Unit 9: Opening to Insights and Intuitions

In the last unit you learned about some of the blockages and barriers that can hinder the achievement of your goal. In this unit, you are going to learn about some of the “helpers” which can guide you toward the achievement of your goal: insights and intuitions.

Inner Guidance

While it’s true that visualizing your goal and feeling the emotions of having achieved your goal are powerful techniques for magnetizing your goal right into your experience, there are other forms of assistance on the road to success as well. These forms of assistance are provided to us by our own Inner Guidance, which communicates constantly with us—whether we are using creative visualization or not.

Some of the more commonly understood terms used to describe this assistance are insight, idea, intuition, gut feeling, instinct, and inner knowing. These helpers seem to bubble up from inside us, subtly making their presence known, whispering things in our inner ear such as take this road, call that person, read this book, have this idea, trust that feeling. Women tend to have an easier time getting in touch with these forms of guidance because traditionally, as girls, they are given greater permission and guidance to experience their emotional lives than are boys. Boys are encouraged to toughen up against those “sissy” feelings and not let anything irrational or illogical interfere with getting the job done. Once they become men, at least they are somewhat encouraged to go with their “gut” feelings. This is not surprising, since the word gut is such a tough, manly kind of word!

Insights and intuitions are powerful guides, subtle though they may be. They spring—more than any other aspect of the creative visualization process—from our own spiritual center, which is connected to our greater spiritual self, often called the Higher Self. The Higher Self is usually understood to be our greatest spiritual connection to God, Goddess, the Creator, the Universe—whatever term you use. Some people think of the Higher Self as the soul, others think of the Higher Self as the highest levels of mind (there are the subconscious, unconscious, conscious, and then super conscious or higher conscious levels of mind.)

In my mind, I think of there being a cord of energy (like an electrical cord) that connects me to my Higher Self. In meditation, I sometimes visualize “plugging-in” and receiving information, energy or other forms of spiritual nourishment from my Higher Self via this cord. What is beyond that Higher Self? I’m not sure. Perhaps God is. Or maybe my Higher Self also has a HIGHER SELF! But I am sure that my Higher Self is there to support, nurture and guide me—as much as I will allow it to.

In one of my classes, a participant noted that it felt so good to be in the relaxed, meditative state prior to visualizing the scene. Why is that? he wanted to know. I told him that I believed it is because when you go into that inner, quiet place you are tapping into that spiritual connection and are more in touch with God (Goddess/Creator/Universe) than at any other waking time. Just being “hooked up” can make you feel great!

It’s important to remember that while we want to be as fully responsible as possible, we’re not doing this alone. All things are interconnected, including God and us. The Universe supports us fully by responding to our every thought. Whatever we ask for, we receive! The more in touch we are with our inner selves, the greater access we will have to the insights, ideas, intuitions, guidance, and inner knowing available though this spiritual connection.

How can we develop the ability to listen to our inner guidance? As with all things, through practice! Everyone has at one time or another gotten an urge to do this or the idea to do that. A little inner voice may tell you to wait or to go ahead. You might suddenly get an urge to take a different road home or try a new restaurant. Or you could notice that something feels particularly “right”—or that it doesn’t feel right at all—even though you can’t really explain why. As you continue to do your creative visualization exercises, you will begin to receive inner guidance, helping you to see, hear, feel, think, and know various things related to accomplishing your goal. For example, you may have an impulse to visit a friend, and “just happen” to meet (at his or her home) someone who has helpful information for you. Or you may get the urge to watch a TV show you’ve never really liked and be inspired by a story line that gives you a great idea. Another example would be to have friends and family suggest a certain course of action, yet have a gut feeling that though it sounds good, it just isn’t right for you.

When these things happen, follow the urge or idea. Your inner guidance can be trusted to bring you to your greatest good and will never guide you to harm another or take foolish risks! As you respond to the little impulses and your confidence increases, you will be given more and greater insights to follow. After awhile, you may become so in touch with your inner guidance that you don’t need to question or evaluate it every time you receive it. Instead, you will simply recognize, follow and appreciate it!

By now, you probably have received a good bit of assistance from your inner guidance, though you may not have recognized it as such. Think back over the weeks since you first determined your goal and see if you can recall any instances when you had an impulse, idea, insight, or intuition, etc. Perhaps you followed it; perhaps you didn’t. What’s important is to acknowledge the guidance that is coming to you. While they are still fresh on your mind, write down on the lines provided below any instances of inner guidance you can remember.

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How to Receive Inner Guidance

You don’t have to wait for inner guidance to present itself! If you want more guidance, louder guidance, or even better guidance, all you have to do is ask for it. Here’s how: Use your progressive relaxation exercises to get into a quiet, meditative state, and mentally ask your Higher Self to give you guidance and assistance for accomplishing your goal. You can ask any questions you want and ask for any guidance you want. Then simply thank your Higher Self for listening and responding, and trust that your answer will be forthcoming.

Over the next few days, be passively open to receiving the guidance you have asked for. Be sure not to eagerly read something into everything you see or hear! Instead, simply remain relaxed and aware. A watched pot never boils, as everyone knows. However, you do need to be in or near the kitchen so you can hear it boiling when it does!

Inner Guidance Exercise

The following exercise is designed to help you practice the skills of asking for and receiving inner guidance.

Close your eyes and allow yourself to become very relaxed. Visualize a “cosmic cord” which connects you to your Higher Self descending from above, entering your body through the top of your head, filling your body with energy and light.

If you are familiar with the chakra system, you may want to see each chakra glowing brightly in response to receiving this energy. (A chakra is an energy center within the body. There are 7 identified chakras, 1 each located at the crown of the head, forehead, throat, heart, diaphragm, lower abdomen, and the base of the spine.)

2. Bring into your mind the goal you are working toward and enjoy viewing various scenes of how it will look when you accomplish this goal—sort of like a movie montage.

3. Tell your Higher Self that you want guidance as to how you can best achieve this goal—easily and effortlessly—as creative visualization expert Shakti Gawain says. Thank your Higher Self in advance for this guidance, trusting that it will be provided.

4. Go about your business for three days, remaining aware of your environment but not anxious about “getting the guidance” when it comes. If you don’t hear it the first time, don’t worry. Your Higher Self will keep at it until you get the idea, insight, etc.

5. On the lines provided below, note anything which occurred during the three-day period that might have been guidance in the form of insight, ideas, intuition, etc.

6. Don’t forget to act on the guidance you receive. The point is not just to get guidance, but to also use it to accomplish your goal.

7. Be sure to express gratitude for this guidance! Whatever we appreciate we get more of, and I don’t think you can ever have too much guidance from your Higher Self!

Ø Notice anything on day one? If so, make notes here:

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Ø Notice anything on day two? If so, make notes here:

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Ø Notice anything on day three? If so, make notes here:

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Guidance usually comes gently and softly. It’s intended to guide you, not frighten you. However, you may need an occasional jolt if you don’t pay attention to the gentler, softer messages. Author Roger von Oech calls the jolting kind of insight, A Whack on the Side of the Head, and A Kick in the Seat of the Pants (the titles of his two best-selling books on creativity)!

Unit Follow-up Activities

1. Continue to repeat your visualization exercise a minimum of four times each week, charging the image with emotional energy.

2. Become particularly open to receiving insights and intuitions, both as a result of the exercise you did in this unit and your creative visualization exercises in general.

Go to Unit Ten