Yesterday morning my boyfriend couldn’t find the money card for the machines in our building’s laundry room. I was the last one who did laundry, and the card wasn’t in the usual spot—a hallway drawer. He asked if it might be in my wallet, and I confidently replied no, it wouldn’t be there. Why would I put it anywhere but where it always goes?, I thought. I felt sure there was no way I made a mistake. We both resigned to the card being lost and that we’d need a new one.
A moment later, I sat down for my morning meditation. I took three deep, slow belly breaths, felt calm wash over me, and instantly intuitively knew the card was in my wallet. I retrieved it, handed it to my boyfriend, and acknowledged I’d made a mistake. He was completely understanding and set off to do the laundry. (Boyfriend of the year!)
When I’d denied putting the card in my wallet, my analytical brain had sprung to life. We’re wired to explain everything logically, and there was no reason I’d put the card in my wallet when it belonged in the drawer. I couldn’t come up with a logical reason for it, so it was false. And yeah, my ego was probably chiming in too, protecting my pride and wanting me to be mistake-free.
When we explore opening our intuition, it often becomes a battle between the analytical brain and our creative brain and heart. Especially when we have a hunch or a gut feeling—we find ourselves immediately questioning it because it’s hard to associate it with logical reasoning. Often we also write off synchronicity as coincidence. What are the chances?, we think.
The other day, my cousin popped into my mind. We hadn’t communicated in months, and I realized we needed to catch up. Later that day, she texted me out of the blue. As soon as I read her message, I realized what I’d explained away as a passing thought was a psychic hit. I received the energetic information that she was thinking of me and intending to reach out. A psychic hit can feel just like a thought, like someone or something randomly popping into your head because their vibration is directed and focused on you.
When I was growing up, I loved watching psychics and mediums on TV. I was amazed by them and considered them very special humans who could do an incredible feat. That’s another example of my analytical mind wanting a logical explanation: Those people are other worldly or have different genetic makeup, and that’s why they can do what they do.
My journey through studying Reiki and intuitive animal communication began the process of calibrating the analytical mind that insisted I was making everything up. It’s incredible how much more centered you can feel when both parts of you are in harmony—the analytical and the intuitive. The analytical brain thinks it’s helping, and often it does (I want to give credit where credit is due), as it helps us calculate expenses, write a work email, or make decisions while driving, for example. When you’ve quieted the intuition for a long time, though, the analytical brain can override that gut voice. It simply takes practice listening to your intuition, being grateful for it, and valuing that voice for it to grow stronger and come into balance.
On the last day of my horse-and-soul workshop in Costa Rica a few years back, the facilitators gave us gentle, water-based paint to create a picture on our horses that symbolized our journey with them. Mr. Big stood calm and still while I painted a heart, a sun, and a tree on his side, representing the pure love, strength, and grounding that he'd shared with me that week. At one point, I received an intuitive message from Mr. Big that the picture was complete and I could put down my brush. I didn’t though—I stood there and analyzed the imperfections and continued to paint. In the end, it was even more imperfect than when he’d told me I had accomplished my task well. I realized Mr. Big's message was to dial down the focus on so-called problems and fixing, and instead lean into the beauty of our feelings, inner wisdom, and creativity.
The more we welcome in random “hits” of information, acknowledging messages from the universe, our animals, and our loved ones on the other side, the less we’ll hear that voice say, “I’m making this up! This can’t be real.” Some folks label intuition or signs as “supernatural,” meaning they’re beyond the natural. I love the word “supernatural” because to me it means “incredibly natural,” like the most natural thing in the world. Our awareness of our energetic makeup and our ability to exchange vibrational information beyond our physical senses and 3-D world is what makes our experience here on Earth so much more magical, creating the ideal picture in which to heal, thrive, and grow. ❤️☀️🌳