In this blog post, I interview a former student of mine (Darla Antoine) who has developed her intuition to a really high level. She is going to share about her path developing her psychic side and the impact it had on her life.

2 reasons I wanted to share this interview with you:

1. In it, we talk about HOW she developed her abilities. I thought her experiences might be of interest to those of you who are starting to develop your own intuition, to get some insights and tips you might be able to apply to your own path.

2. Darla has also had a ton of really interesting experiences along the way – in this interview we talk about some of them, including dreaming of the future, unborn children spirits, and finding the love of your life with the help of your intuition!

I hope you enjoy it…

Welcome Darla to this interview!

Darla: Hi Anna! I’m so happy to be doing this!

Anna: So, just to give a bit of background – Darla and I worked together on opening up her connection to her guides. She took part in a program that I used to run, where I would connect with her Spirit Guides on a weekly basis, and channel guidance and instructions on how she could communicate better with them (that program later became my Intuitive Awakening Course.)

So, Darla, I remember when we first worked together in my program, there was something interesting that came up when we tuned into your guides…

Normally, when I “tuned in” to a person, I would pick up on their Spirit Guides and maybe a couple of Guardian Angels.

But what I remember from working with Darla was that when I tuned into her guide team, there was an extra being hanging around. He was a small child – he seemed quite shy and told me his name was Michael.

That was in my early days as an intuitive, so I had never encountered a spirit like that before. I did wonder if it was actually an unborn child. And Darla, I think you filed that away as “interesting information” that was not particularly relevant because you were single at the time and had no immediate plans for having children.

Then a few years later, you met your partner and moved from the US to Costa Rica. And then the ‘Michael’ thing came up again, didn’t it?

Darla: Yes, it did! You gave me that reading in late 2009 and I became pregnant in 2012 with my first child.

Then, according to the first ultrasound, the baby was a girl. However, my intuition told me that was wrong and that it was actually a boy.

I had a second ultrasound at week 32 and it confirmed that the baby was indeed a boy!

We were stunned.

When we got into the car after the ultrasound, my partner Andy turned to me excitedly and said “Let’s name him Michael!” and that just confirmed everything to me because I had never told Andy about Michael.

Anna: So just an interesting anecdote about the spirit beings that hang around us – sometimes they include unborn children…

Anyway, as I said, in this interview I want to find out how Darla developed her abilities and if we can learn something from her path.

So, let’s go back to the beginning. Darla – growing up, were you interested in your spirituality? What is your background spiritually speaking?

Darla: I grew up in a tiny conservative town in Washington State where both of my parents also grew up. My maternal lineage is Okanagan (a First Nations tribe in southern British Columbia, Canada and North Central Washington State, USA.)

I was interested in spirituality from a young age. My mom tells a story where when I was 3, I asked her what she thought souls looked like. She told me her thoughts and I responded “I think they look like rainbows.” I think I was describing chakras to her but neither of us knew it!

The only outlet for my interest in spirituality at that time was the local Presbyterian Church. I don’t affiliate with the church anymore but I really appreciate that part of my journey.

My Okanagan grandmother was a product of the boarding school era. The government literally took her from her home in the middle of the night and put her in this “school” when she was about 6 years old. She was no longer allowed to speak her native language – from the moment she stepped inside those walls it was English, or punishment. She wasn’t allowed to talk to her siblings who were also there. When they cut her hair off, they cut off my spiritual lineage. And it’s as if I’m still searching for those “cut strands” of hair (metaphorically speaking) to this day.

Anna: Did you know back then that you wanted to be an intuitive?

Darla: I was always secretly interested in the intuitive arts (Tarot, astrology, dreams and intuition) but I kept it pretty quiet. I grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s – so, pre-internet! And a lot of people thought spiritual stuff was “weird” at that time.

Anna: When and why did you start studying intuitive development?

Darla: I knew I was sensitive but I didn’t know what to do about it or how. So I let it lay dormant for about 10 years.

Then my divorce at the age of 26 was a huge catalyst for me. My intuition was screaming at me to get out of that relationship (it was not an abusive relationship and we remain friendly to this day). And my intuition was also leading me down the spiritual ‘rabbit hole’, which would lead to a new career.

First, I started saving money for something but I didn’t know what. But every week, $20+ from my paycheck went under my bed because my intuition told me to.

About a year and a half later I used the $2,000 I had saved to move to New Mexico and start graduate school there. A couple of weeks into my new life in New Mexico, I took a trip to Santa Fe by myself for the first time. I stopped in an independent bookstore, browsed about and ultimately settled on a book about world history and the Divine Feminine.

As I headed back to Albuquerque to read my new book, I experienced what I now believe was my third eye and crown chakra opening. I was driving and all of a sudden I felt immense elation and joy. I almost felt out of body and the entire sensation was from my brow up – the top of my head was tingling and the sun was setting at that moment.

And today, nine years later, I could show you the very spot on the highway where this happened. It was one of the happiest moments of my life, even though I didn’t understand it at that moment.

Anna: I love how you took these leaps of faith, Darla – you trusted, and then followed your intuition, and it brought you to where you are now. It just shows that when something comes to an end, our intuition and soul will give us actions to take to lead us to the next thing on our path! But the challenge can be to trust it.

So anyway, how did you go about developing your abilities following this intense experience?

Darla: Well, I soon found out people were actually blogging about psychic stuff and Anna, your blog kept popping up as a recommended blog to read. No matter how many times I dismissed the recommendation, it kept coming back!

I’m slow but I’m not stupid, so I finally started reading your blog and I fell in love with you a bit.

You were so down-to-earth and practical. I was so afraid all of these “woo-woo experiences” meant I was going to start wearing expensive hemp clothing and forgoing showers, while I grew dreads and gave long awkward hugs – like every “spiritual” person I knew!!

You showed me it didn’t have to be that way! So I signed up for your course and from there you taught me the next steps to take, which I took, and kept going.

Anna: Is there a guiding principle of intuitive development that has been particularly helpful for your path?

Darla: Raising your vibration is key – my intuition totally shuts down if I’m in a bad place energetically (i.e. angry, impatient, sad).

I also think it’s important to know HOW you experience intuition during your daily life— Bodily sensations like tingles or flutters? (clairsentience) A voice in your ear? (clairaudience) or images that come into your mind? (clairvoyance).

The alpha state is important, too. Clearly, dreams are my dominant way of receiving intuition. Dreams happen in the alpha and theta state and we all slip into these states every single night, which is what makes them so effective for receiving intuitive messages. (I teach people how to not only remember their dreams, but how to call a dream to them, how to re-enter a dream, and how to prolong the dream state and what to do with those dreams when you wake up.)

I think chakras are really important to anyone’s intuitive development. You taught me that chakras were real and not just a figment of the collective imagination like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.

Anna: What have been the benefits for you of developing your intuition?

Darla: In a word? Adventure, both in the external world and in the inner realm.

My Spirit Guides and intuition took me to Costa Rica initially where I met my husband for the first time. Then it sent me back to Costa Rica to fall in love with him and start a family. And my intuition brings me comfort – when I sometimes feel isolated from living in a foreign country, I tune in and I know that all will be well, and that there is a purpose to this time.

And in terms of the inner realm, I’ve had many dreams that gave me a shiny new object to chase – something to research or learn about. All of those dreams have led me to this new career as an intuitive and dream worker, and I know it will lead to even more magic.

Anna: Do you think that anyone can develop their intuition?

Darla: Absolutely. But, everyone is intuitive in different ways and it’s important to know where your strengths lie. Almost everyone has had at least one remarkable experience in which they knew something they shouldn’t have known— reflect on that. HOW was that information delivered to you? A dream? A feeling? A sensation? A vision?

Anna: Any cool anecdotes around dreaming/your intuition that you want to share?

Darla: I once had a dream in which I suddenly materialized inside a boardroom. But this boardroom was located somewhere between the Earth and the Heavens, about where the Earth’s atmosphere ends. The building was made completely of glass and you could see through the walls into other boardrooms, all full of people, for miles and in every direction.

I looked at the table in the middle of the room and saw myself taking charge of a meeting. My Guides were there, a couple of angels and even a few friends I have here in my waking life. The table was like a huge holographic iPad. The table was all glass and the tabletop had a touch screen. You only had to touch the screen and your thoughts would direct what was shown and how. I approached the table, in awe, and someone turned to look at me as I approached. His eyes got wide “Oh no! She’s awake!” I saw myself look up at myself and then bouncers appeared out of nowhere and the next thing I knew I was sitting up in my bed, wide awake and excited. What was that?!?

To my delight, I fell back asleep and went right back into the board room. This time I materialized near the table, where I had last been. I tried to stay quiet so they wouldn’t notice me. I saw myself pull up a map of the world and zoom in on Austria. Everyone was discussing a possible path for me that would involve going to Austria in two years (note: I never went). At this point my dream self became paranoid and began to protest this plan. Everyone looked up in shock “She’s still awake!” and the bouncers reappeared. I woke up in my bed, still excited, but I was unable to enter that meeting again.

Doesn’t this make a lot of sense? I mean, I think it’s totally plausible that we meet with our Spiritual Guidance team in the dream state. There are probably good reasons why we don’t remember these meetings and there are good reasons they kicked me out as soon as I was discovered.

Anna: That’s a really interesting experience. It also makes total sense to me that we would pre-plan certain things for ourselves on the soul level while we’re here. I often have precognitive dreams where I am in a certain place, with a very specific appearance, and then several months later I find myself in that place in real life. It’s happened to me multiple times, and it can be uncanny. I talk about this more in this blog post.

So how would one know if one has the gift of dreaming?

Darla: If you’ve ever had a dream that literally came true, or woke from a dream knowing you had just been taught something or warned about something, you have the gift of dreaming. If you’ve ever been introduced to a teacher in your dreams— you’re a dreamer. If you have vivid memories of visiting other realms in your dreams, places that were too real to be a random creation of your subconscious, you’re a dreamer.

No, you do not need to have experienced all of these. Yes, it’s possible to become a dreamer even if you haven’t remembered a dream in 25 years. Again, dreaming may not be your strongest intuitive modality but it can’t hurt to try. All it takes is one BIG dream to change your life.

Anna: How can the dreaming gift be developed?

Darla: I believe that keeping a dream journal is key to becoming a dreamer. You wouldn’t believe how quickly you forget even strong dreams. It helps to have a place to jot down your dreams and to review them frequently for patterns or themes.

Setting the intention to remember your dreams so you can write them down in the morning— and then following through and doing just that— also tells your subconscious that you’re interested in dreaming. Dreams are fickle lovers. If you’re not paying attention, they’ll go elsewhere. “No dream recall” is a better thing to write than nothing at all.

Anna: Thank you so much Darla for joining me on this interview.

I hope this interview has inspired you, dear reader, to follow and listen to your intuition like Darla did – take those actions your soul is asking you to take! And also, to put some of the principles Darla mentioned into practice – such as raising your vibration, and using/developing your strongest intuitive gifts!