Once in a while we get a signal – a really big signal – that comes in subtle packages as a way to remind us that Spirit is with us wherever we go. The problem is, we rationalize it away and lose a great opportunity to connect.

If we’re lucky, the spiritual energy around us will stay determined and press on, making it so obvious they’re reaching through our dense atmosphere to touch us that we have no choice but to listen. These experiences don’t come often. Anyone on the spiritual path or who has lost a loved one wants them. We wish and hope for a tangible meaning. A message. A sign there is a greater connection than what we experience on this earth.

Yet when these things do happen, we sometimes get scared, stubborn or doubtful and will them away.

My big Duh moment happened on a hot, July day in New Orleans. I was spending a weekend with my friend and we were determined to have a mini-spiritual retreat despite the lovely distractions of her family. My friend is an intuitive/medium and so am I. Because we live in the bible-belt (and because I’m also a licensed therapist) I keep this under wraps in my everyday conversations. Having like-minded souls to commune with is greatly sought after when you’re in our position.

This day, we were enjoying the energy manifested by our conjoint meditations and readings for each other and were spending the afternoon on her porch creating spirit paintings. Spirit painting is something I made up one day as a way to allow my Guides to work through me. I meditated, asked to see colors and images, then went to town  on my canvas with heavy brushes and paint. The result had been more than I could imagine. I intended energy flow for myself – to break down ego barriers so I could engage deeper during meditation. What I got were soft images of faces and forms. Some I had already seen and communicated with. Some forms were not so human. Some were faces I had not seen before. The fact that they had shown themselves just by me pushing paint around, was affirming. I was on the right track.

I wanted to show my friend how to do this. That day, we set up our workspaces. I meditated for her and she meditated for me. Then we picked up our brushes and colors and started to paint each other a picture. Within a few minutes, a yellow Monarch butterfly rounded the corner from the front of the house. It came on to the open porch and fluttered between my canvas and the door. Cute! The little butterfly had lost its way. I went back to pushing the paint around and was startled when the butterfly came between me and the canvas and hovered. My heart beat wildly. I stilled. I ‘d never been so close to a moving butterfly before!

“He must love the colors,” I said to my friend. Then the butterfly disappeared, back beyond the house. What a nature experience.

The butterfly returned less than a minute later. It flew the same course, between the wall and my canvas, and ended up in front of me again. It fluttered in place right under my chin. It felt as if he was looking to see what I was doing. It stayed for a good fifteen seconds (while I held my breath!). Then it left. Again.

Twice?  We glanced at each other.

A little wide-eyed, we laughed. We wanted this to be a special message. We were attempting to reach further spiritual heights that day. But, we also wondered if this was a fluke. Were we attempting to put meaning to something that was just happenstance? Like the energy worker who believes he can will the traffic light to change, or shift the winds. Was this our petty will? Were we making something out of nothing? It was, after all, Summer. Things were blooming. Butterflies abounded.

Before these doubts finished processing in my head, the butterfly was back. I halted. My friend picked up her phone. A third time? Really? It came once again, along the same path, looping around to my right and ending up – flutter, flutter – between me and my canvas. Another fifteen seconds or so went by again before it left.

Three times. Cool.

By the fourth time the butterfly visited, we were tense with awareness. Not so much a fluke anymore. My friend snapped shots from her phone, attempting to follow the little guy around the porch without scaring him off. A long while passed. The message was clear as he intentionally hovered in front of me. Pay attention!

We were listening. Especially by that fifth time. The energy was serious now. Unbelievable!  Something bigger than both of us was revealing itself and we’d be stupid not to listen. By that final swoop, the butterfly seemed to know he had gotten through. He turned and flew away, hopping along the flowers as he went. Who, what or why this happened is still a mystery. Maybe we’ll never know. But we listened. We just knew this was an event to be trusted and like so much that has to do with Spirit, never questioned.

Deepening our Intuition leads us down some magnificent pathways toward the inner sanctum of our Sacred Self. Having dialogue with our Intuition empowers us and steers our lives toward deeper meaning. We learn to accept that not everything communicated has words. Then we can remain open to other ways of being. Learning to trust our Intuition gives us the freedom to be comfortable with the unexplainable. When we embrace our intuition, we accept there’s a universally complex language within all of us and that subjectivity is okay.

This sensing language is the language of the Soul. The dialogue involves colors, energy, emotions or perceptions.When we meditate or dream, forms come to us that the conscious Mind struggles to interpret. Jung referred to this communication as the “intuitive idea that cannot be formulated in any other or better way” than through the use of these symbols. This language is also spoken with our body energy through our etheric field. If we learn to manage our energy, we can find a new way of heightening our engagement with our world and the people in it.

Intuitive knowing is slower on one level, yet faster on another. We may sense something immediately, but not be able to describe or understand it right away. Jung describes this journey as;

…something which can scarcely be described in words. It can only be experienced. It is a subjective affair quite beyond discussion; we have a particular feeling about ourselves , about the way we are, and that is a fact which it is neither possible nor meaningful to doubt.

Intellectualizing doesn’t work with intuiting. Mind wants things organized in neat Microsoft files that can be corroborated by the outside world. A process that’s laughable to Soul.

There are two ways of using our Intuition. The first is by developing our “sixth sense”. This is what we use when interacting with people and situations. Sixth sense intuiting uses instinct as its driver. It helps us sense things like knowing when someone is lying or deciding if a new job is right for us. This sixth sense intuiting deepens how we interact beyond sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. We can develop this through learning energy work including the clearing and managing of our chakras. Reiki work helps us develop this sensitivity as well. Stillness in our own agendas is important in this process. How many times have you ignored something that you had a strong sense of because you didn’t want to believe it?

This use of etheric energy is also how we heal emotional wounds. While it’s not the only tool, but it’s one of many powerful ones. Rebalancing your chakras allows for physical, emotional and psychological flow. When we shut off aspects of our Self, we shut off some of their associated energy centers. Drawing from universal power and opening up to an infinite source of light, heightens our sensitivity. Our source of body energy is limited, but when we tap into the Higher Source, we can manifest a whole new way of living.

The other way of intuiting is through psychic or mystical engagement with our inner world that also connects to our Higher Source. To intuit in this way, we need to allow the images we receive through meditation to just be. This gives us an opportunity to connect deeper with the information we’re given. The language of the Angels and Higher Spirit is through symbols and form. These have few references in our verbal and written language.

Making the sacred space for this intuiting helps facilitate a quiet container. For me, I like a softly scented candle, since scent – while it’s a fifth sense – links us to our deeper awareness. Using a journal is also important since we can write or sketch the images that come to us. If you’re clairaudient, you may hear words in your head, similar to when we hear the lyrics of a song. Writing those down and allowing them to just be, is part of the process. Dreams are also integral to intuiting. They’re wrought with symbols that drive our waking Mind crazy since it cannot fit them into that Microsoft file. But, if you write down what you remember, over time, you’ll see a pattern emerge. This pattern, whether through dreams or meditation, will speak to you and guide you.

Many times what we get is not so much an answer, but confirmation. This confirmation can occur as an inner knowing or something outside of ourselves. The answer may come in the form of a conversation that happens later in the day, or a recurring theme you keep experiencing as you lead your daily life. As part of confirming, we can ask; What is this image, color, energy or sensation that’s being presented to me? Another approach is to ask, what does this mean to me? How do I feel when I see this symbol or experience this information? If we’re open to the messages, all will be revealed in time. Be patient, since when we’re intuiting new information and mystical experiences, we have few if any previous references.

The largest block to intuiting well is ego. While ego is an important mechanism in the development of our Sacred Selves, it can go awry if we’re not aware of how Mind loves to put up defenses. A neurotic ego may want to shape the information to accommodate its insecurities. Keeping our Mind still keeps it out of the intuiting process and this keeps us from developing inflated illusions about ourselves and what we’re doing. This takes practice and a willingness to examine those undeveloped shadow sides we refuse to address in ourselves.

This process is a journey with no end goal other than to know ourselves deeper. Using our intuition as a vehicle to help us maneuver life’s passageways is a way to draw us closer in to the light and wisdom we already possess. It’s a pathway to bring us home again to what we already know. ~ Cheryl Lewallen, M.Ed., LPC