The open door of intuition: The Spirit of Truth

Noah heading out into the garden this morning

Have you ever just known that something was right? Even when it didn’t make sense? Even when there was no way that it was possible? And have you ever held your belief anyway; persistently turning away from those voices of doubt and reason (the voices that were really in your own mind, but seemed to be coming out of the mouths of people around you…the ones who didn’t want you to be disappointed or deluded enough to believe in something that you couldn’t figure out the “hows” of?).

I love hearing stories of how others did just this: held their vision and came to see it become their reality. If you have a story that you would like to share; a story of hope (when things seemed hopeless), faith beyond your ability to understand, or healing, please tell it here. There are an awful lot of stories that we hear everyday of “senseless” violence, loss, and hatred…and I know that there are so many, many more stories of “senseless” (we can’t understand how this wonderful thing happened) blessings, recovery, and Love.”…..Grace, Goodness, and Love may not make sense to our small, limited selves, but they are who we really are at our centers.

“Faith does not depend on physical facts or on the evidence of the senses because it is born of intuition, or the Spirit of Truth, ever living at the center of our being. Its action is infinitely higher than that of reason. It is founded on Truth, while reasoning or intellectual argument is founded on evidence of the senses and is not reliable.

Intuition is the open end, within one’s own being, of the invisible channel ever connecting each individual with God. Faith is, as it were, a ray of light shot out from the central sun, God, one end of which ray comes into your being and mine through the open door of intuition.” from,  Lessons in Truth, by H. Emilie Cady (1848-1941)

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Ask, wait, listen, trust…act

Luke (in the back seat of the car)

I’ve been hesitant about writing about today’s topic/post for a while. I’ve really wanted to do it, but kept thinking, “Advice and suggestions are not the focus of this blog” and this seemed dangerously close to both. Yet, a little voice kept nudging me to do it.

Last summer, Luke (our 5-year-old long-haired German Shepherd) started scratching more than usual and began to lose his fur. We tried changing his food, bathed him with herbal remedies, gave him fish oil supplements, and he just got worse. His once big bushy tail, looked more like a very large rat’s tail, and he had patches of hard, leather-like skin where his fur was completely gone.

Our vet put him on steroids. That worked on the itching until the prescription ran out, and he started itching again. Finally they did a blood-test and determined that he had a poorly functioning thyroid gland (most probably the result of the steroids) and he would have to stay on both thyroid and steroid meds for the rest of his life. We tried this regime for a month but the whole thing felt wrong to me, so I began asking Spirit for a solution.

On a follow-up visit to the vet, the words, “How about trying a raw diet?” just sprang from my mouth. I knew nothing about raw diets at all. Jack and I were both surprised when our vet thought it was a very good idea. I asked him for suggestions on how to get started and he said, ‘There’s a ton of information on-line, find something that appeals to you.” I felt like I was jumping off a cliff when I decided to do this. I didn’t know anyone else* who was feeding this way but it felt right, so we took the plunge.

We switched him completely off his current food and onto a raw (meat and bones) diet and stopped all the meds. He improved almost overnight. He stopped scratching within a few days, seemed to have more energy than he’d had since he was a puppy, and his fur slowly grew back even fuller than before. I also switched the cats to a part raw, part canned diet and the heavy ones lost weight while our light-weights (Noah and Bodhi) gained a little.

One of the reasons why I was hesitant to write about this was I didn’t want anyone (who isn’t doing this type of diet) to feel guilty, defensive, or think I was saying, “This is the only way to feed your pet and you are wrong if you don’t do it.”

But it is also really good information and I felt compelled by something (greater than my concerns about how it might be received) to share it.  Maybe it is the answer to someone’s prayer out there. Maybe that is why I felt I had to write this….I’m not sure.

What I am sure of is when something I’m doing doesn’t feel right to me, and I ask the larger, more expanded part of Myself for guidance, it always comes, and I can always trust it.

“There is a universal, intelligent, life force that exists within everyone and everything. It resides within each one of us as a deep wisdom, an inner knowing. We can access this wonderful source of knowledge and wisdom through our intuition; an inner sense that tells us what feels right and true for us at any given moment.”Shakti Gawain

*it wasn’t until after we started Luke on a raw diet that I found out how many other people were doing the same. I even ran into one of the monks (who we had gotten Luke from as a puppy) told him about it, and was very surprised to hear that they used to feed raw too, but it became too much for them (although he thought it was the best diet).

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Divine territory

I’m not sure who took this photo but I love it! It was sent by a friend (thank you Susan) with the caption, “Did you lose a cat?”

Most of us want to figure everything out. We want to squeeze this vast, incomprehensible “All” into something manageable and small enough to satisfy our reasoning, conscious minds, while there is a brilliant, genius Mind within every one of us just waiting to be given a chance. We are connected to (and an integral part of) The Divine, The Whole, The Infinite, and it offers constant direction and guidance that is beyond our figuring.

This “inner knowing” has nothing to do with logical arguments or reasoning, doesn’t take into consideration facts, the past, or what has always happened. It offers fresh, new, life-changing direction, ideas and flashes of insight, and it is ours for the asking. If you are facing a challenge that seems beyond anything that you can figure out, good. You are in the territory of the Divine. Focus on the outcome that you would love to see. Hold that vision and let the bigger part of you work things out.

“Conclusions arrived at through reasoning have very little or no influence in altering the course of our lives.” Carlos Castaneda (From The Fire Within)

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Listening “in”

Getting quiet

8 years ago, I attended a retreat in Alabama and did a fire-walk. In the few days leading up to the actual walk, the leader kept encouraging us to listen to our inner voices, to be sure it would be safe for us (personally) to do. This involved getting quiet (both inside and out), settling down and not acting out of either fear or nervous excitement.

I could feel that it was right for me. I didn’t feel cocky or arrogant, and the thought of it made my stomach flip, but in an exciting way. I know the difference between excited expectation of something totally out of my comfort zone, and the inner discomfort that says “this is not a good idea for you”, or the other voice that gets really excited about something but within a few days, the energy drains away and I see clearly that it was just one of my “big ideas” that really is not right.

No other person can get inside of me and feel. It is the still, small voice that doesn’t give us logical reasons, explanations, or excuses. It Knows the way and it leads to more life.

I don’t know if I’ll ever do a firewalk again or not, but just because I’ve done it once, doesn’t mean I’d feel OK to do it again without checking inside to see how I was feeling. With all of the positive outcomes, (and mistakes) I’ve made in my life, the one constant has been my sense of whether or not something was right (for me) or wrong  in that particular situation. I didn’t always listen to that voice, didn’t always want to…but I always knew.

When people are hard on themselves saying, “I knew that I shouldn’t have….(fill in the blank; dated that guy, bought that car, adopted that particular animal…) it is important to remember that you knew and that means you can trust your inner voice. And maybe even follow it next time!

Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way. Florence Scovel Shinn

NEW SESSION OPTION

Over the past year, a number of people have asked me if I’d consider doing shorter phone sessions and so, starting September 1st, I am going to be offering, (in addition to the full one hour regular sessions) shorter, 30 minute appointment times. The fee will be $35 for the 1/2 hr. time (the regular session will stay at $60).

If this is something that interests you, you can go to the “My Work: Private Sessions with Me” tab,  read more about my background and what a session with me is like, and if you’d like to set up a time, email me and we’ll go from there!  The link to this page is: http://whitefeatherfarm.wordpress.com/about/

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The whisper

I was driving into my office on Friday morning and I saw a couple, loaded down with large backpacks, walking on the side of rt. 372. I knew them, (casually) and liked them very much, so turned around to see if they needed a ride. When they said yes, I knew that I was going to drive them all the way…I could feel that familiar sense in my gut saying, “This one is yours Mary.”

As their story unfolded, I found out that they were on a mission of sorts. They belong to a religious community that periodically sends out members to be available at large gatherings for support and aid of those attending, and they were on their way to one. As we drove along, I was rather surprised to find out that they were headed to Rochester NY (about a 5 hour drive) and yet they started out with only a little granola, some water, no money and a lot of faith.

I told them that I wanted to drive them all the way, but had to go back to my office for my appointments, and asked them if I could drop them off at my home and come back and we’d leave from there. They agreed and I must say, I think they were more stunned than I was.

I thought of the alternatives; drive them part way, let them take my car, and neither felt right. I try not to argue with my deeper knowing when it says to do something. Interesting how this came to mind, given my post yesterday about saying no to my mother’s request for me to get involved in her compter buying, and a request from a friend to foster a little dog for 3 weeks (I did tell my friend that if she’s take Luke and our 6 cats for the 3 weeks, I’d be happy to foster her little friend!)…I could feel that both of these, while being wonderful things to do, were not mine to do.

When my inner voice says to do something, the way is made clear, doors open, all the resources and energy I need are available and a sense of being almost taken along on a journey (that is somehow bigger than me), is present. When I try to do something that my inner voice is backing away from, saying, “Don’t do this.” and I go ahead because I think “I should”, it is a draining experience for all.

I drove 11 hours on Friday and got back home late at night feeling uplifted, refreshed and renewed.

“None of us will every accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.” 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

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What will my intuition toss up to me today?!

My friend's daughter, Delaney. I noticed that she had 2 different socks on and her mom said (with a big smile), "She is always doing things like that!"

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that Gordon Ramsay was coming to our little town (Cambridge NY) to film an episode of his new series, Hotel Hell. I also wrote that I didn’t have any interest in watching it, which was true. During the buildup to the show, the town was buzzing with energy. Some people were excited and happy, others indifferent or critical. As I began to listen and observe what was happening around me (and inside of me), it felt like there was the potential for a good time, but I also watched myself trying to be uninterested. There was a part of me that thought I shouldn’t care that this was happening.

One of my “rules for living” is to see the world as freshly as possible, to always trust my intuitive feelings, and to go with the positive pull of Life, even when it doesn’t makes sense. Especially when it doesn’t make sense. Even when it means that I might look foolish. I finally let myself be pulled into the adventure, until I noticed that every time I drove into town, I was trying to catch a glimpse of the chef and crew.

When several people in town (who read my blog) asked me what I thought about it all, and I said I thought it was fun, I was met with questioning looks like, “What? I thought you wrote that you didn’t like things like this?”  The gist of what I had previously written was, “trust your feelings”. If you are watching or participating in something that is making you uncomfortable and tense, if a deep inner voice (not the ego’s critical, fearful, judgemental voice) is saying, “this is wrong, this doesn’t feel good. Stop it. Get out.” then listen to it. Don’t be afraid of what the crowd will think, follow your own heart. I wrote that what I observe, I will eventually feel in my body and energy field, and I was observing a lot of fun.

A few days before the actual filming started, I thought, “I would like to be invited over there”. That was it. I had the thought and let it go. Friday afternoon, I was finishing up some email correspondence and a friend called and said, “I have been invited to the hotel for a special surprise Saturday morning and can bring a couple of friends. Do you want to come?” I was speechless. My previous intention came to mind instantly and I said yes!

I wrote in my blog on Friday that noticing when things were different was one of the ways to open doors, and by Saturday evening, I could have filled several pages with “What was different in the past 24 hrs!”

Every single person, event and circumstance is multi-faceted. When someone says to me that a person is “a jerk”, I know that they mean that the side of that person being shown to them is a jerk. We call out the aspects of life that fit our belief systems. I still don’t want to watch reality TV, have no interest in witnessing anyone get yelled at, or put down, but this was not the part of the event that I lined up with. The Saturday surprise was a blast. (I am not allowed to talk about what happened until after the show airs sometime in the Spring). Everyone was kind and fun and we had a delicious time!

“It is always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It’s my partner“. Jonas Salk

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intuition: remembering the gift

Bodhi, Noah and Eleanor checking out the new flowers

Many years ago, I was applying to graduate school and was trying to figure out which professors to ask for letters of recommendation. I kept feeling uneasy about one of them; a man who was very friendly and open around me, but something felt off. The night before I was going to ask him, I had a dream that I was listening in on a conversation that he was having with someone else, and the part that I heard was, “I don’t know what I’d do, but I’d let Mary drop.” I woke up knowing not to ask him. Later on, I heard something about him that confirmed my decision had been the right one.

I have learned, over the years, to trust my dreams. In my 20′s and 30′s, when I was much less aware of my inner voice of guidance, I relied heavily on my dream life to inform my decisions. Even though its “language” is highly symbolic, it points the way. It is one of the voices of the intuitive mind.

The conscious mind (rational mind) always wants concrete proof. It loves to argue. If it cannot be explained in logical terms, the conscious mind dismisses it. Our intuitive hunches and nudges, when followed are the things that lead us out of the confusion, out of the mental debates, into lives that flow and work well. Following the intuitive mind leads to a sense of inner peace; a knowing that we can trust ourselves, and at the same time, are not overly suspicious of others because we know who we are. The intuitive mind is the lowly, humble, almost unrecognized path that leads to brilliant flashes of insight, love, success, happiness, peace and our true heart’s desire.

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” Albert Einstein

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Dissolving the fear in our minds

Luke and his new toy

Luke is our big, long-haired German Shepherd. He is a goofy, loveable guy who makes the most of his life with 6 cats, none of whom want to play with him. He was born different…he didn’t even look like the other puppies in the litter, and by the time he was 6 weeks old, he couldn’t stand on his hind legs, but he was a sweet puppy both in looks and temperament. The breeder was a friend of ours, and offered him to us because he couldn’t be sold. We said yes. It was recommended that we get his hips x-rayed since hip problems can be an issue with shepherds. We didn’t do it.

I knew that if I heard from our vet that Luke had bad hips, I would never be able to get the image out of my mind, and what we imagine and fear, will start to manifest. We decided instead to accept him the way that he was, wiggly hips and all, and only do something medically if he was in pain, which he wasn’t. He will be 4 years old in May.

There is an idea, a belief system, operating in the world that we must prepare for disaster. That worry, fear, and massive amounts of information about every disease, disorder and disaster that could potentially befall us (or those that we love), will help avert those things from coming, and just the opposite is true. What we prepare for, we are making room for, in our lives.

Hyper-vigilance prevents us from being able to listen to the voice within, which is our greatest gift, our best friend. Whether you call that voice the “still small voice of God”, intuition, guidance, guardian angel or gut feeling, it really doesn’t matter, but what does matter is the knowing inside that we can trust ourselves. That if we tune into that “voice”, for direction, we will be guided toward the correct action, toward the lives that we want, instead of the lives that we fear. The Spirit never scares us into action. When I am in-tune with my inner guidance, and I do need to take action about some thing that could end up being a problem, I get a “nudge” that might feel like an unusual thought, and if I don’t listen, it gets more persistent (and this is a good thing), but it doesn’t lead by fear.

“The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds“. William James

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Navigating the spiritual life

Eleanor lounging!

There is nothing more important than learning to listen to, trust, and follow our own inner voice. It is the best way to navigate the spiritual life, all of life. Many of us were told, growing up, that we didn’t have the ability to decipher God’s Will/The Still Small Voice within/Divine Guidance/Universal wisdom/Intuition, and were taught to defer to religious or secular authorities, even when what they were telling us to do felt off or wrong. As a former Catholic, I was told that divine revelation came through priests (exclusively) and that “regular people” did not even possess the ability to understand “God’s word” themselves. Intuition was regarded as suspect and foolishness. It certainly wasn’t a good enough reason for making important life decisions…certainly wasn’t a “reliable” authority.

If someone isn’t leading me to more trust in myself to make decisions, isn’t teaching me how to listen to my own inner knowing, to pay attention to how Life is “speaking” to me directly, then my spiritual growth will be stunted. There are wonderful helpers, wise people, magical beings, that show up and shed light on our paths making the next step easier and clearer. How do I know the difference? When I have met a genuine “teacher”, they ask me questions and then help me to remember that the answers are within me, I leave their presence with more of a sense of myself, more expansive feeling, like I can take a deep breath. Those who lead me back to me, to that deep knowing that I am, underneath it all, just fine, also lead me back to God.

“When you knock, ask to see God – none of the servants”.  ~Henry David Thoreau

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trusting yourself

A wink from the universe! photograph of York beach

Ever since Jack and I started talking about moving to Maine, we’ve been wanting to take a ride over and explore the coast for a day. We decided yesterday that we would go sometime in September. As I looked at my calendar, and realized that Monday the 12th would be a full moon (and Mondays are the days that we take off to be together), I thought why not next week? The full moon over the ocean sounded so wonderful. I love spur of the moment trips but they also make me feel a little uneasy. I’m not sure what that is, but a voice seems to say “You need to give this more thought”.

A few minutes after this conversation with Jack, I opened my emails and there was one from a colleague of his. It was entitled, “Le Mer Magnifique” and it is a series of photographs of the ocean. The second picture is of the full moon over the ocean. I felt goose bumps and made our reservations. Later in the afternoon, Jack was looking for something and came across these photographs of York Maine; the town that we were going to.

I love these  ”winks from the Universe”. They are small little signs telling me to go ahead, trust my desires, move forward in the direction of my dreams. I’ll let you know how the trip goes!

“Obey your soul, have perfect faith in yourself. Never think of yourself with doubt or distrust, or as one who makes mistakes“. Wallace D. Wattles

If you would like to see the slide show of the ocean pictures, you can see it on you tube as “Belle Indomptable” (or send me an email and I will forward it as an attachment to you. My email is mmuncil@verizon.net), also, there is a poem in French on the second photograph and I would love to know what it says!

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