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Tuning Into Your Intuition

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Intuition is defined as 1. knowledge or belief obtained neither by reason nor by perception: 2. instinctive knowledge or belief: 3. a hunch or gut feeling. How many times have you had a gut feeling about something and pushed it aside for what you thought was rational choice? I’m willing to wager we all have! I know I sure have. And I bear life’s battle scars to prove it! Lessons learned, right? Absolutely!

My journey at this moment in my life had nothing to do with my rational mind. I’ve been a caretaker all my life … from stray animals to stray people and family. After my mother passed away from years of lingering illness my intuition didn’t nudge or gently speak to me. It screamed, “It’s Joni time!” To which my reply was instinctively, “I’m ready!” I’m following my passion and am in love with my intuition. She’s my new BFF!!!

Connect with YOUR Intuition

So, how do you connect with your intuition? Is it hard for you to trust your inner voice? Trust is a big obstacle in allowing your inner voice some volume. Let’s face it, it is hard to trust your inner voice if you don’t trust yourself. This is easily overcome. For real! It starts by keeping your word to yourself. If you tell yourself something, follow through. Be aware of the promises you make to yourself. Once you begin to honor Self, Self honors you.

Now that our self-trust is healthy how do we translate what our intuition is telling us? Here are a couple of tips that work for me.

  • Is it Fear or Intuition? – Fear is the breeding ground for excuses. Yep, trust me. All those excuses and justifications that pop in your head are a smoke screen designed by fear to confuse you. True intuition is visceral. Think gut reaction. You pull back and can’t really explain. Intuition is clear. Period.
  • Is it Excitement or Intuition? – I’ve learned this one the hard way. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten caught up in the excitement of something and pushed it forward only to be overwhelmed and in the end disappointed. The push is from the ego and mental excitement. Intuition pulls you forward. Not to mean there aren’t bumps in the path along the way, but the energy is completely different. If you aren’t sure which it is – excitement or intuition – focus on where the energy is coming from and that will guide you!
Intuition & Health

Let’s talk intuition in terms of our health! Do you listen to what your body is telling you? Have you honed your sixth sense when it comes to your health? Get tuned in to your body and feel – not think – that you KNOW what is good for you. This knowing will lead you down a path of truly sustainable health.

Nutritional advice is a tricky thing. Have you ever noticed how contradictory it is? You read a compelling study that assures you fat is bad and then, seemingly all of the sudden, the rules you’ve dedicated your eating habits to are blown out of the water. Learning to trust your intuition is a valuable tool in building a sustainable life.

Tuning into your intuition is powerful. Think of it as something you desire to nurture and honor. After all, it is the core of YOU! Please share any tips you have for tuning into the power of intuition. What works for you?

Choosing Happiness

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Happiness! One of my favorite topics. I really resonate with a book I want to tell you about because I don’t just think, I KNOW, happiness is a choice.

Today my friend and bestselling publisher Linda Joy released Inspiration for a Woman’s Soul: Choosing Happiness featuring the soul-inspiring stories of 27 amazing women who share their intimate stories of transformation. Choosing Happiness also includes Reflection Questions after each story which will empower you to integrate the vital lessons of each woman’s journey into your own life. For a limited time you can get over 40 transformational gifts with your copy of Choosing Happiness. Grab your copy today> http://bit.ly/Happiness_Book

When I was diagnosed with cancer at 35, life spun out of control for me. I was numb. I was fortunate and the cancer was contained with surgery; however, there is always a cost for everything.

In my numbed state of mind, I opted for a radical hysterectomy and catapulted myself into menopause. Talk about an E-Ticket ride. Mood swings, depression, hot flashes, anxiety, weight gain; you name it, I had it. Yowza.

I followed mainstream advice and adopted the ‘better living through chemistry’ mantra with gusto. One pill had a certain side effect which led to another pill, with its own glorious side effect, until I woke up one day with a bevy of lovely colored pills I needed to pop just to feel like facing the day.

Things were grim, but my gut told me all this information from the experts was not right for me. That’s when I made a choice; a choice to listen to myself as the steward of this precious vessel that houses my soul. I made the choice to be happy – come hell or high water. I am determined if nothing else!  🙂

Was it easy? I don’t know, I suppose that is subjective. I chose to not define my transformation to sustainable health as easy or hard. It is a lifestyle for me. It is how I choose to live each and every glorious day on this Earth.

There are a great many things we have absolutely no control over in this life. Yet, we resolutely hold on to the notion that we do. This ties us up in knots and keeps our inner voice drowned out with frustration. Taking time to relax the body and mind catapults you over the abyss and gets you in touch with your intuition. Once you tap into that deep wisdom, choices become easier.

I invite you to share how you are choosing happiness in the comments below or schedule a Discovery Session with me to start your path to sustainable life and health.

 

Be You, Bravely!

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Are you struggling to be YOU, bravely? You aren’t alone. Labels are pinned on us from birth. Think of your birth certificate; sex, ethnicity, blood type, weight, height, religious affiliation and name are just a start. As we grow and blossom society starts pinning more labels on us; personality, learning style, medical conditions, economic status and the list goes on. By the time you are tossed to the wolves of adulthood you are carrying a heavy load of labels. And all those pins have poked holes in your armor of self confidence. It is not easy to be you, bravely. But it is possible!

Focus on the Positive

Labels are part of our culture. We use them as a way of understanding the world and the people in it. There is no reason to live life feeling burdened by a label. Learning to release yourself from the negative connotation of a label is powerful. Find the positive side of a label. For instance, you may be considered to be overly emotional and the fact you are perceived this way could make you feel out of control. But notice, too, the gifts of being able to feel and express your emotions, even if the world doesn’t always encourage that. Now, you may begin to see yourself as brave and open hearted. See? Not so hard! If you shine a positive light on your labels you may see your true nature and find guidance.

Trust Your True SELF

To be you, bravely, you must listen to your soft spoken inner voice. Become aware of your true Self by tuning into your intuition. I can tell you it is magical! Once I befriended that quiet voice inside I was able to shake off the labels that didn’t suit my true self and experienced a paradigm shift in my life.

Bravely Feel

Do you give yourself permission to feel without judging the emotion? Sometimes we get tangled in our emotions. We label them ‘good’ or ‘bad’. But the reality is all our emotions are telling us useful information, and all our emotions are acceptable because they’re how we feel.

I found great release once I started visualizing myself riding the wave of emotion instead of trying to suppress or control. Amazing difference. I now glide through the moment instead of becoming tangled in the seaweed of self doubt and incrimination. You know what else happened? That once barely recognizable voice inside started to speak with clarity and volume!

Granted, it takes practice as this is uncharted territory for most of us and change, as a rule, makes us uncomfortable. We all flow toward familiarity and if what is familiar isn’t serving us then change is necessary and so is uncomfortableness. But think of it this way – a little uncomfortable now is worth the pay off in the end. Fabulous stuff, truly.

Are You a Supplements Junkie?

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What are supplements good for? Replacement for real nutrition it would seem. In our fast paced world supplements are a replacement for whole food nutrition. If we don’t take time to eat from the rainbow we seem to have the mindset that we can make up for it by popping another pill or shooting another shot of liquid goodness. We create a false sense of health. Am I truly taking care of my family because I make them down a myriad of nutritional supplements before they walk out the door each morning or am I lulling myself into complacency because I tell myself I’ve given them what they need for the day in the form of supplements? In all honesty, probably a bit of both.

Supplements have a place. For example, if you eat a totally plant-based diet then it may be likely you need to supplement with B12. B12 is found in animal products such as meat, eggs, fish and milk. This implies that people who eat a vegan diet or a vegetarian diet without eggs or milk are particularly susceptible to a B12 deficiency. B12 is primarily responsible for health red blood cell formation and plays an important role in the health of nerve tissue and brain function. What does the deficiency look like? Fatigue and a much weakened immune system, meaning you are susceptible to colds, flu and other symptoms.

Are your supplements masking symptoms?

Let’s be aware and get to the root cause of an issue. This requires honest open dialogue with yourself and some experimenting. Keeping with the B12 example; do you feel the fatigue because you’re lacking B12 or are you fatigued from consuming copious amounts of sugar? Is it physical, emotional? If, for instance, you have a leaky gut how can your body absorb and use the nutrients properly? This is overwhelming to most people and the result is an increase in the supplement industry. According to Research and Markets, the dietary supplement industry is on course to be the world’s fastest growing market during 2012 to 2017. The market shares of North America’s nutraceutical market are expected to rise to 39.2 percent; and that of the Asia-Pacific market to 30.4 percent. That’s some expensive urine, Peeps!

Supplement Solution

What’s the solution? Good question. It’s not simply put by any stretch of the imagination. But here is my input; the solution is bio-individuality. We are all unique in our needs. Tuning into your intuition and listening to what your body wants is a crucial first step. I believe supplements have a place. However, what works for me won’t necessarily work for you so it would be careless of me to recommend you to take what I take. I can recommend you to get in touch with YOU and eat a whole food, nutrient dense diet. Eating a whole food diet, full of variety, provides you with amazingly balanced nutrition. I’m talking about the kind of fuel your body recognizes and uses systemically, giving you loads of energy and vitality! Before you open your wallet for the next $50 miracle in a bottle, pay attention to that inner voice and listen to your body. It won’t steer you wrong because It has a vested interest in your overall health!

Is Trendy Necessarily True?

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We’ve all been guilty of jumping on the latest trendy fashion, right? When it comes to our health we need to err on the side of caution. Flashy headlines with the sweet promise of the perfect figure are suspect at best. At their worst they are dangerous to our health. Sustainable health is found in common sense. We all have it, we just need to flex its muscle. The first step is to trust your inner voice. You know the voice that whispers softly, “This is bunk!”, when you read the latest and greatest diet or exercise trend. But do you listen?

We are conditioned to not listen to that powerful voice, but I propose it is the most important voice we hear. You know what feels right. Trust yourself. Tell trendy to take a hike! When you tune into your intuition, and trust it, a  powerful shift takes place. Balance becomes your new mantra and life simplifies.

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