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Last week I was at my osteopath’s Dr. B, who had a student in training assisting the appointment. As she was examining my back, he instructed her, “Listen to your right brain. It knows where the spine is out of alignment. See how you’re hand has gone back to the same spot three times. You’ve got to turn off your left brain. It is making you question what your right brain knows.” In my world Dr. B was asking his student to listen to her intuition, to turn off her analytical minds interruptions and validate her sixth-sense awareness.
What was curious to me is that this medical doctor adamantly stated that the disrupted flow of spinal fluid could be felt without any equipment, simply touching the body and listening to the right brain. He is very good at his work, and yet explaining how he knows what he knows to a student, was challenging in medical terms.
All good healers, whether they are doctors, dentists, psychiatrists or massage therapists actively use their intuition whether they acknowledge it or not. My osteopath doesn’t think his awareness is of an intuitive nature. His form of intuitive knowing is innate and he’s spent significant time cultivating it. He doesn’t realize that it’s any different than the way his student might read a patient’s body.
We all experience intuitive data differently. While the information is the same, the way it comes to us can be a feeling a sensation in our own body, seeing a mental image, hearing a voice that provides direction or simply knowing without an indicator from one of the other five senses.
Dr. B impatiently instructed his student, “Your right brain will give you the yes. Turn off your left brain!” To cultivate confidence in our intuition, we also have to set aside the left brain analytical mind and listen for the yes. When we are aligned with the intuitive yes, there is a sense of peace that comes even if the information is difficult.
Our sixth chakra (center of head) is where we hold both our intuitive knowing (right brain) and our analyzer (left brain). The analyzer is trained to process facts, calculate evidence and derive answers. The analyzer does not do well with information that has no correct answer such as emotions, bodily sensations and spiritual awareness. That’s not its job.
Yet we try to force our left brain to process all of our experiences because we are taught that logic, science, having firm unchanging answers is the most valued in our society. Many of the best insights into non-linear challenges come when we focus our attention away from the question and let our intuitive mind, in parallel, process the emotions and senses around it.
Repetitive, creative activities stimulate this, such as jigsaw puzzles, knitting and working in the garden. We are present yet our left brain is distracted, giving our right brain room to breathe. It takes practice to follow the doctors’ orders, set aside our left brain and listen to the right. It feels awkward at first, vulnerable. Yet the more we do it, the more clearly we hear the yes, and the more our intuition informs our every experience.
Work energy is great to access at the appropriate times but it puts a damper on warm connections with loved ones and can override our personal needs, the true juice of a joyful life. Shifting our lead energy vibration between work and non-work time can be difficult. There is pleasure derived from certain aspects of the work and it takes our focus off of other aspects of life we have less control over. Our focused, productive analytical Self is “on” and were getting things done but how do we change the tone when the work day is done?
Today I was reminded of the unspoken lesson that Mister Rogers reinforced at the beginning of each TV program. He walked in the door of his home, took off his suit jacket and put on a cardigan. Then he changed out of his professional shoes and into sneakers. All while singing! He ritualistically shifted gears as soon as he got home, to a focus on relaxation, connection and playfulness.
In addition to changing our clothes or moving into a new environment, we can consciously change the volume of certain vibrations of energy in our space. Visualizing an imaginary gauge in front of us to make adjustments, like a fuel gauge reads empty to full, the needle can show us how full our space is of a specific energy. Is our analyzer on 75%, decision maker at 50%, income earner and task oriented Self at 100%? What about our creative energy, curiosity, sensuality, adventurousness?
At the start of a work day we turn up those energies that will be helpful to in getting our work done. At the end of the day imagine turning them down and turning up the volume of the vibrations you want to experience while not working. You may also want to visualize the energy from all of your work encounters and activities moving out of your space into a balloon and either tie the string holding that energy balloon somewhere to retrieve later when needed or set it free to move out of your aura field, leaving a cleaner space for your next focus.
I’m applying the Mister Rogers principle to consciously shift my energy from work to personal time… won’t you join me? Turn down the analytical, achievement oriented business vibration and turning up the creative, nurturing, permission to relax vibration at the end of your work day.
Each time we take on a new role or let go of a familiar one, our identity goes through a transition. We may not know how to be, or what to tell people when they ask us questions that we had an easy answer for in the past, like “What do you do?” Letting parts of us that we valued fall away once they are no longer “in the present” feels hard. They served us well and there is comfort in familiarity. It’s easier to stay attached to these old aspects of our Self because of the way they made us feel in the past. But once we set them free the “lightness of being” we find is often so much better.
It’s risky to let go of an old identity to make room for a new identity that is not fully formed. There are unknown details to be worked out. It requires experimentation and exposure to the new aspects of our self that come to the forefront. We may not be sure we’ll really like the new role or stick with it for long. It may trigger the fear of loss of acceptance from relationships or communities that were formed based on our old identity. Will the friendships follow us on our new journey into parenthood or move across country?
Some aspects of our identity are formed by the responses we receive from others. We subconsciously agree with how they “see us” and support it through how we represent ourselves to them. This is particularly true with family. Parents want their children to be a certain way, to help the child be successful in life and to make the parent feel more comfortable. These expectations create a silent requirement to perform in a way that meets the approval of our caretakers, molding our public-facing identity. The identity we show others is often not the essence of our true Self. It is a safer projection of what we feel comfortable revealing to the world in order to be accepted.
As adults we have the opportunity to revisit some of the aspects of our identity that were formed based on our environment or expected family role. We can notice where these are no longer true for us and psychically update the aspect of our seventh chakra, where “the way we show ourselves to the world” is stored. We may need to heal some wounds or change certain “pictures” we have of ourselves to activate this healing. Calling on the assistance of a spiritual mentor or clairvoyant healer in this process allows us to see beyond our own limitations.
If you are ready for an easy identity update, send a psychic request to your Akashic/Soul record keeper to update our identity to present time. You don’t need to delve into the quicksand here, keep it light. But if you see a specific false belief that continues to alter the way you show up in the world, you can take it deeper with a detailed request of what you are ready to remove, and what belief you would like to replace it with. Always remember to fill-in your aura with the vibration of your own essence before completing a healing meditation.
Awhile back I spent some time reflecting with a friend on what a great job would look like. Without focusing on the form it would take, we listed the types of experiences I would like to have with co-workers, clients and the company. The values, environment, support to do my job, working hours, how I would feel, how much time I wanted alone or interacting with others. The door was open in my view to self-employment, working for a company and the form of vocation. I made my wish list into two-pages of affirmations focused on what I’d like to feel in my work and income earning space. For a month I read the list every day reminding myself of what I desired to create and adding the occasional fresh possibility. Then I got distracted by life and let it sit in a drawer for a year.
When I came back to my wish list, I was in the process of considering a job offer that would allow me the time to do my soul’s purpose work as well as have a steady income working part-time for a technology company doing work I also love to do. In writing out my wish list I had realized that I had a diversity of needs that may not all be met through one type of work. I was amazed at how the job being offered lined up with my vision.
The desire for meaningful work haunts so many of us. Often we have a lack of clarity on what a great career would be for us. I discovered that by removing the labels of the job function and type of business, focusing on a how I want to feel and live day-to-day, I was able to create vibrational clarity for my career space. Following the Law of Attraction I chose to shift my energy to match what I desired until it showed up.
Beyond fleshing out our needs and desires for a work space we can use meditation tools to prepare our energetic body to receive what our hearts desire. Here’s a simple meditation for cleaning out and architecting our career space:
- In a meditation space, start with visualizing a fresh grounding cord, the attachment from the base of your spine to the earth. This root creates a solid foundation.
- Imagine a rose floating a couple of feet in front of you and notice the stem of the rose running down into the earth. This is our career cleanout rose. See any belief or energy held in your body that is blocking a positive work experience move out of your aura and into the rose. Some examples to cleanout: confusion, fear of failure, control, financial fear, the belief that work has to be hard, other people’s judgments, self-judgment. When this rose is full of all that unneeded energy, cut the stem and send it off to a faraway place and watch it explode.
- Visualize a new rose for your career design/vision. Visualize dropping into the blossom of the rose all of the energies you would like to experience in your work space. Some examples: ease, financial prosperity, respect, fun, work/life balance, flexibility, intellectual stimulation or inspiration. When the rose is full of all that you want to create, ask your higher power/God to bless it, cut the stem and release it to the universe to seed your vision.
It’s the perfect time of year to clean cobwebs and dust bunnies out of the corners of our life. The budding of spring evokes a desire to let go of what no longer matches our vision to make room for something fresh and new. Both in our physical world and our spirit, clearing energetic space lightens us up and brings us into the present moment.
To prepare ourselves for new opportunities that show-up along our path in love, at work or home, there are some spiritual spring cleaning tools we can use that don’t cost much more than time and intention.
In ancient spiritual traditions energy is cleared and healed with ritual smudging. Smudging is the act of burning sage, sweet grass or other plants, such as those collected near a place where a lightning strike burnt the earth. The sacred smoke purifies an area or object. Combined with spiritual invocation the smoke absorbs and neutralizes any negative energy. It cleanses the space to make way for new creation.
In The Smudging and Blessings Book Jane Alexander writes, “Cleansing a space or our bodies with techniques such as smudging clears away all the emotional and psychic ‘garbage’ that may have gathered over years or even hundreds of years.” Begin with a lit smudge bundle or braid of sweet grass and something to catch ashes, walk through each room of your home or office and take the smoke to each of the corners of the room. If the weather is nice, open doors and windows to allow fresh air to flow through, moving energy with the planet’s breathe.
After you have smudged the space take a moment to sit meditation. Clear your mind of distractions with deep breathing. Notice the grounding cord connected from the base of your spine down into the center of the earth. When you feel clear and centered visualize a large rose in the center of the home or office space. It’s stem running down through the floor, through the layers of the earth and rooting into the core of the planet. Then see a gold thread coming from each of the top four corners of the building or property into the center of the blossom of the rose. See four more gold threads connecting from the bottom corners of the space to the blossom of the rose. Mentally intend that the space is set at your vibration, in present time, today’s date. If you share space with others you can include their energy.
Clearing and owning the space we live and work in can be done as often as we like. It keeps the vibration current and in alignment with our energy. It makes the space more cooperative with our movements and rest. It removes the distraction of energetic holdovers from past inhabitants or events. Ultimately, cleaning our energetic space increases our intuitive clarity.
Last week American’s honored veterans of war for their service to our country. From tribal civilizations to modern time the warrior has held a critical role in the evolution of nations and human rights. A friend who served in World War II shared his wartime story with me some years ago. He was in a naval boat off of the shore of enemy territory, ready to follow his first orders, when the war ended. It was less than twenty-four hours before his training was to be put into action. He had spent many months preparing for combat and a specific clandestine operation. His training included methods that accessed his psychic capacity and programmed his mind to view the enemy in specific ways. He was grateful to see the war end yet felt deflated. He would never be able to complete the mission. As I recounted this bit of history to a friend last week he reflected on it, “In the old days, due to time of transport, soldiers had time to deprogram the programming they had gone through to prepare for their mission. Today military personnel don’t get the same grace period for deprogramming.”
From the psychic perspective a program is a way of operating automatically in response to a given situation. This program may be something we are taught at home, school, church or through any social structure that maintains a framework for civil interactions. Alternately, we may create a program ourselves in response to an experience that is repetitive or traumatic, conditioning us to a certain reaction that helps us survive. A warrior must hold fast to programs that are counter to their natural human curiosity and compassion in order to survive. These programs require them to follow orders and to defend their country while honoring the rules of international warfare. When the soldier’s mission is done, they return to civilian life and the programs are no longer needed. Yet often they have not been erased from the soldiers psyche.
The repetitive nature of programs and their root in our survival instinct gives them powerful influence over what we create in our lives. They are trained responses to specific circumstances therefore they often outlast their effectiveness. We rarely take the time to replace or erase old programs. The result is that they keep operating unconsciously. Programs that aren’t relevant to our age or circumstances block us from creating better outcomes and contribute to repeating experiences we don’t particularly like. The hook that makes programs so powerful is a combined physical-emotional imprint. We feel fear and our body responds in a certain way to the emotion. It may be as simple as averting our eyes to avoid looking at the person whose energy disturbs us.
While we may not relate to the specific programs a soldier activates, we all have programs operating in our lives. In relationships they may be reflected in how we express our desire to be loved or demonstrate our love. In the work environment, a program may automatically suppress our natural power, the result of experiences that made us believe our power would threaten our ability to maintain gainful employment. Longstanding programs are rooted into our energy field at a much deeper level than behavioral based actions. They are operating at a spiritual frequency that requires outside assistance to deprogram. After we deprogram an outdated auto-response we can consciously apply elevated skills in order to experience an upgraded reality.
You have a gut feeling but it doesn’t line up with what the person in front of you is saying. Making sense of the conflict between actions, intentions and words can be challenging. People show us what they want us to see. This is not necessarily intentional deception it can simply be the individual reflecting what they believe to be true, having an incomplete picture of themselves or what they represent. Assumptions are made without asking enough or the right questions. Doubt seeps in. This is where it is critically important that we learn to validate our intuitive knowing. When we get that inner nudge that something is awry in a situation the first thing to do is listen, question what is instigating the red flag. Is it incongruence in words and actions or words and words; is it the lack of eye contact or an energetic sensation?
Use your five senses to flesh out doubts. What do you see in the person’s body language and eyes, do you hear clarity or a wavering in their voice, how did that handshake or hug feel, is there a subtle acidic smell emanated from anger or fear? The only way you will learn is from acting on your intuitive truth (it). There will always be opportunity for doubt especially when you want to trust someone, their information sounds logical and listening to your intuition is counter to what you want to believe. I’ve found this in business when looking at a sales opportunity. The client has a project they need your service or product to make happen. You have a competitive chance and may be blinded by the desire to win the business. Access you intuition to sense if the business is truly available to be won. Often the decision is yet to be made. Your intuition will help you see if the client has already selected a competitor’s solution without revealing it or is just collecting detailed scope and pricing through a proposal process in order to do it themselves. Using your intuitive sense can save a lot of energy and time chasing a dead end opportunity. The more curious you become of your intuitive nudges the more you will learn to trust the information.
Look for more next week on how what we want to believe gets in the way of seeing the truth.
