Anna Sayce

Tag: Intuition

  • The Two Keys to Recognizing Your Intuition

    The Two Keys to Recognizing Your Intuition

    I recently received a question from a reader:

    Hi Anna,

    I’d like to know how to differentiate intuition from other thought patterns and feelings because I wouldn’t want to follow what I thought was my intuition and then find out it’s wrong. How do I recognize the voice of my intuition?

    -Stephan

    Hi Stephan,

    Thanks for your question.

    While you’re on a path of intuitive development, putting yourself on a quest to distinguish your intuition from other ‘less valid’ input can be problematic and make your journey really quite difficult.

    This might sound like a rather ridiculous thing to say – you’re developing your intuition to help you in your life, right? – I know. But just hear me out for one moment on this.

    Being attached to what is intuition and what isn’t when you’re starting out is problematic BECAUSE opening yourself to intuition involves becoming sensitive and noticing all kinds of input – including body language, ‘vibes’ from other people and sounds. It also involves becoming more aware of your own inner world – your feelings, your thoughts. Just opening yourself up to this input and processing it is difficult enough without having to constantly sort through it and triage it into two categories: ‘real’ intuition and stuff you shouldn’t listen to.

    So how do intuitives ever manage to know which is which? What is their secret?

    Their first secret is this:

    They are not terribly attached to what is ‘real’ intuitive input and what is not, in the beginning.

    In the beginning, they don’t beat themselves up about possibly getting it wrong, or agonizing over whether that feeling they have is really from their Higher self or not. That should not be your focus if you’re a beginner at hearing spiritual guidance. Instead just begin by exploring the spirit world and by…

    Becoming open to all signs and input

    Many native cultures, such as the Aboriginal culture, read the signs and messages in nature. We don’t just see signs in nature though – we can see signs in things that others say and do and what happens around us.

    We can begin to see life as we would analyze a dream that’s rich in symbolism.

    We can bring out the common thread. We see that everything is meaningful – everything is manifested by us, and we can see all input and signs around us as relevant. Of course, there are always the signs and signals that jump out more than others – the particularly strong intuitive insights. But the first stage of developing ESP is sensitization. Noticing things more – noticing sounds, noticing what you see, the people you meet, noticing what is going on inside you emotionally and the thoughts that enter your head – developing a tremendous self-awareness. In this intuitive, perceptive mindset, the thought ‘oh no, what if this is not intuition?!’ does not arise. The attachment is not there as much. In the beginning, it’s about exploration of what is around you and in you.

    This stage is really important. I have noticed that many intuitives are just people who notice things.

    My students used to tell me that they could never say anything that went unnoticed by me in the classroom. My sense of hearing is very good as is my sense of seeing. This is partly because I am naturally inquisitive and nosy. I want to perceive more because I like reading people, reading motives and finding out more. And I think that most intuitives are naturally interested in people and in human nature.

    So, this is how you activate your intuition – by expanding your view of what you notice, inside you and outside of you.

    Once you have learned to sensitize yourself to what is going on in you and around you, you will be in a position to receive real intuition and recognize it. But if you try to differentiate between intuition and other input right from the beginning without allowing your sensitivity to develop in an unattached way, you will be hindered by doubt.

    If you find this approach of putting the matter of ‘accuracy’ to one side while you’re learning difficult to stomach because you just want your intuition to help you get from A to B, then reconsider your reasons for wanting to be psychic/intuitive. Intuition is not a switch you can flick once and then be intuitive. It is a mindset, a way of being that you can’t separate from the spiritual world. And the motive for living an intuitive life cannot be solely because you want to gain from it (although that can become part of it), but because you love your world to be rich in symbolism and magic.

    Secret #2: Re-think the distinction between intuition and non-intuition

    I prefer not to think of intuition as one thing and everything else as something to discard. I prefer to think in two categories – input that is low-vibrational (such as input from the ego or from a wounded inner self) and input that is spiritually high-vibrational, which you might class as intuition. Is all the high vibrational, good-feeling input from your Higher self? Some of it will be. Some of it will also be from your Guides and Angels.

    There is a clear difference between a low-vibrational thought from your ego, such as ‘You’ll never manage to do that’ and a higher vibrational thought, which reassures you, which feels truthful and loving. You can feel the difference between the two energies. The low vibrational, bad-feeling thought makes you clam up and your body tense. The high vibrational, good-feeling thought gives you emotional relief and lets you breathe.

    All strong intuitives have this ability to differentiate between what feels true and good to them and what doesn’t. This is called spiritual discernment and it’s a tool you’re using everyday to make your choices. You also need to run all intuition past it.

    For example, let’s say you think your intuition is telling you to quit your job and do something different. If your feelings aren’t in agreement, you know you’re on the wrong track. But, of course you have to have high awareness of your emotions in the first place.

    For me, when I get an intuitive insight, there is a little dialogue that goes on in me between my spiritual discernment and my intuition which says ‘ooh, that’s right, isn’t it?’ and straight away I get a feeling of certainty, perhaps of being excited or uplifted as well. It’s like the landscape of my emotions suddenly changes, like the clouds clearing and the sun coming through. For me, this is the seal of approval; the sign that the information I’m getting is relevant and meaningful. It feels right to me. In fact, this ‘feeling’ has proved such a powerful marker of truthful, accurate information that even when someone tells me I’m wrong but the feeling tells me I’m right, I’d trust that feeling first.

    To develop more awareness of your feelings, practice going inside and listening to your emotions. Face up to uncomfortable ones which keep your head buried in the sand. (In my next post I’ll be talking more about this.) Work on noticing the thoughts you’re having as much as possible, without judgment. Are they positive or negative? Hear and notice the loving, high vibrational thoughts that come from your Spirit Guides and Higher self. Notice the low-vibrational thoughts that can come from your shadow side or a wounded inner self.

    Everyone has their own personal, unique inner language of feelings and symbolism that they need to familiarize themselves with. In this respect, the landscape of your intuition is very much like the dreamscape. In my readings, my Spirit Guides often draw comparisons between a client’s situation and situations that have occurred in my life or the lives of those around me, by sending old feelings that I recognize that apply to this situation, such as sinking feelings, excited feelings, feelings of pride or anger. Many people are not even aware of their feelings to this degree. To be intuitive, you have to have a high level of awareness and notice the feelings and inner patterns which crop up time and again, or which are humming along in the background.

    Everyone receives intuition in different ways. All of what is written above is based on my own personal experiences.

  • Where Does Intuition Come From?

    Where Does Intuition Come From?

    Some people believe that intuition is data from your subconscious mind, based on past experiences and patterns, which is introduced into your conscious mind spontaneously.

    I actually think that intuition is more than just your subconscious trying to direct you towards pleasure and away from pain. Intuition, to me, is a spontaneous notification or alert from your Higher self or Spirit Guides of something that they want you to know. The one defining trait of intuition is that it includes information that would be challenging (or impossible) to see from your current perspective.

    The Purpose of Your Intuition

    Being in a physical body without any input from the spiritual part of you (your Higher self) can be challenging – it’s like being on the ground, unable to see the wood for the trees, not knowing which direction to go in, with a limited perspective.

    On the other hand, your Higher self has the ability to see your life from a different vantage point – like being on top of a mountain and having a bird’s eye view of the life going on below in the valley. Because your Higher self has a higher vantage point, your HS has access to the bigger picture of what’s going on, in your life, in your past, present and future and in the world around you.

    Your Higher self can alert you to:

    • The truth about the people around you
    • What’s going to happen in your future – short and long term
    • Why something happened in your life – cause and effect and how you can fix it
    • When you can avoid danger or an unpleasant experience
    • Which activities, work, relationships, will contribute towards your happiness and serve you on your path of growth and evolution as a human and spiritual being. He/she also knows which activities/work/relationships will not serve you and take you away from your ‘highest path and purpose.’

    Input from the Higher self is like a guiding system – a GPS – of what will bring you the most joy and what won’t. One of the easiest ways to keep you on track and connected to what your Spirit wants, is through your intuition.

    How the Higher Perspective of My Guides and Higher Self Has Helped Me

    I personally constantly get feedback from my Higher self about which activities will bring me most joy and abundance, through clairsentience. When I’m undertaking something that isn’t really in alignment with my highest path and purpose, I begin to worry more and I get stressed. So then I usually change to a course of action that does bring me joy and which is in alignment with my highest path and purpose. But sometimes I get really harassed by my Higher self before that happens.

    Information about all of the above can come from Spirit Guides too. Just like your Higher self, your Spirit Guides have a higher, more complete perspective than you do as a human being. You could say that they are all on a mountain top of their own, so they each have a unique vantage point from which to see your life. They are not omniscient – they don’t know everything, but collectively they can see a lot about your life. One Spirit Guide often has insights about one life in particular – they all have specialties. So one Spirit Guide may deliver insights about your relationships and another may deliver insights about your health.

    In the several readings I’ve had with other psychics, I have been given many insights from my Spirit Guides and Higher self about all of the above – especially regarding my future. Erin Pavlina picked up that I’d be doing intuitive readings in the future, because my Higher self already had this all mapped out.

    About twelve months ago, a different psychic told me that I’d be moving to New Zealand/Australia within the next 18 months, and at the time I really didn’t want to, as I was enjoying life in London and couldn’t imagine wanting to leave. But then a few months later I met an Australian guy and decided to move to Australia six months later. My plans changed again a few months after that and I ended up in New Zealand which is where I am now.

    So, I actually get most of the information about my future through dreams or from other psychics rather than from my intuition. My intuition is much more likely to direct me away from negative people or situations or move me towards my highest path and purpose, or save me time or energy here and there. And for me personally, it feels like most of my intuition comes from my Higher self rather than from my Spirit Guides. Although if I actively tune in through my psychic connection, I’m more likely to get to speak with my Spirit Guides than my Higher self.

    Some intuition can also happen as a result of ‘vibes’ or energy transmissions that you pick up from other peoples’ energy bodies. For example, you can meet someone and can sense that they are defensive before they even open their mouth. In this case, you are reading the vibes they are transmitting and responding to them, which is also a form of intuition that does not directly involve the Higher self or Spirit Guides.

  • What is Intuition?

    What is Intuition?

    In this post I explore what intuition is, including the differences between intuitive abilities and psychic abilities, because many people do not know what intuition is exactly, and how it differs from psychic abilities.

    What is Intuition?

    You know those moments when you get a feeling in your gut that someone is not trustworthy? Or a little insight about someone else’s life – for example, you know that your friend is going to get the job that she’s about to go to an interview for? That would be your intuition.

    One intuitive insight that sticks out in my memory for some reason was a scenario at work about 18 months ago – it was when I was teaching English and French in a language school in Spain.

    On Thursdays I only taught English, but that day as I was going out the door I knew I had to take my French grammar book with me. I wasn’t going to teach French that day and I rarely used my French grammar book anyway, even on the days I taught French, so it appeared to be pointless. But I heeded my intuitive voice and took it anyway.

    Then in the afternoon one of my French students came in unexpectedly and wanted a photocopy from my French grammar book. Ta-da, I could produce one because I had it with me, because I knew I’d need it that day. Although I didn’t know what for.

    I hesitated to include that story in this article because it’s kind of mundane. I didn’t find my life purpose through this intuitive insight or get guided towards buried treasure. It was a fairly small event and wasn’t too impactful, but it made my day and my student’s go more smoothly and that’s about it. Plus the intuitive insight made me feel provided for, and looked after. It was nice to have!

    So, intuition can be little insights which help you with the little things – such as making your day go more smoothly, saving you time, energy or money here and there. But it doesn’t have to be small – larger insights can also help you with the big things of life, such as prevent you from investing a great deal in something (such as a major project) which will come to a dead end. Intuitive insight usually comes to you in the moment, as you need it, just like the example above of my French grammar book.

    The Difference between Intuitive Gifts and Psychic Gifts

    A key component of intuition is that it comes to you and through you, usually spontaneously. In order for that to happen, you must be open and you must notice intuition. On the other hand, when we talk about developing psychic ability, we’re talking more about you going ‘out there’ energetically to receive information from your Higher self or Spirit Guides.

    For intuition, we often talk about feelings, impressions and a sense of knowing and all of these come through the intuitive ‘vehicles’ of clairsentience and claircognizance. (Claircognizance is an insight that just pops up spontaneously in your brain, perhaps unrelated to anything you were thinking about. Clairsentience can be a gut feeling, or a strong, meaningful emotion which speaks to you.)

    So, as a general rule, an intuitive tends to use mostly clairsentience and claircognizance, whereas if someone calls herself a psychic, it’s more likely that she’ll use three or four intuitive vehicles – clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience and claircognizance. I have also noticed that those psychics who mostly use clairvoyance and clairaudience usually refer to themselves as psychics, not as intuitives.

    I believe that for most people, intuitive ability is easier to develop than psychic ability, because it comes primarily through claircognizance and clairsentience and most people are naturally claircognizant and clairsentient. On the other hand, clairvoyance and clairaudience seem to be additional ‘specialties’ that you can have as an intuitive, as fewer people are naturally clairaudient and very few people are naturally clairvoyant.

  • Intuition in Decision Making

    Intuition in Decision Making

    Have you ever wondered how much you should rely on intuition in decision making?

    Intuition is actually an amazing tool to make good decisions and to tap into your true desires.

    This post is a guide – a collection of steps – to help you to make a good life decision based on your intuition. I follow this process in my own decision making and it has yielded some good results. It’s also loosely based on the process I use in intuitive readings with clients to help them get clear on which path they really want to take.

    So – the first step for making a sound intuitive decision actually starts not with your intuition, but with your brain, so to begin with:

    Put all your options down on paper

    You can’t really receive information about your potential options and decisions unless you clarify them. So, what are your options?

    For example, if you are wanting to quit your job but you don’t know which step to take to make it happen, put down on paper all the options that you can think of which are available to you RIGHT NOW. Even if they sound a bit out of your reach. Your list could look like this:

    #1: Continue doing the same job but at a different company.

    #2: Train in another field that appeals to you.

    #3: Do the same work freelance.

    #4: Go on a working holiday abroad.

    I was taught in my intuitive training that there are always five different paths ahead of you. I don’t know if this is 100% true in all circumstances, but I will say that if you’re only seeing one or two options ahead of you, you might need to expand your vision and your horizons a little bit. There is usually more than one path, so do a brainstorming session and see what comes up as possible choices to make in the decision making process.

    As an intuitive, I ALWAYS work out what options are available to me and to my clients. Even if clients don’t know what those options are, I do some research into their possible paths and sometimes bring up options they hadn’t even considered. So think of this part as a brainstorming process that helps you to get clear on what action you can take.

    Once you’ve made a list of options, write down a list of what you like and what you don’t like about each option. Be really honest and don’t kid yourself that there will be only one perfect option without any drawbacks. There is rarely a 100% perfect option. Depending on the size of the decision, it can be a long list or a short one.

    Once you’ve written down the pros and cons of each possible path, the next step is…

    Identify your desired outcome

    Take a moment to consider what overall outcome you want to bring about as a result of your decision? Remember – there is an energy behind everything that you want to bring into your life. Look at the bigger picture – why are you making this decision? What do you really want and what is the ideal outcome? Do you want a more peaceful home life? More work fulfilment? More excitement in your life?

    Make sure you acknowledge and set that intention for your decision making…and aim to make a decision that supports that overall intention for your life. The next step is to measure how aligned each option is with your ideal outcome. One way of doing this is to…

    Listen to your feelings

    Listening to your feelings allows you to do a little research on the options. And I don’t mean research on the internet or using books. You don’t really need to consult with sources outside of you to make a decision. As an emotional being, you already have some the data you need to make a decision. Your feelings will provide some of that data. Feelings really are excellent feedback about how aligned each path is with that outcome or result that you identified in step number two.

    If you feel really bad about an option, but it looks good on paper (and everyone thinks you should do it), trust your emotions over your rationale.

    I’ve seen the following scenario time and again in my readings: a client will request a reading because they have an important decision to make but tell me that they can’t work out how they feel about each option. In the reading, all I’ll do when I tune into the client is notice how they respond, energetically to each option. They ask me about the option and as an empath I can feel how it feels to them, energetically and emotionally and report back to them.

    Then I use my pendulum to measure (in a percentage) how aligned each option is with their desired outcome – meaning, will their plan create the outcome they desire? Their feelings and my pendulum give the same information here. If the client feels lukewarm about their plan, the pendulum will tell me that it’s maybe 30 or 40% aligned with the client’s highest path and purpose. If they feel excited and enthusiastic about a plan, maybe it’s 90 or 100% aligned with their desired outcome.

    But really, such clients don’t need me to tell them how they feel. They already know. But in such circumstances, consulting an intuitive can help because the issue is that the client is not listening to or heeding how they feel about the options. So, having me tell them how they feel about each option, and explain why they feel that way helps the client to see that their feelings are excellent feedback about the choices in front of them.

    Be your own intuitive

    You can actually replicate this process of energetic assessment that I do in an intuitive reading at home.

    The best way to do this is to try each option on for size, energetically. Do this by listening to what your emotions have to say about each potential path, one by one.

    Put aside two minutes of your time and close your eyes. Imagine that you’ve already made that decision to start the relationship, get a different job, say yes to the business venture or whatever it is. Imagine yourself on your first day at work in that new job. How do you feel about the prospect?

    Open your mind for this exercise. Let go of your preconceived ideas about what you “have” to do and just let go of practical considerations of why you can’t do what you want to do.

    • What is the energy or emotion that you feel behind the path?
    • Does it feel flat? Do you feel uninspired? Heavy? Unmotivated?
    • Or do you feel excited? Perhaps a little apprehensive? Enthusiastic? Confused?
    • Do you feel awful? Do you feel a sense of dread?
    • Do you feel any of these feelings in your body?

    Write down any feelings or emotions that come up, even if they’re conflicting, because they are all valid feedback about something.

    You could feel excited and terrified about one option at the same time, and it could be that the possible path is exciting but might take a lot of skill that you don’t have yet. All feelings are important feedback about each option so don’t ignore anything you feel about each option.

    I know that this sounds like a lengthy process, but it’s the most thorough and effective way I have of making good intuitive decisions. You can also make a snap decision based on your intuition too and do so, if your gut tells you to. I occasionally do that if I’m feeling impulsive but the results can be mixed with such a hit and miss approach. If like me, you like to spend longer working it out, take as long as you need with this process. Depending on how big the decision is, you may need to consider each option for half a minute, half an hour or half a day to get some good, steady feedback about how you really feel about it.

    Sometimes there is a perfect decision and sometimes there isn’t – sometimes you just have to take the best path that you can see in front of you so don’t pressurize yourself to find a perfect solution yet. Let your mind take a back seat in this process. That brings me to my next point in this process:

    Don’t talk yourself out of what you want

    Often through observing feelings, people get clear on what they want. They understand that some options make them feel good and others make them feel flat and some make them feel awful and they can link some of those feelings to real considerations in their pros and cons list.

    But once you’ve hit upon the right course of action to take, it’s easy to talk yourself out of it and hide behind what’s practical. A common reaction to the really good-feeling and “perfect” option is that it’s too scary and difficult or has negative consequences, or involves a risk, or is too hard for you to achieve.

    There are many fears and excuses that we can hide behind. If you’re not ready to come out from behind those excuses yet, that’s OK, but at least admit what you want, even if you’re not sure you can have it yet. Make sure that the decision you do make honours your desires to SOME degree, even if it doesn’t honour it 100%. In other words, make sure your decision sends you in the right direction towards what you want, even if it’s not a taking you all the way there in one go.

    And about that fear – often the option that is in our highest path and purpose is one that does bring us a great deal of growth and expansion. It pushes us out of our comfort zone and makes us face our fears. It can be uncomfortable. So if an option makes you feel fear, apprehension or even complete terror, it doesn’t mean that it’s an option that’s not right for you. You need to look at those feelings in context.

    Take the plunge

    If it’s a smaller decision that will have no real fallout for you or for others, then try it on for size – literally. Do it and then see how it feels. If it’s the wrong option for you, you’ll probably be alerted to it as you take action. Taking action that helps you in the elimination process is better than taking no action at all!

    Got any other tips or thoughts on intuitive decision making? Please share in the comments section!

  • Which Is Your Strongest Intuitive Gift?

    Which Is Your Strongest Intuitive Gift?

    If you’ve read any of my other articles you’ll probably notice I’ve been banging on about the importance of finding out your intuitive gifts. This is because intuition or psychic ability is not just one gift – it’s actually made up of six gifts – clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, dreaming, empathy and claircognizance.

    The chances are, you have innate abilities in one or two of these gifts. The chances also are that one or two of the above gifts you do not have yet. Your intuition will be difficult and slow to develop if you try to develop a gift that you don’t have yet and neglect the gifts you do have. So that’s why it helps to start your journey of intuitive development knowing what you’re naturally good at.

    Here is a quiz to help you to find out what gifts you have:

    (Note: you can also now take this quiz here, and it will automatically calculate the result for you.)

    Clairvoyance

    Clairvoyance is the ability to ‘see’ Spirit

    • Do you dream in colour and with vivid images?

    • When you’re doing creative work, like designing something and deciding how you want something to look, do you get a clear image in your head of it?

    • When you close your eyes, can you clearly see any object of your choosing? For example, visualize a bicycle. Can you see it in your mind’s eye? (Natural clairvoyants usually have an easy time than most at visualizing).

    • Do you get visual solutions to problems in your mind’s eye?

    • Are you very visually/artistically creative?

    • Do you ever see lights or auras around people when you’re speaking to them?

    • Do you ever see things moving in the corner of your eye?

    Clairaudience

    Clairaudience is the ability to hear your Higher Self, Spirit Guides and other extra-sensory input

    • Have you ever had a voice clearly direct you to do something and it turned out to be helpful or accurate?

    • Have you ever heard ringing or buzzing sounds in your ears?

    • Do you hear voices upon waking or going to sleep?

    • Do you sometimes hear music playing in your head?

    • Do you wake up in the morning with a song in your head?

    • Have you ever heard anything outside of you, such as whispering, music or voices when there was no-one there?

    • Do you get words popping into your head fully formed which are relevant or solutions to difficulties you’re having?

    Clairsentience

    Clairsentience is intuition in the form of emotional input, physical feelings or gut feelings

    • Do you get tingling sensations on your body for no reason?

    • Do you feel your emotions very deeply?

    • Can you feel the emotions of others?

    • Do you need a lot of time alone to recharge your energetic batteries?

    • Are you sensitive and thin-skinned?

    • Do you have an ‘F’ in your Myers-Briggs type (F for feeling)?

    • Do you know what’s the right path to take according to how it feels to you?

    Claircognizance

    Claircognizance is when intuitive information just pops into your head

    • Are you very analytical and thinking-oriented?

    • Can you be skeptical – does your mind often have the final say in things?

    • Do you get lots of great ideas seemingly out of nowhere?

    • Are you mentally and creatively inspired on a regular basis?

    • Are you good at solving problems and lateral thinking?

    • Are you often making subtle assumptions which turn out to be true?

    • Are you sizing up people and knowing things without being told?

    • Do you know that things are going to happen ahead of time?

    • Do you come across as a know-it-all because you always think of an answer to the difficult questions of life?

    Empathy

    • Do you know how others are feeling without needing to ask?

    • Can you feel tension in the air when there’s been an argument?

    • Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed that there are so many people on Earth who are suffering, and wish you could do something about it?

    • Do you often feel overwhelmed in social interactions because you are so absorbed in observing others’ feelings and experiences?

    • Do you identify deeply with other peoples’ problems and difficulties? (and this sometimes means you over-identify with other people, and sacrifice your own needs in order to help others)

    Dreaming

    • Do you often remember your dreams?

    • Do you wake up from dreams feeling like you learned or ‘realized’ something?

    • Have you ever had a dream where a deceased loved one showed up?

    • Have you ever had a lucid dream or an astral projection experience?

    • Are your dreams rich in interesting symbolism?

    Now add up how many times you said yes to statements in each category. Did you say ‘yes’ to some statements in one or two categories in particular?

    More tips to find out which gifts you have

    1. Experiment. Try exercises to awaken each clair. For starters, I have a few suggestions for what to try in each of my articles about clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience and claircognizance. You may notice that one of the exercises is really easy for you and awakens something in your perception.

    2. Notice where you’re already using your natural gifts. Remember the times when you actually have received some intuitive guidance – how did it come? Was it visual, auditory, emotional or kinesthetic?

    Which are the most common psychic gifts?

    Several years ago, I offered a free mini reading where I’d tell people which intuitive gift they had, out of the four mentioned above. I did between 600 and 700 of these mini readings. I found that claircognizance and clairsentience are really common gifts. The vast majority of people I read for have one of these gifts as either their primary or secondary intuitive gift. These gifts are usually classed as ‘intuition’ and they can be very subtle, which is why they can often go unnoticed. Only a small proportion of people I read for had clairvoyance as their strongest gift.

    If you would like further instruction on developing your intuitive gifts, you may be interested in my Intuitive Awakening Course.

    intuitive awakening

  • How to Connect with Your Higher Self

    How to Connect with Your Higher Self

    Your Higher self is the spirit part of you that is said to ‘reside’ in the Ether (the non-physical realm). It’s your Divine spark. This part of you helps you to keep on track with your life purpose, and in touch with your passion and joy.

    Is my Higher self the same as my Soul?

    Yes. It’s the part of you that has access to all the wisdom amassed over the course of the many lifetimes you’ve lived, past, present and future.

    What does my Higher self do?

    Your Higher self is like a pure background consciousness that offers forth its wisdom and directions about where to go now. Sometimes these directions can take a while to come through into your mind consciousness. However, there are ways to access the wisdom of your Higher self directly by bypassing the mind.

    Your Higher self is not ‘out there’ in the Ether. I want to put forward the idea that your Higher self is you, your consciousness, in your body.

    It’s you who set the course of your life and the things you came here to learn about before you even got here. It’s you who is whispering guidance to yourself about your highest path and purpose. It’s you who set that up as a mechanism by which you could use those as spiritual feedback about where you’re headed in your life.

    Am I ever separate from my Higher self? I don’t feel connected to my Spirit

    You can sometimes be alienated from your Higher self when you have limiting beliefs which block you from the truth of who you are as a spirit.

    Have you ever caught a glimpse of all the possibilities that exist for you? Have you ever had a feeling that you’re here to contribute something unique? Those are background input from your Higher self. We mostly drown out such input with our thoughts and fears, and when we listen to our fear, we feel disconnected from our spirit.

    How can I be more connected to my Higher self?

    Connecting to your Higher self means living your Spirit. It involves three things.

    1. Empowerment – remembering that you are a child of the Universe, with the power to create your world

    You came here to be incarnated in the physical and to keep a connection to your Spirit intact. You want to keep a connection to your Higher self because that’s the part of you which knows where to go, what to take on the journey, and also what to do to get there. Many souls who are incarnated here already do not have that connection anymore. They’ve lost it because they see themselves as separate from God or from the Divine energy that is the Creator of all things. People often treat themselves as if they’re at the mercy of an outside force that controls the course of our lives. This is the ‘normal’ way to be and behave.

    Living your Spirit means remembering that you are God energy or Source energy in a physical body, and you are also the co-creator of your world. The power inside you to create your world is the same power that creates worlds. You can utilize that power to create the world you want.

    2. Intuition – talking to yourself

    You don’t need to contact your Higher self as an entity outside of you – it is you! And you don’t need to get an intuitive reading in order to contact your Higher self (although you can if you’re particularly alienated and don’t know where you’re headed or what you want). The wisdom is inside of you, if you will access it.

    Listen to your desires

    Above all, pay attention to your desires. Your truest, heartfelt desires are feedback from your Higher self about what you want to do now.

    Living from your Higher self means not sacrificing or ignoring those desires. It also means listening to those desires on a daily basis.

    I manage my day by asking myself ‘what do I really want to do now?’

    You might think that asking myself that means that the stuff I don’t want to do never gets done but it’s not the case. I actually regularly become inspired to overcome the challenges and the difficult tasks also, when the time is right, or I bring in someone to help me. I take my desires as feedback about the direction I want to go in. And when I remember to do it, it allows me to live in an inspired way.

    Meditate and quiet your mind

    The quickest way to practise accessing your truest self is meditation. It quietens the mind and the chatter which tells you who you are and what you can and can’t do and be and takes you straight to the quiet and calm which is your Higher self. Start meditating by just focusing on your breath or the tip of your nose. Every time your attention wanders, just bring it back to your breath (or the tip of your nose, depending on what you’re focusing on.)

    Let’s have a look at the third and final step to help you connect with your Higher self:

    3. Healing – letting go of the clutter which stands between you and your truest self

    Most people who need healing don’t necessarily know what they need – they just know that they feel bad. So what can you do if you mostly feel bad? What if you don’t know what to do to heal that? You can just put out the intention to be as aligned as possible with your Higher self. Putting out that intention will put you on a healing journey back towards who you are.

    If you have the energy to be proactive, make it your work to clear away anything which is not aligned with who you really are.

    Here are some articles & resources for healing that you might find helpful:

  • How to Distinguish Intuition From Imagination

    How to Distinguish Intuition From Imagination

    It’d be great if there was an ‘exact science’ formula for knowing what is your intuition and what is your imagination, but I don’t think there is one. However, there are a few factors to keep in mind when trying to distinguish between intuition and other things.

    #1: Practice and Feedback

    Practising intuitives have it easier when it comes to distinguishing between imagination and intuition and this is because they get more feedback than anyone. They get their intuitive insights validated (or not, as the case may be!)

    So, if you want to develop your confidence and clearly know the difference between your intuition and your imagination, do what practising psychics do to gain confidence in their abilities – (1) practice as much as possible and (2) get feedback on your intuitive insights.

    You don’t need to be doing professional readings for others in order to get feedback on your intuitive insights – you just need to apply them in your own life and see the results. For example, if a voice inside impulses you to take some sort of action, notice how that voice sounds, what it feels like, and then see what the results are.

    But, the catch here is that you must practice detachment in seeing the results of applying your intuition.

    What many people do is apply their intuitive insights, and if it doesn’t immediately get proved correct, they get discouraged – try not to approach your intuitive development like that. If the information is not proved correct immediately, don’t worry. Every time you apply your intuitive input and see the results, you get a little bit closer to knowing what your unique intuitive voice sounds like or what your intuitive nudge feels like, so even when you’re wrong, you learn something. But in order to get very far in your intuitive development, you’ve got to be open to being wrong. All developing intuitives get it wrong sometimes.

    If you would like more practice using your intuition, why not sign up for my Intuitive Experiments booklet – this is a fantastic free resource for new intuitives that involves you having a go at ‘reading’ a stranger and then finding out whether you were right or not.

    If you do this, I recommend keeping an intuitive notebook where you note down your insights and whether they were correct or not, and also HOW you received the insights (i.e. through which clair gift?) This way you can notice patterns over time and see the bigger picture around whether you are making progress or not.

    #2: Notice the feeling that accompanies your intuition

    All intuitive information comes with a special energetic ‘signature’ that you can make out after a while. The more you practice receiving intuition, the more you can identify the feeling that comes with real intuition.

    In a reading, when I am getting accurate intuitive information, I know in my gut that it’s real and correct – I can feel it. When I first started out doing readings, when I picked up on really specific things, I’d try and tone down the specific-ness of it, because I was afraid of being wrong. But I had that gut feeling which was telling me it was right on. The energetic signature of the gut feeling was something between excitement and certainty. And through feedback from clients, I came to realize that the gut feeling of certainty/excitement was a sign of accuracy. But if I never got feedback from clients, I still wouldn’t know what that feeling meant.

    The ‘energetic signature’ you perceive when your intuition is accurate may not be the same as mine (and not everyone gets this ‘feeling’), but if you practise receiving and applying intuition, you’ll probably know what I’m referring to. Next time you get intuitive input, go inside and ask yourself ‘how does this feel to me?’

    In addition to getting feelings in my gut, I also get feedback on the accuracy of my intuition through my emotions. If I get some information, but it ‘feels’ wrong or off to me, (and it’s not a good feeling), then I know it’s not on the right track. When I’m passing on information that I know is accurate, then I feel good and I feel uplifted. If any information is not accurate, it feels discordant in me just before I open my mouth to say it.

    Like me, you may get gut feelings as part of your intuition, or you may not. It all depends on whether clairsentience is one of your intuitive gifts.

    #3: Imagination is active, Intuition is passive

    Another key difference between imagination and intuition is that imagination is an active process and intuition is a passive process.

    When you’re imagining something, the imagination is exerting itself actively. Whereas intuition is what you get when you clear the mind, through meditation, and you make yourself a conduit. You become passive. So if you’re afraid that your imagination is feeding you input when you want your intuition to have more of a say, work on getting your mind under control.

    When you get a flash of something – and you’re not sure whether it’s your intuition or your mind being overly active, just stop and quieten your mind. You can do this by focusing on your breath for a minute or two and by just not paying any attention to the thoughts which arise – focus on your breath above all. This really helps to put your mind out of action for a minute while you hear what your intuition has to say about it. Intuition often arises in the gaps between your conscious thoughts, so if your mind is very busy you may need to create more gaps in order to hear your true intuitive voice.

    When it’s probably not your intuition:

    • The voice that’s talking to you makes you feel bad, discourages or belittles you
    • When the voice tells you something that sounds contradictory or confusing. Intuitive information should be concise, clear and should slot into your mental frame of reference
    • When the voice tells you to obey it. Intuition is without an agenda. Your higher self and guides will offer their perspective but you’re not required to live your life by that perspective or take into account the input, as you have free will. (Note: this may not apply if you are in danger of losing your life.)

    And if in doubt, don’t worry – a true and relevant intuitive message will usually repeat itself if you don’t get it the first time.

  • How to Develop Claircognizance

    How to Develop Claircognizance

    In this article, I’m going to explain a bit about claircognizance and how to develop it. Claircognizance is one of the four main intuitive gifts. I decided to write an article about this because I find that so many of my clients are gifted claircognizants, but few of them are even aware of this ability they have.

    What is Claircognizance?

    Claircognizance means ‘clear-knowing’. Claircognizants ‘know’ certain things without being told. For claircognizants, their higher self or Spirit Guides put information (in the form of thought) into their mind. This can be a whole load of information that is ‘downloaded’ into the mind. It can be smaller insights about people and situations here and there, or it can be an inspired idea. All claircognizance is characterized by this strong sense of knowing that goes beyond logic and by the fact that the intuitive information comes into the thinking mind, not into the heart or the mind’s eye.

    Who is Claircognizant?

    Claircognizants tend to be very mentally-oriented people. They are often analytical and are good at understanding abstract concepts and solving problems.

    As children, they seem to know too much and have an answer for everything. They were probably labeled ‘know-it-alls’ growing up.

    I find that around 50% of the people I read for are primarily claircognizant. Claircognizance is very common but not as well known as clairvoyance or clairaudience. Few people have heard of claircognizance. Most people think of visions and clairvoyance when they hear the word ‘psychic’. Many expect their intuition to be a voice from heaven or an amazing premonition. Some psychics can see dead people and hear voices, but many gifted psychics receive information through less ‘dramatic’ channels like claircognizance. However, if you’re expecting visions and fireworks and voices, you may miss your claircognizance.

    Claircognizance is no less powerful for being subtle. Anyone who had channelled information in written form (this is called ‘automatic writing’) is utilizing their claircognizance.

    Some Examples of Claircognizance:

    • You have a sense of inner knowing that it would not be a good idea to accept the job you’ve just been offered, despite the fact that it seems perfect
    • You have a certainty that someone is lying about something, despite evidence to the contrary
    • You receive information about future outcomes
    • You get a truly inspired idea.

    A Common Question that People Ask about Claircognizance:

    If claircognizance comes in the form of thought, how can you tell the difference between claircognizance and your own thoughts?

    Here is a key difference between thoughts and claircognizant input:

    When you’re thinking, your conscious mind is in control. When you receive claircognizant information, your conscious mind is only observing the information that is coming in and sometimes trying to interpret it — it is not generating the information. The claircognizant information just comes from nowhere, and it often has nothing to do with what you were thinking about.

    Another difference — thoughts are usually ego-based and want to protect you from failure, embarrassment or disappointment. Claircognizance transcends those fears and comes from a place of wisdom. Claircognizance may only make sense in hindsight. Your thoughts won’t usually require you to take a leap of faith, whereas claircognizance might.

    How to Develop your Claircognizance

    • Automatic writing is suitable for receiving claircognizant information, as it often comes through in big chunks. Open a word document or get a piece of paper and a pen and ask your higher self a question. Write down whatever comes into your mind in response — it doesn’t matter if it sounds like a load of nonsense at first, no-one will read it but you. Make sure the conscious mind is only a spectator in this exercise — don’t allow your mind to think about the information you’re getting. The first time I did this, I got a page of nonsense from my subconscious mind. When I persisted with it, I began to channel some insights which surprised me in their clarity and wisdom.
    • Just setting the intention for your claircognizance to develop will start the process! Write your intention down as this will make it more powerful.
    • Make time for intuitive guidance: if you don’t already meditate, start a meditation practice, as just five minutes a day will help you to tune in more to your intuition. Meditation helps to quieten your mind and Divine guidance can come through a quiet mind more easily than a distracted one. Claircognizant information often comes through to me when I’m meditating. When I’m meditating, I imagine my crown chakra (the chakra on the top of my head) opening up and I often receive spontaneous intuitive insights upon doing that. When you’re in a relaxed state and ready to receive intuitive guidance, if none is forthcoming, start the process by asking a question of your higher self and see what comes into your mind.

    Often your claircognizance is already operating and waiting to be recognized as guidance. Become more aware of your thoughts. In particular, be very aware of the thoughts you are having when you meet someone new or when you’re being told about a situation that you know little about. See what you glean about the person/situation between the lines and if you can, get it validated.

    Further Reading:

  • How To Develop Clairaudience

    How To Develop Clairaudience

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    Clairaudience means ‘clear-hearing’. It is the ability to ‘hear’ Spirit.

    Clairaudience is that little voice inside you that issues warnings or gives guidance. It tends to speak to you when you are in danger or when you have an important decision to make that will impact on your life. If you don’t have clairaudience as one of your psychic gifts, it can be developed. In this article, I give you a couple of exercises for developing it.

    If clairaudience is one of your natural intuitive gifts, your higher self and Spirit Guides will use mostly clairaudient means to communicate with you, including sounds, words and songs you’re familiar with. These can be internal or they can be outside of you. You may also hear voices in your dreams or upon waking.

    Who is Clairaudient?

    Clairaudients tend to hear more than most people. People who are bothered by noise pollution are naturally predisposed towards clairaudience because of their heightened sensitivity.

    Clairaudients often hear ringing in their ears — some clairaudients interpret this as a sign to pay attention and consciously tune in to their intuition.

    Musicians are often clairaudient. There are many accounts of composers who have heard or dreamt of a melody playing internally inside their minds, before they put it down on paper. (Famously, Paul McCartney is someone who has written a lot of his songs based on a melody or lyrics that he heard upon waking.) 

    The first step to developing your clairaudience is to really fine-tune your sense of hearing. Here’s an exercise to help you do this:

    Unpicking the Orchestra

    Listen carefully to all the sounds you hear around you while you’re lying in bed at night — the sounds of cars passing, the sounds of birds or animals, of planes, of people talking or the sounds of music. We normally tune out these noises so that we can concentrate or sleep. But when you tune out noise, you dull your perception and you become less sensitive to your inner voice.

    When you begin to listen consciously to the noise that you normally tune out, you will hear an ‘orchestra’ of sounds. Your objective with this exercise is to notice each and every one of these sounds that make up this ‘orchestra’. Take it apart. Count how many sounds you can hear and make a note of what they are. Some may be really subtle and barely noticeable. The goal here is really to heighten your auditory perception.

    Do this every night for a week before you go to sleep and you will be amazed at how much you were not hearing before. This will begin to activate your clairaudience.

    Clairaudient Listening

    You can also actively listen for clairaudient guidance.

    Visualize turning on a radio and tuning into the ‘channel’ of your intuition or your Spirit Guides. Imagine them sitting around a table, ready to communicate with you. Then, start asking questions.

    See if you can ‘hear’ or perceive any words — it could be a clear voice that is easy to discern or you may have to really focus and go inside yourself to hear it clearly. If you don’t hear anything at all, don’t give up on your first attempt. For most people it takes practice and persistence to get into the habit of listening to your intuition.

    Further Tips

    • Set the intention to utilize your clairaudience. Write it down somewhere as this reinforces it.
    • Don’t block your clairaudience through fear of hearing something negative/frightening. If you’re afraid of hearing spirit for fear of being spooked, intend only to hear your Spirit Guides and higher self, who have your best intentions at heart and who would never knowingly scare you.
    • Listen to binaural beats to develop your clairaudience further.
    • Meditate. Intuitive guidance often comes through the gaps between our thoughts. Meditation quietens the mind and creates more gaps in our thoughts so our intuitive guidance can more easily be heard during meditation. (If you want to read more about why quietening the mind is so essential to psychic development, you might like to read this article: ‘The Alpha State – Why Is It Essential to Psychic Development?’)
    • Use affirmations to develop clairaudience, such as “It is safe to hear my inner voice” or “I am powerfully clairaudient”.

    Further Reading:

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