Workshop Outline (3 Parts)

Intuition Class Part 1

Intuition: A phenomenon whereby one gains knowledge without the use of reason. The word “intuition” comes from the Latin verb intueri translated as consider or from late Middle English word intuit, “to contemplate”. The word in the title “finding” infers that you as an individual already possess the ability to have intuition to be used as you go about your daily life. Many of you have had experiences where your intuition came on suddenly, was very accurate, but just as suddenly left your awareness.

Intuition is a natural part of our subconscious, much like our ability to dream– we also have our own unique way of experiencing intuition. You were born with intuition and you will have it your entire life. Having control over its function and finding your own unique way of experiencing intuition is a big part of this workshop. Once you find your intuition, there are exercises that help continue the intuitive dialog.

The idea of Intuition has roots in religions and spirituality, as well as in Western philosophy and psychology. In Western philosophy the idea of intuition can be traced back to the writings of Plato. Plato saw intuition as a phenomenon whereby we become conscious of pre-existing knowledge. There are references to intuition in the Bible and Quran, with said reference being prophecy, a form of intuition. Hindism has the belief that a chakra called the third eye is responsible for an intuitive connection to our world and beyond. The modern mystic Osho believes that achieving a state of mind of continual intuition is an aim of humanity as we progress in consciousness. In some aspects of Zen Buddhism, intuition is seen as a mental state that bridges the universal mind and our individual minds. As far back as humans go in history there has always been the medicine person or shaman who communicated the bridge between the spirit world and our day-to-day existence. Modern psychology has Carl Jung as an early researcher studying intuition and how it relates to our inner world. Jung wrote of the “intuitive type”, as a person who was able to use intuition as a dominant feature of thinking. An “introverted intuitive type” had a rich experience of images from the unconscious that he used to understand his world. More recently in the field of psychology there has been a model developed called the “recognition primed decision”. In this model people are able to make rapid decisions without having to compare options.

1 From the Centre for Organizational Strategy, Learning and Change at Leeds University Business School, “intuition is the result of the way our brains store, process and retrieve information on a subconscious level.” 2 Creativity, insight and intuition all originate in the unconscious. In that the unconscious plays a big role in the intuitive process is a common belief within psychological studies on intuition. For this particular workshop, I am teaching about intuition from the view that intuition develops from a spiritual base, as well as from a psychological one. Within this framework of intuition being spiritual, as well as psychological, there is an anchor of sorts and that anchor is of the physical. 3 It is the right brain activity that carries the intuitive message. Right brain strengths are emotions, senses, music, art and experiencing the whole of something.

Developing right brain activities help promote a stronger sense of intuition. One becomes a clearer channel for intuitive thoughts and feelings as right brain activities become stronger. An example is if you are already a visual person, imagining pictures in your head strengthens that right brained activity that carries the intuitive message. Clairvoyance is the technical term for these pictures in the mind. If you are a sensory person, such as an athlete would be, then getting to know the nuances of your senses would help strengthen the intuitive communication. So, as it goes the Buddhist belief that intuition is a state of mind that bridges the universal mind and individual mind, and that state as I teach the workshop is of the unconscious mind. That means that where intuition originates from is largely unconscious.

So let’s put the experience of intuition into the realm of dreams. So, the next question to ask is, how to access that which is unconscious. Some of the exercises and meditations I teach are becoming aware of the nuances happening in the body, in the feelings or emotions, and in the thoughts. Within the body awareness are the 5 senses. Sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell are among the five senses and all of these five can be a vehicle that intuition uses to communicate. An example of an intuitive message that comes forth within the five senses is through smell. There may be a particular smell associated with a person associated with the intuition. Another example is tingling on the skin, which would be touch. As far as feelings are concerned, one may feel simply good or bad about a situation that your intuition is communicating. All of the intuitive communication which is often subtle is also very subjective.

Every person has their own unique way of receiving the intuition. An example of my own intuitive communication when describing a bad feeling is that it almost feels like there is a weight on it or something is overcast. Thoughts are very potent in communicating intuitive awareness. There may be a little voice trying to tell you something, maybe “no” or “yes”. You may also see images as thoughts, sometimes in symbolic form as an intuitive communication. Everyone is different, you may have one or all of the ways of intuitive communication. Dreams are another powerful way intuition communicates. Listening to these messages is the beginning to having access to intuition at will. Included in this packet is a journal. Writing your communications down is an important exercise to enhancing your intuitive self. Remember that all intuitive communication is coming from the unconscious.

Intuitive communication is also a bridge between the universal mind, our higher selves or soul, and our everyday conscious self or ego.   We have three meditations to learn as part of the intuition exercises. The first one is a visualization where you become the observer of your body. The “observer” you pays close attention to subtle changes that your body goes through as thoughts come and go in your mind. This first meditation helps you become more observant to subtle body changes and also to subtle energies which are spiritual in nature. The more you observe these changes, the easier it is to be aware of them in daily life.

The second meditation is also a visualization that encourages you to do things that are impossible in real life. We fly, we morph into and out of animal states, and we travel forwards and backwards in time. This meditation teaches the conscious mind that reality is not so fixed, we can become what we want to in our minds. This type of thinking increases intuitive awareness by teaching the conscious mind that there are no limits. Not everything has to go according to what we think we know. This meditation softens the ego from having to know everything. The third meditation includes the opportunity to have a conversation with our inner self. We will consciously in a semi-conscious state attempt to talk to our unconscious self. For those spiritually minded, we are talking to our higher selves or souls. There is a fourth visualization that includes the third eye. That will be explained during the workshop.

Looking forward to meeting everyone! 1 http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/uol-gwy030508.php 2 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123738738000426 3 http://brainworldmagazine.com/ring-your-intuition-is-calling/

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Visualization for Increasing Intuitive Awareness for the Subtle Body

Sit in a quiet place in your home with both feet on the floor. Hands on table or lap in upward motion. Close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose very deeply into your abdomen. Let your breath out through your mouth. Take three more deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. Let your body relax feeling the relaxation from your feet to the top of your head. Take three more deep breaths through your nose and mouth. Imagine yourself sitting away from yourself as an observer. As observer study yourself sitting in your chair meditating. Notice how your shoulders are, slopping or upright? Are your legs crossed? Study your facial expression. Remember you are an outsider looking at yourself meditating. Notice your breath. Is it fast or slow, deep or shallow? As you are watching yourself, as the outsider, you begin to breathe in sync with yourself. As you are watching yourself, you begin to feel what your skin feels like to hold everything in. Is your skin cold? Does your skin feel nervous? Put yourself as the outsider into the skin of you as meditate. Continue to pretend that your breath as outsider is the breath that you hold and release as meditator. As observer notice how you are feeling as meditator. Is your heart beating fast or slow? Are your thoughts calm or frantic? As observer, how does the meditator feel in general? Try to feel that same feeling. Notice your abdomen area. Is it tense or calm? Thank the meditating you for being present for you as observer to get to know the subtle experiences your body and mind go through. Gently drop back into your meditating body so you are completely one again. Slowly open your eyes. Shake your fingers and feet so you are completely awake. The goal of this meditation is to help your mind/body practice seeing and feeling the subtle changes your body goes through. Sometimes intuitive hunches are felt in the body somewhere. Some people feel it in the chest, stomach, or mind when they get an intuitive flash. Getting used to feeling the subtle energies of your body help make your connection to the intuitive voice more strong. Intuitive messages can be very subtle, so practice observing these subtle experiences your body and mind go through.

Visualization for Opening Third Eye

Close your eyes. Place your awareness and focus in the middle of your forehead slightly above your brow area. In your mind’s awareness feel a color that is pure and bold. It is the color indigo and it is a deep shade of blue with a purple tint. As you focus your awareness on this third eye location slightly above your brow area and you feel the color indigo, imagine a closed flower bud forming about the size of a dime where your third eye is. Keep the focus on the flower bud as you breathe in deeply into your nose and let your breath out through your mouth. Still focusing on your third eye, which is now a flower bud that is awakening, opening right before you. Focus on opening the flower petals one at a time. As the flower petals slowly open, your awareness of that pure color indigo is growing. The color indigo is permeating the air around you and indigo slowly becomes the color of the flower as it is opening wide open. The open flower located on your forehead a little above your brow is pulsating the color indigo. As you continue to focus on the third eye, which is now a beautiful wide awake flower you begin to feel a powerful sensation of unconditional love. Unconditional love is now permeating throughout your body and mind and the flower that is your third eye is also pulsating that unconditional love outward towards the room, outwards to the world and universe and on into the heavens. Take a moment to sit in silence and the beauty of the imagery you have just created. After your moment of silence remember to thank your third eye for working with you to help you open and develop your innate intuition and visual clairvoyance. When you are ready, you may open your eyes and be fully awake.

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Homework

Journal Writing Meditation “Catching” your intuition and naming it.

Intuition Class Part 2

Finding Your Intuitive Voice, Part 2

We began our journey into finding the unique intuitive voice that is yours during Part 1, way back in January. The premise of that workshop and all succeeding parts is that we all have the ability to know about, to feel, see and experience an intuitive voice, one that is already speaking to you. We learned about how the idea of intuition plays out in history in the spiritual world and the more recent world of psychology and brain research.

• The framework from which this workshop is taught from is both a spiritual one as well as a psychological/physiological one.

In summary, our intuition is already speaking to us in a variety of forms through the subconscious mind, and the part of the brain that is the vehicle is the right brain. All meditations and “work” done during this workshop is a process of utilizing the right brain. In fact the practice of meditation, especially a form of meditation called visualization strengthens the use of right brain activity. Creativity, anything visual, seeing the whole of something is right brain activity and more. It is the right side of the brain where subconscious thoughts arise, thoughts form quickly, and it is where the older parts of the brain reside such as the reptilian brain (Where sensing danger comes from). (1) https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/radical-remission/201405/the-science-behind-intuition Some right brain activities:

• Recognizing faces
• Expressing emotions
• Music
• Reading emotions
• Color
• Images
• Intuition
• Creativity

I am adding an additional focus to part 2 of this workshop. The role of the pineal gland was not discussed during part 1 and is now being introduced in part 2. The pineal gland is small endocrine organ in the vertebrae brain.  It produces melatonin, which affects sleep cycles. The pineal gland has receptors which react to light. The pineal gland receptors produce the melatonin when it is dark and during relaxation and therefore trains the brain for sleep time.

There seems to be a connection between certain brave wave patterns existing during sleep and deep meditation and the pineal gland. (2) http://metatoninresearch.org/ During deep relaxation and visualization the pineal gland may secrete melatonin as well as metatonin, a form of melatonin that has DMT properties. DMT is a naturally occurring substance that is being researched in near death experiences and deep spiritual experiences. DMT taken as a substance produced outside of the body is often taken as a plant by shamans to produce hallucinogenic experiences and altered forms of consciousness, such as astral travel. Some researchers are saying DMT is a gateway to higher consciousness. (3) https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dmt/dmt_article2.shtml The book DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Dr. Rick Strassman talks about the higher consciousness DMT naturally provides.Secretion of DMT is rare, according to some researchers, while other claim it is common. Today mainstream science doesn’t buy the connection between DMT and the pineal gland. It is my belief that in the future researchers will find conclusive evidence of the connection between the pineal gland and higher states of consciousness, including intuition. Mainstream science does validate the melatonin production by the pineal gland and it is thought to be important in our sleep cycles. The pineal gland is located deep within the center of the brain, and as far as I know is not related to the right side of the brain.

The reason I am adding the pineal gland into the mix of this workshop is because I believe as we practice our meditations and visualizations on a regular basis the meditation practice has a beneficial effect in some way on increasing our consciousness and intuition. The more we practice deeper states of being, such as the theta and delta state, the more we activate the pineal gland and all of its mysterious connections to altered states of consciousness and spirituality. So, both the right side of the brain and the pineal gland are important to the development of intuition. The more we enter delta and theta states at will through meditation we train the pineal gland to become active. There is also a long history in cultures making a connection of the pineal gland and the third eye or as in Ancient Egyptian culture the Eye of Horus. If you take a look at the shape of the pineal gland it is similar in appearance to the Eye of Horus.

(4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineal_gland The philosopher Descartes believed the pineal gland was the seat of the soul. Many spiritual philosophies throughout time believe the pineal gland is the inner third eye and is the gateway to mystical enlightenment and clairvoyant perception. Theosophy has its roots in the belief that the pineal gland is a gateway to enlightenment. I find the significance of cultures and philosophies adding mystical qualities to the pineal gland interesting when you think about all of the newer research coming out about DMT and higher consciousness.

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Right Brain Activity and Pineal Gland (Third Eye) Activation/Astral Projection

Visualization using Active Imagination and the Illogical

Sit quietly and close your eyes. Breathe deeply into your lungs through your nose and release your breath out through your nose. Relax your body and slowly let thoughts and worries fade way. Take another deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Take a moment to sit quietly and become used to experiencing your breath and heart rhythms. I want you to now in your minds imagination visualize yourself slowly floating into the air. You are now going to let the wind take you wherever you go. You are now floating above the city and are getting closer to the forest nearby. As you are floating above the forest you stop and rest, realizing it is not the wind that is carrying you but your own intuitive self. As you are resting you notice your arms and legs become birdlike. You touch you face and notice a beak growing out of your mouth. You are transforming into a bird. You flap your arms and notice they are really wings. You begin to soar above the forest and fly very high. You fly so high everything looks tiny and you begin to fly above the clouds. You fly higher and higher until you are out into outer space. The moon seems so far away, yet so close. Soon you are flying above the arid landscape of the moon. The moon begins to change color, from pale silver to pink and blue. You soar down onto the surface of what you think is the moon. You come upon a lake that is bright pink. It too changes color as you focus on it. It is now a multicolored body of water. You look deep into the lake and see your reflection and are surprised to see your original self before you turned into a bird. You keep looking deeper into your own soul. Before you know it, you are back in your seat at the workshop. In your visualization feel your arms and legs, they are really yours and you are back in the logical world you left before this visualization into imagination began. Feel the difference between the logical and the illogical worlds and how it makes you feel. When you are ready open your eyes and come back to your conscious self. We will do a sharing of experiences now.

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You just experienced not only astral projection, a form of visualization, but practiced being in the flow of imagination. Imagination free flowing is a right brain activity. This type of visualization will strengthen your ability to connect with your intuition by strengthening your imagination and ability to create images in your mind. This will strengthen your clairvoyance and the ability to see images concerning your intuition. You have allowed yourself to be completely illogical, a trait of the right side of the brain. With practice you may be able to influence the pineal gland and your ability to achieve heightened sense of expanded awareness. (5) http://www.gaia.com/article/how-purify-and-activate-your-third-eye We also did a bit of astral travel in the mediation and it is said in mystic thinking that astral travel can help open the third eye and pineal gland. Gazing at the sun (sunrise and sunset) also activates the third eye pineal gland. We will spend the remaining time sitting in pairs, reading for each other. Pay attention to your body sensations, and how you feel in general. What are the first thoughts and visions you have for this person? While reading the person in front of you, spend some time closing your eyes and accept whatever comes your way, either in body sensation, thoughts or images. Hold their hands for a moment. Catch whatever feelings and thought you have at the moment. Take turns and make sure you discuss what your intuition is telling you.

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Intuition Class Part 3

We are now in our last part of the 3-part series of finding your intuitive voice. If you have been with me through all parts – congratulations! It is a lot of focus, but you will understand yourself a little better after experiencing all parts of this series. Once again the summary of this workshop:

• The framework from which this workshop is taught from is both a spiritual one as well as a psychological/physiological one.

In summary, our intuition is already speaking to us in a variety of forms through the subconscious mind, and the part of the brain that is the vehicle is the right brain. All meditations and “work” done during this workshop is a process of utilizing the right brain.

We now have an understanding about our third eye, and the spiritual development of this chakra and how it plays a role in our intuitive development. We can meditate and visualize our third eye getting stronger and clear, using third eye meditations online and in this packet. This third eye practice is purely spiritual and is based on thousands of years of experiential learning of first hand from peoples of indigenous nature all around the world. We can enhance our visual psychic awareness called clairvoyance by tuning our third eye through awareness and meditation.

The activity of visualization (a form of meditation) also increases psychic visual awareness, and visual impressions will increase if visualization is practiced on a regular basis. So, for increasing clairvoyance and visual intuition meditations on the third eye and the practice of visualizations are good activities to do. They are free, and you can do them anytime, even in bed before you go to sleep!

The most pertinent thing to share about intuition development is your perception concerning your own awareness. Are you really aware at all times at the conscious level? You are already very aware at the subconscious level all the time, even during sleep. Much of the intuitive information you get in all forms always comes through the subconscious mind and the spiritual mind (Which are interchangeable.).
So, it is important to practice the art of self-awareness to increase your intuition. Be aware of your subtle body sensations, of thoughts that can come and go in your mind, of feelings (All feelings, especially the feelings that are barely there.), of just knowing. Listen to them and acknowledge them when you can.

I have a fun art project to do today with you. It is called doodling for intuition. I am an artist and art therapist, and discovered through my own doodling and that of patients that the process of doodling naturally puts you into a state of consciousness that is very friendly to intuitive experiences. There is a change of sorts, if you try to draw with your non-dominate hand. If you are right handed, try drawing with your left hand. Also, try drawing upside down. It is relaxing and peaceful to doodle. You may fight yourself to use the non-dominate hand at first, but keep trying. Draw anything, without even thinking about it. Let it flow. Much of what you draw could be coming from your subconscious and spiritual mind. Additional fun is finding shapes in the doodles, finding patterns of symbols, and intuitively finding meaning in your doodles. We will share these doodles in the group.

Much of the workshop today will be in sharing our experiences, lifelong experiences as well as any change that has occurred as a result of the earlier workshops. These experiences could be with our own intuition and psychic experiences as well as our children’s. They could be everyday experiences as well as in our dream state. Questions will be asked and answered by the group. I will provide one-to-one guidance if requested.

There will be much time to read for one another, both in pairs and within the group.

One last idea for everyone is to try to set up a meditation table or alter area in your home. By doing this, you train yourself to have a dedicated time and space for your meditations and visualizations. This dedication through intent and use helps to build powerful energy (unseen power) that will stimulate your intuition and inspiration. You can also use this space to develop a friendly portal from which you get intuitive information and connections with spirit guides and family members who have passed on. Several good cleansing (spiritual and vibratory) practices is to smudge your area with sage or cedar. Frankincense and myrrh are also nice cleansers.

Please keep in touch through my website intuitz.com and email. Blessings