3 Steps to Access Your Intuition


You know that feeling of using your intuition in a situation and having it work out beautifully

.

Do you wish you could create that experience any time you needed a solution or direction?

Well, with practice you can! The steps to accessing your intuition are simple and easy. The key is to use them over and over again so you get comfortable with your natural ability to access your intuition.

Step One. Listen.

Take time to listen to your intuition with daily meditation. It can be a sitting meditation or a moving meditation. Having a time each day that you put aside to listen quietly to your deepest self is the lifeline of accessing you intuition.

Step Two. Trust.

Once you have heard that inner voice of wisdom, felt that gut instinct, sensed a intuitive nudge – it is time to trust it. Trust yourself. Sometimes this is taking a big deep breath and giving yourself permission to proceed. Sometimes it can be as simple as affirming to yourself, “I trust my intuition.” Sometimes it is taking a leap of faith into the unknown – that is a big trust in yourself.

Know this: You have the answer. You have the inner wisdom. You can trust yourself. You can trust your intuition.

Step Three. Follow.

Now go for it! You have listened to your intuition. You have decided to trust it. Now follow it. Take action immediately when you get an intuitive direction. It can be a small act or a large one. But make sure you deliberately do something concrete to follow your intuition. Whether it is a phone call, an email, signing up for a class or moving forward on a business idea.

If your intuition is directing you to not do something, be sure to validate that choice by saying aloud, “I am following my intuition by not doing this thing (phone call, an email, moving forward on a business idea, etc.)

The more frequently you use these three steps to access your intuition, the more natural it becomes and ready when you need it most.

Keep listening, trusting and following your intuition.

xo,
Kathleen








 


Move Your Body


Of course you know that daily meditation is great for you. But what about those times when it feels impossible to sit still? One way to enjoy your practice is through a moving meditation. This is ideal when you are just simply too restless to sit quietly and you want to cultivate mindfulness in a movement form.

Take a meditation walk and begin to let go of some of the excess energy and anxiousness. A meditation walk will rejuvenate both your body and your mind.

When you go on a walking meditation, be sure to leave your phone, music, errands and window shopping behind.

Have an awareness of where and how you are walking while you allow yourself to remain outside the busy activities of your surroundings. Walk at an easy pace and let your mind become calm as your body settles into the rhythm of your footsteps.

Other movement meditations can be anything where your body enters into a cadence or rhythm and allows your mind to eventually settle. Some ideas include swimming laps, folding laundry, rowing a boat, sweeping or raking leaves.

The key is to get a physical rhythm through motion which causes your mind to clear as the body moves with ease.

Having mindfulness while you are in a meditation walk or other moving meditation is an excellent way to develop mindfulness for the rest of your day .

Give it a try and Enjoy!

Kathleen

Complete Alignment


When you are in alignment with your truth, be assured you are on the right path in your life. Sometimes the road may be bumpy and difficult, but if it is your right path you will have a sense of calm. A benefit of being in alignment with your truth is that you lose that sense of comparing yourself to others.

You have a strong sense of being at the right place at the right time. It does not mean there are no challenges. It is just that you do not have to second guess yourself and every decision. You have a deeper sense of trust in the process and direction of your life, your work and your actions.

So how do you get in alignment with your truth?

It is something that you build over the course of time. So the sooner you start with it, the sooner you will be enveloped by the the benefits of being in true alignment.

Here are some steps you can take to tap into your personal truth.

1. Meditate Every Day

Of course you have heard me tell you this before. And you know how good it feels when you actually take a few minutes to stop rushing around and just breathe. Getting started on a daily meditation practice is a key step to being able to easily tap into you inner wisdom and truth.

The discipline that it takes to have daily meditation will extend into all areas of your life. It will buoy your efforts in other ways.

Start with 5 minutes a day. It is a short enough amount of time that you can manage it. Trust me, it will grow organically if you stick with every day. Want more support and ideas for your daily mediation. Check out Five Minute Meditation here.

2. Walk Every Day

Even a short walk will be good for you. We spend so much time on our computers and devices as well as driving and working at desks. It is essential to get outside and take a walk. The benefits of even a 10-20 minute walk everyday are tremendous.

Walking, without your phone or music, will help you get I touch with your body mind connection. It gives you a chance to let your thoughts flow freely and it is a excellent way to release stress, fret and worry. This is a an important component in being in alignment it’s your truth. You have to be open and able to hear yourself think and feel without distractions. A daily walk will help significantly with that.

3. Eat Well

In a busy hectic life, it is easy to catch meals on the fly or to even skip meals and just snack through the day. Do the best you can to eat well. Make small lasting incremental changes rather than dramatic attempts to revamp your whole system. Think of one or two ways you can take better care of yourself with small improvements towards eating well.

Remember it isn’t just what you eat, but how you eat. Take the time to set yourself a plate of food and eat it without TV, computer or phone. Enjoy the meal and notice how good it tastes and smells and looks. Really enjoy it.

4. Sing Dance Laugh

(My favorite things) Some light heartedness can go a long way. Your alignment of truth does not need to be heavy or serious. It can be easy and delightful. So sing, dance and laugh your way to releasing the strain and distress of having to be perfect and know everything.

Just relax a bit and let it flow to you naturally. Even amid hard work, you will have an overall sense of ease when you are in alignment with your life and work in the world.

Enjoy!

Xo
Kathleen

The Magic of the Pause

The Pause

One magical aspect that comes from mediation is the ability to take a longer pause. A longer pause between experience and reaction. That means when someone is irritating or distressing to you, you can have a little bit longer between what just happened and the time that you respond. That pause gives the opportunity to consider a different outcome. Instead of jumping to conclusions, you can listen. Instead of getting angry, you can breathe. Instead of making a rash decision, you can think it through.

You Can Have It Every Single Day

Daily meditation teaches you to pause. Not the kind of teaching where you suddenly realize, “Ah yes, now I must pause.” Rather, this kind of teaching is by simply doing it. Not thinking about it, but actually doing it. Actually pausing. Daily meditation is a chance to put the world on hold, on pause. So many times I have heard people express the wish to press a pause button and just be able to catch their breath. Well, here it is. It is accessible for you, within your grasp, within your control. You get to have it, Every Single Day, if you want it.

Immediate Demands

The pause that comes from meditation is what allows you to be slower to react to situations. You know the ones I am talking about. The various situations that come up a million times a day. Someone makes an immediate demand from you. You are square in the middle of something else and they want their needs met Right Now, damn it! Even if you are working for a demanding boss, you may still need to drop what you are doing to take on a new project, but the pause gives you a moment to let go of the manic energy that has been thrust your way. The pause gives you a chance to make your move from a place of being grounded instead of being off balance.

With The Pause You Have Choices

Your co-worker, spouse, in-law, or a friend makes a comment that gets you completely off guard. Maybe they something that was embarrassing to you, a small mean unkind word. Maybe they accused you or blamed you for something, maybe they insulted you. You might feel humiliated, defensive, angry, indignant. The red light goes on inside.

But instead of reacting, you can pause. Pause. Breathe. Gather yourself up. You can decide as to whether you want to respond, articulate your opinion, make yourself known, object or simply walk away. With the pause, you have choices. And instead of stuffing down your feelings or acting out your impulses, you have a moment of pause. During this time you become empowered with the opportunity for a clear head.

Train Your Body

The Pause comes directly from daily meditation, from taking time to train your body and your mind to pause. The lesson and experience of the pause is visceral and direct. If you practice it through daily meditation, you will experience it in your interactions with others. That pause may be the best thing to save your life in that moment. The practice of meditation is a pause, a deeper sense of awareness. A moment of grace. Meditate Every Day to get The Pause.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Enjoy!
Kathleen

The Magic of the Pause

Meditate In The World


One of the benefits of meditation is that you can do it practically anytime and anywhere.
For starters, you only need 5 minutes and you are well on your way. It can be morning, noon or night. Don’t fret about when to do it, just take a few minutes and sit quietly.

How about where to do your meditation. Consider shaking things up a bit and try a public meditation. Yes, that’s right, meditate outside in the world. It sounds intimidating, but in reality it is quite pleasurable. You will be surprised by all the experiences you have when you meditate out in the world.

When you try it, make sure that you have established a safe place, tucking away your belongings or having a person you know as a watcher. Then sit back, close your eyes, breathe and enjoy.

meditate in the park sun

with Ashira, Krista and Talia xo

Trust Yourself


Trust yourself. You have deep wisdom inside that will lead you to exactly the best answer,  the best solution, the best course for your life.

Value, celebrate, honor and support your intuitive brilliance!

You know inside what to do. You know the truth. You know the answer.

You know.

And if your intuition and wisdom seem a little bit cloudy or foggy at the moment, don’t worry. That is easy to repair. Just take time every day to listen to the quiet voice inside you.

Listen to it and it will grow. Honor it and it will flourish.

Here are 3 ways you can hear your inner wisdom.

1. You can hear your inner wisdom when you are in stillness meditation. Taking time out every day to sit quietly gives you an opportunity to hear your truth. Your body-mind connection is especially powerful when you give yourself a chance to stop the busyness of your life and just sit still. Your body gets stillness, your mind gets stillness. Of course it does not happen all at once, but over time you will build the opportunity to experience stillness. So start now – you will be glad you did!

2. You can hear it in the shower. I love this one! You know how sometimes when you are in the shower or a hot bath you get all sorts of good ideas? Well that’s because your body is relaxing and your mind gets to flow freely – another example of the power of the body-mind connection. When you trying to figure out what to do and need your deep wisdom, get your body in a relaxed state – hot shower or bath – and give yourself permission to not have to solve the problem, but just relax and see what comes to mind. You might be surprised! Enjoy it.

3. You can hear it when you take a quiet walk. This time the body-mind connection comes from the rhythmic cadence from walking. It can be slow or fast, long or short. It does not matter. The key thing is to turn off the phone and music and just allow your mind to wonder. Give it time and space and you will discover new ideas and new ways of seeing your situation

 

Intuition? Or mind chatter?


You know that feeling when you think your intuition is telling you something, but you are not quite sure.

Maybe it’s your intuition, maybe its just some random thoughts going round in your mind.

So how do you decide which it is?

Here are a couple of strategies to try for getting clarity on your intuition.

1. Take a walk. There is nothing quite like taking a walk to clear your mind and get your body to relax. This gives you a chance to sort out the mind chatter from the deep internal wisdom.

2. Too cold to walk? Take a hot bath. Same thing happens when you soak – your body relaxes, your mind spins wildly and finally settles down. That is when the quiet whisper inside can be heard clearly and you know what to do.

3. Sleep on it. A frantic decision can often resolve it self with a good night sleep. This is especially powerful if you set your intention before you go to bed for a clear answer to be revealed to you in the morning.

Your intuition is ready for you to use. Getting clarity gets easier as you develop a deep trust in your inner truth. Try one of these tips to help with clarity and deep trust.

Enjoy,

Kathleen

 

 

3 simple ways to remember to meditate every day


Have you decided to meditate every day,  but are finding it hard to remember to do it?

You would have meditated but it just slipped your mind… (that used to happen to me when I first started my daily practice.)

Here are 3 ways you can make sure that you meditate every day:

1. Got a calendar? A powerful way to remember to meditate every day is to put it into the calendar. Schedule it like you would any event, there meeting or appointment that you want to make sure you do not miss.

2. If you have an event prompt on your phone, use it to get a reminder of your meditation time.

It may be that some days of the week you have a nighttime meditation and other days you try a daytime meditation. An event alert on your phone will help you stay on track with those different times.

I use my phone as a reminder when I am on vacation with my family and our time schedules get mixed together. When my phone reminder beeps, the kids know I am going to close the door and take time for my meditation.

3. One of the best ways to take make sure you meditate is to do it first thing in the morning before anything else can get in the way.

These simple tools can make the difference between thinking about meditating and actually doing it.

Enjoy,

Kathleen

The Cat [video]



Here is an important reminder to stay amused even when you are building a meditation practice.
(Especially when you are building a meditation practice!)

It is only 16 seconds…

Enjoy
xo,
Kathleen

Finding every opportunity


One afternoon during our spring break I was sitting with a cup of tea on the couch next to my three daughters. They were all reading books and with a couple of blankets over us, and we were snuggled and packed together.

One of the girls suggested I get a book too
But I realized that I did not want to pass up the opportunity to be present and relish this delicious moment.

“No thanks, ” I told her. “I’m just going to sit here and meditate.”

As I sat in meditation with the girls pressed in around me I simply delighted in the quietness and the sweetness of the moment.

There was truly no need to do anything.

It was a reminder to me that meditation practice does not exist just sitting on a zafu cushion.

Meditation can be right in front of you at any moment of the day. All you have to do is recognize it and take the opportunity when it comes.

You can incorporate meditation through movement, mindfulness and awareness throughout your day in many different ways.

When you notice the chance, take it and enjoy it!

xo,
Kathleen

Wizard of Oz


Last week my friend Rachel and I were in charge of over 130 costumes for two performances of the school play, The Wizard of Oz. We spent five months making the costumes and now the time had come for the shows!

I unloaded my minivan of bags and boxes and costumes and accessories and shoes and makeup and props through the back stage door.

The hum, excitement and anticipation of the upcoming day surged upon me like lightning.

As I parked my van and walked back towards the theater, I had a moment of feeling completely overwhelmed.

There was still much to do in preparation for our first show. The children were thrilled, delighted and way too loud for me at just that moment.

I paused and was unable to go inside the door where I knew I was going to be met with questions, demands and jitters from the young actors.

My first thought, “I’ve got to take a Five Minute Meditation break.”

My second thought, “No, that is too long to be gone during this hectic time.”

My third thought, “It will be fine to be gone for 5 minutes.”

My fourth thought, “Rachel needs me now more than ever.”

My fifth thought, “The best thing I can do for her is get myself grounded and fully present for the day.”

My sixth thought, “There is no way a Five Minute Meditation is going to make a difference.”

My seventh thought, “Kathleen, are you kidding?? This is what you tell people to do all the time.

You tell them the busier you are, the more important it is to take a quick break. Five minutes seems like it will not make a difference, but it does.

Stop complaining and stalling and go sit down for a Five Minute Meditation!”

My eighth thought, “OK! I’ll do it!”

I went to the back of my minivan, sat down, set my cell phone timer for five minutes, closed my eyes, and took a luscious, deep, calming breath.

Ahhhh…

Five minutes later the timer went off and I was ready.

And amazed at the complete transformation the Five Minute Meditation brought to me (again!)

When I got back stage to the costume dressing room, I was grounded and calm. Rachel and I were able to completely support each other for the entire day.

The children were wonderful and the shows went on with delightful success.

I know I’ve said it before, but that Five Minute Meditation works! Especially when you need it most.

Believe it. Trust it. Try it today. And let me know how it goes.

xo,
Kathleen

Get It When You Need It Most

Good Luck Favors The Prepared

Good luck favors the prepared.

Surely you have heard this saying before. Well it also holds true for intuition.

The ability to follow your intuition will be more favorable if you are prepared.

How can you prepare yourself for intuition?? Isn’t intuition something that just pops up randomly?

Actually, intuition can seem to appear out of nowhere, much like Good Luck.
But in fact there are things you can do to increase the likelihood of it showing up for you when you need it most.

Listen

First, listen to your intuition. (I know this sounds obvious.) In order to follow it, you have to hear it first.

Sometimes your intuition will be a small voice, other times it will be a booming warning sound.

Either way, first listen to it. Acknowledge it. Recognize it.

Trust

Second, trust it. When you hear that intuitive voice inside, there may be a hesitation to trust it.
A slight second guessing within yourself. That’s ok.

Just notice that you have a little tentativeness and move past it. Take a moment to trust your intuition.

If you do that, you build the trust within yourself more readily for the next time.
You are more prepared.

Follow

Third, follow it. Do the thing that is nudging inside of you. Take action and make it happen.
Each time you follow your intuition, it is like working a muscle that gets stronger.

Your intuition increases every time you use it. You are more prepared for it and it will show up for you more frequently, more easily and more favorably.

Every Day

What else can you do to increase your intuition?

Meditate every day. Daily meditation gets you in the habit of taking time to listen deeply to yourself and tapping into your inner wisdom.

Daily meditation cultivates intuition.

Good luck favors the prepared. Deep intuition favors the prepared.

Next time you hear that nudge, little voice or feel that gut instinct, follow it. You will be so glad you did.

Enjoy,
Kathleen

If you like it, share it. Thanks. xo

Get It When You Need It Most

Going from crazy hectic to calm and still

Transition Into Stillness

In the Women’s Intuition class that I teach on Friday mornings, we always start and finish with a silent 5 Minute Meditation. There are a few reasons for this. The first 5 Minute Meditation is to make a simple and easy silent transition from the busy crazy hectic demands that occurred first thing in the morning on the way to class. It could be traffic, getting kids out the door, early morning meetings, email, conversations or errands. Any thing that happened before the class begins can be a distraction.

And, of course, that is the reality of life. Anything can become a distraction to our meditation and to listening to our intuition. That is the beauty of the first 5 Minute Meditation. Just a short meditation to make a transition into stillness.

So students want to know, “Is there anything I should do during this 5 Minute Meditation?” Nope. Just sit there. “Should I try to clear out all the noise in my head?” No. Just sit and let it all ramble on as much as it wants. Just sit.

Signal To The Body

This transition is a signal to the body that it is time to slow things down. Breathe. Start to settle into a quiet place. After that first 5 Minute Meditation, the class is ready to continue as we learn and practice how to listen deeply to our intuition. Because we took a moment to pause, to stop, to transition towards stillness, now we can better hear our profound inner wisdom.

At the end of our guided meditations, intuitive skills, healing exercises, sharing and learning we finish with another 5 Minute Meditation. This time our rambunctious chatter is gone. We gave it time to make a lot of noise and be wild at the beginning and now it has calmed down.

The 5 Minute Meditation at the end of the class is a time to settle in more deeply. Sometimes it is a time for reflection of the work we did together, sometimes it is a chance to just take the stillness we experienced earlier in the class to a little bit deeper place. Either way, it is quiet and easy and refreshing. And now we are ready for the rest of the adventures in the day ahead.

Powerful Tool

The 5 Minute Meditation is a powerful tool. Explore how it can be utilized for different types of meditation. Transition, stillness, deepening. Or just a break in the middle of the day. Try it out and let me know how it goes.

xo,
Kathleen

Monkey Mind and Distractions in Meditation

What to do when Monkey Mind and distractions arise during meditation.

 

Monkey Mind is that endless chatter that sends you round and round with thoughts that go nowhere.You know what I am talking about:

~I have seriously got to make that dentist appointment…

~Remember to pick up apples, milk and yogurt at Trader Joe’s on the way home…

~Hmmm, maybe if I moved the couch to the other side of the room and put the two chairs…

It can go on and on and on. There is no use trying to stop Monkey Mind, it will only escalate.
Instead see if one of these ideas helps you.

3 Tips You Can Try With Monkey Mind

 

1. Focus on your breath. When you feel the distractions interrupting your quietness, gently return your awareness back to your breath. No need to change how you are breathing, just take a moment to notice it.
Breathe in…breathe out. Repeat.

2. Imagine your mind to be like a river and each thought that comes up can become a fallen leaf that flows down the river. When a new distracting thought comes into your mind, allow it to become another leaf gently moving down the river, away from your place of stillness. As you practice this, don’t try to force the thoughts to leave, just guide them towards the ever flowing river.

3. Do nothing. Yup, that’s right. Do nothing. Eventually, the thoughts may just spin out and quiet down. Allowing them ramble on a while is a great way to practice letting go of having control of everything that comes up in life. Just sit there and do nothing.

Don’t fight it.

 

The key thing is to not try to fight it. Distractions are part of life and Monkey Mind is part of any meditation practice. Remember to be compassionate with yourself and your practice.

Daily meditation means that sometimes stillness comes to you right away and other times not at all. Just be present for it and keep at it.

Enjoy,
Kathleen

44 ways that daily meditation helps you

Daily Meditation helps you…

1. respond to situations instead of reacting to situations
2. get grounded
3. be more centered
4. increase your confidence
5. make decisions more easily
6. carry out decisions
7. express your true nature
8. connect to your own genuine opinions
9. have the courage to speak your truth
10. increase your peace inside
11. become deeply settled
12. be less wavering and simultaneously more flexible
13. be open to new ideas and new ways of seeing things
14. create the opening for innovation
15. allow new ideas to percolate and expand
16. cultivate a neutral mindset
17. increase productivity
18. be deeply connected to your integrity and personal power
19. make your mark on the world
20. be more mindful
21. retain and increase your internal calm
22. reduce anxiety
23. bolster your inner brilliance
24. bring ease in your life
25. reinforce your will power
26. have a template to create what you want in your life
27. get into “the zone” that allows you to do your best work
28. with difficulties,  pain, grief and distress
29. get through the darkest storms of life
30. be more gracious
31. transform your health and well being
32. tap into a place of being able to thrive
33. access that place of courage
34. be less fearful of the unknown
35. increase the capability to make changes easier
36. experience a greater place of acceptance
37. have a chance to catch your breath
38. tap into your inner wisdom
39. cultivate your intuition
40. form a greater sense of being solid and secure
41. on your path to mastery
42. with the chance to be more open to love
43. become increasingly generous of spirit
44. become more patient

pretty good, huh? Meditate Every Day
xo,
Kathleen

44 ways daily meditation helps you

How to keep from falling asleep during meditation

Falling asleep during meditation?

 

Here are 3 ideas to help you out with that.

1. Meditate first thing in the morning, the earlier the better. Maybe even try 4:30 in the morning. This sounds rough going, but you will be surprised at how quickly you get used to it and in fact begin to love it. At this time of the morning, there are no phone calls, texts, emails to answer. No delivery packages to sign, no errands to run. Just sit. I like to make tea first and bring the hot cup into my office where I meditate. Once you get used to it, you are going to be delighted with this meditation time.

2. If you are falling asleep during meditation, you may be overly tired. Get more sleep. Go to bed earlier. Turn off the TV and the computer. Put down the book, the Kindle, the iPad, the Nook. Turn out the light and relish the sound your head makes as it hits that soft pillow. Ahhh.

Sometimes you might find that you can’t fall asleep at night, tossing and turning. Or that you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep, subsequently creating a cycle of not enough sleep. I have a perfect remedy for that…get out of your bed and meditate. Trust me, you will fall asleep soon enough!

3. Make sure that the room where you are sitting is not too warm. There is nothing like a warm cozy room to persuade the body to fall into a slumber. Find the right temperature that allows you to be comfortable, but not so much that you want to nap.

Let me know how it goes and feel free to share if you have some tips or ideas that work for you.

Xo,
Kathleen

How to keep from falling asleep during meditation

How to enjoy your meditation

Learn to let go

When you feel you are struggling with meditation, let go of your expectations of what it should be.

Often we may have an idea of what meditation should feel like. We can start to think that we are not doing it the right way. I know, I’ve had plenty of times when I thought I was doing it wrong.

But over the years I’ve realized that daily meditation practice is exceptionally personal. Your meditation is yours. No one else’s. Do it for yourself.

This is just for you

You have your reasons for meditating every day. Maybe it is for increased health and well being. Maybe it is part of your spiritual practice. Maybe you just want a break from the demands and distractions of the noisy world.

What ever your reason, it is your personal preference and your personal journey. That is one of the things I love about mediation. It’s just you and your practice.

So really, really let go of other peoples expectations of how it should be. Let go of even your own expectations.

Enjoy

When you let go of expectations, you can begin to settle deeply into a sense of ease. The pressure is gone and you are free to enjoy the benefits that brought you to meditation in the first place.

Stop. Sit. Breathe. Enjoy.

Best blessings,
Kathleen

How to enjoy your meditation

Keep It Simple


Sometimes the best way to proceed is to stick to the basics. Nothin’ Fancy Here.

So in a clear effort to keep it simple, let me give you this for thought:

Meditate Every Day + Follow Your Intuition

The Meditate Every Day part of this equation can be as short and easy as a 5 Minute Meditation.

The Follow Your Intuition is as simple as a pause. When you hear that small voice, take a breath and pause for a moment. Listen to it, trust it and give yourself permission to follow it

That’s it. Enjoy!

Best to you,
Kathleen