You, Be Free, Be Happy - Sherrie Dillard

Discover Your Authentic Self: Be You, Be Free, Be Happy - Sherrie Dillard (2016)

Chapter 5. THE INTUITIVE YOU

There are many ways to know who we are. Our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and experiences reveal the multifaceted aspects of our nature, yet some part of us still remains hidden. It is through our natural intuition—the surprising insights, gut feelings, and the quiet inner voice—that we connect with our more soulful self. This chapter encourages you to listen, feel, and trust your intuitive inner self.

66. The Quiet Truth

During my long career as a professional psychic and medium, the authenticity of psychic ability and mediumship has been debated and denied by some and accepted and relished by others. When I first started giving readings in the southeastern part of the country, there were still laws that made clairvoyance a crime. Although psychics and mediums are now more mainstream, there are still many people who view the ability to access nonphysical energy information as delusional, an impossibility, and possibly a scam practiced by con artists. Yet there is also much more acceptance of intuitive and psychic ability than ever before.

Whatever your personal views and beliefs about the validity of intuition may be, you are intuitive. You may not care to be or you may have a particular idea of what it means to be intuitive that does not fit in with your experiences. Either way, it is as much a part of you as your other senses. Intuition is not something that you can acquire or obtain. It is a core aspect of who you are. It is the living and communicative nature of your mind, body, and spirit.

Your intuition is the voice of your authentic self. It communicates your innermost truth and cannot be manipulated or influenced. It will let you know through feelings of expansiveness and joy when you are in alignment with your inner truth. It will also send you intuitive messages letting you know when you are going against it. For instance, in a relationship you may disregard your own needs in favor of your partner’s. With a desire to maintain relationship harmony, you may continually compromise your true thoughts and feelings and over time lose your sense of self. However, as much you may deny the negative effects that overcompromising is having on your self-esteem and self-worth, your intuition will not be quieted so easily. Persistent gut feelings, unsettling dreams, or a quiet inner voice will likely alert you as to when you are not being true to yourself.

We often argue against the truth of our intuitive insights. The conflict between our intuitive knowing and our human reasoning can create confusion as to what part of ourselves to listen to. Much of the time, human logic and reasoning is louder and gets our attention more easily. Because of this, it usually wins out over the more subdued intuitive signals. Yet when we do listen to our intuition and act on what we receive, we never regret it. Even though your intuition may seem elusive and difficult to trust, it always works for your highest good.

I trust the power of the quiet inner truth.

67. Intuitively Attuned

As you peel off the layers of the false self, you become more intuitively sensitive. The thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of others may begin to affect you without your knowledge. Have you ever walked into a crowded room and felt a wave of sadness come over you? Has a friend ever left you a voicemail message and simply by looking at their number on your phone, you know what they want to talk about? Have you ever been caught up in another’s enthusiasm and done something against your better judgment? These and other similar types of experiences are usually spontaneous intuitive insights. Although we all intuitively absorb the energy of others, some people are more likely to intuitively pick up on the thought and emotional energy of others and the environment.

Intuitively attuned people are often unaware of the full extent of their intuitive receptivity. Although being intuitively attuned can be empowering, helpful, and enlightening, it can also cause emotional, mental, and even physical confusion and distress and keep you from discerning and knowing your authentic self. When you are not aware of the source of the thoughts, feelings, premonitions, and sensations that you unknowingly absorb from external influences, you can experience and act on them as if they are your own.

For instance, imagine that miles away a family member is struggling with financial problems. You wake up at night feeling anxious and stressed about your finances, even though there is no reason to be. You toss and turn, unaware that you are intuitively receiving the emotional stress of a loved one. Not only do we absorb others’ thoughts and feelings, but we can also experience their physical aches and pains as our own. For instance, let’s say your office coworker struggles with arthritis. Even though she takes medication, she still feels tightness and pain in her joints while at work. Although she does not complain, you feel empathy for her condition, so much so that you, too, begin to experience joint pain and stiffness in the same areas where she is afflicted.

Here are some other types of phenomena that you may experience as you become more intuitively attuned.

Feel and See Spirit Presence

Do you ever see orbs, a glow of energy around another, or streaks of light? Do you ever feel that you are not alone? Have you ever felt a touch on your shoulder or hand, a warm embrace, or waves of coolness or warmth? These are often signs that you are in the presence of a loving spirit. Trust your intuition. If you feel as if a family member, angel, or spirit presence is with you offering love and support, try not to get caught up in doubt and question yourself. Feel the presence and listen and tune in to any messages you may receive.

Have Premonitions of Personal and Global Events

Have you ever felt feelings of fear, stress, or grief and a day or so later a natural disaster or large-scale tragedy occurred? Intuitively attuned people are precognitive. You may not always know what, when, and where an event will take place, but you may feel and know that something is off or is going to happen. Quite often, the emergence of sudden and intense emotions only makes sense several days later when a positive or tragic event takes place.

Intuit Through Your Dreams

Oftentimes your intuition will first surface through your dreams. Because dreams are usually metaphoric and symbolic in nature, it is not always clear when a dream contains intuitive insight. If you suspect that you are having dreams that foretell future events or provide you with previously unknown information about others or events, write them down. Keep a journal of your dreams and be alert to events and experiences that confirm its contents.

Heightened Awareness with All Five Senses

Bright lights, noise, smells, and even tactile sensations can be irritating and overstimulating. Artificial lighting might give you a headache. While others might enjoy the scent of a fragrance or perfume, you may feel overwhelmed and lightheaded or dizzy from it. You become anxious at the sound of constant or loud noise. You need periods of silence and quiet to relax and unwind. You prefer wearing all cotton or other natural fibers. Polyester and other synthetic fiber clothing can cause you to itch, scratch, or break out.

Sensitive to Others’ Needs

You know when others are in pain, sad, depressed, or struggling and what will help them. You are often drawn to those who are in need and have a knack for saying exactly what they need to hear. You are caring, warmhearted, and sensitive to the needs of others. Oftentimes you would rather suffer than see those around you in pain.

Feel Tired and Exhausted and May Have Trouble Sleeping

Sometimes it all becomes too much. You may feel overwhelmed by this chaotic, overstimulating, and demanding world, but you do not always know how to take care of yourself. When you should be resting and recharging during sleep, you may instead feel restless and toss and turn. If you are an open intuitive receptacle, others’ thoughts and feelings may pour in while you sleep. In an effort to shut out the demands of others and decrease your sensitivity to your environment, you may try to shut down and cut yourself off from your innate sensitivities. Unfortunately, this may only increase your feelings of exhaustion and inner stress.

Have Spiritual Depth

You may not be religious or follow a particular spiritual path, yet you have a sense of knowing and a connection to a greater force of love and wisdom. While others may discuss and theorize about the existence of God or a spiritual force, you may not always want to join in. Your sense of spirituality is lived and experienced. You are likely to notice opportunities to act in kind and loving ways toward others. You give more than you ask for and expect from others. In your heart and soul, you know that your life has purpose. You may not always know what it is, but you know that you are here to be of service to others and the world.

If you are intuitively attuned, it is important to acknowledge, accept, and learn how to use this innate gift for your highest good. Instead of being intuitively bombarded by the energy of others and the environment, you can use your intuitive sensitivity to be a light of insight and service to others.

I understand my intuitive sensitivity.

68. Care for the Intuitively Attuned

If you suspect that you are intuitively attuned, you probably are. You do not have to receive clear intuitive messages or even know when you are receiving energy information to be naturally intuitive. Instead, you might experience feelings and sensations or instantaneously know something and not know what it means or why you are experiencing it. There may be a vague murkiness and fuzziness about what you are feeling and sensing, without any further understanding or meaning behind it. This tendency to feel odd sensations, to sense and know things, may just seem to be one of your quirks, and you may not give it too much thought. Or you might be highly motivated to better understand your intuitive sensitivity and further develop and use it for yourself and others. Either way, the more you know about how to tune in to and work with your intuitive sensitivity, the better able you will be to make choices and steer your intuition in the desired direction.

Here are a few suggestions that will help you navigate the often confusing intuitive landscape.

Accept Your Intuitive Nature as a Natural Gift

You receive intuitive information because you can. If you go outdoors on a sunny day, you will feel the sun’s warm rays. Energy information is all around us, all the time. There are times when you will be more intuitively aware than at others. There are many factors that will affect your intuitive receptivity from one day to the next.

Keep Track of the Intuitive Information You Receive

It can be helpful to keep a journal of or record your intuitive impressions. In time you will notice patterns as to when and how you are picking up information. It will also become easier to discern and interpret what you are receiving.

Observe and Be Patient

Approach intuitive insights and occurrences with curiosity and detached interest. Sit with whatever you receive, and allow its significance to unfold and become clearer. You do not have to rush to interpret or understand it. Many sensations, feelings, moments of inner knowing, and dreams become clearer with time. If you feel that you receive intuitive messages or information about another, you do not have to tell them or get verification. Be patient with the process and let yourself be led.

Maintain Good Boundaries

If you are intuitively sensitive, you need to create and reinforce intuitive boundaries so as not to be bombarded with intuitive energy. The good news is that this can be done quickly, easily, and effectively.

Begin by stating an intent either aloud or within, something like I intuitively receive only loving and positive emotions or thoughts. Or I intuitively receive only those emotions and thoughts that are in my highest good. Repeat this intent several times. As you do this, visualize in your mind’s eye white light energy completely surrounding you like a cocoon. Imagine this white light as a web of translucent energy that shields you from negative, confusing, or unwanted energy.

Spend Time Alone

Release and let go of intuitive energy that you have absorbed from others. It can be helpful to get away from the chaos, noise, and demands of the world. Have quiet time to yourself where you can clear your mind and recharge your batteries. Close your eyes and draw your awareness through your body from the top of the head to your feet. Breathe, relax, and make the intent to let go of and release any energy that you have picked up from others or from your environment.

If you can, spend time outdoors or in nature. The natural elements—the sun, trees, sky, and water—can help you to release unwanted energy that you may have absorbed from others. Breathe and relax.

Attract Positive Energy

You are more likely to attract and receive intuitive information to which you have a personal connection. If you harbor old resentments, emotional pain, or fears, you will likely intuitively attract this same energy from others. Do what you need to do to release and heal unproductive and painful emotions. Limit the amount of time you spend with negative people or in situations that promote stress and anxiety. You might also want to avoid violence on television, in video games, or in the news.

Notice the positive in yourself and others. Be with people who support the authentic you and allow you to be yourself. The more you love yourself and express love and gratitude to others, the more you will intuitively attract positive energy.

I accept and care for my intuitive nature.

69. Your Intuitive Type

The process of coming into the full awareness of your authentic self takes time. As your beliefs, thoughts, emotions, feelings, and attitudes are embraced, examined, shed, and released, you become better able to identify and claim your true self. Becoming aware of your authentic self and expressing it in the world is an intuitive process. Listening within and trusting your innermost self moves you beyond reliance on the outer world. Your innate intuition empowers you to connect with the depth and vast territory of your authentic self. It is your intuition that lets you know when you violate your inner truth and when you are in alignment with it.

Everyone is intuitive. Your intuition is as much a part of you as your thoughts and emotions, your physical body, and your other five senses. Intuition is the gut feeling that you experience when making decisions, the dream that inspires you, the sudden awareness of a solution to a problem, and the sense that you are not alone. Connected to the most real part of who you are, you can trust your intuition to direct you to your highest good.

To better harness the power of your intuition to discern and live your truth, become aware of how your intuition naturally emerges. We make many assumptions about what intuition is and what it is not. Some people feel that to be intuitive it is necessary to see visions, communicate with those on the other side, or know the lottery numbers and be able to accurately predict the future. Intuition is much less glamorous and more subtle than that. It is the quiet, persistent voice, a gut feeling, and the nagging sense that something is just not right.

Intuition surfaces through four primary modalities or types. You may naturally intuit energy information through your thoughts, your feelings, your physical body, or your energy field. An emotional intuitive receives energy information through their emotions and feelings. A mental intuitive intuits through their thoughts, while a physical intuitive absorbs energy information into the body. A spiritual intuitive receives energy information through their aura or energy field. You are likely a combination of two or more of these types.

Once you know the way that you are already intuiting information, it becomes easier to recognize when your intuition is communicating to you and how to better utilize it. Knowing your intuitive type provides you with energy information about others and your environment. It also provides you with insight into the vast depth and mystery of who you are and is the voice of your innermost soul and spirit.

In my book Discover Your Psychic Type, I discuss the four intuitive types in further detail.

I pay attention to the way my intuition naturally surfaces.

70. The Intuitive Heart

Have you ever tried a new activity, heard a new song, or imagined yourself in a different career and felt a spontaneous opening of your heart? If you intuit primarily through your emotions, you are likely empathic and heart-centered. When your words or actions violate your true self, you may feel frustration, guilt, and disappointment with yourself. However, when you act on and speak from your core self, your heart opens and you likely experience feelings of elation, love, and happiness.

By paying attention to what uplifts you, opens your heart, and fills you with love, you will be guided to what is real and true for you. In the same way, if something closes your heart and produces fear and stress, it is a warning sign that you are not in sync with your authentic self.

To use their intuition effectively, it is important for an emotional intuitive to become aware of past wounds and repressed emotional energy. Stuffing away difficult emotions and unresolved emotional pain is like the static on a phone line that prevents clear reception. It makes it more difficult to receive clear intuitive messages. Uncovering and healing past emotional issues and forgiving oneself and others expands and strengthens the heart’s intuitive receptivity.

On a daily basis, emotional intuitives tend to feel and experience a wide range of emotions. Being able to distinguish externally intuited emotions from personal and authentic feelings and emotions may be a constant challenge.

The following short meditation will empower you to better tune in to and listen to your heart. The heart is a doorway through which your true self speaks to you.

Find a quiet place and begin to take cleansing breaths—long, deep inhales and relaxing exhales. As you breathe, imagine that your heart opens like a flower, petal by petal. Continue to breathe and open your heart. Allow any feelings and emotions to surface and breathe into them. Release them and continue to breathe. When you feel a sense of quiet inner peace, draw your attention inward and listen. Remain open and attentive.

Inhale and say to yourself, Love is within me.

Exhale and say to yourself, I feel the love that is within me.

Pause and allow any emotions, feelings, or thoughts to surface. Accept all that emerges. Listen and fully receive it all.

Feel love opening you to a new level of self-awareness. Pay attention to whatever surfaces. Continue to breathe and listen.

When you feel as if you have received all that you can at this time, open your eyes.

If you are an emotional intuitive, focusing your meditation on the essence of love will reveal your innermost truth.

I listen in quiet contemplation to my heart.

71. Self-Care for the Empath

As your self-awareness increases and you live and act from the core of your authentic self, your openness, insight, and sensitivity to the emotions and feelings of others also increase. These feelings of expansion and compassion for self and others often activate empathic abilities.

An empath is an individual who, knowingly or unknowingly, is able to tune in to another’s feelings and emotions. Empaths tend to absorb the emotional energy of others. This can cause confusion, a feeling of being out of balance, and can even affect physical health. When we are unaware that we are feeling another’s emotions as our own, we lose touch with our own authentic feelings.

Empaths tend to be sensitive souls who are able to perceive the good in others and their positive potential. Nonjudgmental by nature, they accept others for who they are and do their best to support and help those who need it. They go through life openhearted yet vulnerable. Unfortunately, it is for this reason that they are often taken advantage of.

Although empaths are correct when they sense and feel the positive potential and goodness in others, they often disregard the unfortunate truth that there are those who would seek to take advantage of and deceive them. Because empaths tap into the core love and beauty of others and desire to be of service, they can be easy to fool and manipulate.

For instance, Anna is a sensitive empath who would like to be in a long-term relationship. Looking forward to meeting someone she could build a life with, she was intrigued by a gregarious man she met at a company picnic. Underneath his outward confidence and sense of humor, Anna sensed Jed’s vulnerability and felt that he, too, knew what it felt like to be alone.

What Jed perceived within Anna was quite different. Glancing at the buffet table, he saw a shy and attractive woman with kind eyes. He inched his way into line behind her and started up a conversation. It was easy to get her laughing, and he knew that if he played into her gentle warmheartedness, he would have her hooked by the time their plates were full.

What Anna did not know was that Jed had no desire to enter into a relationship. She was correct that, despite Jed’s look of confidence, his self-esteem was suffering. Yet what she did not know was that he had recently been rebuffed by a woman he had asked out. He was just looking for someone to boost his ego and remind him just how attractive and charming he was. As he talked to Anna, he was already feeling better. Her attention and kindness were just what he needed. She was the kind of girl he knew he could fall back on when his dating conquests and adventures fell flat. He knew how to gain her sympathies and trigger her caring and concern for him.

If you are an empath, it is important to understand and care for your warmhearted emotional and intuitive gifts. Here are a few suggestions.

Pay attention to others’ actions, not just their words. Do others follow through with action on what they say and profess? Your intuition may be spot on as to their deeper inner self, yet if they choose not to relate to you with honesty and integrity, your kindness will be taken advantage of.

Remember that you, too, have needs. Make sure that those you invite into your life pay attention to your preferences and needs and reciprocate your kindness and support.

Do not make excuses for another’s behavior. Don’t blame their childhood, boss, past relationships, or circumstances for their attitude, choices, or actions and certainly not for how they treat you.

Be very careful when you begin to feel sorry for someone. Stop in your tracks, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that we all have ups and downs in life. Ask yourself if your sympathies are making it easier for another to not take charge of their life or treat you with the love and respect that you deserve.

Talk things through with someone you trust and who can give you an unbiased sense of what you might not be seeing in your connection with another. When you are confused, uneasy, or unsure of someone else’s intentions, get a second opinion. Trust your intuition when you feel that something is not adding up. Know that while your empathic abilities make you sensitive to others’ emotions and potential, you might be unaware of their ego-based motives.

Accept that not everyone chooses to act on their potential and innate goodness. You cannot make anyone do this. No amount of love will change someone’s mind if they only want to take advantage of you.

Help and support those who are doing all they can to heal and become whole. Give to others in equal measure to the amount of effort and resources that they are willing to expend on themselves. Healing is always an inside job, without exception.

As an empath, you will want to reach out to those who are suffering and in need. Yet you must make self-care a priority. Don’t give away your power to take care of yourself. This is not selfish. It is necessary to keep your light shining brightly.

I value my empathic abilities.

72. Your Intuitive Truth

Do you sometimes know something without knowing how you know it? Do you have an abundance of new and stimulating ideas? If you intuit primarily through mental thought energy, you are a mental intuitive. Not only are you able to intuit others’ thoughts, but you are also attuned to the energy vibrations of truth.

A mental intuitive knows what is true and real for themselves through an inner sense of knowing. When a mental intuitive is not in sync with their authentic self, they have the persistent awareness that something is off and just not right. However, they often talk themselves out of trusting their intuition. An emotional intuitive will violate their inner truth to fit in and be loved. A mental intuitive can argue against their intuitive knowing if it does not fit in with their logical reasoning. Reality is pliable and changeable for a mental intuitive, and they can become confused and overwhelmed by their own reasoning and rationalization. The key to connecting to their personal core truth is to trust their nonlogical intuitive knowing more and their analytical thinking less. A mental intuitive can also become an open channel for collective thought energy. Their mind is often full of conflicting and overwhelming intuited and self-generated thoughts.

If you are a mental intuitive, it is necessary to cultivate the ability to differentiate between mind chatter and intuitive messages. In this way, you can learn how to better tune in to your intuition with as much clarity as possible. It can take practice and consistent awareness to clear the mind.

The following meditative exercise will empower you to better identify and intuit your inner core truth.

Begin by becoming comfortable and closing your eyes. Inhale long, deep, relaxing breaths and exhale any stress and tension. Continue to breathe and relax. When you feel an inner sense of calm, invoke the wisdom of your authentic self with an open-ended question, such as What is in my highest good? What is my truth? or Who am I?

Use one phrase at a time and repeat it as you continue to breathe and relax. Listen within as you repeat the statement. Mental intuitives often receive intuition through an inner voice and sense of knowing. Listen and trust what you receive, without overthinking, analyzing, or arguing against your impressions. The intuitive voice will be persistent and steady and may seem almost obvious. Continue to breathe and listen.

When you have received all the information that you can at this time, open your eyes and write down your intuitive impressions.

In time, you will better trust your intuitive sense of knowing. Your ability to discern your truth will become natural and automatic.

I listen to the intuitive voice of my authentic self.

73. Your Intuitive Body

Do shivers of energy running up your spine act for you as an intuitive antenna? Do the hairs on your arms stand up when you feel a connection to something or someone? Do you experience your intuition as a gut feeling? If so, you may be a physical intuitive. A physical intuitive’s body is their intuitive energy conduit. They experience intuition as a feeling or sensation in their gut, tingles of energy that move up and down the spine, and feelings of power or uneasiness in their solar plexus.

A physical intuitive has a special connection to the physical world. They are attuned to nature, animals, plants, and all natural life forms. They tend not to be overly mystical or dreamy. Instead they have a down-to-earth and practical approach to life. Because of their straightforward nature, they are not always aware of their inner intuitive functioning. Their truth is easily stated and not complex. They are more the “what you see is what you get” kind of people. One of their challenges is to explore their multidimensional nature. By listening to their intuition, they can access the deeper recesses of their authentic self.

Because of their innate connection to the physical world, a physical intuitive can benefit from physical activity and being in nature. Walking, running, swimming, dancing, yoga, or a similar kind of activity can help to promote a meditative state. This calms the mind, releases stress in the body, and allows repressed emotions, beliefs, and thoughts to surface and be released.

Meditative walking can be especially helpful in stimulating intuitive insight. If you are a physical intuitive, try the following meditative exercise.

A path in nature or a park can be the most conducive for intuiting. However, you can also try walking through a neighborhood or a more densely populated area. Walk alone at a moderate pace. Breathe in long, deep breaths and exhale any stress and tension. Pay attention to your breath. Listen to the sounds of your environment. Take in the colors and scenery.

Listen within. Notice the thoughts and feelings that surface without over-focusing on them. Continue to bring your attention to your breath, and tune in to the external environment and your inner self.

When you feel calm and relaxed, scan your body. Where in your body do you feel stress, tension, or tightness? Breathe into the tension and release it as you exhale. Imagine that the tight and tense areas can communicate with you. What are they saying? Take your time and listen.

Where in your body do you feel relaxed, open, and expansive? Breathe into these areas and allow the feelings of relaxation to spread throughout your entire body. Imagine that the relaxed parts of your body can also communicate with you. What are they saying?

Your body may communicate to you through feelings, through a sense of knowing, or through sensations of openness and expansion and feelings of freedom and power. Keep tuning in to your body’s wisdom. Trust the information you receive.

For a physical intuitive, the body is the center of self and will impart wisdom and direction for authentic living.

I listen to the intuitive wisdom of my body.

74. Centered in Your Spirit

Do your dreams ever reveal surprising intuitive information? Do you ever see orbs, streaks of light, or color in the air or surrounding others? Have you ever felt as if an angel or spirit is guiding you? Spiritual intuitives intuit through the energy field, or aura, which is an electromagnetic orb of energy that completely surrounds the body. The aura of spiritual intuitives is a cosmic intuitive receiver that enables them to receive energy information through dreams, through communication with spirit beings, and through spontaneous insight and visual images.

A spiritual intuitive is usually comfortable with the elusive, intangible, and mystical. Some spiritual intuitives are religious and adhere to their faith’s principles, while others have a more eclectic and nonreligious spiritual orientation. Either way, most spiritual intuitives view their soul and spirit as the center of their authentic self.

Unlike the emotional intuitive, who tunes in to their heart center; the mental intuitive, who hears the still, small voice of truth within; or the physical intuitive, who intuits truth through the physical body, the spiritual intuitive’s true self is perceived as essence. Their means of intuiting can be more elusive and mystical than that of the other types.

Many spiritual intuitives feel as if they do not fit in with the status quo, and some feel odd and unusual. With a need for more freedom and independence than the other types, they often have difficulty finding their place in the world. A spiritual intuitive needs to know that there is meaning and purpose to their lives. Without this, their true self may remain dormant and unexpressed.

Spiritual intuitives tend to intuit through inner sight, commonly called clairvoyance. In the following meditative exercise, use your imagination to create images to help you to better receive intuitive guidance.

Close your eyes. Inhale long, deep breaths and exhale any stress and tension. Continue to breathe and relax. When you feel an inner calm, imagine breathing vital life force energy down through the top of the head. Send this breath through the body and exhale. Breathe another breath down through the top of the head, move it through the body, and imagine exhaling it through the heart. Breathe in this manner a few more times. As you do this, imagine that an orb of vital life force energy surrounds you. Continue to breathe in this way. With each exhale, imagine that the orb surrounding you becomes stronger. You are safe and comfortable within this cocoon of energy. Allow your spirit to expand into this orb. Continue to breathe, and imagine that you can move outside of the confines of the physical body and fill the orb with your spirit and essence.

Ask yourself one of the following questions or create your own.

✵ What is my purpose?

✵ What is my truth?

✵ What gives my life meaning?

Repeat the question, then pause and listen. As you do this, pay attention to your feelings, thoughts, and sensations and allow any images to emerge. Keep inwardly repeating one of the questions and paying attention to whatever surfaces. Use your imagination to give form and color to what you are intuiting.

Continue breathing, relaxing, and listening. Trust what you receive and take your time interpreting it. It may take several days or weeks to fully understand the images that you receive.

When you have received all the information that you can at this time, open your eyes and write down your intuitive impressions and images.

For a spiritual intuitive, finding purpose and expressing their authentic self provides them with a sense of connection to others and inner peace.

I tune in to the images that I perceive with my inner sight.

75. Listen and Act

It is not always easy to live authentically and act on our personal truth. Too often we take the path of least resistance and become complacent, conform, and do what is expected. Yet sometimes an intuitive revelation that something in our life or within ourselves needs to change or transform is so strong that we are motivated to step out of our comfort zone.

For instance, you may become increasingly aware that there is something else in life that you are meant to be doing other than your current job. Your intuition may nudge you that it is time to sell your home and move to a location where you have always wanted to live. Feeling exhausted, you may become intuitively aware that you need to change your diet and eliminate certain foods.

To strike out into new territories of thought and behavior, we have to break the momentum of the status quo. The human part of us tends to be a creature of habit and resists change. Fear is the primary emotional motivator of human nature. It will lead you to make decisions based on the need for safety and security. Your spirit speaks a different language. It desires freedom and expression and motivates through love and joy. It yearns to evolve and create new experiences. To better hear and follow through on the inner promptings of your truth, it is necessary to strengthen and increase your conscious connection to your spirit.

The quiet voice of spirit always speaks your truth, whispering and nudging you to pay attention. Focus on listening to it and taking action when you feel led to do so. Here are some tips to guide you in intuitively listening and taking action on your truth.

Understand the power of the moment. Allow yourself to be led by the inner voice of your spirit. Nurture and honor this small seed of awareness and it will blossom magnificently.

Don’t talk yourself out of your intuitive impressions. Instead, use your thinking brain to plan, strategize, and devise doable goals to manifest your truth.

If you feel led to make significant changes in your life, take your time. Don’t rush and try to create change too quickly. Take care of yourself and take it one day at a time.

Don’t overshare your plans with others, especially those who do not support you. Your unconscious translates your speaking about action as taking action. Have you ever noticed that people who talk a lot about their plans do not always follow through by taking action? This is because they have unknowingly released their creative energy into the world prematurely. Hold the energy within. Let it germinate and express itself as action and not just words.

Know that your spirit is connected to a powerful current of life force energy that supports your efforts and guides you. Release yourself into this invisible but powerful stream of energy.

Meditate and read inspiring and spiritual literature to strengthen your connection to your spirit.

Truth is always accompanied by positive and uplifting feelings. The sensation of power in your belly, the electrical shivers that move up your spine, the hair on your arms tingling with energy, an open heart, positivity, strength, and sure knowing are some of the ways that your spirit communicates messages to you. Breathe, relax, and take in these signs from your spirit that you are on track.

I take action on what I know to be true for me.

76. Dreaming the True You

At night while your conscious mind sleeps, the true you speaks to you through your dreams. Alerting and informing you of your true feelings, thoughts, needs, wants, and desires, your dreams can be a form of intuitive self-awareness.

Dreams never waste your time. They are created from the soulful place within that invites you to take another look at your thoughts and feelings, who you are, and your innate wholeness and interconnectedness with all of life. At times dreams can seem to be too bizarre, silly, or complex and make no sense. Although they may be difficult to decipher and understand, when you engage with your dreams, you will find that they offer you insightful wisdom and transformative energy.

There are many different ways to work with your dreams to better understand and derive more insight and meaning from them. Most dream-interpretation techniques involve deciphering the symbols and images contained within them. However, understanding a dream’s symbolism does not always reveal the depth of personal insight that it contains.

The conscious dreaming technique provides a framework to use a dream as a tool for self-awareness. It stimulates deeper and often unconscious thoughts and feelings to come to the surface. With this technique, it is not necessary to interpret and understand a dream’s symbols. Instead, it allows you to become aware of what is hidden and repressed within.

To begin, write down your dream as soon as you wake up. If you wait too long or get involved in other activities, you will likely forget parts or all of it.

For instance, in a recent dream, I am in my house alone. Someone comes to the door and I am not sure who it is. Then the scene changes and I am outside on a tall mountain peak and I hear my name being called. I then find myself looking down on the scene as if I am a bird. I see how little I look in comparison to the tall mountain and the surrounding hills.

After you have written down your dream, sit back and relax. Take a moment, close your eyes, breathe long, deep breaths, and recall the dream. Invite it into your consciousness.

Now write the dream down again, but let it change as you write it. Let it unfold as if you are dreaming as you write. Use the dream as a jumping-off point to consciously dream.

My dream example: I am in my house alone. I notice light coming in from the window, but it feels cold in the house. Someone comes to the door and I don’t want to answer it. I look out the window and I see a man who I am surprisingly happy to see. I have been waiting for him. He seems warm and friendly. He wants to take a walk with me. We easily walk through a valley, then up the mountain. He wants me to see something or someone. We get to the top of the mountain and it is beautiful. I can see forever. I lift up into the skies as if I am flying and I feel supported, understood, and loved.

Can you feel the shift that happens when you first recorded the dream and then when you allow the dream to actively unfold? There will be more engagement and emotional connection to the symbols and what is happening. Although you may still wonder what the dream’s symbols mean and how the dream fits into your everyday life, using the conscious dream technique strengthens your ability to form intuitive connections.

Allow your dreams to reveal their meaning and message.

Be the Dream

Every symbol and image in a dream comes from within. Dreams represent personal characteristics and aspects of who you are, and every symbol can reveal new and surprising information about you. The dream interpretation technique called Be the Dream allows you to communicate with a dream’s symbols and images.

Begin by writing down a dream and picking out a perplexing or intriguing symbol. Then speak as if you are the symbol as you recall the dream. Relate to the other dream symbols and content through the symbol in the first person. Allow yourself to be spontaneous and flow freely with what feels right to you. It can be especially insightful to become each of the symbols one at a time. As you become one of the symbols, the dream will likely change from its original form. Let this happen. Use your imagination and go with it.

As an example, I will use my same dream from the conscious dream technique.

I am in my house alone. Someone comes to the door and I am not sure who it is. Then the scene changes and I am outside on a tall mountain peak and I hear my name being called. I then find myself looking down on the scene from the sky. I see how little I look in comparison to the tall mountain and the surrounding hills.

Using the Be the Dream technique, I become the person at the door.

I come to the door of a house of someone I love. I want her to know that I understand her and I want her to see herself in a different way. I invite her to take a walk with me and am so glad that she agrees to go. We easily climb a mountain. It is a clear and beautiful day. I tell her to let go and allow the warm winds to support her. She does this and lifts up into the skies, and all of her troubles and worries slip away. She feels her interconnectedness with all of life.

You can also become a nonhuman dream aspect or symbol.

For instance, in the same dream I become the mountain.

I am the mountain. I feel the power within me that reaches deep into the earth and up into the skies. I am peaceful and I give sustenance to the flowers and trees that adorn me and to the birds and animals that make their home with me. I am part of all of life, the sun and moon, the streams and rich soil and all the life forms that I nourish.

As you become aware of each symbol within the dream, notice how you feel and the transformative energy that moves through you as you allow it to speak through you. Feel your heart, mind, and spirit integrate the new aspects of your true self as they emerge. Invite every aspect of the dream to be a part of you.

As you explore the rich tapestry of your dreams, your authentic self comes to life. Our dreams bring us insight, healing, and the awareness that within us is a vast network of intelligence and love.

I recall and listen to my dreams.

77. Four Misunderstood Intuitive Signals

When we listen to our intuition, something magical happens: unexpected and often surprisingly useful help comes our way. Despite the conditions and difficulties that confront us, a way is made, a door is opened, and the wisdom and grace of the universe flows into our lives. We are so accustomed to using logic and reason to make choices and decisions that we all too often disregard subtle intuitive guidance.

Intuitive insight gives us more than practical and concrete guidance and direction. It reminds us that we are more than we believe ourselves to be. There is a subtle and often mysterious transcendent presence that moves through our heart, mind, and spirit. It connects us to one another and to a greater wisdom than our thinking minds can fathom. Intuitive awareness gives us insight about ourselves and the universe. It is the doorway through which our most soulful authentic self emerges.

Our intuition continually sends us signs and signals. Some we notice, but many we disregard and are oblivious to. We are inclined to believe that receiving intuitive guidance is markedly different from the way we receive information through our other senses. Yet intuitive insight is intertwined throughout our moment-to-moment thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Here are some often misunderstood ways in which your intuition can surface.

Your Thoughts

Although there often seems to be a discernible difference between thinking and intuiting, intuitive messages often emerge through our thoughts. Intuitive thoughts come into our awareness complete and as a cohesive whole. Finite mind-chatter thoughts stream into our consciousness in a more linear way. One thought leads to another, then another. They may cause confusion and doubt or leave us with more questions. Intuitive thoughts are aha moments that assure us with a flash of knowing of their accuracy and truth.

For example, while driving the car or doing another repetitive task, the sudden surprising awareness of the solution to a pressing problem is likely an intuitive thought.

Your Feelings and Emotions

With a little awareness and focus, you can become aware of the difference between an intuitive emotion and one that is being generated through biological and physiological responses. Most of our emotions and feelings originate in what we think and believe or are prompted by physical or mental unconscious triggers. Intuitive messages that emerge through our emotions are often sudden and all-consuming and may seem inappropriate to the situation. They quickly shift us into unexpected feelings and emotions that are unrelated to our current thoughts.

Intuitive energy information may move through you as unexpected feelings of comfort, love, and compassion that seem to contradict your current situation or emotional state of being.

For instance, in the midst of grief and loss, a sudden comforting feeling of peace and love that heals our heart and soul is most likely an intuitive emotion.

Emotions such as fear and stress may also be intuitive messages that come to alert you to be cautious and extra aware of your environment or other conditions.

For instance, feeling surprising stress about driving your usual route to work one morning despite no recent issues or problems is likely an intuitive message.

Physical Sensations

Physical sensations can be triggered by intuitive energy information. A tingling up your spine, the hair on your arms standing up, a feeling in the pit of your stomach, or a buzzing in your head are common intuitive signals. They differ from physical sensations derived from normal biological processes such as digestion or muscle twinges in that intuitive physical sensations usually come with an instantaneous awareness, knowing, or feeling.

For instance, the gut feeling in the pit of your stomach that something is not right about the contract you are about to sign is likely an intuitive message.

Unexpected Changes

Intuitive messages often show up in our lives through events and conditions that unexpectedly fall apart or bring us good fortune and positive benefits.

For instance, have you ever done everything you can to organize and execute a plan or project and then something seems to come out of nowhere to put an end to it or to divert the expected outcome? Has a spontaneous opportunity or a surprising success ever easily and unexpectedly come your way?

These kinds of situations are a type of intuitive message that come into our lives to inspire and align us with our true soul path. They differ from plans that fall apart through lack of hard work and preparation or opportunities that come to us that steer us away from our highest good through wishful thinking and empty illusion. Outer intuitive messages that emerge through changes in our current plans and direction transform us on a deep level. We inwardly sense that what has occurred was not an accident or lucky chance. Recognizing this as a call to a new path, we are given the choice to trust our inner knowing or continue to ignore the signs. When we choose to pay attention and accept the wisdom of the message, we are never sorry. Good things come, even if we are initially frustrated or resistant.

Intuitive messages come to you from the core of your authentic self. They are the voice of your heart and soul. As subtle as they may appear to be, trust the little voice inside of you that always recognizes truth.

I notice and listen to subtle intuitive messages.