Connect
“At any moment, you have a choice that either leads you
closer to your spirit or further away from it.”
—thich nhat hanh
Connecting to the wild wisdom within is so vitally important; without this connection, we feel lost, broken, unsure, unsteady, or afraid. With a deep connection to love, we feel a kindred communion with ourselves and Spirit, we are informed and guided from the highest possible source, and we come back home to ourselves. Let’s look at ways to connect to self first, then we’ll get to know what connecting with Spirit looks like.
Connect to Your Inimitable Self
Along my journey into self-awareness, I’ve consciously deepened my connection both to myself and to Spirit. Both matter. Connecting to the universe within will teach you about the universe all around you, while discovering more about the cosmic universe around you will mirror and inform what’s on the inside, too.
The Wonder of You
When you’ve cultivated a sacred practice of deepening your breath and surrendering what no longer aligns, you’ve created a portal to connect to the one thing that will nourish and guide you from a place of unfailing love … your inner spirit.
As you connect deeply with yourself through curiosity, compassion, acceptance, and love, you’ll create an unshakable foundation for an empowered life. It’s both rock-hard and yet completely malleable, giving you a feeling of security from deep within that is still continuously able to bend and flow with life. This connection is formed with self-inquiry, held together with formidable self-belief, and, through devotion to mindfulness and conscious living, can withstand any storm. Nothing can shake you, and no one can blow you over when you’ve developed and strengthened this connection to yourself.
It’s time to listen to your heart, lovingly face your fears and shadows, embrace your sensitivities, deepen your roots, and open yourself up to the wonder of all that you are. Let’s connect.
Deepen Your Connection
Here are three simple meditations to connect you specifically to each of your wisdom guides. I’ve created these to be as effortless as possible so that you’re able to connect to them at any time and place and add your own flavor to each. As best you can, find a place where you won’t be disturbed, and have your notebook close by.
• Ritual •
The meditation that follows was created to deepen your connection to insights from your Highest Self and the divine wisdom within and around you. Insights can be difficult to welcome when you’re lying down (the neocortex gets sleepy in this position), so I encourage you to find a comfortable way to stand up for this meditation, such as while walking in nature. Standing up awakens your brain and body, creating a flow of wisdom through you. You can receive insights with your eyes open, but if you’re finding it difficult, try resting up against a tree with your eyes closed. Start by reciting this affirmation: I am always connected to my spirit, and I easily receive insights when I need them or when they desire to find me.
Now, imagine the tip of your energy field—slightly above the top of your head—slowly opening like a flower, petal by petal. Imagine the color of the flower, any color that comes to mind, then the shape of the petals, and the way they gracefully unfold. Visualize rainbow light pouring in through the center of your flower, the crown of your head. Feel this light move all the way through you and pour out of your feet into the ground beneath you. Focus on being receptive to the intelligent, creative, and mystical guidance of Spirit moving through you.
Ask your Highest Self to be present in your field of energy and open to any insights from here. Take your time with this connection. Trust that this is coming from the highest expression of your Soul. Next, ask Spirit a specific question and then remain silent and patient while the answer comes to you. You may see a being of light, hear words or a voice, notice signs or symbols, recognize an idea or a solution to a problem, or sense the message in another way that is unique and perfect for you. If you don’t receive a response immediately, trust that the answer will unfold in your life soon.
Breathe deeply. Surrender the doubt. Connect to love. Allow insight to come to you. Take your time with this meditation; it will get easier the more you practice it.
You’ll know when you have received an insight by the uplifting effect it has on your body and because it will be new information or known information put together in a new way. Allow your mind to creatively receive what you need to know.
When you feel you are done, give thanks for all you’ve received and write down your insights in your notebook. It may not make sense straight away; just note down what you experienced in faith that, eventually, it will.
• Ritual •
This wholehearted meditation was designed to help you receive loving guidance from your intuition as you connect to your heartspace. It’s best to practice this ritual in a seated position, as this is the easiest way for your body to access intuitive guidance. When you are seated or kneeling, you activate the limbic brain. You can access your intuition in any state, but to give this meditation the best chance of flowing, it’s best to avoid lying completely flat or standing. Start by reciting this affirmation: I am always connected to my wise heart and open to unlimited intuitive feedback for my highest good.
Place your hands gently on your heartspace. Breathe deeply, allowing your belly and chest to fill completely before exhaling gently, slowly, from your mouth. Soften your heart and give thanks for the life it gives you. Be completely present in the moment and connected to what your heart wants to share with you. Allow it to come in any way that is right for you, be it as a feeling, an emotion, a song, a vibration, an energy, a vision, or a loving release.
Your heart may want to guide you intuitively in a specific area or situation of concern, or it may want to connect you to a higher state of peace and bliss. It may want you to feel the inner warmth of self-love and compassion, or it may show you how brilliant and creative you are. Stay open to the process as it will be unique for you and may change each time.
Breathe deeply. Allow intuition to flow through and all around you. Expect the unexpected. Ask questions. Take your time. You are intuitive, you are connected, and you are eternally wise. Slowly open your eyes when you are complete.
Give thanks to your immensely wise heart for all you’ve received and write down your intuitive messages in your notebook.
• Ritual •
This meditation was designed to ground you and help you feel safe. As you’re accessing your ancient instinct and unconscious information, lying down is the perfect pose to activate and heal your reptilian brain and the guidance within. Start by saying this affirmation: I am always safe, loved, and protected. The universe has a sacred place for me. I welcome instinctive feedback from my happy, healthy belly. All is well.
Lie down somewhere comfortable. Soften your belly as it expands with the in breath, and allow your whole body to soften with the out breath as you relax every bone, every organ, every muscle, every cell, and every thought. Trust that you are held wholly by Mother Earth. Breathe deeply as you ground your energy, melding your vibration with nature’s energy from above and below.
Place both hands on your belly, fill it with love, and surrender any fears that you feel arise. Keep breathing. Trust that you are safe. Relax the muscles on your face. Allow your instinct to open up to you with every breath. Ask your instinct questions if you desire. You may receive images of people, places, or situations that you need space from, or you may simply feel a release and healing.
Send your instinct love and healing. Envisage a vibrant and soothing soft red light around your belly, healing your connection to the earth, to ancestors, to your family, and to your childhood. Visualize yourself feeling safe and secure wherever you go. If anything feels uncomfortable, let Great Spirit heal and transmute it into love instantly.
Take your time with this meditation; enjoy the feeling of security and deep love. Give thanks to your instinct for all you’ve received and write down your thoughts in your notebook. Rest for as long as you need to.
Love Is the Energy of Connection
You are love. Your spirit is love in motion. Let love in. Let love out. Open your heart to experience love’s healing powers. And when you do, love will quench the deep thirst of your entire being.
Anytime you desire to experience the sacred and wild energy of love within you, close your eyes and connect to yourself on a Soul level where pure love is always present––your Soul has no fear.
Divine love is the strongest force that you could ever experience. It is magnificent, undiluted, healing, spirited, always available, and infinitely enduring. It goes beyond words; it’s the deepest feeling and guidance of all. When you let love become your superpower, you open yourself up to a miraculous life. When you open the floodgates to love, you gently, compassionately, and powerfully transmute everything based in fear into love. The ego becomes your ally. Your thoughts are powerfully positive. Your emotions are free to move because all is welcome inside love.
When you connect to the vibration of love, you’re connecting to the intelligence of consciousness and to your own ancient knowing. Love is what made the universe and what keeps it spinning. Love is the voice of Great Spirit and all Spirits of the higher dimensions who guide you. Love is the glue that holds all the goodness together. And love is the voice of your Soul, your inner knowing, your Highest Self.
When you realize that you are love and that your intuition is simply the loving and gentle feeling nudging you toward your greatness, you’ll realize, too, that you’ve heard this voice before. This isn’t new. What’s new is that you’re now open and ready to hear and honor it in a whole new way.
Love is quiet and heartfelt. It’s the underlying strength throughout your life, whispering words of devotion, like these:
• You’re okay.
• You’ve got this.
• You can do anything.
• You are so kind.
• You are making a difference.
• You are healing.
• Take as much time as you need.
Fear is all around, too. If you buy into fear, that gives the ego permission to keep you stuck—never changing, never growing, never evolving. The ego is wired by fear, fueled by separation, drunk on unworthy thoughts, and not fit to rule your life.
The ego will beg you to play small, shame you into feeling bad, and plunge you into guilt for what’s gone “wrong” in your life. The ego will try to sound clever and will no doubt try these on:
• That’s not going to work because in the past you messed it up.
• Don’t even try because everyone else is better than you.
• You haven’t got the confidence/talents/qualifications to pull that off.
• It’s much easier to stay small because you’ll fail anyway.
• You’re not worthy of that kind of success.
• Changing your life will mess everything up.
• Self-awareness is too hard; we don’t need to know what we don’t already know.
As you become more conscious of and caring for your thoughts, they will naturally soften, and you’ll begin to identify with the quiet voice of your heart. If you’re not sure where the voice that you hear is coming from, check in to see if it is coming from love or fear by how it feels in your body.
Every thought has a unique vibration. This energy will affect your whole being. When you think a loving thought or create a love-based emotion, you’ll feel sweet and light all over. Notice this feeling. Connect to it deeply.
When you think a fearful thought or create a fear-based emotion, you’ll feel uncomfortable, restrictive, or heavy. Whenever you have this reaction, check in to see where your thoughts were headed. Was the ego trying on a lie? Were you repeating someone else’s idea as your own? Notice this feeling. It’s not your truth. Let it wash away with a deep breath.
When your inner compass points to love, the lens with which you see the world will change. You’ll find peace in the raw truth of who you are. You’ll experience the joy of transformation. You’ll feel responsibility without guilt, anger without shame, frustration without attachment, and sadness without misery. You’ll feel empowered to do something about your situation, the people around you, and the world as a whole. You’ll see that your truth is as perfectly formed, fluid, and valuable as anyone else’s. You’ll see miracles on every street corner, in the hearts of the people you meet, and in acts of kindness. You’ll notice that nothing is a coincidence. You’ll see how breathtaking it is to be alive.
Connecting with the world through love is neither ignorant nor naïve. It’s smart. It’s intuitive. It’s how we were designed. It’s the only way I know to be happy, content, and free.
As you develop your self-awareness, you’ll become so self-loving, self-compassionate, self-motivated, and self-made that you’ll be a beacon for others. People will want to be with you, ideas will flow through you, guidance will be easily available, and alignment will always be in reach.
Connect only to love.
• Practice •
If your ego has been running the show lately, it might feel like a big leap to embrace radically loving thoughts. Start small and stay true. Answer the following questions while tuning in to your authentic self through the spirit of love. Choose one and write as much as you can or choose them all. If you’d prefer not to write the answer, write the question that speaks the most to you on a piece of paper and post it somewhere obvious. Let the answers flow through your heart as you go about your day.
How does love feel in your body?
If love had a message for you right now, what would it be?
What does your body want to say today? What is it proud of you for? How have you been taking good care of it?
If your emotions felt safe enough to spill over, how would it feel to let them flow? Can you let them be raw emotions without adding labels to them? Do you feel safe enough to be “emotional,” however that looks?
If the universe inside of you wrote you a letter, what would it say? This is a profoundly healing process. Sit down in a quiet moment and let your pen flow onto paper without overthinking the words. Let the words be positive (otherwise it’s your ego in disguise).
If you could do one thing today to align with bliss, what would you do? How do your dreams wish to be actualized?
Anchor into Your Heartspace
Your Soul, although formless and unbound, can be accessed through your heartspace. Dropping into your heartspace has two magical effects. First, it brings you down and out of your mind’s chatter, away from the noise and into a space of quiet knowing. Second, it calms the whole body as you’re stimulating the vagus nerve. It’s a tangible, loving touchpoint that connects you to the cosmos and light within.
Here’s a way to open your heart to the wisdom of your Soul. Press your hands together in prayer position. Gently push your thumbs into the middle of your chest. Take a deep breath and tune in to the heart-opening sensation. Let bliss flow from your Soul through your whole being. Sit with this feeling for as long as you want. Keep breathing deeply. Welcome home.
Whenever you have a question for your Highest Self, simply place your hands on your heart center (in prayer position or any way that feels comfortable), take a deep breath, and trust that the answer will come.
Living Through Your Physical Senses
Living in communion with yourself comes to life when you engage fully with your physical senses. Your senses are always turned on, even when you meditate or sleep. No matter how distracted you are, your senses do not ever stop interacting intimately with the world around you and informing you of what you need to know.
Earlier in this book, I mentioned the endless stream of sensory information that floods your senses and how this informs your intuition. Now, I’d like to expand on that and provide you with an inspired way to live sensually.
Living sensually involves being consciously aware of and connected to life. It’s a way to mindfully embrace your environment and let your sensations guide and gratify you. When you live sensually in every moment, you’ll find bliss is only a wink away.
Where attention goes, energy flows. You won’t notice how this book feels in your hands until you connect to your hands and the texture of each page. You won’t tune in to what the pages sound like when they turn until you open your ears to them. As you are so focused on reading with your eyes, your capacity for tuning in to other senses is limited while you are engaged visually with the words and their meanings. That’s completely natural; it’s how you’re supposed to function. Generally, you won’t tune in to your senses until you need to—like if you cut your finger on a page or drop this book on your toe—or until you choose to. Choosing to connect to your senses brings your intuitive sensations to life.
Your nose is possibly the most undervalued of all the physical senses. But your sense of smell has such a strong connection to emotions that its value is immense. The smells and fragrances around you will only be noticeable when you tune in to them—that is, when you stop to smell the posies, your coffee, or your lover—or when they are strong enough to get your attention—like the smoke from burning toast or an overwhelming fragrance.
Your mouth constantly tastes, even when it’s empty. And if you’ve ever eaten a meal while completely distracted by screens, you may have noticed that you hardly tasted a thing. That’s why mindful eating is so important, not only for ultimate enjoyment, but also for your body to recognize what and when you are eating so it’s able to prime your digestion. Some flavors will stand out more than others, either because they’re scrumptious or they’re spoiled. Connecting to food is a beautiful and nourishing way to gently move your self-awareness to the significant nutritional aspect of your life.
Your ears are awake in every moment. Sensitive people will notice that too much noise—even everyday noise like radio or traffic—may feel overwhelming. Personally, I enjoy relaxing music without advertisements, no radio, very little TV, and lots of noise from nature, musical instruments, and my kids. I’m conscious of what I listen to and how it makes me feel, so, as much as possible, I will set up my environment to be calming, nurturing, and gentle on the ears.
Your hands are especially good at taking in the world around you through the sense of touch, but you may not notice that the silky skin of your whole body is switched on and informing you all day and night. You’ll feel discomfort if your socks are too tight, if the weather or air-conditioning is too hot or cold, and a thousand other pieces of information every minute of the day. Often, it’s not until you have a bath, swim, massage, or sex that you feel sensual all over, but you can give yourself this feeling whenever you desire with a self-massage or a barefoot walk in nature using your hands to experience the wild world around you.
Your eyes lead the way through the world. It’s with your miraculous sight that you marvel at, navigate through, and understand your surroundings. Your eyes are one of the key sources of information for your intuition; they provide an endless stream of awareness while you’re awake. Tuning in to your eyesight consciously and with wonder, without the need to form an opinion on all you see, will bring you so much mindful joy and connection to the present moment.
With your senses, you can intentionally discover and profoundly appreciate yourself and your extraordinary world a whole lot deeper.
Conscious and Creative Eating
Connecting with food and your body with humble appreciation and awe will fertilize the soil from which self-awareness grows. When you feed your body what it needs, you’re giving yourself the greatest fuel for a conscious life. Without good food, it’s a struggle to connect to and love your body and the lifeforce that emanates from it, because your energy relies on the food you eat so intimately.
My plate is far from clean—my insatiable chocolate cravings can attest to that—but I’m intuitive about what I eat and drink. I’m aware when I’m eating something to satisfy an emotion rather than a real physical craving, and usually I’m in tune and in love with all I devour. Thanks to my intuitive Mama, who is an incredible cook and shame-free eater, I grew up with a grounded and healthy attitude toward food and never saw any reason to diet. To this day, I carry with me an open mind around food, and I love experimenting with all I see, so long as my body is interested.
The science of dieting is quite shocking. Steven Hawks, a professor of health science, conducted a study looking at the eating habits of college students. He compared naturally intuitive eaters with those who were not intuitive and looked at their overall health. This was his conclusion: “What makes intuitive eating different from a diet is that all diets work against human biology, whereas intuitive eating teaches people to work with their own biology, to work with their bodies, to understand their bodies … it’s really about increasing awareness and understanding of your body. It’s a nurturing approach to nutrition, health, and fitness as opposed to a regulated, coercive, restrictive approach. That’s why diets fail, and that’s why intuitive eating has a better chance of being successful in the long term.”8
I’ve never been on a diet in my life. I’ve tried different approaches to eating, as well as a few wayward cleanses, but I simply will not restrict my intake of the foods I love. If a healer suggests I cut out an ingredient or food group, I do so if it feels right. If a particular supplement, herb, ingredient, or approach is recommended, I’ll take it on as long as my body approves wholeheartedly.
Intuitive guidance, a fluid approach, connection to self, and large doses of love are all necessary to nourishing yourself because your body is changing in every moment. Nobody knows your body better than you do, and the food you eat doesn’t define who you are. Food doesn’t make you spiritual or intuitive. Vegans are no more intuitive than meat-eaters. Raw foodies are no more spiritual than those who eat cooked food. There’s no “perfect” way to eat that makes you more mystical. Being conscious about your food and knowing what’s in it, where it came from, and how the ingredients have been treated and grown are more important for your body than following someone else’s ideas of “right” or “wrong” foods. Your body needs what your body needs. And intuitively, it will always truly crave healthy food.
Be curious, ask for advice, get inspired, but let your clever body have the last word. If you take your time connecting within, you’ll be familiar with the messages you’re receiving from your wise body.
Food is sustenance. Food is nourishment, vitality, and health. Food is fun, connection, and bliss. Food contributes enormously to your energy, vibes, sleep, emotions, thoughts, and pretty much everything else. Some people have more resilient constitutions, while others are sensitive to every little bite. Embrace who you are and how your gut works.
Deep down, you know when an ingredient is nourishing you or not. Your intuition will tell you when a craving is coming from your body or your ego. Here’s a clue: if you feel attached to the craving, like you desperately need it, then it’s your ego talking. It’s from fear. If you feel like it would be enjoyable, but you’re not obsessed, then it’s your body. It’s from love. And when you pause and connect inward to your loving and honest heart, you will know when and what to eat.
This may be confusing at first if you’ve never aligned with your body’s nutritional needs. If you struggle to understand how food makes you feel, then I would recommend you keep a food journal. Write down everything you eat and how it makes you feel. Don’t count calories or kilojoules. Leave guilt and shame out of the book (and your life). Simply begin to notice what food is genuinely nourishing you with good energy and what food isn’t aligned with your body. How do you feel twenty minutes after you eat? How did you sleep at night? How easily did you wake in the morning? How was your mood affected? This will change over time and be affected by your lifestyle, too, so don’t be rigid or fastidious about it; just gently allow your consciousness around food to unfold.
Keeping a mindful food journal is about becoming joyfully aware of food and nourishment. How do you know what food is beneficial for your whole, beautiful being? It feels good. It feels really damn good all over.
If you want to feel good more often, learn to love organic and local whole foods like eggs, line-caught local fish, grass-fed meat, seasonal fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and high-quality olive and coconut oils … if your body can handle them. This is a great place to start. Add a dash of herbs and a heap of love, and you’ll be satisfied all the way to your Soul.
Get creative. Find recipes that revolve around these wholesome, basic, nutritious foods. Keep exploring and experimenting. Keep eating your favorite sweets, treats, and snacks as well—just look for ways to make them yourself with whole ingredients or buy healthy versions.
Support your local farmers, grow your own herbs and vegetables, and find ways to source your food from people who look after Mother Earth. When your food is closely connected to the earth’s energy and rhythm, you’ll feel this pulsing through your body after each mouthful.
Reach out for help when you need it. When you just can’t give up chocolate or ice cream, when you struggle to stick to a healthy meal plan, when confusion reigns supreme in the kitchen, or when you don’t know how to cook, then find a psychologist, nutritionist, or food coach who can shine a little light on your situation.
When you are anchored in love, food will be a pleasure to eat, it will make you feel good, you’ll eat only when you’re hungry, and you’ll stop when you’re almost full.
If you’re about to eat something and you’re either not hungry or not conscious of what you’re doing, pause for a moment and ask yourself: What was I just thinking? What emotion am I numbing with this food? What does my intuition want me to know? Be gentle with yourself, yet deeply curious. The honest answers to those questions may help you unravel any unhealthy emotional eating issues.
Trust and accept yourself. Connect with your body’s signals. Use your hands. Make a mess. Lick the bowl. Food is one of the greatest pleasures of life. And I promise you this: when you eat a delicious, wholesome, varied, exciting, plant-based diet, your intuition will have the best chance of thriving.
Rediscover Yourself in Nature
Nature is an extension of the wild worlds within you, and you are a valuable part of nature’s mystery and wilderness. Nature’s cycles, moods, and elements affect us all, just as nature is affected profoundly by humanity. The earth, atmosphere, moon, sun, four elements, stars, other planets, and all the interactions and movements around and within our solar system have an impact on how we feel, think, and act.
Connecting with nature—going outdoors, soaking in the morning sun, watching the moon, conducting ceremonies to invoke the elements, understanding astrology, being with animals, healing with crystals, using herbal medicine—will allow you to tune in to your body so much deeper. It will foster a wholehearted consciousness of the universe within. By connecting with nature, we’re intuitively connecting with—and healing—our own wild, natural spirit.
Great Spirit is in you and me and the winds between, in every insect and animal, every tree and rock, all the streams and rivers, the wide oceans and the continents, too. Great Spirit is in the fire and the layers of the earth, in the seen and unseen. When you’re in nature, you’re in the arms of Great Spirit.
Mother Earth is one of the greatest intuitive guides you’ll ever find. She’s a force to be loved and honored. She can ground your energy, bring you out of your headspace and into your heart, into your body, into your energy, and into your eternal Soul. Spend time in nature. Search through the endlessly wondrous creations, for they mirror and echo the parts of you that you’re longing to find.
Let nature inspire your healing. Let the trees, the timekeepers, share their knowledge. Let the rocks, the recordkeepers, hold space for you to find your ancient, still voice. Let the flowers reflect your own divine beauty. Let the animals energetically provide you with their medicine. Let the elements reset your inner compass. Let the storms cleanse you whole. Let the sunshine fill your being. Let the stars guide you home.
Get grounded. Put your bare feet on Mother Earth. If you can’t get outside, then visualize nature; your brain won’t know the difference. I’ve written the following meditation to help you connect deeply to nature on the days when you can’t venture outside.
• Ritual •
Sit comfortably where you won’t be disturbed. Slowly and effortlessly close your eyes and breathe deeply into your belly and lungs with precious air from the trees. Let it all out with a relaxing sigh. Imagine you’re sitting on a wide, warm rock with your feet on the dirt and trees all around you, tall, strong, and vital. Visualize roots sprouting out of your feet, moving through the earth all the way to the core as you energetically allow Mother Earth to restore your health with waves of healing energy. Allow this to continue for as long as you require. If you need to, send your physical and emotional stress into the earth for nature to transmute into love. Take note of any messages you receive. You may visualize animals, flowers, or other beings in nature. Take your time with this intuitive process. Give thanks and, when you’re ready, gently open your eyes.
When you ground yourself regularly, you’ll come to appreciate more peace, higher energy, lighter emotions, and a clearer mind. This allows intuitive messages to come through much clearer and more regularly. Life will flow, just as the cycles of nature flow.
Connecting to nature and grounding yourself is such a powerful and necessary practice as you grow spiritually. The more you meditate and connect with your Highest Self and the higher realms, the more you need to ground your body into the earth.
Enlightenment needs embodiment. Wide-open insight needs deep-rooted instinct. As above, so below. Keep connecting to the natural, incredible world within and all around you. It’s all from the same great mystery, guiding us in the watery depths of our eternal being.
Embracing Sensitivities
Sensitivities are such a valuable part of being human. To taste the full flavor of a ripe strawberry. To marvel with your whole being at a sunrise. To lose your mind in a kiss. To embrace all your wild emotions. To feel Mother Earth’s heart beating with yours. To weep and cheer for the characters in a play, movie, or book. To empathetically understand people on a deep level. To hear music with every cell of your being.
These are gifts. Treasure them.
I have completely and undoubtedly always been a highly sensitive creature. Just ask my Mama. Ever since I was a baby, I was sensitive to all things. I’ve also always been self-aware. It’s only in the last ten years that I’ve realized these two valuable assets are intricately linked at the heart.
As a young adult, I cried more than most people, I was scared easily, and I felt what others were going through in such a palpable way. When I moved in with my boyfriend (who is now my husband), I remember feeling so overwhelmed on one particularly difficult day. I felt like I couldn’t switch my senses off; they felt so raw and bare.
On this intense day, I felt like falling apart. I cried to my man, saying, “I’m so sensitive I can’t stand it. I just want to be normal!” And he said something I’ll never forget: “Honey, I know you’re sensitive to the upsetting things, but you’re also sensitive to the beautiful things. Can’t you see?” That was my first clear understanding of a highly sensitive person. To see life this way was a surprising gift I only started to unwrap with gratitude that day.
When I was in my early thirties, my husband and I started trying to conceive a baby. After three years and a few early miscarriages, we were referred to a naturopath for some much-needed support. This naturopath was critical to my spiritual evolution, because she taught me about the importance of cleaning out the toxins from my body and home.
We tossed out the chemicals and anything that wasn’t natural and healthy from the cleaning cupboard, laundry, pantry, kitchen, bathroom, and everywhere else. We replaced them with the simplest and most natural products we could find. We ate healthy food. And we spent more time in nature than ever.
It felt like a rebirth. After four months of clean, delicious living, I fell pregnant with our beautiful son, Lucas. Ever since then, I have been gently conscious about what I put into and on my body. I’m not fastidious about being “clean,” but I ensure that everything is as close to nature as possible.
Then my daughter, Ariella, was born, four and a half years after Lucas came smiling into this world, and my sensitivities became even more raw. While I was pregnant with and breastfeeding her, I was visiting a number of health professionals. In accordance with their advice, I moved away from the foods that were intolerable to her, namely seafood, eggs, nuts, dairy, wheat, gluten, and nightshades. When she turned one and I finished breastfeeding, I was able to eat anything I wanted again … finally, after all these years of preparing for birth, being pregnant, and breastfeeding, I had my body back.
But I was in such a deprived and depleted state that I didn’t get the essential help I needed to nourish my body. Instead, I became a chocoholic and a stubborn eater of all the croissants. I also didn’t realize that I’d internalized a profound sense of fear around the foods that I’d cut out when I was pregnant and breastfeeding, assuming they could potentially harm my baby. So instead of gaining strength and resilience, my sensitivities became worse. Over the years that followed, I fearfully gave up many other foods. I’d become edgy around food because I hadn’t taken time to heal, or check in with my body, or love myself deeper.
I assumed it was the food that was causing my anxious symptoms, sleepless nights, and mood swings, when all along it was the fearful beliefs that were the basis of these symptoms.
Thanks to a few incredible healers and friends, I’ve recently experienced one of the healthiest mindsets around food that I’ve ever had. I intuitively eat a wide range of beautiful foods with renewed love, appreciation, and vigor. I sleep well, I exercise regularly, my focus is clear, and I’m able to live mindfully.
As you clear out the chemicals, people, habits, hobbies, food, and false ideas that are getting in the way of your intuitive abilities, you’re allowing for a greater connection between your mind, body, Soul, and spirit, because your energy is flowing freely, your heart is open to the healing vibration of love, and your body is in a state of grace.
Natural Living Inspiration
Here are some ways you can gradually tend to your immediate and expanded environment. Start with them all or choose one to begin with and see how the ripple effect feels in your life. Intuitively try your own ideas as well that focus on nature and living simply.
• Look after your garden with only natural sprays.
• Love your skin and choose only completely natural beauty, body, and bath products.
• Clear out any food from your fridge or pantry that contains unhealthy ingredients.
• Filter your water and ditch plastic containers, bottles, and wraps from your kitchen.
• Stick with ceramic, wood, bamboo, stainless steel, and glass.
• Stock only natural cleaners in your laundry or make your own.
• Wear clothing made from natural fibers.
• Support your local creative communities and buy furniture, toys, and homewares made from nature’s finest.
• Before you buy anything new, see if you can purchase it secondhand instead.
• Watch less television, look at your phone less, and never leave a screen on if you’re not watching it.
• Open your windows as much as you can to let nature cleanse your abode.
• Invite only people who make you feel good into your home.
• Clean and bless your car regularly.
Dancing with Creativity
Creativity is how you bring your ideas and dreams to life; it’s the way you access and express your sacred inner spirit. It’s a physical, mental, emotional, and deeply spiritual way of connecting within to the depths of your being and articulating or manifesting something inspired in the world. Creative connection is precious and a potent way to discover more about you.
Your own unique style of creativity will be different from everyone else’s. Don’t think for a second that it’s all been done before or nothing is original anymore. You are original. What you create doesn’t have to be practical, sellable, shareable, tangible, or easily understood. It doesn’t need to be complicated, perfect, or expected. Just authentic.
Creativity is only ever asking you to make time to be fully expressed. You don’t need to commit to only one creative outlet; you have permission to be a free and easy creative hustler. You might want to express your imagination through painting, sculpture, drawing, design, photography, fashion, felting, knitting, crocheting, singing, music, dancing, writing, editing, gardening, or cooking. And you definitely do not need to take lessons—unless you want to—or be professionally trained to explore your chosen craft.
Sing in the car. Write wholeheartedly. Make crochet gifts for friends. Play in the garden. Dance on your balcony. Paint with your fingers. Do it your way. Let your dreams and desires bring your gifts to life in any way that delights you. Let this connection between your mind and your wholehearted talents inspire your life and lead you gently, leisurely, and with immense pleasure along your creative purpose.
Go in with a full and daring heart. You cannot lose or fail. In creativity, you can do no wrong. Let your purpose be your fully expressed life—not a particular job or endpoint, but your daily dipping and diving into creative bliss. Let your intuition guide you toward what lights you up, because what lights you up is guiding you onward, like stars illuminating the sacred path before you.
The more you indulge in your creative nature and the more you express your ancient talents, the more you are loosening up the rational mind. When you loosen up your logic, you find creative solutions to problems, you see life as a cascade of opportunity, and you inevitably tap into your inner flow. And you find immeasurable joy.
• Practice •
Get really, bravely creative with your heart in these questions. Sit somewhere peaceful, light a candle, take a few deep breaths, and begin. Be patient with yourself. Sometimes you need to ask yourself the same question a few times before you get to the gold that lies beneath.
There are no right or wrong answers, there is no deadline, and you don’t need to do anything with this outpouring of ink. This practice is a simple way to get to understand, love, and accept yourself. No judgment; just let it all flow.
Let’s start with a look at what lowers your energy:
• What makes you feel frazzled or scattered?
• What or who drains your energy, leaving you feeling low, exhausted, or anxious?
• Who or what makes you feel disconnected from love, yourself, joy, or purpose?
• What blocks your creativity? What thoughts, stories, and fears have you created around this?
• What are you willing to change … and how?
Now let’s look at what raises your vibration:
• What makes you feel serene and peaceful, and what lights you up?
• Who or what makes you feel connected to yourself, Spirit, nature, or love?
• Who or what makes you feel at home, at ease, and happy?
• What brings you closer to your creative heart?
• What’s your favorite thing about you? What do others say about you that feels really good?
Connect with the Cosmos
Now that you’re more intimately connected with your richly sacred and creative inner world, let’s look around you at the presence of Spirit and how it is impacting and guiding you every day.
Guidance from Spirit
Along my spiritual journey, I’ve met many powerfully supportive and loving beings that are mostly invisible to my human eyes. These members of my Divine Team—the collective of light beings who work closely with me—are an imperative part of my life as an earthling. They are my ancestors, my tribe, my masters, my friends, and my angels. I adore them. Spirit—meaning all beings of light in energetic form—is slightly different from “spirit,” which means the sacred energy that moves through our being.
Perhaps you’re ready to connect to Spirit in a whole new way, or maybe you’re looking to deepen your connection to the Divine Team that has been sent just for you. Maybe you’re curious to know who’s out there before you take the next step. Wherever you are and whatever you desire is perfect.
You don’t need a solid understanding of your team to have a strong intuition or to receive insight. You only need to connect to the love within. But in my experience, an awareness of and a trusting relationship with Spirit will strengthen the light that flows through you as it guides you in divinely aligned ways.
When you receive new information or a fresh perspective from Spirit, it comes through your crown as pure insight. The way you understand and integrate this wisdom is through your intuition. Knowing which energies or information is not for you comes through your instinct. All three of your inner guides are strengthened when you tune in to Spirit.
Here’s something I know for sure about cosmic Spirit: there’s an unlimited amount of strength, guidance, healing, and love just waiting for you to tap into it.
Let’s look at the beings who live in Spirit and how they can help.
Spirit Guides
I connect with my team of Spirit Guides daily; whether it’s a general gratitude shout-out, a meditation to connect, a prayer, messages through oracle cards, or an easy conversation on the go, I regularly call them in for gatherings and imagine them sitting all around me. I love my squad. They change occasionally as I grow spiritually, but I know I always have the right guides at the right time in my group.
When I connect to them, I ask for miracles, healing, business advice, parenting tips, peace, bliss, direction, love, or anything my heart desires to feel or know. I send them love, gratitude, offerings, and joyful thoughts. There are many ways to connect, as you’ll see below, and your spirit will feel nourished every time you do.
We all have a stellar bunch of guides with us in each lifetime; we choose each other before we incarnate. Some Spirit Guides knew us in a past life, others are Ascended Masters like Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Buddha, or Quan Yin. Your main Spirit Guide is with you for life (and many lives besides). Each guide comes with a particular purpose, a specific kind of light (information) that they impart into your field of consciousness. They want to guide you to live your best life possible according to your Highest Self and your Soul’s purpose.
All Spirit Guides and Ascended Masters used to live as humans before they became enlightened, which means they don’t need to incarnate again. Even though they’re enlightened, they still understand our humanness in all its shades of light and dark: joy, love, sex, food, pleasure, nature, pain, anger, shame, and everything else about being human. They get it. So, you can vent and scream and cry and rage or love and sing and dance and play, and they’re with you through it all, holding space for your expression and growth with endless empathy and compassion.
To connect with your team, simply set an intention and open your heart. Trust that you have guides all around you at all times wanting to love, guide, and protect you––if you are open to this and ask for it, it will happen. Trust that you are safe with them. Trust that miracles are a natural way of life when you are in tune with the highest guidance.
Once you’ve established a connection with your guides, you’ll notice their signs and guidance more regularly. Personally, I see feathers, butterflies, symbols, and signs on a daily basis, and I feel goose bumps and shivers when they are telling me I’m on the right track. I notice flickering lights, too—not actual lights that flicker, but near-invisible dancing orbs of my guides, fairies, angels, and other light beings.
Life is never dull when you’re connected to your Divine Team.
• Ritual •
Spirit Guide Connection Meditation
Here’s a meditation to connect you directly with a Spirit Guide. Hold an intention—perhaps you want to meet a particular guide or find an answer—and let go of expectations. Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and palms turned upward.
Gently slow down your breathing. Breathe in through your nose, filling your belly and expanding your lungs. Gently breathe out of your mouth. Feel your connection to the core of Mother Earth through your feet. Call in Great Spirit to protect you from all but love and light from the highest dimensions. Open your crown chakra to establish a connection to the Divine. Keep breathing slowly.
Now ask your main Spirit Guide to come close to you. Relax. Trust this process. Soon you’ll feel their gently loving presence. If their presence isn’t obvious, keep asking them to come closer until their presence is clear. Notice how you feel when they’re close and where they are located in the field around you.
Take time to soak up their love. Go with whatever vision or feelings you are sent. Ask them for their name or a sign or a message. Trust what you feel, hear, and/or see. The first words that come to you are your message; the first vision you see is your sign. Take your time with them until you feel your connection is complete—this may take a few minutes or a while longer. When you are ready, thank them. Close your energy field by imagining a cloud of healing light around you. Feel back into your body and open your eyes.
When you are finished with your meditation, you may want to take notes or get creative and draw or paint. Savor the feeling.
Archangels
The Archangels have carried me through many dark times. They’ve brought light to my toughest days, raised my spirit when I felt consumed by my depths, and shown me miracle after astounding miracle. On the good days they’ve been just as close, celebrating my achievements (through rainbows and all sorts of beauty), leaving me love notes (in songs and books), helping me heal myself or clients (through various insights), and showing me how to develop my gifts (in meditations, books, signs, and symbols).
I laugh with them. I talk out loud to them often. I readily connect with them when I’m out for a walk. I see orbs of light when I’m relaxed and they’re close. I see rays of colored lights when I know they’re traveling with me. They’re my friends, my brothers and sisters, messengers of Great Spirit, and sacred and supernatural beings who are available to everyone all the time.
They’re our celestial companions, deliverers of light and peace. Archangels have never incarnated as a human or any other being on another planet. They live in a higher realm. Although we’re all made from the same love and light, Archangels fly quite close to the Source.
Occasionally I’ll hear their name when they’re nearby. Sometimes I’ll see them in a dream or meditation. Other times I’ll keep meeting people with the same or similar name to an angel. It’s all very intuitive, but the more I trust my inner knowing, the easier it is to know why they’re near.
The first angel I connected with was Archangel Michael. He’s my protector, my brother, my right-hand angel. I see his blue orbs most days, reminding me of his presence, protection, and love. He reminds me of the power within me. I simply, humbly, and profoundly cherish him. Once I saw him so extraordinarily large and close, there was no doubt of his presence and message. It was the day before I flew to California in 2017, and I was feeling nervous. Flying doesn’t usually make me nervous, but temporarily leaving my family and a life I adored left my tummy feeling ruffled. As I was driving to a friend’s house the night before my flight, I saw a long, bright blue, enormous light flying alongside my car. I was in a tunnel, so the light was completely dazzling and about three times as long as my car. In my heart, I knew it was Archangel Michael, assuring me that I would be protected the entire time. The relief in my mind and body was so welcomed.
The next Archangel I connected with was Gabriel. In 2011, I had a dream that I was at a farmer’s market when I saw a woman called Gabrielle, one of my favorite singers from the nineties. (I didn’t realize in the dream that it was an angel visiting me; I was just excited to hear beautiful music from a singer I loved.) She said that if we all stayed and listened to her latest song, we’d win a prize. So, I stayed, enjoyed the sweet tune, and afterward she handed me a pair of huge, feathery wings as my reward. I put them on and went to find my husband and some organic fruit. I thought it was a cute dream, but it wasn’t until I woke up and was telling my husband about the dream that I suddenly exclaimed, “Oh my heart honey, Archangel Gabriel just gave me wings!”
The following day I was in a bookstore when a book on Archangel Gabriel fell into my hands. I didn’t know why I was in the shop—there was barely a spiritual book in sight and no other books on angels. I stood there with this heavenly book in my hands, wondering in awe at how quickly and easily the angels work. I read the book in a few days and couldn’t believe how perfect this beautiful angel was for me. Gabriel works with mothers and writers most of all, and ever since then, her presence has always brought me insight and reassurance.
Some of the angels I’m still getting to know, so don’t rush or think you have to connect to all of them at once. Take your time. Notice their signs. I look for butterflies—real or in drawings, art, social media, clothes, or anywhere else they might appear. For me, the color of the butterfly relates to the color of the angel.
Each of the seven main Archangels has their own color and their own qualities and responsibilities:
Archangel Michael. Blue. Protection, guidance, and strength. Helps with safety, direction, self-esteem, motivation, courage, commitment, faith, energy, vitality, life purpose, and releasing fear.
Archangel Gabriel. White/deep gold. Parenting and communication. Helps those working as writers or anywhere in the media; assists with fertility, pregnancy, and parenting (especially mothering). Insight, communication, awareness, truth, and strength. Full expression.
Archangel Raphael. Emerald green. Healer of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies. Assists with complete health, well-being, and wholeness. Helps reduce or eliminate addictions or cravings, supports and guides healers, and helps find lost pets.
Archangel Uriel. Ruby red/purple. Insight, clarity, peace. Inspires visions, problem-solving, writing, new ideas, studying, and tests. Soothes conflict and replaces it with peace, clarity, and insight. Helps release mental and emotional patterns that are anchored in fear. Encourages deep trust.
Archangel Chamuel. Pink. Unconditional love and adoration. Helps with career, life purpose, finding lost items, building and strengthening relationships, and world peace. Releases resentment, fear, and pain.
Archangel Zadkiel. Violet. Forgiveness, mercy, and benevolence. Helps with emotional healing, compassion, freedom, and memory. Releases pain, bitterness, and negativity.
Archangel Jophiel. Golden yellow. Creativity, beauty, and art. Helps to manifest beauty; supports artists, awakening, self-awareness, inspiration, hope, and joy. Releases prejudice and ignorance.
• Ritual •
This meditation is to connect you with an Archangel. I encourage you to hold an intention to meet a particular Archangel but leave expectations behind. Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and your palms turned upward.
Slow your breathing to a comfortable, resting rhythm. Feel your connection to the core of the earth through your feet. Open the top of your energy field above your head to establish a connection with the Divine. Keep breathing slowly.
Now ask for the Archangels to come close. Choose an angel that you would like to work with or stay open to whoever is meant to meet with you today. Soon you’ll feel their unique and loving presence, and you may also see their color. Notice how you feel when they’re close. Talk to them in your mind as though they were sitting with you, and trust what you hear in response. The first words that come to you are your message. Take your time. When you feel complete, give thanks. Feel back into your body and open your eyes.
Enjoy the connection. It doesn’t matter where you’re at with spirituality or religion; angels are not bound or restricted by beliefs, time, or space. Speak to them wherever you go to strengthen the connection. Delight in their presence when you call on them. Ask to see butterflies to support your decisions.
When you’re finished with your meditation, you may want to take notes or get creative and draw or paint.
Loved Ones
You have Loved Ones around you right now as you’re reading this. Loved Ones in spirit who have left the human form you once knew and taken flight on wings of their eternal Soul to their spirit home.
Not all of your departed Loved Ones are close to you, simply because they’re not all meant to be your helpers, but the ones that are, are available to help you if you ask. These ancestral Spirit Guides know your life and its challenges well, and they can bring you great comfort, wisdom, and hope anytime you need them. Plus, they empathize with your ancestral lineage, so they can guide you toward deeper healing for you and past and future generations.
Personally, I’m connected to many women on my matriarchal side. This particular lineage has come through strongly many times in personal meditation, journaling, and psychic readings. My Grandma (Mama’s Mama) and I are very close, even though we didn’t have much of a relationship earthside. Our family didn’t live close to her, so I didn’t know her as a child. She didn’t have an easy life, so she’s passionate about helping me heal our lineage so that our future generations and I will experience life more easily and aligned with our true nature.
Loved Ones will connect with you by being present and available. You’ll know when they’re close because you will
• think of them often or spontaneously;
• keep an object of theirs close to you;
• smell their perfume or favorite flower;
• hear a song that reminds you of them;
• feel their presence; or
• meet people repeatedly with the same name as them.
Loved Ones in spirit will usually send signs to show you that they’re close. They will help you grow into the best version of yourself in many different ways. They will inspire you to be genuinely happy. They will show you the deepest way to heal. Their capacity to guide you from the world of Spirit is eternal and surprisingly specific, and it helps if you’re a willing recipient of their love and wisdom. You can even reach out to them and make requests for help on earth. Nothing is too small for them to help you with. Having a daily meditation practice will give you an opportunity to connect with Loved Ones on a regular basis. If you can’t hear them clearly, trust that they can hear you, and look for other ways that they may be communicating with you.
I would recommend seeing a psychic medium if you are unsure which Loved Ones are guiding you, if you have connected with a Loved One but felt uneasy, or if you need to know something specific about a Loved One but you’re unable to receive the answer. Like all Spirit Guides, most Loved Ones are available for a chat anytime.
• Ritual •
Connection with Loved Ones Meditation
Connecting with Loved Ones, just like Archangels and Spirit Guides, can happen spontaneously throughout your day or consciously in a meditation. If there is a Loved One you wish to meet, hold a loving intention to meet them now. Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and your palms turned upward.
Slow your breathing to a naturally calm rhythm. Feel how supported you are by Mother Earth and how loved you are by Spirit. Keep breathing slowly.
Imagine the Loved One whom you wish to connect with now. Call them in your mind by name, see their face, and ask them to come closer until you feel a change in the energy around you. You may feel their presence, hear their voice, receive a clear message, see them with or above you, or otherwise know they are near. Be patient and keep your mind clear. Trust in the process.
It may take time to get a clear idea of where they are and how they appear to you. Express your gratitude for their life and their enduring love and send them blessings.
Your Loved Ones in spirit have so much love and guidance for you, so if you weren’t able to get a clear connection with them today, try another day or a different way. Write them a letter and let their answer flow through your pen. Talk to them as you walk through nature. Ask them to help you with specific problems (they relish being sent on earth missions). Encourage them to show you signs and symbols.
Whenever I connect to clients’ Loved Ones in mediumship readings, I almost always feel a sense of pride and celebration. We are often so hard on ourselves, and our ancestors want us to see how wonderfully and courageously we have co-created our lives.
Wisdom of Signs and Symbols
Signs and symbols are the potent, wordless love language of the universe. They are messages from Spirit that convey so much without a single word. Nothing could be simpler or more powerful. Signs and symbols are how we playfully engage with the intelligence and serendipity of the universe.
Synchronicities are “meaningful coincidences,” according to Carl Jung. They can be sweetly subtle or strikingly obvious episodes of divine timing. The more open your mind and the deeper you trust your intuitive path, the more obvious the synchronicities.
Here’s an everyday example of how these play out in my life: Butterflies are one of my favorite symbols. The meaning of this symbol is a sign from angels that I’m guided, loved, and on the right path. Synchronicity is seeing this symbol multiple times in one day and knowing that angels are near, supporting my course of action.
Symbols may come from Archangels, Ascended Masters, Spirit Guides, Loved Ones, Mother Nature, or your Highest Self. Sometimes it’s a cosmic “coincidence” delivering goodness or guidance into your life. When you notice symbols that seem to have a personal reference, take a moment to ask yourself what it wants to tell you and where it came from. Meditate with it, journal through it, and practice opening your inner senses to discover what it means for you.
If you would like more information on the symbol, you can always look it up online or in a book to see what experts in the field have to say. I always recommend tuning in to the symbol directly first before you look it up. Your personal interpretation is the most important one; however, the online meaning can add another layer to your intuitive understanding of the symbol.
Here are some of the most common and meaningful signs and symbols and how to work with them.
Animals, Birds, and Insects
If you see an animal, bird, or insect (in real life or elsewhere) and feel it has a message, connect with it and ask what it wants to share with you. Repeatedly seeing the same animal usually means it wants to connect with you and share its energy/medicine or message.
As I’m writing this, the tiniest praying mantis is creeping onto my computer’s hard drive. It turns its head and looks straight at me. I’m in sweet shock because I’ve never seen such a small, curious creature like this, with such a delicate presence. It calms me just to look at him. I ask what his message is for me, and this pops into my mind: “Even the smallest gesture can have a positive ripple effect.” With a smile on my face, I look up the meaning of the praying mantis online. The spiritual symbolism of these little creatures is stillness and meditation, which is just what I need to hear, as I have been ignoring my daily meditation practice for a little while. With gratitude and gentleness, I scoop him up and take him outside.
You might find that you’ve been connected to a particular animal or group of animals throughout your life. Personally, I’ve always had symbols, drawings, and images of the big cats within and around me. As a child, I was obsessed with them; I wanted calendars and books full of them—I wanted smaller, softer versions of them to hug at night, and often I would dream of them. To this day, I smile whenever I see an image of a tiger. My heart skips a beat. Quite often I’ll close my eyes and thank the tiger for her medicine, for her fervent courage and humbling grace throughout my entire life. In 2018, when I was deep in ancestral healing, I saw tigers every single day for about two months. I glimpsed them on T-shirts, bags, laptops, prams, bumper stickers, social media, shoes, magazines, and books. Her medicine was working deeply within me, and I was grateful for her presence.
Nature
There is endless wisdom, guidance, and healing in the trees and bushes, rocks and waterways, flowers and fields, sunrises and sunsets, and all the divine energies outside. Hugging a tree or sitting on a large rock will do more for your instinct, intuition, and insight than you might imagine; it might give you a feeling of safety, comfort, expansiveness, and a message that you need to hear. Flowers can brighten your day, leading to unexpected insight. A sunset can give you a fresh perspective on a situation. Saltwater might bring you into a heart-opening meditative state.
Recently, my Soul sister Jodie gave me the most stunning bouquet of bright pink lilies; they were vibrant and bold. They spoke to me every day and made me feel loved and connected. Flowers have a way of lighting up a room, and at the time, I felt that they were showing me how to be a true friend by showing up, loving, and connecting with another. I looked up their meaning and discovered that they mean humility and devotion, which sound like the perfect ingredients for a strong friendship to me.
I’m a lifelong fan of immeasurably large trees. My Dad used to look to big gum trees with such awe and reverence, and now I do the same, only these days I hug them until I cry and their messages have poured through me. Big trees have been strengthened by the wind and their roots are so deep and unapologetic. I soak up the energy of tall trees every chance I get.
Music
Songs are sent to guide us and shower us with feelings of rapture, relaxation, and revelation. Trust that your intuition will pique when a song is played for you from your Divine Team. You may notice extra attention in your being, goose bumps, a stimulated emotion, or an inner knowing.
Songs may be guidance from Loved Ones who have passed over, from Spirit Guides, or from other spiritual messengers. They may be songs to cheer you up, make you dance, calm your nerves, speak to a problem, or simply love your free-spirited heart.
Music is a potent and poetic messenger of wisdom. I like to listen to the playlists that Spotify creates for me based on my listening preferences. The more I play music on Spotify, the more playlists they create. In these “random” and intuitive music selections, I find the cosmos is able to connect into and speak to my life.
Books
If a book cover gives you tingles, if you keep hearing about it from various friends you admire, or if it looks like it wants to fall off a shelf in a shop, take a moment to connect with it and see if it feels aligned with your energy.
Books are a rich source of guidance and worth investing in or borrowing if they feel like they could help or inspire you … or even just give you a much-needed laugh. With books, you are able to access new, insightful ideas that fill up the well of information in your subconscious, bringing fresh ingredients into your intuitive spring.
You don’t have to agree with a book in its entirety to gain insight from it. And remember, if you ever start a book and it doesn’t feel good, put it away for another time (or never).
Recently, I was at my local library when my heart pulled me down an aisle I hadn’t been down before. I saw a book called Bad Yogi, by Alice Williams, and without thinking, I put it on the pile of kid’s books to take home. I started reading it after dinner that night, and I was finished in less than a week. I hadn’t laughed that hard while joyously reading a memoir before, nor had I ever learned so much about yoga—plus there was a heap of spiritual insight that delighted me. I was so richly rewarded for following my intuition that day.
Divine Timing
Trust with your whole being in divine timing, even if it’s confusing or doesn’t make sense. Trust that the timing in your life is perfect. Have patience with all people, situations, and the inherent but unseen rhythm and order. Divine timing isn’t linear, perfect, or meant to unfold according to our expectations.
Divine timing is the cosmic, intuitive order to all things. It’s why you bump into people right when they have a message for you—sometimes spoken, but often unsaid. It’s the synchronicities throughout your day that light up your path. It’s the opportunities that arise just as you are ready for them. It’s the events that you can’t explain, but your Soul knows their worth. It’s also the delays, interruptions, uncertainty, and other roadblocks that are out of your control. These are all signs for you to wait and trust. Breathe, surrender, and connect to your faith during these times; don’t rush or push your way through them.
Roadblocks are annoying, but they bear gifts and wisdom. Delayed flights, traffic detours, cancelled appointments, technology interruptions, career divergence, limited progress, and all kinds of inconveniences can be in accordance with perfect timing, even when they don’t feel that way. Be patient. You may never know why something went “wrong,” but have faith that it was meant to be.
The key with timing is surrender. Often when we’re pushing for a certain outcome, we’re blinded to what we really need by our desperation. When we release, relax, and let go of expectations, the universe has space to deliver what we need, precisely when we need it.
Symbols
Sacred, guiding symbols are another way the universe speaks to us without the need for words. Symbolism is endless. If you see stars, angels, infinity, crosses, hearts, shapes, yin and yang, or other symbols, ask yourself what they mean to you. Is there a sensation you feel when you see the symbol? Is there a word or phrase that pops into your head? Have you seen it in meditation? There is so much information online, but I encourage you to ask your intuition first.
A few years ago, in a spiritual class, I was guided in a meditation to receive a symbol from a Spirit Guide. As my Guide drew closer and closer, I could sense her presence, a sensation that has never left me and that I recognize clearly when I need it. During the meditation, she handed me a six-pointed star with a circle around it. It felt like magic, like a powerful connection between us. Afterward, I recognized it as the Star of David, but I knew this symbol went beyond religion; it meant something else, something bigger. After many months of watching it pop up in my life in an endless stream of serendipitous discoveries, I looked it up online. Called a hexagram, it’s historically connected to many religions and has many meanings, but the one I connect with the most points to the union of heaven and earth. I still see the hexagram regularly, and it always points to magic: the magic of connection with Spirit, the magic of universal intelligence, and the magic of becoming conscious within a human body.
• Practice •
Open up to a fresh page in your notebook as you take a look back over the last month. Write down anything meaningful that stood out for you, perhaps in a dream or somewhere along your travels. Take a moment to consider what meanings may be tucked into the signs and symbols in your life.
Have you noticed any animals or insects around you lately? What are they and what do you think they want to tell you? How do you feel when they’re around? What animals or insects do you feel have been close to you your whole life? What is their medicine, the feeling they wish to impart on you?
Think back to the last time you spent an hour or a day in nature. How did nature speak to your heart? How are you being called to spend more time in the wild outdoors? Where do you love to be, and what do you love to do in nature?
What songs have caused you to pause and take notice? What did the lyrics mean to you? Who do you think they were from?
When was the last time a book felt so wonderfully insightful? What was the name of the book and the main message you took from it? What book—or type of book—are you longing to read?
Have you noticed serendipity in your life lately? What coincidences or lucky chance encounters have you experienced? What do you believe causes life to be more or less fortuitous?
What are your favorite symbols? Where have you seen them? What do they mean to you?
Inner Sensing
Everyone has their own way of receiving guidance through psychic gifts that their Soul has been developing for lifetimes. Intuitive knowing is using your five outer senses (among other guidance) to live a life of self-awareness and alignment. Psychic knowing is tuning in to your inner senses (among other guidance) to receive insight.
Your sixth sense (sixth chakra/third eye) is essentially your portal to insight (seventh chakra/crown), the fresh ideas that flow from Spirit. These ideas and messages come through your inner senses, which, just like your outer senses, can be nourished and consciously connected to deeply.
The process by which you receive insight will be different from everyone else. You might know things with certainty and see visions occasionally, or you might hear words and be able to channel messages clearly, or you might feel sensations in your body and be able to smell scents from Spirit. You will have a strong primary inner sense and other senses that help you access information.
We can’t always choose to receive insight in a specific way, just like we can’t always choose our talents; we need to simply allow guidance to come through however it can. Surrender and connect; your Soul knows what to do if you can get your overthinking logical mind out of the way. An important point to make is that, in Spirit, things may seem irrational or nonsensical because information exists without the limitations of linear time and space. Don’t try to make perfect sense of everything you receive.
My strongest sense is inner vision, or clairvoyance, but I also receive insight from other senses. I regularly hear messages whispered to me, smell scents wafting about when I’m home (it’s usually my Grandpa’s cologne), and have particularly strong knowings (psychic knowings are often confused with intuition, but if it’s new information, it’s always insight, not intuition).
My gifts are a mixed bunch that I could never have predicted, but they work powerfully together when I’m tuned in. Often the visions I see and the messages I hear are extremely faint, but with faith, focus, and gratitude, they get stronger. I encourage my clients who are strengthening their own inner senses not to expect bright, loud, or intense psychic insight. It would totally bowl them over. Welcome the subtle intelligence with gratitude. Refer back to the descriptions of the psychic gifts (on page 41) for a reminder of how they work within your being.
• Ritual •
Discover Your Psychic Gifts Meditation
Sit in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. Ideally this meditation would take place standing up as it involves receiving insights, so if you have a way of doing this standing in peace, then do so. Otherwise, sit with your back naturally tall and straight and close your eyes.
Set an intention to receive psychic communication from the highest realms. Take a few deep breaths in through your nose and let the air flow fully out of your mouth.
When you’re relaxed, open your inner senses. Use your imagination to bring them to life through an inner awakening. Notice your third eye, which may feel like a subtle buzz between your eyebrows. Sense your inner nose and allow it to smell pleasant or neutral fragrances from higher dimensions. Open your inner palate to experience flavors not of this earth. Let your ears turn inward and connect with Spirit. Imagine your body can feel all inner sensations and more. Now take a moment to ask Spirit to share a message with you using your strongest gift. Keep breathing and relax; trust that the information will come through.
You may see a faint vision. You may hear a whisper or see words tumble into your mind. You may receive the gift of a knowing or feel a particular sensation within your body. You may smell or taste something that has no obvious earthly source. Or you may feel a particular emotion. Try not to analyze it; simply let it come to you and unfold as it needs to.
If the message is too subtle, ask Spirit to come closer, to show you with complete clarity the message that is for you. Keep asking with a calm and trusting heart that you will receive what is meant for you. When you have received guidance, ask Spirit to take away any sensations that are not yours. Give thanks and gently open your eyes.
In the end, whether you received something radiant and clear, whisper thin, or nothing at all, always give thanks. Spirit was with you. The insight may unfold more clearly over the coming days—some people experience their insight more readily while actively living rather than while still in meditation. You have gifts, of this I’m sure, so believe in yourself, trust in Spirit, and be patient. Play with this connection as you move through your day. It may take time to tune in to an inner sense with certainty. If you do not feel like you are connecting to your gifts after a while, connect with a spiritual mentor who can guide you confidently.
Intuitive Oracle Insight
Every time I sit down with a set of oracle or tarot cards, I feel the wind stir around me. I know I’m entering a sacred realm. No reading is without a meaningful intention set with a grateful and respectful heart. I’m not just peering at shiny, pretty cards; I’m moving between worlds. I feel a door open to the higher realms as images, whispers, guidance, and knowing flood into my being. There’s something so comforting and empowering about each reading.
Cards can be chosen according to any question, need, or desire that feels aligned in your heart. Choose one in the morning before you start your day, two at night to wrap up your thoughts and energy, a few on sacred occasions like new and full moons, larger spreads at the change of season, and juicy readings on your birthday and at the beginning of the year. Or do it your way. It’s completely up to you.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of oracle card decks have been created across the globe over many centuries. You can find a set of cards for just about anything you can think of: Spirit, energy, intuition, angels, faeries, witches, Ascended Masters, animals, nature, ancient wisdom, crystals, affirmations, and decks for kids.
I used to be cautious about reading my own cards. I thought they were only for “deeply spiritual” people who were connected to Source and knew lots of spiritual stuff that I didn’t have a clue about. I didn’t buy them, even though I craved them for years. Finally, about ten years ago, I discovered a friend who was similar to me in her spiritual understanding, and yet she had a whole lot of oracle cards she played with all the time. I wanted in.
That’s when I bought my first two decks. I used them every week, always in the same formula. As I shuffled them, I would consider a problem that I wanted help with. The first card represented the past, the second card spoke to the present, and the third card was all about the near future, not so much predicting the future but pointing to the next step for me to take.
I was deeply in awe and amazed by the insight that arose from each reading. Eventually, I bought a tarot deck. Inside the guidebook were so many different suggestions for how to lay out the cards—my mind and heart were suddenly ravenous, and I felt like I had reached a new level of cosmic co-creation.
For years I searched online for different layouts, whether for a new moon, full moon, life crisis, transformation, career change, or kids. Then things got intuitive and so fun. It began about five years ago as I started to deeply explore my intuition and insight. I remember the first time I consciously followed my heart and third eye through every step of the reading.
I was shuffling my oracle cards, and I couldn’t decide on just one situation to focus on; I had so many questions to explore. So, I left it all up to Spirit. As I was looking at the cards, I heard “five.” I spread all the cards out, facedown, and chose the five that stood out the most.
I tapped on the first one, and I knew it was about my career. I turned it over, and before I looked in the guidebook, I wrote down everything that came to me when I connected with the image on the card. Once I had read the accompanying book, I was profoundly moved by the words of advice around my career that spoke to me deeply.
I tapped on the second card and knew it was about my kids. The third card was insight into my marriage. The fourth card was about my health. And the fifth was clarity around friendships.
With each card, I followed the same steps as with my first card. I had a wealth of inspired insight to write down; I was joyfully inundated and in the flow with the cards like never before. Now when I’m doing something like this intuitively, I’m completely aligned and deeply connected with my Soul and the process.
I didn’t let doubt trip me up for a second; I was too deliciously intertwined in the beautiful reading that provided so much relief, healing, and encouragement for me in many areas of my life.
• Practice •
A gentle word of caution before you begin: I wholeheartedly advise you to avoid contacting Spirit—through cards or other ways—when you are feeling angry, exhausted, or depleted, affected by alcohol or drugs, or otherwise not present and calm. Don’t do it to show off or be popular. Don’t do it to play with the dark energies. Connect with a positive intention, when you’re clearheaded, with grace and gratitude always. If your energy is low and you need help from Spirit, contact the Archangels and Ascended Masters or your own personal Spirit Guides. Call in love to light the way before you begin and always honor your inner wisdom.
I encourage you to choose a set of cards that ignite deep joy. Find a quiet place, light a candle if you wish, make a pot of tea, perhaps find a crystal or sacred object that wants to sit with you, and relax. Close your eyes for a minute and imagine a swirl of white light all around you, holding the highest intention for your reading. Once you feel settled, let your Soul and Divine Team guide you to create a richly informative and rewarding layout.
1. Choose the deck of cards that you’re most excited about playing with.
2. Shuffle the cards thoroughly, thinking about one or more subjects, questions, ideas, prospects, or just have an open heart, then spread them flat and facedown in an organic row.
3. Ask Spirit how many cards you require, then slowly choose the cards that energetically jump out or the ones that feel warm or tingly under your hand.
4. Keep them facedown and turn them over one at a time. Let the cards speak to your heart first before you look up the meaning. Soak up the guidance completely before you flip over the next card.
5. Write it all down. Keep an oracle and tarot journal so you can look back on each reading when you want to be inspired by your own journey.
6. When you’re finished, give thanks to Spirit, the cards, and your amazing Highest Self.
If you’re not feeling aligned with or excited by the readings you’re receiving from a particular deck, you might want to clear it with sage, place it in the beams of a full moon, or send it refreshing white light with the intention of clearing the energy within it. This is also how I clear cards that friends have been playing with.
Trust yourself. Never put a card back or start over again because you don’t think it was right. It’s right the first go. Always.
8. Hawks, Madanat, Hawks, and Harris, “The Relationship between Intuitive Eating and Health Indicators among College Women,” 331–336.