Are YOU Psychic? Being in Tune with Your Own Inner Guidance

A few years back, I found a copy of a letter I wrote to a friend
while in college. In the letter, I described how one day I was
standing somewhere on campus, and was thinking about how
something was going to happen, and expressed being
astonished how it happened the way I thought it would -
what a "coincidence."

In 99/00, I was taking some "self-help" courses, and we had
to "interview" each other, asking questions about ourselves to
others - often times someone we really didn't know beyond
superficial contact. Many times I would get, "how did you know
that?"

Another time I was sitting in my living room, having seemingly
random thoughts, and odd ones at that. I was wondering who
in the world could die, that the world would go into mourning
for. At the time, different people crossed my mind, JFK Jr,
Mother Teresa, Lady Diana...I focused on Lady Diana, but
found myself thinking how odd it was, after all, she was so
young. My next thought, "how could she die?" was answered
with "a car accident." I immediately thought, "Someone would
likely be driving her" (as if that would prevent her from dying -
but it was the logic that I came up with in the moment.)

I remember thinking about it for a bit, and wondering how I
could say anything to anyone. This American woman, who had
no connections to anyone anywhere, and even if I did, how
crazy were these thoughts. How would I look if I even tried
to attempt to say something.

I let it go.

A few months later, while a friend was visiting, we had the
radio on, and I hear something to the effect that Lady Diana
died - in a car accident - with someone else driving.
Needless to say, I was beyond flabbergasted.

There are other seeming "coincidences" that have occurred
over the years. I have come to realize that there are very few
"random" thoughts.

I wanted to write this blog entry because there is some insight
that I have into the world of "psychics" and "intuition." I just
love how a lot of what I am interested in are things that people
seem to have very strong opinions about. Talk about feeling
just a "wee bit" uncomfortable and vulnerable.

Back in 99/00 I announced to those in the courses with me
that I was a "psychic." Everyone had been telling me I was one,
so I decided to claim it. At the time, though, it was a rather
timid claim, because I was still afraid of what others might
think of me. Even without "announcing" my intuitive ability
to my brother, most of our life he would tell me how grateful
he was that I had hogged our family's "flaky genes."

For a long time, I was very defensive about who I was and my
interests, not being understood by those closest to me, and
certainly never fit in with a majority of those around me, and
now, I was going to claim myself as "psychic," what was I
thinking??

However, I did claim it, and actually began to work as an
intuitive. I actually decided I liked that word better than psychic.
Psychic can be off putting, and has lots of negative connotations.
Beside which, I never really felt like I was a "tell me about my
future" kind of person. My intuition always seemed to come
out in the context of conversations. It was never one way, and
I hated (and still do) when someone would try to put me on
the spot, and "test" me.

What I have discovered over the last several years is that what
I have, if a "gift" as some claim, is a "gift" that we all have. The
difference between me and someone else, I would contend, is
the fact that I am more open to it, and recognizing it for what
it is.

The brother I mentioned before has one of the best
intuitions of anyone I know. However, instead of recognizing
it as that, he just believes that he is "a good judge of human
character." Who is to say that being a good judge of human
character isn't tapping into one's ability to be intuitive?

By having a conversation around intuition and psychics that
is woo-woo and negative, it is no wonder that few people would
want to "claim" this ability for themselves. After all, what would
people think? The "funny" thing is, though, the more that I have
allowed myself to be free to express myself around this, the
less I have had to whisper it, and the more I find people not
only appreciating what I am saying, but also attesting to how
it aligns with their own experiences.

Working as an intuitive, I came to realize a "truth" for me that
I will share with you. I came to realize that many people who
spoke with me usually knew the answers to the questions
they were asking. They were either seeking confirmation, or
hoping for a different answer.

Sometimes what they needed was someone to talk to, or some
perspective on what was happening from someone outside the
situation. It would seem we have so few options of people
to talk to about things that can actually be helpful. This,
by the way, is not to say that intuitives are the best advisors
- I have heard some pretty awful things that some have said
- however, they are "someone" for someone who feels they have
"no one."

In addition, I also came to realize that things are ever evolving
and changing. For as much as I felt something could happen,
and it did, there were times it didn't. Can I explain it? Well, I
wish I knew how to. I have to say I have many more questions
than answers when it comes to some things.

However, the best I can say in this regard is that I believe that
if one is going to utilize a psychic, the best thing they can do
for themselves is read the answers of that person. Do they
resonate for you? If yes, and it's an answer you like, then do
what you can to support the energy around it, and encourage
it to happen. If yes, and it's an answer you don't like, then
do what you can to do things to attempt to alter the energy
around it, so that maybe you can alter the outcome.

Speaking with someone in tune with their intuition could be
equivalent to getting a "status" check. Sometimes we need to
know that our sneaking suspicions are right, and an intuitive
could (perhaps) be that meter. Even those that are around
us can be that, too, if we are willing to be in touch with
our own gut, and own what we believe to be true. However, in
any situation, whatever is read/said will be through the
filter of the person doing the speaking.

Who or what is "right" or "correct"?

The key is to start from WITHIN. When you let someone else
tell you what to believe and think, it will mess with you,
especially if your own inner guide is in disagreement.

I hope after reading this you might have an different idea of
what psychic/intuitive is, and be able to claim your own inner
guidance. At the very least, maybe consider that, like with
anything, there are those who will mislead and take advantage,
and there are those that can help and make a difference.

An Artful Perspective

Oblinski. Have you ever heard of him?

I saw some of his art several months ago, and loved it. There was one piece in particular that stood out to me. It must have been what I was going through at the time. There was a man and a woman in the picture. There were to two mountains(?) separating the man and the woman. There was also a high wire stretched between the two. The man, blindfolded, was making his way across to the side the woman was on.

I thought about it, and considered what it could mean:

Love is blind
Love sometimes means taking chances
You don't know what is coming up next, but you gotta take a chance
You can step into something, not knowing how it will turn out

There may have been a few others, but that gives you an idea. I was looking to find that image to share, but since I never figured out what it was called, I have had difficulty finding it again. If you know what I am referring to, please let me know. I would love to find a print of it.

As always, I am sharing because of the perspective that this artist provides. If you are unfamiliar with him, he has the most unique - and yet "real" - perspective of any artist I have ever seen.

There is one image in which a woman is pulling aside half of her face, as if a curtain (I promise it's not as morbid as it may sound) and behind the curtain you see a woman in a cage. When I look at that piece it makes me think of the many people who are "imprisoned" in their world, or in the thoughts in their mind. There is always something going on behind the scenes, and in my experience many people are different inside their heads than they are with others. Sadly, often, the "behind the scenes" version is sad, lonely, depressed, maybe even feeling guilt.

I wonder what it would take for us to have a world in which who we were inside could be freely expressed on the outside. I think it would have a lot to do with being able to accept ourselves, as oftentimes I think it is the judgement of another that may prevent us from being who we truly are. If we love and accept ourselves, does it really matter what another person thinks?

Probably there also has to be the reality that a person that we interact with really does care about us/what is going on with us. How often has someone asked you how you were today, and you knew all they wanted was the cursory, "I am fine." He or she probably didn't really want to know, and you knew it. Of course, the reverse likely holds true. How did you feel when you asked the question, and got a list of things that were wrong for the person? Did you really want to know? Did you really care?

A few years ago, I started to realize that I was "intuitive." I would practically whisper it to people, if I mentioned it all. What would people think? I was already considered unusual by most who knew me. After a while, I loosened up, in part, because I noticed that when I spoke with people about this, many times they were open to what I was saying. Open AND interested. It helped to give me the freedom to be able to express this part of myself.

Now not everyone would be open and/or interested, however now I accept that and move on, instead of allowing what they think to become a judgement of who I am. I also find that occasionally there are people who WANT to be interested, and maybe just don't know how to express interest, because they have been told that they shouldn't be interested. In those case, I have found if I approach it in a different way, in a way that relates to how they are intuitive (and I believe everyone is), there is a whole different conversation to be had.

One of my biggest sayings these days is "Be True to Yourself." There is no greater freedom and joy than when you are true to who you are in the face of (seeming) opposition. You are unique. Embrace it. Cherish it. Nurture it. I think we are all meant to be different, and yet we spend so much time and energy trying to be the SAME. It takes a lot of energy to conform to something that doesn't fit, don'tja think?

If you agree, consider what it would take to start to be who you truly are. Consider what it would be like to be the same outside as you are inside. When there is alignment between the two oftentimes people find peace. As always, do a test drive for yourself and see what happens. You might just be amazed.

For your reference, here are several links that show Oblinski's art. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did.

http://www.starat.narod.ru/pictures/surreal/oblinski/main.htm

http://www.jibjab.com/view/162990

allposters.com

http://artikons.com/rafal-olbinski/

http://hachillama.livejournal.com/161653.html

http://alldesignblog.com/
(2-14 oblinski - but other interesting designs/perspective)