CATALYST NEWS

Eva Dahm, CPCC, MA

April, 2003

Dedicated to your growth and exploration.

YOUR INTUITION IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE

I am currently starting my fifth time through the eight-week study of Kathy Pike's "Pathways to a Radiant Self" workbook. I find as I progress through this work of balancing and re-balancing my energy centers that I open up not only my heart, but also my intuition.

According to Pike, intuition is seeing the possibilities of the future. Penney Pierce adds "Our own intuition is the catalyst for self-improvement and self-realization, because when it comes to making deep and lasting changes in one's personal life, only subjective experience, not facts, registers as real." Being in touch with your intuition makes you more authentic, more in your own unique power and energy, and better equipped to change yourself.

YOUR INNER WISDOM

How do you hear your inner wisdom? Do you see images of future events; do you hear a voice telling you things? Do you just know how it's going to play out or do you get a gut feeling? Sonia Choquette says intuition is about "training your awareness to expand and receive more information from others and from God." We each can access our wisdom with each of these methods-heart or gut, voice, seeing and knowing.

How open are you to your inner wisdom? Choquette suggests you practice by asking your intuition for help on simple decisions. I once got a distinct message at the grocery that a package of chicken was not going to be good (even if it was on sale). Unfortunately, I didn't listen and the message was right.

We ALL have intuition-it's not just for the psychic hotline. And your intuition is always right-even if we sometimes don't know how to interpret it. My intuition has frequently told me to get off the tollway an exit or two ahead of my normal one. The very next voice I hear is my logical mind saying something like "That makes no sense" or questioning why. When I do act on my intuition and the traffic flows smoothly, nothing seems to validate the decision. However I have ignored the voice and found myself sitting in a frustrating traffic jam. My intuition also works very well driving in traffic when I alert to it. I anticipate who is going to change lanes in front of me and who is in a rush, so I can get out of their way. Both traffic and life FLOW for us when we listen and respond to our hunches.

Working on my other energy centers has allowed me to be more open to the voices and feelings I get. I once knew the mail had some bad news in it and delayed looking until I had eaten and relaxed. I was right and very glad I had fortified myself first.

Have you ever thought of a friend or family member, who called a few days later? Thought of a workshop or book you'd like to explore and had someone mention a title or the mailman deliver a brochure? I had decided last summer that I wanted to change my hairstyle. I asked my hairdresser to do something different and she basically said she couldn't do what I wanted. Then within two months, I won a free style and cut. And suddenly I had my new hairstyle.

DREAM INSIGHTS

How about dream wisdom? Do you remember your dreams? Are you open to the messages they bring? This is another source of intuition.

I would have told you even six months ago that I did not remember by dreams at all-never had and thought I never could. I have found now that when I ask for guidance on a certain topic before I go to bed, I get some insights. I also make notes before I get out of bed and can access my dreams. Once my feet hit the floor, all memories fall away. I keep a dream journal by my bed now and make notes in the dark. (Beware of pens that run out of ink or writing on top of last night's notes. Both are serious midnight journaling hazards.)

Recently I was stressing out about leading my first chakra workshop. I set the intention of getting some insights about it in my dreams. Then I promptly had a dream telling me I understood how the chakras impact our lives and could see the truth about the system. Most importantly, I felt the worry and stress gone the next morning. My dreams had reassured me.

VALUE OF INTUITION

Our culture does not place much value on gut feelings, but all of us have them and many times we'd be smart to take heed. It's more than just knowing whose changing lanes, but it's about having clear perception about your life according to Pierce. Intuition is really a spiritual path to experience yourself more deeply. Intuition is our spiritual knowledge-always available to us and connecting us-body, mind and soul.

The same week I got the reassurances on my workshop, I received confirmation that I was making progress in two areas. I dreamt I was on a long and happy road trip with these two people who I had recently been doing some journaling about forgiving. I also had a swimming dream that Olympian contestants would envy and which is very far from my waking "uneasy truce" with the ocean. This communicated to me that I am moving more into the flow of life (water). The most astounding thing was the feeling I had during the dreams-it was such deep, deep happiness and joy in life. I may forget the details of these dreams, but the feeling will stay with me.

Begin a dream journal. (Don't forget to ask for insights on an issue or question before bed.)

TAKE AN INTUITION BREAK

When we keep our brains too busy with rational thoughts only-details and worries and busy-ness, we cannot create new insights and connections and interpretations. "This externalization of truth keeps us on a treadmill of confusion, doubt, and anxiety" says Pierce. One top advertising executive encouraged his staff to take a break and go for a drive to look around and see new creative "mind joggers" and breath some fresh air into their work. Much like Julia Cameron's artist dates open your creative energy by giving your eyes new stimulation.

Pike describes how when we combine logic and rational thoughts with intuition/creative possibilities-we can create new connections and new patterns. We are living from both right and left brains as we go about our lives. Using all our faculties to stay on the path of our lives. Our visions, gut feelings, and images help us sense how energy may take form and manifest in the future.

The biggest question is whether you are listening to hear and see these synchronicities that plumb your own inner wisdom.

The best strategy to build your intuition is to pay attention and follow your nudges with actions. Pierce also suggests keeping an intuition journal of gut feelings and the results. Your life will become a flow of nudges based on deeper knowledge than just doing a mental plan.

So begin today to choose the life path that your inner guide suggests-what a great adventure!

The Intuitive Way: A Guide to Living from Inner Wisdom, Penney Pierce.

The Psychic Pathway: A Workbook for Reawakening the Voice of Your Soul, Sonia Choquette.

Pathways to a Radiant Self, Kathy Pike.