Tag Archive: worry


Sorting Fears from Intuitions


Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

There are times when people can feel like their ‘gut’ is telling them something about a situation. The stomach curls up and they may start to feel light-headed when having an intuition about some possible danger. When I was younger, my intuition was usually spot on. These days, most of my intuitions turn out to be nothing more than fearful ideas and worries about various subjects. How can we sort our fears from our intuitions?

Marc

Dear Marc:

I’ve noticed something about fear and intuition that seems a bit ironic: young people are often more psychic/intuitive than older and supposedly wiser folks! Even people who demonstrate remarkable psychic gifts when they are young can lose them over the years if they succumb to fear and become too careful about life in general. Young people tend to fear death and other disasters less than older people, so they take more risks and live on an edge where more things are possible. Their vibrations tend to be higher because they’re full of life and desire instead of fear and worry. So I’m not surprised to hear you say that you used to be more intuitive, and now find it hard to sort your fears from your intuitions.

Sorting fears from intuitions is really tricky because we talk about intuitions as ‘gut feelings,’ but intuitions aren’t emotions at all. Even when we get spontaneous warnings of danger, they aren’t delivered with fear; fearful feelings may follow the intuition, but they aren’t one and the same. Unlike fears and worries, clear, accurate intuitions generally don’t come with any emotional kick to them; the information feels more like watching a movie or hearing a story. While it may contain some emotional information, our own personal reactions are a step or two removed from the message.

Intuitions aren’t thoughts either; you can’t reason your way to intuitive insights. Where worrying is linear (if A and B happen, then C may follow), intuitions are like holographic capsules of sudden awareness. In fact, they often don’t make sense at first, and we have to ponder them in order to comprehend their meaning.

Over the years I have heard from hundreds of people who were somehow warned, helped or enlightened via their intuition. For the sake of this article, let’s focus on warnings of danger. Time and again, people who narrowly escaped some tragedy thanks to an intuition report how strangely calm they felt as they were receiving that warning. For example, someone may be driving down the highway when suddenly they have the intuition that they should change lanes. They act on this warning quickly, without questioning it, and the next thing they know, something occurs in the lane they were driving in that could have proven fatal. Following this event they may be shaken up and amazed by the whole experience, but while it was happening, they were strangely calm.

The gut intuitions you describe in your letter strike out of the blue like this; they come unbidden and at totally unexpected moments. We all have these spontaneous sorts of experiences when faced with danger. To be able to consciously and purposefully consult your intuition whenever you desire, you must develop your psychic abilities.

A major component of psychic development is cultivating the faith and objectivity to look past what we think is best in order to see truth. It can be hard to be objective when it comes to our own concerns. This is where the development of faith comes in: if you truly believe that everything happens for a good reason and everything works out in the end, you won’t worry to begin with, and will be open to hearing or perceiving the truth about any situation.

One thing is for sure: the more we tend to worry, the harder it is to hear our intuition clearly or access higher guidance. This is because our thoughts affect our vibration, and in order to tune in to truth and wisdom, we must have a high vibration. To be able to purposefully access our intuition about anything at any time, we must develop unwavering faith in the benevolence of life, for then all possibilities are acceptable to the conscious mind.

Since a calm, detached mind is essential to clear psychic perception, meditation is important. I highly recommend you take up regular meditation and work on cultivating your inner observer so you can emotionally detach from whatever is happening in your outer experience and calmly observe whatever comes up. This will empower you to view your whole life with calm detachment, which is like being able to back way up to see the big picture whenever you feel the need.

Also, devote yourself to psychic development. Working with a pendulum is a simple, easy way to begin. Do remember that you may not be able to access answers to every question you have at that time, so before beginning with the pendulum, ask:May I ask this question and receive an answer at this time? and Is this something that can be currently known or seen?

Of course, the information you can get from a pendulum is very limited, so you’ll want to move beyond it in order to get deeper insights and guidance. (My space here is limited, so for information on psychic development, please search our archives, consult the many excellent books and websites devoted to this subject, or sign up for a local class.)

When consulting your intuition, instead of asking if things will go the way you want them to, ask deeper questions such as: What is the higher purpose behind this situation? What am I supposed to be learning? What are my options, and which choice or approach is wisest? How can I cultivate the greatest love and harmony in this situation?

Again, remember that you may not always get an answer. Many of us want to be able to psychically read every possible scenario, and if we are looking for answers before those answers even exist, we may begin to make stuff up. We must be so detached that we’re even at peace with not getting as much information as we’d like to have right now.

It’s also important to establish strong relationships with your spirit guides, for then you can always ask them for more information or guidance on how to work with (and make peace with) the answers you receive.

Like any other skill, practice is essential. Keep a journal in which you note your intuitions and how they pan out. When they do and don’t prove accurate, take note of how you felt when they came to you. Soon you’ll be able to discern how it feels when you’re receiving accurate intuitive impressions.

Another important aspect to consider is the fact that you have the power to affect outcomes, so you can visualize what you desire instead of passively allowing your mind to wander into fearful thoughts. This is key because it is generally feelings of powerlessness that lead us to worry, and when we remember that we aren’t powerless – that can create what we want – it gives our minds something to do that is positive and constructive.

Knowing what will happen is nothing compared to being able to use our psychic senses to influence the course of our experience. The questions we ask of our intuition are therefore paramount. Asking simple, fear-based questions about what is going to happen can do us more harm than good, while asking wise and powerful questions such as what we should do and focus upon in order to fulfill our dreams can prove very helpful indeed.

 

– Soul Arcanum


Kicking the Fear and Worry Habit

Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
 

Dear Soul Arcanum:

I am having a hard time with negativity and fear. I can’t seem to feel anything else. How do I learn to vibrate at a higher level so that all the good things I know are out there will start to come to me, instead of all the things that I worry about? Where do you start?
– Michelle

Dear Michelle:

This is a great question, and one that I get in one form or another frequently. When we first wake up to the truth that our thoughts create our experiences and we begin to pay attention to our mental habits, it can be very unsettling, for suddenly, we realize just how much of our thoughts are negative.

This is actually a very good sign, however. It means that you’re moving out of harmony with this negative vibration. You’re no more negative than you ever were before; you’ve just become uncomfortable with that negativity. So right away, here is a plus for you to focus on: even though it may not feel like it, you’re making great progress already!

I remember my own awakening as a conscious creator. My head was constantly buzzing. Every other thought seemed negative or “dangerous” somehow, and I was constantly trying to “take back” or rework some negative thought. This is normal at this stage. The more you pay attention to your thoughts, the more you’ll develop the habit of thinking positively.

First, I recommend meditation. We all have a lot of old energies and issues that we’ve stuffed down, and these will keep running through the back of our minds until we heal or resolve them. They are sort of like mental clutter. We get busy doing this or that, and we don’t have time to really deal with “old stuff,” so we push much of it to the back and put new stuff in front of it, and there it sits, mucking up our vibration and experiences.

In the beginning, meditating is simply allowing mental clutter to rise up so we can let go of it. Many beginning meditators feel frustrated and inadequate because they can’t “quiet their minds.” Well, all that mental clutter has to be cleared first. There is usually a lifetime of it accumulated, so we can’t expect it all to just dissipate overnight. Just sit and allow whatever wants to come up to come up, and then just gently let it go. If it doesn’t want to go, just sit with it and ask it what it is trying to tell you that you need to do (and then do it). Over time, this approach will clear all the stuff you’ve been avoiding dealing with, and then you will have a nice clear inner space, and your meditation will deepen. By dealing with it this way, the negative thoughts won’t take you by surprise so much, and instead of pushing them back down, you’ll be able to release or transform them.

While you begin this meditation practice, I recommend you also surround yourself with positive influences. The simplest way to do this is at a physical level. While it may be hard to control our thoughts, it’s pretty easy to get rid of the junk cluttering up our lives. Clear out all the stuff in your environment that carries a negative vibration for you, especially anything that ties you to a past you’d like to leave behind. For example, if your closet is full of clothes you wore when you were three sizes larger, get rid of them! If your jewelry box still holds the engagement ring your first husband gave you, sell it or give it away while affirming that as you do so, you are making room in your life for new love and a new beginning.

While you’re at it, clean up your diet and exercise regimen. Our physical health has a huge impact on how we think and feel. Try to eat whole, natural, unprocessed foods, and try to make at least 50% of them raw. I’m talking about fresh fruits and vegetables here. Drink water, get rid of sugar and white flour, or just pay conscious attention to your body and feed it the things that will truly boost your energy and well-being. The more you take concrete action to create positive change, the more empowered and positive you will feel.

Obviously, if you are surrounded by negative people, it’s going to be harder for you to become a positive thinker. Start weeding the people who are downers out of your life, and begin to seek new, positive influences. If you pray for these positive people to come into your life, they will! Also, strive to be this kind of person to others. If what you’re thinking is negative, don’t say anything until you have found something positive to say.

While doing all the above, I recommend you read about five pages of a positive book every day. By reading a bit every morning and every night, focusing on positive ideas will become a habit. If you are meditating morning and night as well, you will be clearing negative “junk” and replacing it with these books’ positive ideas.

Some positive, empowering books you might begin with: The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity and other works by Catherine Ponder, Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain, The Game of Life and How to Play It and other books by Florence Scovel Shin, anything by Dr. Joseph Murphy, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, etc. These books will keep you mindful of the fact that you are constantly creating for better or worse via your thoughts. Additionally, try reading uplifting books in general. The Chicken Soup for the Soul series is a good example. Other favorites include The Little Prince, all books by Sark, Susan Jeffers, Alan Cohen, Norman Vincent Peale. Keep reading Soul Arcanum as well! There is an endless abundance of positive teaching available.

Be choosy about everything you mentally ingest. Skip the news – nothing will bring you down faster. Make sure the music you listen to is upbeat, like New Age music, big band, etc. Watching TV on a regular basis will keep you STUCK. Some movies, however, can boost your vibration. A few to try: My Shirley Valentine, ET, The Wizard of Oz, Patch Adams, Field of Dreams, Forrest Gump, Pay It Forward, Powder, Phenomenon, the Harry Potter movies, Big Fish, School of Rock, Ghost, Enchanted April, The Whale Rider, Shrek 1 and 2, Big, The Terminal, Chocolat, Simon Birch, Under the Tuscan Sun, Secondhand Lions, etc.

These lists are just off the top of my head. Some people will say, “What? I thought ET was horribly sad. I have never gotten over Elliot crying his eyes out as ET went ‘home.'” This illustrates an important point: our interpretation of life will determine our experience of it. If you look for beauty, magic and wonder, you will find it. Everything can be seen in a negative light, but everything can also be seen in a positive light. You determine your experience when you choose which you will look for.

It does take tremendous mental effort to remain positive, even for people who have developed that habit of thought. Every time you find yourself focused on the negative, challenge yourself to find the positive. Spirit will help you with this; just close your eyes and mentally ask to be shown the situation in a spiritual light.

When this works, give thanks! Gratitude is the heart of positive thinking. Give thanks that you have been given the knowledge to create what you want in your life by changing what you think. Give thanks that I chose your question for publication. Give thanks that you’re already making progress. Give thanks that your eyes work, and you’ve been blessed with an education so you can read all of this. You’ll find endless things to be grateful for if you just look for them.

Finally, make a habit of uplifting others, for what you give is what you’ll get!

– Soul Arcanum