Intuition & the Flow of Life

MJ Schwader

Albert Einstein once said, “The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you, and you don’t know how or why.”

Intuition occurs naturally when you are living in a fluid way, detached from worries, “shoulds,” and strong opinions and belief systems.

The flow of life is a very simple pattern of movement. The subconscious is where inspiration is born. Where conscious and subconscious meet is what we refer to as intuition.

At that point we have a conscious awareness, an idea, or an inkling. As that idea grows in our consciousness, it begins to manifest into reality. Once manifested, our soul’s needs are filled and we begin the process again.

When we are at rest or asleep, our superconscious, or higher power, transfers new information and energy to our subconscious, and the process continues its cycle. This is happening all of the time in each of us.

That’s why I firmly believe that we can all be in the flow of life. However, when we come from a place of fear, we place layers of belief and filters of doubt in the way of manifesting the soul’s higher purpose.

We can choose to allow those filters to block the manifestation process—or we can choose to remove those blocks and allow the flow to continue.

Your soul’s higher purpose is to manifest your divine destiny. You can try all you want to alter the course, stop that movement, control the forces, fear the direction your choices might be taking you.

But, you must eventually reach your soul’s higher purpose; and when you step into that understanding, life becomes a flowing dance.

You have choice, and when the choice follows the path of the heart, obstacles disappear as if by magic.

Truly, the universe has ultimate influence, and you will eventually be given a reminder of the power of your own destiny.

The more you ignore your intuition and the signals it sends, the more you will struggle, and the more disease, pain and distress will enter into your life.

However, you can choose to:

• claim the moment

• let go of the expectation of an outcome

• understand your beliefs and the effect they have on the process

• remove the filters that keep you from easily manifesting your soul’s higher purpose

• allow the process to occur

Claim the Moment

One of my healing teachers and I were talking one day. I was proudly telling her that I had recently been learning patience through several “lessons” that had been appearing in my life. I was willingly taking on the assignments, although the episodes had been difficult and caused me various types of pain, both emotional and physical.

She stopped me at that point and said, “MJ, be careful what language you are using to describe these instances. The spirits live in the moment. They are not looking at what you’ve done in the past or what the future is. If you ask for patience, they will give you reasons to have patience. Instead, say, ‘I’m claiming the moment.’”

Language is powerful. What we say and think has a significant effect on how we move in and through our lives. What we tell ourselves is a huge part of how we manifest things and has a direct impact on our health.

I suggest to my clients that they do the following exercise for one day. I have them write a hash mark each time they catch themselves saying (aloud or internally) anything that comes from a place of fear or is negative, judgmental, or pessimistic.

At the end of the day, I have them count up all the hash marks. Even those who believe their communication is positive are amazed at how many times their language fails them.

When you find yourself fearing the future or agonizing over the past, say to yourself, “I’m claiming this moment.” It’s a reminder to stay present, release control, and exult in the here and now.

Why is claiming the moment so important to the flow of life? Because when you are in that place, there is no anxiety about the future and no regret about the past.

There is nothing but possibility, and the resulting feeling is joy. To truly hear your intuition, your heart brain, your destiny, the moment is all there is.

Let Go of the Expectation of an Outcome

Several years ago, as I prepared to go to my parents’ home for a family event, I was planning my schedule, making an agenda, and driving myself crazy trying to fit everything into the time I would be there.

I sat down and took a deep breath. The realization hit me that if I didn’t have to meet anyone’s expectations, the trip would be a lot more joyful.

Then I had an even deeper realization that if I didn’t have expectations, or an agenda, or even a schedule, the trip would be much simpler.

I decided to try it. I allowed other people to make their schedules, and told them that, if possible, when they let me know the time and place, I’d be there.

Even when it was last minute, I didn’t care. In fact, last-minute plans eliminated creating outcomes in my mind. I just showed up, with no expectations.

The result was astounding. I floated through the ten days filled with joy. There were no promises that might be broken, no drama from having made plans that someone else didn’t like. And with no expectations, I was never disappointed.

By the end of the trip, everyone was asking me how I could remain so calm and happy when things seemed to be swirling around my large and loud family.

After that experience, I started to do that in my day-to-day life. Spontaneity has become very fun.

When something comes up, I check with my intuition, stay present, and make the decision in the moment. Then I refrain from attaching expectations to the outcome, and as a result, am not disturbed by what might happen.

Understand Your Beliefs & Their Effects

What influences whether we listen to our intuition or not? Why do we deny our intuition and ignore the physical, mental and emotional signs along the way?

The greatest impact on our decision-making is our belief system. The influence on our beliefs comes from our experiences, whom we choose to listen to, whom we are sometimes indoctrinated to believe, and whom we might aspire to revere.

I recently heard an analogy by John Welwood in his book LOVE & AWAKENING. When you are born, you are given a beautiful castle with hundreds of rooms, each representing a part of your inner world. The rooms are perfect, and each contains a gift.

As a child, you explore each room with no preconceived ideas, no shame, no judgment. As you get older, you start hearing from others that certain rooms are not right, that you should lock them up to keep the castle safe.

Because you desire acceptance and love, you close a room. Then another, and another. You stop listening to your inner voice and instead believe the opinions of others. In no time, you are living in a one-bedroom house in need of repairs.

I believe that we are all born with the same amount of joy in our hearts. We each begin our life with openness and come from a place of love.

How we choose to respond to the voices we hear, the belief systems that are thrust upon us, will determine which rooms of our house we close and which stay open. When we come from fear, more rooms will remain closed. Love keeps the doors open.

Fear is not a bad thing, unless it becomes paralyzing. Fear can protect you from harm. It can also keep you from enjoying the flow of life. For some reason in our culture, looking for the good in things, being positive, being fearless, has become a negative thing.

Have you ever had someone say to you that you are not being “realistic”? What I want to know is why being negative and coming from a place of fear are more realistic than being open and loving?

According to estimates, ninety percent of what we worry about never happens. If negative worries have a ten percent chance of being correct, doesn’t that mean that being positive is more realistic?

The important thing to ask yourself is why it’s better to be fearful when you have a choice to be happy. After all, you have the same ability to choose love as you do to choose fear.

Remove the Filters

As mentioned earlier, one of the most powerful means of change is language. Another significant method is visualization.

Imagine the process of manifestation described above. What filters (some people call them Gremlins, or voices of fear, etc.) keep you from moving toward your purpose?

Picture them blocking the process. Then imagine yourself removing them, one by one. Take them out and allow the next moment to happen, without expectation.

Allow the process to occur, instead of trying to control it. Free yourself from limiting beliefs and the idea that you aren’t good enough.

Regain your trust—in you, the universe, and your purpose, your destiny.

Allow the Process to Occur

Control is an aspect often overlooked in the discussion of fear. When something negative happens to us, particularly at a young age, we seek ways to make our environment safe, or make others conform to our ideas, or maintain a semblance of order.

This need for control is a direct response to fear. In fact, it is the single most influential belief that compels us to ignore our intuition.

Allowing the process to occur requires letting go of the idea that we have, or more importantly, need to have control.

Is that need really serving you? How much energy do you expend trying to maintain an outward appearance of control?

When you get out of your own way and the flow begins to happen, you will see that all the energy you’ve expended on controlling the process or the outcome will begin to serve you, instead of blocking you from what you want in your life.

Let go of an outcome, remove the filters, and allow the process to occur. Your inner voice will guide you if you allow it.

MJ Schwader helps enlightened entrepreneurs, change agents and healers create and market their products, services and businesses using the power of writing. She weaves shamanic training with twelve years of experience as a writing coach.