A Rebellious Act of Self Love

Even a Willow Tree Snaps

Willow tree are amazing. They are so supple, so flexible as they move within breezes and strong winds. They remind me of the the saying “we are never given more than we can handle.” But, is that true? With a strong enough wind, a willow branch will break and so will we.

I wonder if there is a way for us to be like a willow tree no matter where we find ourself.  Maybe. Let’s explore that.

It is inevitable that the winds of uncertainty and upheaval will blow into our life. They might even be fierce enough to overwhelm us. No matter how flexible we may be, we may reach our limit. “No more,” we may groan. So, what do we do next? We engage in a rebellious act of self love. Sounds simple right? Maybe. Maybe not.

I was raised to believe that no matter how bad something got that I needed to rise to the challenge. I am not a quitter. I reevaluated that belief and have decided that it is not quite true. Sometimes you’ve got to step away from a bad situation before you break. Sometimes you’ve got to engage in that rebellious act of self love. 

That a rebellion begins with a simple word shouted from the depths of your soul, “enough!” Saying, “I cannot do this anymore. It is just not working.”

Let talk about an example, maybe you cannot quit your job, but you can take care of yourself  by setting good boundaries. That means taking a time out, discovering what balance means for you, and acting upon what you’ve discovered. 

Let’s return to the example of not being able to quit your job. What actions can you do that will take care of you? Do you job within the constraints of your job description. Take your breaks. Learn to notice when things are triggering. When you leave at the end of your shift, ritualistically shake the dust. Then nurture yourself in your down time. Do not give your work free rent space in your head.

Ask yourself, “what is pushing be toward a break?” It may not be a job. It could be something else. Use the above steps to be that will within the chaos. When you discover what to do, act with rebellious self love. In time those acts will bring you out of the chaos into your peace.

A rebellious act of self love is not an act of selfishness, but an act that says, I love you.

 

Vanessa Hurst is the author of Imperfect in an Uncertain World. As an intuitive catalyst/spiritual director, she guides individuals in recognizing and responding to their intuition. Curious? Schedule an intuitive conversation. 

Intuition Incoming!

Lately my intuition has been on fire. Everywhere I turn, I hear, “incoming!” Sparks are flaring in dreams, on walks, in the words of another, even in emails. Exhausting? No. Exhilarating? Heck yeah! I do admit that it is easy to get overwhelmed by all the stimulation.

How not to get overwhelmed? I don’t get too concerned by the little blips that spark and, in a curls of smoke, go poof! If I need to attend to them, they will return with a brighter light. As the spark flares its way into my life, I can no longer ignore it. I must breathe into it…make it mine.

Aware, I attend to it in the moment. I can ask myself: What is that murder of crows cawing at me? What is the meaning of the dream symbols? How do the words of a friend trigger an inner knowing? These are just examples. The ways that intuition comes to us is varied — and longer than I can list here!

Don’t have time to decipher your intuition in the moment? Jot down the key noticings. You can write it down, use the memo app on your phone, or even audiotape it. When you have time, return to it. 

Here’s what I do to use the notes as a spark. 

• If it is a symbol in a dream, I begin to write what I remember and then let my intuition fill in the rest. As I write, I am mindful about any meaning I attribute to the symbols within. I don’t stress if things don’t come. The key is to keep my pen on the paper and write. I don’t think, I just write what comes to me.  You can do the same.
• If it is a symbol or sign, write what I remember and what surfaced inside of me. Then I look up online the symbol or sign. For example, search for “crow meaning.” I see if anything brings an aha to my search. 
• If a conversation triggers an intuitive aha, I spend sometime reflecting on the message. I find that writing it down works best for me. What comes from what the person is saying? I write until I have exhausted your understanding of the message.

Intuition is not an exact science. The more you dig into the messages, the easier it will be to decipher, understand, and respond to them. In time you will be flowing within the mystery and magic of your intuition regularly. 

Vanessa Hurst is the author of As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive. As an intuitive catalyst, she guides individuals in recognizing and responding to their intuition. Curious? Schedule an intuitive conversation. 

I am awake

I am awake. Not the eyes opening at the sound of an alarm clock kind of awake. No, the awareness that comes from being in the moment — noticing how I am distracted, acknowledging the distractions, and moving back into the present moment, ready to listen to what is evolving. And, the more I am awake, the more that I discover how I am getting caught in my distractions!

This kind of awareness is not so easy. It takes practice. I remember during my coach training that the instructor told us more than once: practice does not make perfect; practice makes permanent. Isn’t that what being awake in the moment is all about? We don’t always hear that soft voice of intuition; but the more we listen for it, the easier it becomes to identify those messages. We may never be perfectly intuitively, but, with practice, we get better at recognizing how it speaks to us.

That is what this intuitive journey is all about — recognizing what we are seeing and attending to what we recognize. 

How do we do this? By noticing what is happening in and around us — by being aware. Try this: at certain points in the day, ask yourself what is trying to get your attention. This could be a distraction or an intuitive message. Don’t worry about discerning what is what. Practice identifying what is knocking on the door of your being. 

Focus on the internal:

What is spinning in your mind?

What emotions are your feeling?

What is your body telling you? 

Don’t give yourself too long. You do not want to second guess yourself. Maybe 30-45 seconds for each question. Quickly jot down your noticings. 

Next focus on the external. Use all five of your senses to identity what is vying for your attention. 

Again, don’t give yourself too long. Notice for maybe 60-75 seconds. 

Notice what resonates with you; notice what drags you down. If you have time later, journal about what you picked up. Keep your notes. Pay attention to patterns. Learn to separate, through trial and error, what is a distraction and what is intuitive. You may not become perfectly intuitive but accessing your intuition will become permanent.

Vanessa Hurst is the author of As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive. As an intuitive catalyst, she guides individuals in recognizing and responding to their intuition. Curious? Schedule an intuitive conversation. 

Being Your Own Crystal Ball

Do you ever want to grab a crystal ball and peer deeply into it to discover the future? To choose without a doubt the best decision to make in this moment? To know what is going to happen and ensure that you have smooth sailing? Me, too. But, life is just too fluid to know with certainty what the future will hold. 

What if I told you that you are your own crystal ball? Maybe you cannot peer into the future and see with certainty what will happen, but you can access your inner wisdom in the present moment to make choices that will impact your future self. Another name for that inner wisdom is intuition. 

Everyone is intuitive. In fact, being intuitive is as natural as breathing. Sometimes our intuition is a quiet whisper that we cannot hear. Sometimes it feels like intuition is hiding behind a great wall. Then there are the times we don’t recognize the voice of intuition as it speaks through our senses. 

First, we need to be aware of how our intuition is gaining our attention. Next we let go of the obstacles that prevent us from understanding our intuition. The final step is responding to our intuition. Moving through these steps may feel like an insurmountable task until it isn’t. I’ll say it a bit differently — accessing our intuition is hard until it isn’t. Like any skill, practice makes connecting to our intuition simpler. Practice doesn’t make perfect; it makes permanent.

Listening to your intuition is about recognizing the ways it knocks on the doors of your consciousness whispering, “Hey! I am here. Listen to me with all your senses.” It is about paying attention to how it shows up in signs, symbols, metaphors — even the words of another can be your intuition speaking. 

Being intuitive is paying attention to catch the nudge and then reflecting upon what you are given. Accessing intuition is like learning a new language and translating it in ways that make sense to you. Your intuitive awareness is as unique as you are. You build the vocabulary of intuition as you learn.

Sounds difficult? Not really. Mostly intuition is about being aware — being in the moment and attending to what is happen. Intuition asks us to be courageous. Don’t fear that you will miss a nudge. Don’t fear that you will interpret it wrong. The nudge will come back louder and louder until you recognize it. 

Try this: For the next several days, notice what is showing up in your life. It could be an animal, bird, plant, numbers, the same topic in conversations; a color — anything that says, “Hey, pay attention! Intuition incoming!” 

Noticing is the first step to understanding and responding to your intuition.

Vanessa Hurst is the author of As Natural As Breathing: Being Intuitive. As an intuitive catalyst, she guides individuals in recognizing and responding to their intuition. 

Curious?Schedule an intuitive conversation.