Wednesday, November 30, 2011

When Life Gives You Lemons...




Experiences come along and they teach us profound lessons.  What is being learned in the challenging, sour patches of life?  Here's the truth.  There is no sour or sweet.  Our minds, our clever, make sense of it mind, wants to reduce the experience down to something.  Let's not. Let's not distill the experience.  For just like any distilling process, it can make for a very potent, intoxicating beverage that can blind us to the deeper meaning of life's lemons.

Raise your hand if you have received some of life's lemons.  I venture to say that many of those lemons wove some of the sweetest, most poignant, human experiences into the fabric of your life story. 

I am waxing rhapsodic today about life's lemons because I am just a few days shy of coming out of the cast that has graced my left leg for the month of November.  Yes, graced.

I slipped on Halloween Eve and fractured the tibia bone in my left leg at the bottom near the foot.  I knew I needed a break, just didn't know this is how it would arrive.

And the truth is, I have no idea the unending lemonade that will come from this experience.  Too new, too fresh, too physical. There is no expiration date on life lessons. 

This is not at all how I would have envisioned November of 2011.  If I wanted, I could tell you a very detailed story of how this 'break' derailed what would have been a very alive and joyous month filled with adventures, activities and plans.  You see, November is my favorite month of the year and this particular November was chocked full  including my 50th birthday which I celebrated on Thanksgiving Day this year. 

Here is where the 'when life gives you lemons...pay attention' comes back in.  This is not AT ALL how I thought I would spend this month, but the reality is, it is how I spent the month.  A quieter month, a slower month, a physical month, an opportunity to view life from a completely different perspective month. 

I haven't begun to harvest all the graciousness from this experience.  I am aware of a desire to cling to  the what might have been month and the 'loss' of that still feels more sour than sweet.  But I know, with every fiber of being, the unforeseen wisdom, love and liberation that will come from this break. 
Here is what paying attention noticed this month:

the art of breathing
the mind expanding/heart-opening power of receiving - unending, ever-present receiving
solitude
companionship and conversation
food as love
fictional characters make great company
rest is restorative
the power of synchronicity
self-care = self-love
the deliciousness of bathing
the simplicity of walking with two feet on the ground
a 'smarter meter' for exerting energy
the desire to be of service
the love of learning
the wisdom of dreams
the gift of intuition
the fragility of foundation
meditation as medicine
time heals all wounds

Wow, that last one really resonated and the tears welled up and flowed.

Time:  unending, generous, loving, gracious time heals...all...wounds. 

I am grateful for these last few days of hobbling before the cast comes off on Friday.   Like a racehorse running each and every race through sheer instinct and will, I too have been running such races. Through this break, I was hobbled and humbled.  I have been granted the gift of time, to restore, repair, renew.

Curiosity is watching.

I sit in the quiet of my bedroom, with the afternoon sunlight streaming across the keys as I type and I am content.  I am peaceful.  I am home.




Monday, October 31, 2011

Weird Is The New Black

WEIRD


Though I am not much of a trend-setter when it comes to fashion, weird is a color I wear well.  You see, I've embraced my inner weird.  And my Halloween wish for all of you is to embrace yours.

Yes, wear your weird, just like a Halloween costume, everyday of the year. 

Let me tell you how weird came on the radar today of all days. 
I first started this post a couple of weeks ago.  It was a great title but I just didn't know what I wanted to say,  so I set in aside.  I returned to the topic last week but still felt that I needed more time. Ironically enough, I woke up this morning with 'weird' on the brain.  I started to chuckle at the timing of posting Weird Is The New Black on Halloween. 

Perfect.


Weird: [wyrd] concerned with or controlling fate or destiny, unearthly or uncanny, fantastic.

My observation is that we are all weird and we expend so much energy appearing to be normal. (I have long since discovered that normal doesn't exist because it is constantly changing.)  Well, rest assured, that if weird is the new normal, all that energy can do something much more creative and fun.

So, let me tell you the story of how I came to celebrate weird as the new black today with a technique called Telling The Story Backwards. This exercise, a terrific Martha Beck coaching tool, is rather like The House That Jack Built or There Was An Old Lady Who Swallow A Fly.  (Fly swallowing is a great tale to tell on Halloween!)

1. I noticed a post by coach Sherold Barr on Facebook about her interview with Seth Godin and his new book We Are All Weird. (That got my attention.)

2. I clicked on the link and read the article which led me to Seth Godin's site where I read about the new book. We Are All Weird  "is a celebration of choice, of treating different people differently and of embracing the notion that everyone deserves the dignity and respect that comes from being heard. The book calls for end of mass and for the beginning of offering people more choices, more interests and giving them more authority to operate in ways that reflect their own unique values." 

We Are All Weird by Seth Godin

3.  I was struck by the title because what I now do as my work in the world is weird (uncanny/fantastic) and I am a very mainstream kinda gal.  I am at the intersection of intuitive healing and life coaching.  You can call it intuitive coaching or life healing (that one has a nice ring to it).

4. In my work with a new business coach, Laurie Foley, she assigned  Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port. In making my way through the book, the author asks a series of questions to generate ideas, responses and information about serving your ideal clients. It was a simple exercise that started with a simple question called the who and do what statement.  His example was: I help professional service providers book themselves solid.  My immediate response for myself was:   I'm the gal you come to when weird shows up in your life.

5. I became 'the gal you come to when weird shows up in your life' because weird is what happened to me in 2001.  I spent five years with a collection of strange neurological disorders that turned my life upside down and inside out.  After the first year or so, I began to call the symptoms, The Weirdness. I spent almost five years in the western medical community seeking answers to this change in my health and my life. It took embracing my 'weirdness' to open the door to a much bigger, broader world.  At the time, I had fairly conventional views about what was possible. I was invited by my experiences to open to a whole new world of possibilities and to connect with an untapped creative potential within myself.  This required that I accept the weirdness that was coming through me. In telling the story backwards, it is poignant how life has made the most of this really scary, challenging time in my life.  It was a time that in turn led to the discovery a powerful light that I can use to guide others through the dark and scary places in their lives.  How is that for a weird twist of fate...or is it destiny?

I will leave you to decide for yourself.

There is something strangely, dare I say, weirdly poetic, about how all of this has unfolded.  Destiny or not, I feel uniquely prepared to be of service in the weird department, the uncanny, and unearthly department, all the while having my very practical, feet planted on the ground.

What is popping out in your life today?  What word, idea or image keeps showing up?  Mine was weird and this has given me some excellent clues in the house that's been built through Mary. What is life building with you?  Pay attention.  Destiny may be knocking at the door to your house.  Don't be spooked if it is dressed in black.  I hear it's in fashion this season.

Monday, October 24, 2011

The Kerchunk of Truth

pattern of water of swimming pool with light in it Stock Photo - 5009619
The Rings of Belief



Close your eyes.

Now, say the word truth and feel, see, hear where it lands in your body. 

Now, say the word belief and feel, see, hear where it lands in your body.

Were they different? 

Did you find that truth had a weight to it, a sound to it, that was different than belief?

I did. 

The first time this happened, I experienced the sound of truth. The feeling of truth. It went kerchunk.  It landed just like a slug in a jukebox or the stone thrown in the pond.

Belief on the other hand hovered:   no landing, no feeling, no kerchunk. 

The energy of these two words was very different.  This surprised me.  At one time, I would have told you that the meaning, the quality and the feeling of these two words was the same. 

Not now.  Not so.  Not after the kerchunk.

The stone (truth) is that which cuts through and lands solidly at the bottom of the pond and the rings (belief) are the ripples upon the water that dissolve until a new truth drops in and creates more waves of belief. 

I like the way this feels.  I like the way this sounds. That which feels unshakable and that which feels shaky.  This visceral kerchunk. It is very freeing to have a belief, especially one that feels painful and limiting, be just that; a limiting belief.  Now, some beliefs may stand the test of time and one day become a truth.  The little acorn of belief that grew up to be a truth.   This thought never occurred to me before...a belief evolving into a truth.  Interesting.  An interesting idea.

So, if you are wresting with a belief that has you in its grip, and it feels painful and limiting, throw it in the pond and watch - feel - listen.

Does it go kerchunk?  Or does it merely make rings in the shallows; waves on the surface of your life?

Monday, October 17, 2011

Monkey Mind Meet eGoat


A happy eGoat!
 Yes, I'm going where you think I'm going.

What gave it away? 

The title?

My aforementioned quirky sense of humor?

Or the picture of a large, smiling goat? 

Credit for this clever post goes to that 'funny you would 'see' that... this is your intuition speaking' connection. Literally.


Here's the story.

I was coaching a woman through some old beliefs about herself and what was possible. She was dealing with feelings of guilt and shame about her past and we were gently moving through these much like playing with a wiggling tooth that is almost, but not quite ready, to come out.


I asked her to close her eyes and connect with where in her body she noticed the feelings of shame and guilt. As she got quiet and relaxed, this image popped into my mind.  Visual images are my speciality. The scene was at a children's petting zoo and the goats were being fed. Ah, I think, a goat will eat anything, anytime, anywhere. They are not choosy animals about what they are willing to digest. I had a hunch that it represented the energy of guilt and shame and just like the goat, the ego can be fed in much the same way.

I shared the image with her and after we had a good laugh, she experienced the deeper meaning in the message of the outstretched hand. The goat was already being fed. A small handful of food. She saw that she was free not to feed it anything else.  The guilt and the shame were coming from an old, small place and the idea of the goat and its endless appetite shifted her thoughts about what purpose the guilt and shame were serving. This shift gave her a sense of freedom and liberation and this new self felt free and ready to move on. She realized the 'eGoat' would be fed in small ways everyday and she was free to direct the bigger, richer part of her energy and passions elsewhere. She AND her eGoat were very happy.

The idea of the goat and its endless and indiscriminate appetite reminded me of the metaphor of the Monkey Mind. Wikipedia defines Monkey Mind as,  "a Buddhist term meaning "unsettled, restless, capricious, fanciful, inconstant, indecisive, uncontrollable."  The reference to Monkey Mind has appeared in thousands of books and articles on subjects ranging from meditation and mindfulness to psychology and self-help.  It is a phrase that speaks for itself. 

I too felt like the eGoat speaks for itself. 

So, the eGoat - Wikipedia listing might read something like this:   eGoat, from the Latin “ego” meaning sense of ‘conceit’ and the Middle English word “goat” [goht] associated with scapegoat or victim; it is an American term meaning ‘insatiable, rabid, starving, ravenous, voracious, avid, greedy, devouring, unquenchable.”

Monkey Mind meet your new friend eGoat.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Ready to Fall


It's time.

Really, it's time.

Change is in the air.  In the leaves. In your hands.

I love the fall.  Favorite season.  I was born in November - a thanksgiving baby.  There is something inspiring and beautiful in this brilliant death. Yes, death.  On this sunny, autumn October Monday, I want to talk about death.  Brilliant, beautiful death.  Transient death.  That is how I want you to see it, death as change.  Because it's true.  We die into life each and every day. Death and rebirth, death and rebirth, death and rebirth.

To every season, turn, turn, turn.  It is ready to fall's turn.

Now, the cycle part is often lost on us in our daily 24/7. Our lives are full, often stable and well ordered, even in the crazy not enough time, never enough time sort of way. And then, that catalytic event. And  like that brilliant leaf above, we feel the days shorten, the light dim, the temperature drop.

"In early autumn, in response to the shortening days and declining intensity of sunlight, leaves begin the processes leading up to their fall. The veins that carry fluids into and out of the leaf gradually close off as a layer of cells forms at the base of each leaf. These clogged veins trap sugars in the leaf and promote production of anthocyanins. Once this separation layer is complete and the connecting tissues are sealed off, the leaf is ready to fall."*

Huh, even though the author is writing about why leaves change color, isn't that a perfect description of a human experience, clogged, sugary veins and all?  Or as I like to say, an animal, vegetable, miracle experience. Betcha didn't know you were producing so much anthocyanins?  Or maybe your not.  Maybe you've lost your color,  your pigment palette of color.   Have you lost the ability to change from feeling blue to radiant red?  Or, the reference to the leaf separating from the tree.  "Once this separation layer is complete and the connecting tissues are sealed off before the leaf is ready to fall."  Brilliant.  Apply that to a couple going through a rough patch in their relationship and you've got gold...gold leaf that is.

It's time.

Really, it's time.

I have a mantra that has served me well as I have gone through a major ten year change cycle in my own life.  I offer it now to you.


Use everything and hold on to nothing. 

And to that end, let's use the brilliant beauty of the ready to fall leaves to create change in your life. 

I am the Queen of Metaphors.  I have a crown and everything.  I see them everywhere.  The connections, the threads, the patterns.  And just like a quilter, I piece them together to create something unique, beautiful, inspiring and peace-full.  I won't go into all the reasons why metaphors are incredibly powerful and useful.  There is a lot of great research, science and psychology to explain.  Trust me on this one.  It works.

So, here is a tool to use when you feel the day closing in, the light dimming and the passing belief that the world is a very cold place.

Ready to Fall Exercise

1.  Close your eyes.
2.  Breathe (when in doubt - breathe. Or better yet, let life breathe for you...it really already does.)
3.  Imagine yourself as a tree.  Any tree you like.
4.  See this tree clearly.  Fill in all the details.  The soil, the bark, the size of the trunk, the number of branches, where you are planted.  Truly, the more detailed and specific, the juicier the insights and information. 
5.  Now, shift your attention to the leaves.  Notice the colors.  Are they mixed?  Do you have greens with some reds and oranges and yellows? Alert:  Random thought to follow.  (This is very like the stray grey hair that shows up as the 'leaves' on our heads are turning.  Just like that colored leaf - that is the grey hair.)
6.  Does one particular leaf catch your attention?  Notice it, really see what it looks like.  Where is it located on the tree?
7.  Now, ask this leaf "what do you want me to know?"  And you know what...and this is the amazing part -  the remember my mantra "use everything"  EVEN when talking to an imaginary leaf, on an imaginary tree that represents some aspect of YOU part, the amazing thing is... the leaf will answer you back!  Every time. Now, for some, it will be a shout.  Clear, loud, nothing to miss.  For some, it will be a whisper, a fleeting glimpse, a misty possibility.  No matter, pay attention.  This is your intuition speaking.  In the only language it knows.
8.  The alchemy of this exercise.  The leaf has just become something else.  It now carries the energy of what do you want me to know and setting that energy in motion.
9.  Depending on the response from #7, this leaf may now just fall, one of the early to turn, low-hanging leaves to fall away or it may be the last of the leaves on the tree, clinging to that branch for one last lingering look.  In your mind's eye, see what the leaf wants to do.  Watch it, honor it, respect it.  There is a deeper wisdom that knows, just like the leaf, when it is ready to die, to fall away.  The leaf will know.
10.  With your eyes still closed, express your gratitude, (or surprise, excitement, fascination) with the exercise, open your eyes and jot some quick notes.  Note what the leaf represented, no matter how weird or strange (in my opinion, the weirder the better),  what fell away from the tree, what let go and what wasn't ready.  Affirm in your journal that something died so that something new can be born.

Repeat this exercise both on cold blue days and red hot brilliant ones. 

One brilliantly colored leaf at a time.

Share your Ready to Fall - setting energy in motion stories. 

It's time.

*Cited from an article "Why Leaves Change Color" by the USDA Forest Service http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/pubs/leaves/leaves.shtm

Monday, October 3, 2011

Guarding Life

I love what I call tiny tales, the simple, ordinary moments in our lives that reveal such depth, poignancy and connection.  So, this is a tiny tale about how intuition works in the 24/7.  If you aren't as connected to your right brain as you would like, read on. Intuitive insight is a lifesaver and comes in many tasty flavors. The intuitive way, the right thinking way, has saved my very guarded life time and again, as well as the guarded lives of countless others.  Perception is everything.  And when the world is going so fast, and change is inevitable, here is a way to find that fixed spot within all that motion.
Let me set the stage.  This tiny tale begins with a familiar and epic rite of passage - our son Maxwell going off to college.  A rite of passage for so many.  Our launching was, I have no doubt, typical for the millions of college students who head off every fresh fall for campuses around the globe. I was surprisingly joyous and excited those first few days.  A touch of sadness, but truly, the excitement I felt on Max's behalf eclipsed many of the I wish he were still at home feelings.

Now, let me be clear.  This joy and excitement lasted approximately four days.  Then, CONFLICT.  A capital letter word for a capital letter feeling. It all started innocently enough.

It began on a Monday, the first day of classes. Max saw a notice that the Student Center was in need of lifeguards.  Oh, Max thinks.  I'm a lifeguard. I'll check this out.  On campus the first day of classes and already a potential new job. It all happened so fast.  He called home to get some information from his certification card, applied and had an interview by Tuesday night.

What a wonderful beginning! (Can you feel where this is heading?)  He loved his classes and his professors.  He was settling in and starting college.  He had made some great new connections and now a new job his first day!  It was all going so smoothly, so brilliantly, so sun-shiny golden and bright.  Does this smack of a little perfection through my rose-colored glasses? Sound familiar?  It is amazing how fast we want familiar and safe in something new and different.  Ah, if I were watching this unfold on the Lifetime channel, only five minutes into the movie, I could have told you where this plot was going.  Laugh out loud.  Life imitates art.

Well, here comes the life part. 

On Wednesday, he called home on another matter and I asked if he knew anything about the job.  He said he had a phone message earlier in the day saying they had filled the position and they would keep his application on file.  And here is where the CONFLICT arrived.  Thud, stop action, plot unravels.  Oh, I say.  Then came the barrage of questions like rapid fire bullets.  Did she say why?  What did you say to her? Oh, it was a message?  You didn't talk to her?  You didn't ask why you didn't get the job?  Don't you want to know why you didn't get the job?  Why didn't you call her back. Why? How come?  Huh...ah...oh.

I can now feel the tension (hell, all those questions just now read like a pack of snarling, hungry wild dogs.) My very wise son says, "Can't it just have been an experience?"  Me, the queen of experiences in the work I do, stumbles and spins and says, "Uh, yes, of course, huh...ah...oh."  We hang up with the pack of wild dogs still circling. I immediately text him and say,

 "I love you.  I heard you about it's all just experience and I get that and I will back up next time. You at college is a brave new world for me! lol...peace."

And he texts back:  "I love you too and I have to remember that as well.  I am the one having the experience and you all are here to witness that, I just have to remember that witnessing can be just as new and scary as experiencing."

Sigh.  Pause.  Tears.  What a beautiful message, so wise and loving.  And I was there for awhile, in that beautiful and calm place.  Three or four seconds.  But those MOTHER of all rational brain cells are STRONG people.  Though a big part of me felt the freedom for Max to have experiences, the Mother, the why didn't you hire my kid - he is an amazing lifeguard -  the best AND  he could use the job, just didn't get it. Did not compute.  Why the opportunity? Why his brilliant execution and follow-thru only to be told 'thanks, but no thanks?'  

The circling pack of wild dogs had quieted some, but they were still looking for fresh meat.

Well, fast forward a week and I am sharing the story with a dear friend.  She is very moved by the witnessing vs experiencing of Max's message and she says, 'it's so clear that he is not to be lifeguarding at this time.'  DING, a bell rung in my head. The pack of wild dogs disappeared. Message received.  A turn of a phrase - a change in perception.  Life - Guarding, not a Lifeguard.  The experience, not the role. No longer was the thought why wasn't he right for the job, it was replaced with is the job right for him?  At this time?  In this place? 

Fall quarter of your freshman year is a time for new experiences, trying new things, being open to life - not watching it, observing it, guarding it.  And the why not him conflict (lower case)  dissolved,  not his role -  not his part to play - not his identity. 

 And that last mother of a brain cell was gone.

Share.  I am curious. What are your tiny tales of intuitive insight that calm your mind, open your heart and sooth that pack of wild dogs?  

Where are you still trapped in the mother of all rational brain cells, guarding life -  not living it?

Let's play.  With words. With images. With  feelings. There is a code - a tumbler-aligning, safe cracking code. Can you feel the tumblers line up?  Fall into place?   Open up that safe place and live free.  No lifeguard on duty.

It's a new fresh fall quarter.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Art of Doing Onething

Admit One Ticket : A small roll of retail admission tickets. Stock PhotoI was inspired this morning by a little book that sits on my bathroom shelf called The Art of Doing Nothing.  My sister Kate gave it to me years ago as a not so subtle message that is was really ok to do nothing.  Well, fast forward in dog years of time and wisdom and, the truth is, I still have not perfected the art of doing nothing.

Not one bit.  And here's my hunch.  Because nothing IS something, well, in my case, one thing.

The little light bulb popped, as they are oft to do in my head, and the phrase 'the art of doing onething' showed up.  I sighed a deep sigh.  Now that felt true, that felt real.  THE one. And all the funny symbolic images, phrases and words came marching through my mind: Admit One, One Singular Sensation, One Hand, One Heart and in my case even One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as my nearest and dearest are apt to think about me at times. 

See, as meanful coincidence (aka: my favorite word synchronicity) would have it, I have been wrestling with the one thing from the something in my business.  So, I hired me a branding coach.  And not just any branding coach.  A branding from the inside out coach.  A find your Inner Brandifesto coach. (Because, in my case, the most quirky thing about myself is my strongest card in my deck.  More about that in a moment.)  Just a week ago today, I had my first business branding coaching session with Laurie Foley at http://www.lauriefoley.com/.  A little plug.  It's my blog and I will shine my light where I want.  She's fantastic.  It was a mind-mapping, brain-storming, head-exploding experience.  Hire her. 

Well, this one session was electric because I was ready to focus on the one singular sensation that is as Laurie says, my brand from the inside out.  You see, I think of myself as a hybrid,  at the cross section of coaching and intuitive consulting and blending them has clarified for me and certainly in the session with Laurie, that it is high time to lead with my strength.  Where leading with the coaching felt safe, leading with intuition feels true.

I'm Intuitive.

A Professional Intuitive.  

My own unique never been another like me professional intuitive. 

That's the brand.  That's the ticket.  The Admit One (at a time) ticket.

And after leading with that, I can be anything else I want.  But it is time to clearly put my best foot forward.

So, what is your Art of Doing One Thing?  What are you best at?  What can you do all day and all night that makes you ridiculously happy?

Mine is using intuition like a detective to explore with clients, ( AND myself,  family, friends, co-workers, the guy behind me in the line at the movies, the waitress at the diner and the mom in the library parking lot) the mysteries that keep us from LIVING the JOYS of personal growth and the REWARDS of professional development.  You might say I am Nancy Drew for the unconscious.

 A Nancy Drew who is ridiculously good at finding things.

One thing at a time.

What can I find for you?

Admit one.  And if that feels good, admit another one.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Were You Conscious?

I can see clearly now the rain has gone. ~Johnny Nash

I see a number of clients in my work as a coach and an intuitive. I also talk and share with family and friends - what's the phrase, I hold the space. I like the sound of it. I know it's used by lots of people and it can have an 'ick' factor, but the bottom line is, the act of being present, letting the moment be, not expanding too fast or having the walls close in and suffocate, is something I find that I do. It’s a gift. A gift that I receive and one that I give. I feel peaceful when I do this. I do this for clients, for family, for friends.


So, this is a story about one particular friend - Bob. I have held the space for Bob on more than one occasion. Actually, Bob has shown up more than once in my writing. I have interesting experiences and insights when I connect with him and he is generous about letting me share them in this way.

I have known Bob for the better part of 30 years. We went to college together. He and my husband Drew were roommates in college and his wife Colleen is my dearest friend. In each other weddings, the birth of children, work and family – all of it. Over 15 years ago, they bought the house next door to us, so we are best friends AND neighbors.


The stories I can tell.  But that's for another time. You get the idea.

One of the relevant pieces of the story is this: true or not, over the years as a foursome, I was the one who was likely to try out (or be tried) with a new experience in personal growth or development. Of the four of us, you could say that I was the engine on the train of new horizons, for better or for worse.

And if I am that engine, then Bob is the caboose.

I have a theory.  There are a whole lot of people waking up, having a shift in perception, becoming more conscious and this interests me. It happened to me in 2006. Now, it's clear to me that consciousness is contagious just like a radio tower  - it transmits. So, really, this is the story of the little engine that could because the caboose is now on board.

Read on.

Several weeks ago, I was doing that 'holding the space' thing with Bob because he had been laid up in bed with his back and things had taken a turn for the worse. He was clearly at a crossroads with what to do to relieve the pain and step back into his life. I won't go into all the details; suffice it to say that he had been dealing with this back issue for many, many months and tried all types and manner of treatment.

Well, I happen to be over at the house on a Wednesday night and sat down to visit with Bob in his bedroom. I did what I do as a coach. I asked questions when I was curious, we were quiet and restful when there was nothing to say and we listened as much with our hearts as our minds as we sat together. Bob had shared that the few days prior had been frustrating trying to make connections with doctors and get information. Bob sensed that there was something in all this frustration and resistance and was open to the idea that there was more to this experience than met the eye.

After we talked and he was in a quieter place, I went home. It was late in the evening and Bob went off to sleep. He called the next day to say he had what he thought was a dream and wanted to share it. In the dream, he was walking along what felt like a freeway and it was raining. He saw a really large freeway sign the said 'Exit Wounds.' Now, he told me, being laid up in bed all week, he had been watching tv and there is a Steven Segal movie called Exit Wounds. He wasn't sure if he had just pulled that in from the title of the movie. My hunch was it was more like the chicken and the egg experience. Let me explain.

God, Life, the Universe, the all that is, the source ( You pick) - doesn't speak English. It speaks in symbols and uses everything. Really, it is a very resourceful, intelligent and clever way to communicate. Much like we do when we talk with someone that doesn't speak our language. We use signs, symbols, non-verbal cues. So, in this capacity with Bob, I was acting as the translator, because I have had lots of these conversations at this point and I make a great sounding board.

So, Bob was really struck by the power of this sign – this vision. It felt so real. He said, "I don't know if I was awake or asleep." I sensed that this bothered him. That if he believed he was asleep, then none of this was real and he was still lost and unsure. If he believed he was awake, then his rational mind was there to understand it and he could take some action. But I sensed that he knew this was a dream, though clearly unlike any dream he had ever had before.

As I sat and listened, a question arose in me. I said to him, "Were you conscious?" I could tell the question caused him to pause, to breathe, to quiet, and he said "Yes, I was conscious." And I said, "then it doesn't really matter whether you were awake or asleep.”

"You didn't miss the sign.”

This all happened on a Thursday. On Friday, all the pieces fell into place and he met with a surgeon who had an opening on Monday. It all felt fast and kinda scary, but Bob trusted some deeper knowing to support his taking action… one step at a time. He had the surgery the following Monday.

Now, this isn't one of those and now he ran a marathon three days later stories. This is a much smaller, quieter miracle, yes, the ‘m’ word, miracle. Because, ladies and gentle-men, the caboose has left the station…the whole train is on the track. A new relationship is emerging for Bob - one with his greater self.

Now his steps are still slow, there is still pain, perhaps more wounds to exit. But he is on his way...one conscious moment at a time.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Cog In The Wheel

Below is a letter I just wrote to the participants in an offering I call The Intuitive Gym.  It was a brainstorm of an idea that showed up last May.  I launched as a summer experience to explore intuition and workout that piece (peace) of the amazing mind. I was moved to share what I wrote this morning on the blog because I want to.  As simple as that.   I am sharing on the blog because I am aware at this point that as I become more visible in the world, I am noticing the critic, the censor.  I notice that I write and then hold on to it.  A blog post sits in my edit pile, an email in the draft folder, a new idea for an offering in the file in my cognitive mind.  Ah, cog - only one of the pieces needed to keep the wheel in motion.  Now, let me share a bit about how I write.   As I was writing this little intro to the post below, which I wrote in my email a bit ago, I notice for the very first time 'cog' in cognitive.  This is how the mind perceives now.  Things pop out.   Especially words.  There are SO many brilliant clues in words.  So, I then pop on Dictionary.com and find the definition for 'cog.'  There are several but I notice this one and it feels true.  A  'person or thing playing a small part in a large organization or process.' A small part.  A cog in the wheel - not the whole wheel itself.  The larger organization is the mind, body and spirit, not just the cognitive, rational mind. So, life is inviting that even while I am expanding, being seen by more people, I am not going to censor - filter, yes - not censor.  So, like the It's Alive post, and The Intuitive Gym and this Cog in the Wheel post, I will learn by doing, by putting out the ideas, the blog, the emails, the offerings and learn from experience. 

So, here comes the uncensored stuff.  News at 11.

Email to The August Intuitive Gym Members - Sent on Sunday, August 14, 2011

Welcome to The Intuitive Gym,

Our first group session is Tuesday, August 16th from 4 pm to 5 pm PDT. Please RSVP so I know who will be live on the call. Even though the call will be recorded, the experience of attending and 'playing out' - (really, when you are in the sweet spot, feels much more like play than work), is where the opportunity for growth and change occur. Let me share a bit about my experience in my own intuitive gym and why this is my particular passion and how I coach and inspire others.

I like to say I was living a fairly conventional, stable, well-ordered balanced life as a mother, active parent volunteer, a worker bee in part-time positions for a variety of organizations. Then, in the summer of 2001, a few months before 9/11, I began to fall apart. What started as some routine numbness in my left foot and leg began a five year odyssey through the medical community and through the inner workings of my body, mind and ultimately my heart and spirit. In 2006, after exhausting the options through the Western medical community and one final conversation with a compassionate and wise neurologist, I went to see a marriage and family counselor. Now, I was reluctant to do this because I knew this wasn't all in my head...it was literally in my body and I wasn't able to grasp at the time how one could be set in motion by bringing all the parts of myself together instead of holding them separate in my mind. Sure, I had heard the term holistic and mindfulness and others such ideas, but that is what they were - intellectual ideas. I, like a lot of Americans, have a terrific logical mind - sharp, rational, orderly. Well, I was to discover that I had been cut-off from accessing a vital and valuable part of myself - the creative and intuitive mind. I was unconscious to how this mind - this beautiful mind - scared me because I had met it before and it was free, unpredictable, and brought what felt more like chaos than control into my life. So, I closed the door on this mind years before and call it fate, destiny, kismet, timing...whatever word fits, that door reopened. After six months exploring with this lovely, gentle and deeply intuitive counselor,  in the spring of 2006, a shift occurred in my life so deep and profound, that I literally woke-up to a new world, new body, mind and spirit - spring awakening. The experience of being guided through this non-linear, non-rational mind was so potent I began to take action and walk through deeply challenging experiences with a new found sense of peace and freedom - not always joy or happiness or bliss ( though they were there as well) - freedom. And now I am singing a new tune, a new anthem - let freedom ring.

So, this sets the stage for the Gym. Life was my first coach and it has been an empowering relationship. And that, my friends, both old ones and new, is how I came to be offering back the wisdom that came through this opportunity to wake-up to a new life. Over the last almost six years now, I have been re-made and have a new life - from the inside out.

First group call - Tuesday, August 16th from 4 pm - 5 pm. Show up - amazing things happen when we just show up. Schedule your one-on-ones. And don't be fooled by the price you paid for this experience. Life gives us opportunities all the time to show how we value an experience. So ask yourself, whether you pay $99 or $999 or $9999, life isn't concerned with the decimal point...imagine if you invest in this experience as if you paid your 'wait' in gold. Well, come along - because you did. You have a 24 karat gold experience ahead. ( a head - get it?) Life is so clever and funny. Come share a laugh or two.

Ask questions, be curious, notice, feel and experience with an open mind.

See you in the Gym,
Mary





Saturday, August 13, 2011

It's Alive

Zombie : Lots of Zombie hands reaching upwards, with blood splats.This is the first thought that popped into my head when I reflected on my current creative output. That old, funny monster movie expression - it's alive! The one that has that hint of hysteria around the edges as the chaos of the monster - the beast is unleashed. Well, I'm going to turn that concept right on its head because in this case the beast is a creative explosion of new classes, workshops, connections, clients and a feeling of being empowered like never before. Ok, let me break this down for you. 

Keeping in the theme of the horror film genre, though, I'm placing it strictly in the realm of those hilarious and slightly campy 50's B movies. The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Blob and the classic Night of the Living Dead come to mind. Now, bear with me as my 'catching fire' mentality (remember my earlier post about ideas are contagious - catch some) well, I woke up with these cylinders firing and I am putting fingers to keys to share my particular brand of insight and albeit quirky humor.

Ok, so I am about to juxtapose spiritual awakening and 50's B horror movies - and they said it couldn't be done.

In contrast to my amazing technicolor dreamchair life at present, looking back, no - feeling back - I was one of those creatures from Night of the Living Dead.

A zombie.

Much better looking by the way, but still - dead.

Now, I would absolutely NOT have understood that at the time. I was living a seemingly stable, orderly - a few buttons undone life.

 And then the weirdness. This is what being spiritual awakened feels like - weird.  It's not what we think - it is never what we think.

And it is only in hindsight or as Martha Beck so beautifully notes - in telling the story backwards, that we can clearly see the truth unfolded. But during the unfolding - forget it. Fear and resistance so strong, that just like those zombies, I was possessed with a set of beliefs and conditions so powerful that they had literally sucked me dry and exhausted the hell out of me. And just like in the horror movies, as the monster approaches and goes in for the kill and depending on whether you are the star (keep that in mind) there is surrender and death. And then...rebirth. I know, it is a quirky analogy and I haven't thought through all the kinks but I think you get the basic hilarious premise.*

The monster, the demon, the creature from the black lagoon is inevitable.

Change is inevitable.

And what that change does is magical.

There is a brilliant tool that Martha Beck details in her book Finding Your Own North Star.  Next time, I'll spend some time sharing the change cycle.

But for today, just be aware of that one key phrase - change is inevitable. 

A new mantra.

A new perspective.

A new creature emerging from the depths - a new awakening from the dark night.  Because, reality is that the 'creature' is on both sides of the experience. Dead then alive, dead then alive, then alive, alive, alive!

*Practicing with the play and post concept for the blog today.  Just letting the quirky mind create...because it can.  All questions welcome.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Perspective



"This guy's walkin' down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole, and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, "Father, I'm down in this hole; can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey, Joe, it's me. Can ya help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, "Are ya stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out."
Leo McGarry (John Spencer)
The West Wing

I was a big fan of The West Wing.  Thanks to our digital age and reruns, I still am.  I watched the whole series again a few years ago and was reminded once again why I loved this show so much.  I won't go into all the superlatives because The West Wing is just the vehicle today. If you are not familiar with The West Wing, Leo McGarry tells this story to Josh Lyman in Episode #32 - Noel.  Josh is back to work after being shot by a stray bullet intended for the President and is experiencing post-traumatic stress. I could just write a post about my passion for The West Wing and my love for these fictional characters. However,  I am practicing today with the foreground-background process and I will keep all my adulation's about The West Wing in the background and draw your focus to the foreground - the quote above.

Each time I see this episode or read this quote, I find my eyes filling with tears.  My image is that my heart is so full, there must be a place for all that love, joy and hope to express itself.  Martha Beck, one of the master-full teachers in my life, has been quoted as saying 'we cry not because we have lost hope but because we have found it again.'  Well, this is a story about finding hope - in the friend and in our perspective.

It's the last line that gets me - every time.  "Yeah, but I been down here before and I know the way out." 

The story contrasts the doctor, the priest and the friend.  My hunch is that the doctor AND the priest have also been the friend.  There is a power in the word friend, a certain special color and tone.  It has an energy and we are free to fill in the blank with the who, what, where, when in our life that has been down there before and knows the way out. 

I am many things.  One of them is a life coach.  I discovered recently as I was writing a proposal to speak at  a seminar the true definition of 'life coach.'  In my fill in the blank sentence, LIFE was the friend, in all of its forms and literally showed me the way out.  I like to say LIFE was my first 'coach' and all the transformation that was set in motion, when I too fell in that hole with walls so steep I thought at times there was no way out.  Now, the falling in the hole experience is inevitable.  Inevitable.  What happens as a result...now that is the magic.

Life as my friend, instead of my enemy, jumped down in that hole and showed me the way out.  And in doing so, the shift in perception was profound. 

This major transformation occurred in my life back in 2006 and it has been amazing to experience the freedom in this new perspective - LIFE as friend.  Now, I wouldn't have said life was an enemy per se, just that there wasn't the ease and freedom, the play-full-ness, the joy. This led to the discovery of another new friend - TIME. Time continues to be both friend and teacher.   Turns out, falling in that hole was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Now, I invite you to shift your focus from reading the words to looking at the picture above.  I searched for a picture to represent the guy down the hole.  As I searched, I realized it was all in the perspective.  The thought of falling down the hole into the endless black abyss triggers every control mechanism in the book.    How far?  How deep?  It's dark - I can't see.  Is there anything to hold on to?  When will it stop?  What will happen when I land?  What will break and shatter?  Will I be able to put myself back together?  How will I get out? 

Does all of this sound familiar? 

Wait, does all of this feel familiar?

One can feel the anxiety mounting just reading all the questions.  Now, let's shift the perspective from looking down into that void to looking up.  Ah, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.  That is what struck me when I found this particular image.  Looking up into all that light. 

If one continues to shift perspective, the hole - the tunnel, looks like it is horizontal and not vertical - I can walk right out.

Talk about life as friend.


  

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Developing Intuition - A 21st Century Tool



Over the last several years, I have trained and launched an intuitive coaching practice.  I remember when I first began my studies, a word that returned again and again was tool.  I pictured this image of a carpenters tool belt with every imaginable tool available for my journey.  As I continue to use and develop intuition and intuitive insight, I saw the ability to ACT upon intuitive wisdom lead to some powerful changes in my life and for my clients.  I use the word 'lead' deliberately, as in lead-'her.'  The addition of the intuitive tool to build my life, to open up new pathways, first in my mind and then in my life, has been profound. 

There isn't anyone who doesn't possess this tool in their tool belt, but you may find that you just reach for that hammer each and every time.  Reflex.  See how many other tools are in the belt?

I was trained by Martha Beck and her amazing staff of coaches and this was a recent post of Martha's in O Magazine.  It is a great article with some wonderful exercises and insights.

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Finding-Your-Inner-Voice-Developing-Intuition-Martha-Beck

Martha's article was timely.  I launched an intuitive coaching group through Meetup.com.  The link http://www.meetup.com/Be-Set-In-Motion-South-Bay-Intuitive-Coaching-Meetup-Group/.  The blend of intuition, energy work and life coaching has been powerful alchemy for me and I am hearing from participants, clients and friends that this blend is opening up their minds in unforeseen ways.  One of the very powerful means to opening up the mind is to ask questions.  In the Martha Beck training, there is a wonderful tool called the marmoset response.  Marmoset's are VERY curious creatures and Martha has a delightful way of sharing with humor and wisdom.  The marmoset response is very akin to the traditions of the eastern spiritual practices in asking questions and staying present through awareness.  Answers are never an endpoint, only the place from which more questions arise.

At the meetups, I encourage the group to ask questions and a great technique is to have a large supply of three by five cards on hand.  They are a great size with limited space that can help focus the minds question. This question was submitted by a participant at the June meetup.  He asked great questions and I took the card away and pondered.  I later emailed him my response.  I told him after I wrote him, that this would make a great post for the blog.  I have been meaning to post for the past few weeks, but when Martha's column was published this month, the timing to post was perfect.

Here was Question #1:


 What beliefs interfere with intuition?


Time: There are so many beliefs around time that can limit the ability to trust and act upon intuitive insight when we believe that time is linear and fixed.

Freedom: There are so many shared beliefs around our perceptions of the "shoulds" in life and the difference between "pain" and "suffering."

Religion: Depending on ones religious upbringing, there are shared beliefs that block acknowledgment around intuitive/physic experience.

Relationships and Self-Perception/Sense of Self: How we view ourselves and feel about ourselves; our sense of empowerment and trust in our own experiences. Do we tend to be leaders or followers? Have we been conditioned to accept shared agreements around what is real and what is imagined.

Cultural Norms/Societal Agreements: There is overlap in some of these categories, but cultural beliefs may impact acknowledgment of intuitive abilities and insights separate from religion.


And Question #2:

 What are some tip-offs that we might unconsciously have some of these beliefs?

Resistance/Struggling: I think this is a great "tip-off" that there is more to be examine than meets the "eye" so to speak. Whether resistance in mind or body, generally this is a clue and the "detective" in us can explore and ask more questions.

Recognizing patterns: Generally, if we are unconsciously connecting with our intuitive insights, but are not recognizing this, a tip-off may be to notice patterns, very much like your plane crashes experiences. Now, I don't know that the adage "everything comes in three's" is always apt, there can be a pattern to "3" that can draw awareness out of the unconscious and into recognition. Many individuals report experiences with digital clocks and seeing repeating patterns. This connects with the idea of sacred geometry and noticing balance and harmony in nature and ourselves where we might only see chaos and disorder.

Fatigue/Illness/Unusual body experiences: These may be a tip-off. Generally, our body has a great deal of information to share with us and we have some shared beliefs around the mind being the wise center that knows all and thus the body is often "disbelieved."

I welcome input and comments on other blocks or beliefs that you have noticed that interfere with your ability to use intuitive wisdom and insight and take action. 
 
What's in your tool belt?

Sunday, June 19, 2011

If You Give Mary An Idea...



Ideas are contagious...catch some.


Well, clearly that March Un-Madness was an inspired idea because it is June 19th before I am back to a blog post. That was an idea that caught fire...in more ways than one. I have noticed in the last several months a byproduct of creativity...MORE creativity. The energy of creativity, the feel, taste, look, touch, sound of it puts me in mind of a beloved children's book series, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, written by Laura Joffe Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. For those of you with children or a profession or passion that connects you to children's literature, you will have likely read one of these delightful tales. If not, check it out at the library because children's books are fabulous at reflecting the truth in an often amusing, poignant and utterly charming way.

I think you have a hunch as to where the story goes with my title "If You Give Mary an Idea" - though I must say, I'm as likely to be equally creative and inspired by a chocolate chip cookie. I promised I would share how the March Un-Madness went in February...I never suspected it would be so many months later. Well, it went just great. And for so many unexpected reasons. (Here is a great time to insert the ever important aphorism, "expect the unexpected." The "expected" outcome was to attract new clients to my coaching practice by offering a "name your own session price" and it did attract new clients. What was fabulous and unexpected was the amazing group of clients it attracted. This new group has inspired me to expand because of their deep and earnest desire to wake up to the beauty within and be their own bright lights in the world. A quick interjection! I LOVE all my clients. I feel incredibly blessed to support and inspire each of you as an intuitive coach and to watch your unfolding. The joyous parallel is this same support, inspiration and unfolding is what happens to me when I do my "work" with each of you.

As a result of their passions and their desires, the creative passion and spark was ignited and that led to a whole new series of offerings. So, the 'if you give Mary an idea in March' for "Un-Madness" this led to amazing new clients who wanted more, so this gave her an idea to start an intuitive coaching group in May inspired by her friend and fellow life coach Keisha Gallegos which led to Keisha and Mary creating and launching a four week Tele-Course to Power Up Your Gifts which had lots of intuitive exercises which is Mary's speciality which led clients to say "WOW" we want more of that which inspired The Intuitive Gym. More information available at http://www.setinmotioncoaching.com/ or follow me on Facebook.




Whew...it has been an amazing several months both personally and professionally. Our beautiful daughter Emma turned 13 in February, my husband and life-partner Drew celebrated his 50th Birthday in March AND we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in May. Our son, Maxwell, turned 18 in April and just graduated from Archbishop Mitty High School. He is off to Santa Clara University in the fall, a full circle experience, as Drew and I graduated from Santa Clara, later married at the Mission and then had Max baptised there. Really, another Colored Circle moment. I have been aware of the pattern of colored circles showing up in my life for years and not noticing them. Not anymore. I know a colored circle moment when it happens. Stay tuned for more 'Colored Circle' moments featured on the blog and for more exciting milestones as we continue with 2011.

So, the observation of the "energy" of creativity brings to mind the law of attraction. When the creative spark is ignited, it will be a continuous "source" of inspiration. Where it goes and what it does is really exciting to be a part of. So, fill in the following blanks:



If You Give ___________ An ______________. What happens?



Here's my hunch. You have an "untold story within. Tell it."


I'll be back. Here come more ideas....................................!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

March "Un" Madness Offering from Set In Motion: Tranformational Life Coaching


March Madness is almost here. No, not basketball. Another kind of "madness." The what am I still doing in this same rut-madness? The where did those new year resolutions go-madness? The why am I so stuck-madness? Well, I am taking a page from other coaches playbooks and I am offering a "Pay What You Can" for my coaching/intuitive consulting services for the month of March. I often find that potential clients are stopped by the three F's: fear, fatigue and finances.
So, let me "ease the way" in the finance department. My hunch is that fear and fatigue will soon follow with the benefit of a session or two. This is a great opportunity to explore energetic coaching and see what "Set In Motion" and my services are all about.
So, for those of you that have been curious - here's a nudge off of that proverbial fence. Email or call me to set up an appointment. Really, you don't need to stay "mad" forever!
In Like A Lion, Out Like a Lamb
"March roars in like a lion,
so fierce
The wind so cold,
It seems to pierce.
The month rolls on
And Spring draws near,
And March goes out
Like a lamb so dear.
~Lorie Hill
Need I say more?
Connect!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Forrest Gump Was On To Something!

The line is memorable..."life is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you are going to get!" Well, it is fitting on Valentines Day to talk about chocolate, life and love...in that order. (I know my priorities!)

I have noticed over the last several months that one of the metaphors I use with clients when talking about life and balance and change is the concept of making chocolate. There is an alchemical process to making chocolate and the word to describe this delicious process is called "tempering." What a great word and how perfect it is! Tempering chocolate is everything in making chocolate. Bring up the heat too slowly and the chocolate will be lumpy and congeal...too fast and the chocolate will burn or be streaky and dull. But "tempered" just right, the chocolate is shiny and smooth and has a delicious snap to it.

Shiny, smooth, snappy! Sounds like some great adjectives to brighten up a mood, to spark one's personal energy...to begin a new day. Tempering is the balance...just the right blend of heat and time...not too much temper, anger, frustration or enough energy, passion and drive. Temper, tempering, temperature...

I spoke a bit about chocolate and life, so here's to love. To share a bit about a new love on Valentine's Day, I just finished my second weekend acupressure class and I am LOVING it! (I still have my original love, my husband Drew. Celebrating 25 years in May!) Talk about balance and harmony and energy. Big weekend commitments...classes are three days 9 am to 6 pm so I will keep aware of "balance" while adding in this new love! Get ready everyone...I want a group of "clients" for practicing!

On this day of love, sending love and blessings to a friend who had surgery today...he is in my thoughts and another who's father passed away.

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Birthday to family and friends!

Good Night...Sweet "Tempered Chocolate Dreams!"

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Imagination and Intuition


First blog of the new year...in February! I am thinking about video blogging because I have had 20 blog posts in my mind or in conversations with clients, family and friends that never quite make it onto the page! So, here is one that has been kicking around. Take what you like and leave the rest...

Imagination and Intuition...a powerful combination. I started to title the blog post Imagination VS. Intuition. I almost posted the "versus" because clients report this experience all the time. They have a sense that imagination is just made-up and intuition, if it is to be trusted at all, is often someone else's. I decided to use the "and" because it isn't one or the other...they are intimately related!

I use a lot of guided imagery (hence the word imagination) in my work with clients. I also work with clients to utilize intuition. Being guided through intuitive intelligence has literally changed my life and I believe it can change yours. I had a client say the other day, "How do I know this is my intuition? It feels like I am making this up!" And with this great question...we can begin.

My response was imagination and intuition are intimately related...like "kissing cousins." The big difference in the two is: "What do you believe to be possible?" What do you believe to be true?" And I mean REALLY true. Because trusting in intuition is powerful...it is em-powering in a way that imagination is not. Are you ready to be em-powered? The prefix "em" is to make into, to put into, to get into. Intuition is the "em" in power! Now, where does this "powerful" energy come from?

I observe that clients talked about their intuition in the possessive, "my intuition." (a great word in this case; the "possessive." ) And the minute the "my" shows up, then the confidence, the trust, the empowerment is wobbly. And there lies the creative leap or risk.

Intuition is a universal language. A great correlation is American Sign Language. I used the example of someone who uses American Sign Language to interpret for the hearing impaired. They are working with a universal language that can be interpreted and understood by those who have studied and learned this, again let me say, "universal" language. I invite the same awareness and understanding of intuition as a universal language expressed in a personal way.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell is a great resource about intuition as a practical tool that can be observed, employed and trusted as a way to make meaningful decisions. The only separation is in trusting the information and not "discounting" because it came from a made-up, fanciful imagination instead of a rational, cognitive process. Like any new language, tool or resource, experience with intuitive intelligence is a process that is learned over time; that we learn to trust over time.

So, kiss your cousin today! Use your creative, "made-up" imagination to see the vision up ahead. Then observe what happens...the outcome. Enough experiences with outcomes that match imagination and my hunch is your on the trail of intuition.