Teen Psychic

My parents gave me this name, August, because I was born in that month. I’ve come to like my name. My parents are loving, kind, hardworking parents, and all through my teen years (I’m twenty-one now) we got along. While most of my friends were fighting with their parents, I was enjoying my parents’ company.

My mother is an award-winning artist and she has dreams for me to be an artist as well. In my sophomore year of high school, she set up an art studio in the small northeastern town we live in. That year, I began to teach art to young children. In my senior year my mother told me that she was going to give me the studio. By then I was very busy teaching classes after school and working hard at finishing up high school myself, and I wasn’t sure how I would be able to help run the studio with so much going on. What I was doing was very exciting to me, and I also knew how much it meant to my mother to be able to give me the studio. It was at this time that I began getting these funny sensations in my gut, and at times would have anxiety attacks. By the end of my senior year I was diagnosed with uterine ulcers.

The first four years of the art school were a success, although very stressful for both my mother and me. After graduating I had to get another job because the costs of running the school were very high. I began to work at a local preschool, teaching art and crafts. I was also taking a college course over the Internet. Even though I appeared happy and successful, I continued to have anxiety and my ulcers were getting much worse.

I kept having the feeling that something wasn’t right. But what could possibly be wrong? It had to be me. I thought, something is wrong with me. Soon my parents helped me buy a house with a cousin of mine, and by the age of eighteen I was running a business, working two jobs, taking an Internet class, and making payments on a house and a car. I still didn’t feel happy. I had been thrown into my adult life and I just didn’t feel ready for all that was happening. I was getting sicker and sicker.

I went to several doctors and all they could do was tell me to cut down on stress and give me medication for my ulcers and anxiety. It was even suggested that I have my uterus removed. Finally, one of my mother’s friends suggested I go to an intuitive healer. I thought it sounded a little strange but it felt right and I was real curious. I really wanted to feel better.

I was nineteen when I went to Julie. First she sat with me for a while and let me know she was going to listen to her wisdom body and connect with mine. She looked as if she was meditating and then began to speak to me: “Your body has a wisdom of its own and is trying to tell you something. Something in your life is giving you a bellyache. Something in your life is giving you these ulcers and anxiety. Listen to these symptoms—they are messengers.”

She asked me if I knew what the message was that my body was trying to send me. I wasn’t sure. I knew she was right—that something was trying to get my attention. It was more than stress. Then Julie asked if she could do some healing work with me. She explained that this meant she would be placing her hands gently on my belly and asking me some questions. I agreed. While I was lying down she placed her hands gently on my belly. As she touched me I could feel the heat of her hands through my clothes. Then she asked me to listen to my belly—she kept telling me to “breathe and listen; breathe and listen.”

It seemed that everything but her hands and my breath and belly disappeared. She had me breathing and listening for at least fifteen minutes, when something in me just seemed to break open. It’s as if I could feel a great door opening inside of me and I began to cry. I’m not sure how long I cried, but when I was done, I felt exhausted and relieved. Her hands were still on my belly, and when I looked up I could see she was smiling right into my soul. And then she asked me, “What did your belly tell you?” And even though it was very scary to say this out loud, it was the truth—I told Julie that my belly told me to stop living my mother’s dream and go live my own.

I met with Julie several times as I gradually gave up my mother’s dream and started living my own. The most difficult part was feeling like I was disappointing my mother. I so wanted to please her. That was part of my bellyache and anxiety too—I always want to please others, at the expense of my own wellbeing. And, Julie explained, intuitively I knew what others wanted. Fortunately, my mother got through her disappointment and supported my decision to go away to art college. I knew if I waited too long, I would never go. Perhaps I will come back some day and run a school—but that is a long way off.

I no longer have ulcers and the anxiety is almost entirely gone. It comes up when I feel I have to make sure that I am making others happy. I am still working on not being a fulltime pleaser! And I am practicing not automatically doing what I intuitively know others want from me. (Julie explains that even though we know what others want, this doesn’t mean they can have it!) I take the time to consider what I want and check things out with others before assuming what they expect of me. I am now attending art college in another state. I work a few hours a week teaching art to kids but most of my time goes to schoolwork. I use the material in this book to build my intuitive and creative skills and I know it has helped my art.

I recently painted a self-portrait for a class. It is an image of me, walking through a large doorway toward a mirror.

DESIRE FOR LIGHT

A Mackenzie Delta Eskimo story from Northern Tales, selected by Howard Norman

There was once a small boy whose father was dead and only his mother was left to look after him. The other people in the place constantly ill-treated him and made his childhood miserable. Years rolled by, and he grew older and stronger. One winter the people in the village built a large dance-house where they used to gather every evening. The boy spent nearly all his time in the open air; even while the others stayed in the dance house, he would often be wandering about outside.

One evening when he was gazing around outside as usual, he saw a bright light, so he started out and walked for a very long time till at last he reached a big dance-house. He was gazing in through the window, but someone inside called out, “What are you standing out there for? Come inside.” So inside he went. Men were sitting all around on three sides of the room, and the boy took his place on the fourth side near the door. Time after time the men asked him whether he were not a shaman, and each time he would answer, “No I am not a shaman.”

Finally, a man sitting opposite him on the platform said, “No, you are not a shaman; you are only a poor orphan boy, whom everyone ill-treats. I know all about you and I should like to help you.” Then, getting down from the platform, he turned to another man and said, “Bring me my seal spear and my ice-scratcher.” The man went out and brought them in. The shaman said, “My spirit, help me. Make ice appear in the floor.” A moment later a tiny circle of ice appeared in the middle of the floor, and gradually widened until it covered the whole space. A seal-hole opened up in the middle, and a seal emerged and crawled out onto the edge of the ice. The shaman crept up and speared it, cut it up, and distributed it among all the people in the dance-house except the boy. Then the ice disappeared and the floor came back.

The shaman asked the boy if he wished to see more, but the boy was too frightened to answer. “You are a poor boy,” the shaman continued, “and I should like to help you. Soon it will be light and then it will be too late. Shall I do some more?” In a voice barely audible the boy managed to whisper, “Yes.” The shaman immediately called out, “My spirit, help me.” The floor became covered with young ice pierced with a row of holes through which a fishing net was set. The shaman drew it in—it was full of whitefish, which he laid out on the ice to freeze, then divided up among the people on the platform as before. Once again the ice vanished and the house resumed its usual appearance. Again the shaman called out, “My spirit, help me.” This time a moor appeared, and a ring of nooses into which caribou were driven and caught; these too the shaman divided up among the people.

Before daylight the boy was sent home. A short time afterwards when all the people of his village were gathered in the dance-house one evening, someone said to him, “You play us something, too.” Then the boy thought to himself, “Why did everyone over there ask me if I were a shaman? I am not a shaman, but if they are going to call me a shaman, I may as well act like one.” So he sat down in the middle of the floor and called, “My spirit, help me.” Everyone remained silent, watching to see what would happen. Presently the floor turned into ice and a seal appeared, which he speared, cut up, and distributed among the people for them to eat. Afterwards, all the people of his village were afraid of him. He was a great shaman.

CALLING TO SPIRIT FOR HELP: CLAIMING YOUR BIRTHRIGHT

Both the above stories are about young adults claiming their intuitive powers—their birthright. Like the young people in the stories, you too have a right to follow and express your intuition. The practice of claiming our intuition is really about tapping into our inner wisdom—claiming our life fully, all of who we are. To whatever degree you are intuitive, claiming it fully will only enhance your life. Once we can listen to the truth of our wisdom-bodies, our intuition, life becomes a wonderful adventure of the soul. This chapter will help you begin to claim what has always been yours to claim.

“We Sioux believe that there is something within us that controls us, something like a second person almost. We call it nagi, what other people might call soul, spirit, or essence. One can’t see it, touch it or taste it.”

—LAME DEER, FROM LAME DEER: SEEKER OF VISIONS

To use our powers we must first become aware of and open to them. My life changed when I learned how to listen to my intuitive self—the nagi, the spirit inside me. Once I started listening to that spirit and trusting it, my life opened up. And yours will too. When August began to listen to her wisdom-body, she started living her own dream. When the Eskimo boy dared to claim his powers as a shaman, he was able to feed his village and gain respect. Many stories in this book will introduce you to young people who discovered what was possible for them when they listened to that inner voice.

“Everything that is alive pulsates with energy and all of this energy contains information.”

—CAROLINE MYSS, MEDICAL INTUITIVE, AUTHOR OF ANATOMY OF THE SPIRIT

The stories also warn us that not living by our inner knowing will bring unnecessary suffering and confusion. What do you think would have happened to August had she not listened to her body’s wisdom? What do you think the future would have looked like for the boy if he had not brought out what was inside of him? Lies exhaust us. Have you noticed how it takes more energy to live a lie than it does to live our truth? Have you ever kept a secret and noticed how much you wanted to express it to someone? To keep a secret takes energy. To keep your intuition down takes energy too. To fight who you truly are—to not live your own dream—means to have your body ache for you to live your own life. Are you living a parent’s dream for you, rather than your own?

It may be difficult, even painful for a while, to live your truth. August was worried and sad for her mother; I began to miss my sister whom I never knew. But living our truth doesn’t drain our energy, or cause ulcers. This journey you are beginning is really about bringing forth what you already have inside of you. This is what Jesus surely meant when he spoke these words from the Gospel according to Thomas: “If you bring forth what is inside of you, what is inside of you will save you; if you do not bring forth what is inside of you, what is inside of you will destroy you.”

Your inner wisdom can show you things in yourself that you would never have guessed were there. In this book I will teach you what my spiritual teachers taught me—to claim and use your inner wisdom so your life becomes aligned with who you are.

“We can view our bodies as manifestations of spiritual energy.”

—CHRISTIANE NORTHRUP, M.D., AUTHOR OF WOMEN’S BODIES, WOMEN’S WISDOM

“Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamed I would do something important in aviation.”

—NEIL ARMSTRONG, AMERICAN ASTRONAUT

THE ENERGY BODY: LISTENING TO YOUR NAGI

The healers of ancient cultures taught their people that everything has a vital energy, including our bodies. In Hindu culture this energy is called prana; in Chinese it is referred to as qi and in Japanese ki. The Kabbalists (Jewish mystics) speak of it as “astral light,” while in Tibetan culture this vital energy is called vayu. Australian Aborigines refer to our “dreaming bodies,” and as mentioned earlier in this chapter the Sioux call it nagi. In our own culture we commonly refer to this energy as our “essence” or our “energy body.” All these terms are referring to the same entity: our intuition—the invisible, nonphysical energy we all have inside of us, our inner wisdom. You may have experienced it as a sensitivity, a gut feeling, a hunch, a knowing, an instinct, a vibration, a perception, an altered state, a premonition, an awareness. These are all ways that this energy speaks to us. That gut feeling comes from the nagi within you—the spirit that is you.

Every living thing is made of energy. This means that everything can be understood energetically (intuitively). Even our thoughts have energy. You have probably heard that what is first created in thought is later manifested in life. That is the basis for the common expression “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” (Read more about this in chapter 6: Anything Is Possible.) When you can understand and connect with this energy and trust your intuition, it will lead you to where you need to go—whether that means finding a half sister, going off to college, or discovering that you, too, are a shaman.

“Don’t be satisfied with these stories, how things have gone for others. Unfold your own myth, without complicated explanation, so everyone will understand the passage, ‘We have opened you.’”

—RUMI, SUFI POET

“It takes more energy to walk in a lie than in our truth.”

—COLLEEN BRENZY, INTUITIVE HEALER, PHILOSOPHERD

The Language of Energy

Learning the language of energy is learning the language of the soul. As we learn to “read” energy, we come to experience the truth about ourselves and the world around us, because energy always speaks the truth.

Our inner wisdom is always, always trying to reach us. When we don’t listen to it, it goes “underground”—into our bodies and our subconscious mind. It hides in our dreams and in our thoughts. When it goes underground, it can cause us emotional pain or even physical illness. In August’s case her intuition went underground into her uterus, and that was how it finally got her attention. We could say that her uterus carried her truth. In my story, my subconscious mind carried my knowing—it constantly nudged me until I spoke up. I also had dreams that spoke my truth to me. And I had underground truths in my body as well. Until the age of twenty-seven I suffered from a spastic colon. Once I began trusting and practicing my intuitive skills and living my truth, the spasms went away and never returned.

Any of the following symptoms can be messages that our truth is going underground:

headache
fatigue
anxiety
depression
eating disorder
ulcers
chronic pain
addiction
body aches and pains

A lack of connection with your intuition may not be the only cause of such ailments, and it may be wise to discuss them with a medical professional. However, I can promise you that connecting with your intuition and your wisdom-body will help heal them.

“Regardless of where the initiation into human mysteries takes place, it always feels like more than you can handle. Even though you are right here with everyone and everything else, it is as if you were walking upon another planet, and you are afraid even to trust your own body.”

—ARNOLD MINDELL, PSYCHOLOGIST, AUTHOR OF THE SHAMAN’S BODY

“In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is truly a revolutionary act.”

—GEORGE ORWELL, ENGLISH NOVELIST AND SOCIAL CRITIC

If you have recurring problems with any of the above conditions, you may want to begin right now, in this moment, to communicate with your body. When we are in pain we typically tighten around the sore spot and hold our breath, resulting in more stress and pain in that area and throughout the body. You can soften the area around it by “breathing” into it. When we imagine breathing into that area, it loosens up the tension and gives the wound space to heal.

Touch the part of your body that hurts and tell it, “I am listening.” Breathe into that part of you that hurts. Tell this hurting part of you that you will be taking better care of it. And breathe . . . breathe into the part that hurts, and let it know that you are here, listening.

“Altered states of consciousness are a very natural and normal part of everyday life. When entered with intention, they allow access to information not usually available in normal states of consciousness.”

—ALAN SEALE, INTERFAITH MINISTER, AUTHOR OF INTUITIVE LIVING

“Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch. Nay, you may kick it about all day, and it will be round and full at evening.”

—OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, PHYSICIAN, POET, AND HUMORIST

The Truth Will Set You Free

Your body and your soul are always trying to find a way to express the truth. In fact, the soul uses the body to communicate with you. Can you imagine how sick a dog would get if it tried to be a cat? That may sound like an extreme example, but it’s no different from a person trying to live a life that is not based on his or her true nature. Each of us contains our truths—contains all the possibility of who we are and what we can become. The truth in you will fight for expression. So you need to learn to read the language of the soul. You need to become skillful at listening to your own energy and to your own body’s language.

My mother wanted me to be a dancer. So I took a few dance classes in college. And I do love to dance. But I was born to do other things. I was born to heal, and to teach and to write. When I started honoring all these truths about me, I became free. Free to heal. Free to teach. Free to write. August is now free to paint and to teach. Who knows what else will open up for her as she continues to listen to the language of her energy body?

How is your body feeling as you read these words? What truth is your body trying to tell you?

GETTING IN TOUCH WITH YOUR ENERGY BODY

Make a Friendship Pact With Your Body

Talk to your body. Consider what it needs and wants. Be kind and caring toward this container of your soul. Keep it safe. Treat your body as you would a best friend. Ground yourself every day (see page 37). This simple technique will bring your awareness into your body.

Journal Your Impressions and Responses

Respond in your journal to the suggestions and questions in this book. Jasmine’s journal entries about listening to her energy body brought an important issue into focus for her.

“It was through my journaling that I began to get a true grip on what was really wrong. I noticed that I would have headaches only on the days I returned to my family’s farm. I was scared at first to write down my dreams that I had of killing my parents but realized just how angry I was at them and how I had to do something to heal from this. Ignoring it was only making me feel worse. Once I started to listen to my anger and work on this, my relationships got better and the headaches came less often.”

—JASMINE, AGE 19

Consider keeping two notebooks. I suggest having one large one at home, where you can draw and write responses to the questions in this book. Use this home journal to explore the feelings, beliefs, and experiences that arise as you interact with this new material. You may also want to journal any past dreams or experiences you consider intuitive.

”Of all the disciplines of magic, the art of moving energy is the simplest and most natural. It comes as easily as breathing, as making sound. Picture the power in motion, and it moves. Feel it flowing, and it flows, cleansing, healing, renewing, and revitalizing as it passes.”

—STARHAWK, RITUAL GUIDE, AUTHOR OF THE SPIRAL DANCE

The second journal would be a pocket journal to begin recording your intuitive experiences during the day. Take this journal everywhere with you.

Possible entries for your pocket journal:

Coincidences and synchronicities
Feelings that seem to be connected to the wisdom-body (anxiety, for example)
Gut feelings
Intuitive sensations (a feeling about something)
Hunches
Experiences of déjà vu (a sense that you have had this exact same experience before)
Times when you feel sensitive
Questions that keep coming up in your mind
Times when you know what others are feeling
Recurring thoughts (i.e., “This person really likes me.” “Beware of that person.”)
Any thoughts, feelings, and experiences that you think may be intuitive

Remember to let this be fun. Write anything and everything you feel relates to your intuition. Simply bringing this awareness to your intuition will develop it.

“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.”

—ALDOUS HUXLEY, AUTHOR, PHILOSOPHER

”The insights that arise in the wisdom mind are often experienced as sudden, wordless understandings of how things are.”

—STEPHEN LEVINE, MEDITATION TEACHER, AUTHOR OF A GRADUAL AWAKENING

Relate to Yourself as an Energy Body

Begin to notice and pay attention to energy. How does it feel to be with a certain person? Notice when you have intuitive feelings such as hunches, gut feelings, a repetitive thought. Notice your choices of friends and TV shows. What energy would you say these friends and shows give off?

Practice simply noticing body sensations, without judging them right or wrong. This awareness is a foundation to intuitive development. Simply by bringing attention to how your body feels, you will dip into a well of information. You will learn more about the energy body in the next chapter.

Set an Intention

Make a commitment to yourself to be open to your intuition and open to your energy body. Give your soul the message that you value your intuitive and spiritual self.

What is this precious love and laughter
Budding in our hearts?
It is the glorious sound
Of a soul waking up!

—HAFIZ, SUFI MASTER, FROM THE GIFT

“Una Ko la ti   e la wo quu
I go gwo du u hi   do ti gwa la sgu
Gu wa du hnu hu hi   i gu gwo du u hi
I am beautiful!
Like the yellow Rainbow,
From my feet up,
I am beautiful.”

—CHEROKEE SONG FROM
THE PATH TO SNOWBIRD MOUNTAIN