7. Intuition with Spirit Guides

Recently, many people kept asking me HOW I accessed my intuition? And I realized I didn't really have a one sentence answer for them that would just stop there, but continue to spark a deeper conversation. Knowing that there is a time and a place for everything, talking about metaphysical "stuff" isn't everyone's idea of "fun" at a happy hour, so I knew I had to write a blog on it sooner or later!

So, the well-meaning questioner asked, "Did I read tarot cards, a crystal ball, or use a Ouji board?" Looking back on my answer then, my answer kind of sucked. (I blame it on the wine).

For starters, many people assume tarot cards because it is a commonly used tool to access intuition, and it may be the only tool they are currently familiar with, and that is OKAY, because there is no "Right" method  to access intuition, but only the "Right" intention: Unconditional Love and healing for the intuitive and the client.

I use my higher self and spirit guides to access my intuition.

Of course this leads a question of, Where do these spirit guides come from? Who are they? 

WHERE: It is in my belief that the healing information we receive while giving a intuitive reading can come from the following spiritual guides: Angels- Archangels or guardian angels, power animals,  deceased ancestors/relatives, or our higher self- it can come from a combination of the three, or maybe just one.
Where do the guides comes from? 
Power animals reside in the underworld (not the Greek version of the underworld) in another dimension, generally underground.
Higher Self- is you on a higher spiritual dimensional plane, Can I pinpoint it on a map? No I can't.
Angels/Archangels: Also on a higher spiritual dimensional plane, heaven I guess.
Deceased ancestors/ relatives: Many of these guides reside on the "Other Side"/Higher Dimensional Plane
The other side is commonly called the 'veil between two worlds', (if you ever read Harry Potter, kind of like that) We reside in the 'physical reality'.
- Deceased persons may keep popping up and asking you to resolve issue, resolve them, so they can cross to the other side!
- Sometimes deceased persons come through to help out/check out what you are doing/ give advice etc.
- In some cultures it is an honor for a deceased relative to appear to a person.

What are guides used for?  Protection and Guidance.
 Psychic protection is a fundamental base that ALL intuitives learn and practice EVERYDAY either on their own, or even better with a mentor. Why? It keeps us grounded, protected, and probably saner. 
#1: Intuitives  are OPEN. Analogy: The intuitive is that shiny lamp in the middle of the night, that all the bugs are attracted to, the bugs represent all other people's emotional stuff  and maybe even deceased people who need to be crossed to the other side.
#2: Most intuitives have guides to help keep those 'bugs' off, or at least have them look at the shining bright light from a healthy distance. We meet our guides through merely asking, signs, meditation, or they simply choose us whether we've asked or not. It's common for intuitives to have multiple guides through their lifetime, or just one. Our guides do protect us psychically and they can protect us physically, that being said we still have to use common sense: just because you have a spiritual guide doesn't mean you can go walking down a back alley at nighttime, or go cliff diving in shallow water, it is still human responsibility to take care of oneself. 

"Okay", says the client, "But How do you know that the peeps you are talking to are giving you accurate information?" "How do you know that they aren't bad spirits?" "How do you not put your own judgement on it?"

1. Although the intuitive may receive information, its up to the client to validate us- Accurate validation comes from the clients end, the client can confirm/reject the information coming through. Example: No, I have no idea what your talking about, OR Yes, I remember that event/that person/etc.
2. MOST intuitives understand the importance of psychically  protecting oneself before starting a reading, most guides are also our psychic protectors. I know for my clients I start off with a prayer and ask the Archangel Michael to watch over us as we do are reading.
3. To prevent putting my own ego on a reading before I start a reading, I clear myself out. Meaning anything that isn't 'perfectly' me, criticism, judgement, basically anything negative, gets CLEARED OUT. Basically making myself a "clean vessel" all the information that comes through is not filtered or twisted by my own judgement, ego, prejudices, etc.
Extreme Hypothetical Examples
For example a young lady might call and ask me, I don't know what to do about my boyfriend he does all these really confusing things, she goes on to tell me the mixed signals he says/does, she wants to know should they break up?
Response Me (not a clean vessel): He sounds like a total moron, read Steve Harvey's Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man book, and move on sister!

Me (Cleared out): I get the feeling he is afraid to let you down, I'm getting a feeling in my gut of anxiety, he has a lot of anxiety about the future: his career, how he will take care of you. Let me ask  my guides what is the healing information for your relationship...
Girl: Should I break up with him then?
Me: That is completely up to you, you have receive the information, so its your free will to how you plan to use it. I cannot make that decision for you.

"Okay", says the client ,"But HOW do you receive this information from your guides?" Or even better, "How do our guides communicate to us?" 
There are several types of tools/abilities intuitive have and use. 
Clair-audience: hearing information from guides, voices in your head (I never forget telling my therapist that one, hahaha)
Clair-voyance: Seeing images in your mind's eye, that place above your eyes, it feels like your imagination but isn't. Can see images from past lives, past, present, future. Commonly used in remote viewing to find missing persons or locate places of interest by U.S. Intelligence.
Clair-sentience: Feeling: feeling aches and pains, hot/cold, anxiety/joy etc.
Clair-olfaction: Smell-o-vision. Smell perfumes, cigars, foods, etc.
Psychometry: Touching/Holding an object and seeing/hearing/feeling information on the owner. Commonly used to located missing persons.
Psychography: Automatic writing, channels messages from guides via writing/drawing.
Telepathic: picking up on other's thoughts ( Sookie Stackhouse from TrueBlood) Yes, it does exist! Twin Flames and twins commonly have this telepathic connection between each other. Persons who do animal communication have strong telepathic ability, young infants and children before they formulate words, also communicate telepathically.


                                                          Medium vs. Channeler
                             (I had to clarify this! People use this term interchangeably) 
Medium: Individual who passes along messages from those from the other side, the medium still retains their  identity while speaking to the deceased person. Some mediums see deceased persons as if they were sitting down and having coffee face-to-face, or others like myself see them in my mind's eye. Medium's also receive information from deceased persons in -audience, -sentience, -olfaction, and -voyance.To illustrate, a medium is a lot like a road median, the cars aren't allowed to drive on it, just on either side of it.
                                                                          versus 
Channeler: A person who channels is also known as a "trance medium". The individual  takes on the spirit's identity, voice, habits, demeanor, fully, of a deceased person, deity, or entity. The whole eyes rolling in the back of the head thing, think of the Greek Oracle of Adelphi channeling the Fates. Channelers allow their bodies to be vessels for another entity. So, I think of a Channeler as a water channel, redirecting the entire flow of water through a condensed space, or the person.
For example, in Afro-Brazilian Candomble ceremonies, the participants channel the orixas/deities for particular saint feast days, taking on the demeanor, personalities, likes/dislikes of the deities. (I'm not a channeler, I don't condone it, just not a tool in the personal toolbox)

So anyway, this a brief list of 'tools' used in the intuitive tool box, that I'm aware of. Most intuitives have 2-4 of these strengths and use some more so than others predominantly in their work. However, guides/spirit/higher self communicates in how it wants to. It is very possible that a deceased relative will communicate via -olfaction, rather than a -voyance. For example, deceased Uncle Bob knows, the best way to let his niece Suzie know that he is really there at the reading is to use smell-o-vision for the medium rather than pictures.

       

6. Calling In The Angels!

 The snowstorm of 2010 was great, however cabin fever sunk its way in after two days. I needed to get out! A family had called me over to come babysit their kids. I hadn't realize the entrance road was so bad coming out of my neighborhood, icy and uneven grooves, and ditches, but  I felt brave enough to venture out into the world  in my little Toyota Prius. As I rocked along in my little car I thought, "I'm going to get stuck in a ditch, I know it!." Sure enough my negative thinking landed me in a ditch! I tried to gas my car really fast to get out of it, but that didn't work. Silently, I asked the Archangel Michael to help me out, instantly two young women came out of nowhere, and one young woman pushed my car out of the ditch (I love kind people!).  As soon as the car was out I jumped out of the car to thank her, we introduced ourselves, her name was Michelle, a variant name of the form Michael.  

I love my sister but in this particular circumstance we were fighting like cats and dogs, an honestly I don't even remember what we were fighting about!  She left the house in a huff after our argument and drove back to school. Like all people, fighting with the people you love the most in your life doesn't make one feel good. It sort of feels like giant rocks sitting on the bottom of our stomach, with the tight-chested feeling when you breath. I was worried about my sister to the point where I couldn't sleep. I called upon the Archangel Michael to watch over me and watch over her. He said, "Don't worry, I'm here for you, go to sleep." Right after he spoke I saw the most beautiful, brilliant, blue/purplish light glowing ball very brightly in my room. The glowing ball brought me a sense of peace, protection, and calm, I fell asleep right then and there. Waking up the next morning, I thought maybe I made it up, or had just been "seeing things" but remembering the sense of peace and protection it brought me, I knew that was the Archangel Michael. 

When I first began reading the book The Miracles of the Archangel Michael by Doreen Virtue, one of the indicators that the Archangel Michael was active in your life was by having lots of purple items around. I scoffed at this, I hated the color purple! But looking around my room at that exact moment, it became clear I was an ostrich with my head in the sand.  I didn't realize how much of it I had! Purple curtains, purple comforter, purple quartz crystal, and purple shirts! DUH! So, I looked back down at the book and at the Archangel Michael on the front cover, and thought OKAY Maybe there is something to this!

 I wasn't always a 'believer' in Angels. I viewed them as these 'beings', that may or may not be real, and although I attended Catholic High School, and had exposure to Angels visiting people in the bible, I had a difficult time, like any person, wrapping my mind around a winged-being having an impact on my life in any way shape or form. Also, some of my lack in faith in Angels came from my own self-doubt- Why would an Angel give a crap about me? I certainly wasn't Joseph or Mary material. Didn't Angels have more important things to do? Like battling Satanic Forces or saving the earth from self-destruction? Why bother with my teenage melodrama? 

I carried these opinions about Angels for many years. But like all things in this lifetime, that Changed! 


      I was walking in Barnes and Noble one day and I happened to be walking by the "New Age" section.  A book leaped out at me, Miracles of the Archangel Michael by Doreen Virtue. The picture on the front cover was definitely NOT how I pictured Angels- sallow and thin looking beings with creepy ethereal light around them- instead this particular photo showed the Archangel Michael strong, built, brandishing a sword, and most of all emanating  Brave and warm energy.  The book screamed at me: pick me up! pick me up! I felt kind of dorky picking it up, I thought great now people will thinking of some sort of extremist bible thumper. But as I began reading that thought faded into the background, and what jumped off the pages to me was how active this Angel was in my life already. 


One of the common signs that the Archangel Michael was watching over you:  


- Favoring the color purple, or having lots of purple items. 
- Walking away from car wrecks, that you shouldn't have lived through, without a scratch. 
- Seeing purple/bluish dots out of the corner of your eyes. 
- Having good samaritans help you with the name Michael/Michelle. 


What struck me the most was not only did all of these situations/things apply to my own life, but Doreen's book even said HOW to call Angels into one's life. 


I thought OKAY What the heck, Why Not? So began my work with the Archangel Michael. 


     At first it just began with calling him in for a safe drive during long road trips, or if my parents were gone for a long weekend, asking him to stand watch by my windows and doors. 
Then, I began seeing more purple/blue dots out of the corner of my eye. I thought something was wrong with my vision, but all was well according to the eye doctor. 


What really hit it home for me was another intuitive. I had never spoken to her previously, nor spoken to her about my interest in the Archangel Michael. 


    I was visiting a friend/mentor of mine in Ohio. I happened to be there on Halloween, and of course being with a house full of other intuitive people, the host was having a seance party. The seance party consisted of people from all ages and backgrounds, most of them were average everyday folks from Ohio, there just to have a good time, and some good woo-woo moments. The seance began, and people who had crossed over began coming through via the hostess. (I told my dead people to wait last, there are always a ton of them!). 


     Sure enough as everyone had a received a message from a loved one, my friend spoke up, "Hey! What about Meredith?" Our host replied, "All of her people are last!" The host ran through my loved ones for me, each having a loving message for me,  but what gave me chills all up and down my body, cry, and generally just be emotional, was to hear her say last, 
"There is an incredibly powerful Angel here for you, the Archangel Michael to be exact, he wants you to know he loves you so much and he is looking out for you." The experience washed away any and ALL self-doubts I had about Archangel Michael being present in my life. 


Again, I write this blog post, to demonstrate that you CAN call in Angels to your life. There is no catch, you simply just have to ASK. 


In summary, Angels have impacted my ways in my life that I never dreamed of! 
Now, before I begin working with clients in either laying of hands healing or giving a reading, I simply ask the Archangel Michael (Angel of Protection) and the Archangel Raphael (Angel of Healing) to make their presence known and to assist in guiding me for the healing of the client. 


                                                          
                         

5. "If It Was Easy Everybody Would Be Doing It"- My Dad

           One September evening a friend gave me a call. She was in some distress about her personal relationships and life path as well. Being taught that giving readings to those closest to you is the most difficult, due to human ego jumping with its own opinions and judgement, I had always been turned off the idea of giving a friend a intuitive reading. However, we had been out of communication for some time and that evening, my guides told me, "Offer to give her a reading." I was nervous to even ask since it was my first time giving  a reading in a non-workshop environment and first time I'd be doing it over the phone!By the powers of the universe, she gladly accepted and we were both were blown away!

         Later that evening, I was so tired, but also so happy that the reading went well. I told my boyfriend how great everything went. He said to me, " Hun, you just need start a practice, get off the fence, stop worrying, I'll help you build a website and do all the technology technical stuff  for you, you have a gift, USE IT!" His words stuck with me. (This is coming from the man who doesn't "buy into" this metaphysical stuff). 

 As I fell asleep that night, I accepted and readily acknowledged that I loved the gifts I had been given from the Universe/God, to help others heal. 

         But like so many of us here on the earth plane even though I heard the message loud and clear from the universe, the Ego loves to play those funny mind games, so I resigned myself to STILL  having no clue as to how I would get my practice going! 

Like the average U.S. Citizen,  I consulted my power animal guide to help me manifest the resources and basics of a successful practice. My guide lead me to Rabbit. Rabbit stands for fertility, of course I wasn't trying to have a baby, but as I've told many people, "My practice is my baby, I'm in no rush for it to grow overnight." And I've often viewed the beginnings of my practice as planting seeds that would soon grow, but I simply was lacking the soil to plant seeds in, Rabbit was there to step in.  Following Rabbit's instructions, I "burrowed" daily in my bed, between pillows and blankets, during my "unemployment" stint. During the afternoons I would go hop in the woods by myself. ( I only did it once!) 

 My mother would come upstairs and ask me if I was sick , which I would reply, " No, Burrowing." My mother readily accepted my eccentricity growing up, so she realized I was just being weird, and left me to it. 

A few weeks later, I stopped into my chiropractor's office to ask her receptionist, about recommendations for colonics, she referred me to Melissa at Vital Mind Body Therapies. On my second visit, Melissa and I  began chit-chatting, it somehow came up that we were both interested in the metaphysical. After telling her my interest in psychic stuff and Reiki, she replied, "You know we have a room that you could sublet here." The clouds parted, it was as if she and I were meant to have that conversation, weird considering she barely knew me then! With Melissa and my Dad's help, I got the ball rolling to get an actually "practice" going.   

4.How Did I (And the Universe) Get Operation Higher Vibrations Going?

         Like many young people after graduation, I was on the hunt for a J-O-B, a regular 9am-5pm, with benefits, get to wear fancy clothes to work, and 'life path' meant being attached to a Blackberry Phone. And like many young people, the pressing question on my mind was, "What's the Next Step?" or "I graduated...Now What?" Like many students, I debated back and forth between graduate school, law school, job hunting, massive student loans, and took the GRE and LSAT multiple times. 

       Eventually, I was accepted into a law program called TAP, Trial Admission Program. I was incredibly excited and incredibly nervous. I worked my butt off.  Before the week of final exams, I began seeing butterflies...everywhere. At first I thought that it was because of summer and the heat, however I then began to see them on my car, drawn on the sidewalk as I stepped out in the morning, on people's clothes, etc. I recognized the sign, or so I thought. Butterfly stands for Transformation. Hibernating in the Cocoon and when ready, bursting forth into ones full abilities. I thought Great! Butterflies! I'm passing my final exams! Regardless,I studied my butt off for final exams. I left each exam feeling like I did my best, although they were hard. 

I received the news in July, that I did not receive the qualifying GPA to attend the law school in the Fall. I was pretty devastated. I thought all the signs were there, that this was the Transformation. The months of July till September, we're tough. I was out of work and basically felt like a waste of space. I was bitter and depressed. I felt like I had been cheated by my university and I also felt that I was owed a job. I went to college didn't I? Wasn't I guaranteed a job? Needless, to say Ego loves to throw pity parties! During this time also, things surfaced, "my stuff". As my mentor Kym said, "Everybody has stuff." Well, lets just say I willingly chose to take my time to clear this stuff. In the words of Kym McBride, "Cleared a lot of Crap" from July till September! 

In retrospect, this was the Transformation! Preparing me for the other plans the Universe had for me....

3.Experience With St. Francis Part Two

       My college years went by in a whirlwind with college sports and academics. However, it all came on hold when I got the news from my sister that my dog, Misty, was very very sick. She was an 80lb black lab that due to a mistake during her spay surgery, had become an emaciated 30lbs. She was basically bone and had to be fed special food 4-5 times a day, given daily antibiotics and prevacid medicine for digestive upset, and was not allowed to do any heavy exercise other than to be let out to use the bathroom.  For a Labrador retriever one can imagine how hard this could be. The vet's only suggestion to us was to have her put down. 


Although the vet's dire diagnosis made us fearful of what would become of her, my father and I sensed the spark in her eyes, the will to live.  As a result my family did everything we could to help her. We all took turns leaving work to feed her, so she could eat 4-5 times a day, and purchased the expensive high-calorie dog food necessary for her survival. 


However, after 5-6 months of this, my mother sat me down, and simply stated, “We can’t afford this, the dog has to be put down, or given away to someone who can afford her care.” My mother's concern came from what was going on in the family: My sister's illness with chronic Lyme disease grew worse,her medications, doctor's visits, were completely out of pocket costs, due to insurance and the medical field failing to acknowledge Lyme disease as a growing problem. As a result, my parents each picked up second jobs in order to pay her medical expenses. I understood where my mother came from but I knew and felt that giving my dog away was not the right answer for us, or for her. Needless to say, I was distraught, this was my dog she belonged with my family, she was part of our pack. 


        That night, for the first time in a long time, I pulled my dog close to me, and I prayed to St. Francis to please help my dog live. I kept my heart open to whatever it was he had to to tell me. Suddenly, I heard words, “Take her off the medicine, she’s allergic, and let her play fetch.” The next morning, I informed my parents, no more medicine, no Prevacid or antibiotics, and she was allowed to play fetch. Basically, everything the vet told me NOT to do, I did.  My parents reluctantly replied and tried to convince me that I wasn't a veterinarian and didn't know what I was doing, I told them what happened with St. Francis, and surprisingly they were open to trying it, soon trying it became a new routine and just a few months later my dog weighed a healthy 75lbs. 


    Misty is 8 years old now, but many a passerby take her to be 2 or 3. I firmly believe this is because St. Francis gave her back some of the years that she lost being so ill. 

2. Teenage Years: Oh, It Gets Better

Teenage years are lovely: acne, hormonal changes, already being awkward and smelly, how much worse does it get?   

Moving into adolescence I began to have what are known as, dejavu, daydreams and no matter how many extracurricular activities that I participated in I always felt “different”.  Being different as a teen as we all know, Sucks. period. All you really want to do is blend in.

High School was difficult, walking through the cafeteria was a daily hell. If I could I avoided it all cost! I didn't like people staring at me or noticing me by myself because when I did I felt the negative thoughts being beamed my way. At the time I wasn't aware of all of these energy dynamics going on because I didn't know how to differentiate between my "stuff" and theirs, I figured there was something wrong with me like mental illness or social anxiety disorder.  Needless to say,  this made me  quite moody and I don't think I really smiled most of high school. Sad, but true, I once had a classmate tell me I looked like a terrorist walking down the hallway, gee thanks. As a result,  I spent many a day eating lunch it study hall doing homework. I felt safe there and  I got my homework done and got better grades, Downside: Still effing MISERABLE! 

The fact of the matter was, there was and isn't anything wrong with me (Hurray!) because like many intuitive persons, I was unaware how to shield and became psychic energy sponge to other people's crap. Now for a cool story! 

The stand-out moment during my adolescent years was during the highschool senior retreat.

      Flashback to junior year: In our junior year of high school, students were required to write a letter, which would be reopened the next fall at senior retreat. Junior year was rough. My first dog with whom I had been very close, was slowly crossing over, I prayed to St. Francis to cross her over more quickly. I didn't have the emotional will to say good-bye to her before getting her put down.  Upon returning home from school that, my first dog had crossed over, although I was heartbroken and cried A LOT, I knew that St. Francis had heard my intentions. 
     Fast forwarding, to senior retreat day, I began reading the letter I wrote a year go, completely forgetting that I had written about my dog and her passing. As I began to read, tears formed in my eyes as I read over the sentences about my first dog, I missed her so bad. I looked up to see if anyone was watching me cry, and looked up to straight in front of me  was a statue of St. Francis and a dog! I was assured then that my first dog, Jolie, and St. Francis were looking out for me. However, my encounter with St. Francis was not to be my last... 

1.The Intuitive Childhood: There Is No Such Thing As Normal!

            Unlike many psychics, my intuitive journey did not begin with any profound life changing events, angels coming to visit me in the middle of the night, or life-changing premonitions. Instead, like most of the world population, I've been intuitive for my entire life! 

     To begin,  like so many other intuitive children, I remember my emergence from the womb. Bright, Cold, and the next thing I knew I was walking around as a toddler. 

        As a toddler I saw colors around people’s heads (auras), witnessed light beings in my home, often times I just “knew” things, and even saw in my mind's eye deceased relatives who I’d never met.  I have several stand-out moments as a small child with woo-woo stuff. 

One day I was staring out the bathroom window one evening and the thought and feeling occurred to me, “There are dead people in my backyard.” A few evenings later, sitting down at my good catholic neighbor’s house, I stated, “There are dead people in my backyard.” The neighbor’s were quite disturbed, got up immediately from the table, and called my parents, who came over to get me. (Honestly, I don't blame them I was pretty weird and they probably didn't want it to rub off on their kids).  Later that evening, my father asked, “Did you see any dead people in the backyard?” I replied, “No, daddy, I just know they are there and that their buried in our backyard, that’s all.” I later learned my father saw those who crossed over as well. (Intuition is a gene, just like blue-eyes and blonde-hair!) and I also learned that the community development was built on old farm land. 

   However,  other times  in my childhood were simple feelings and gut reactions that I followed. I would be playing at a friend's house and just have this urgency that I needed to go home, it was an overwhelming feeling, it wasn't homesickness, just an overwhelming feeling that I needed to be home at the exact moment. A few times I tried to ignore this feeling, but the more I ignored it the more it nagged at me, of course intuition is just like a mother as soon as you listen to, its usually right! That being said, I'd haul my hiney back home. 

The spookiest story I have as a youngin' is when our old German pre-WWII piano from the 1920s played itself one night. Some background info, I was weird kid, I was up at night and slept during the day. Looking back I believe my 'insomnia' was due to being so "open" and while other people could let their guard down and be vulnerable in sleep, I could not due to being bombarded with a mixture of dead people and others' energy. Often times I felt watched while I tried to sleep, and  let's face it, it is rather creepy to sleep while someone is standing over you watching you, now add on factors such as being 3-5 years old, in the dark, with a teddy-bear, and ALONE>> scary as hell! 

One night in one of these moments of "not being able to sleep" I walked down the hallway and froze... our old 1920s piano was playing... at 11pm at night. I knew it wasn't my sister because the music was too advanced, it was older piano player with experience. Neither my mother or father were night owls, nor did they ever play piano! I called down to the piano player, "Hello? Who is down there?" No response. Continued playing. I ran downstairs to the living room  and slowly peeked around the corner, the piano still played, I saw the keys being pressed down by themselves, but even more disturbing was the kitchen. I ran into the kitchen and the cabinets were opening and closing frantically by themselves all at once. I sprinted upstairs and woke my dad, I shook him and told him what was happening, to go do something. My father's response was, "Sometimes houses simply move by themselves. Go back to sleep." 

Many people have suggested to me, Well maybe it was an one of those automatic playing pianos. I say Nope. 1920's pre-WWII no such piano would have that capability then. 

Thanks for reading- MRM