Do you follow your intuitive nudges?  Sometimes intuition is easier to follow than at other times.  Sometimes it seems too easy and you overthink it instead of acting on it. But it’s always a whisper from a greater intelligence leading you to be more of who you really are.  And being more of who you really are is the key to being a presence of peace in your life and in the world. 

Earlier in the year, my intuition nudged me to volunteer for Hay House’s “I Can Do It” event in Birmingham.  I was in 2 minds because it seemed like a pretty self-centred thing to do because I’d get to watch most of the event for free and get to meet cool people in the process and just do a few bits to help out.  Cue overthinking! But that intuitive nudge was persistent and I wasn’t really sure why, but I knew that if I stayed open, the reasons would make themselves known.   

And it really was about being more me and sharpening the insights that were coming through my book writing journey.  Below I’m sharing the key insights I got from the day.  My intentions for you is that they spark your own insights and lead you back to being more of the real you.  

 7 key insights I got from the whole experience:

1. Follow your intuition – and stay open about where it might lead you

The nudge to apply to be a volunteer was persistent. It didn’t just come once, it kept coming so I knew I had to go for it.  I applied and detached from the outcome and then in a couple of days I got the “congratulations” email that I’d been selected.  As I mentioned above, I did debate in my mind whether it’d be better to go as a paying participant but I knew from helping at ThetaHealing teacher training earlier in the year that working there gives you a perspective you can’t usually see.  I’m a people person who loves to chat and being a volunteer meant getting to chat to way more people than I would have done as an attendee.  It opened up all kinds of cool conversations and connections I wouldn’t otherwise have had.  That was the “becoming more me” part.  But I still had to stay open-minded about what the day would bring …

REFLECTION: What intuitive nudges are you getting right now?  How might they be helping you be more you? 

2. Take inspired action

This insight was courtesy of Denise Duffield-Thomas as she gave us all tips on manifesting.  Her talk was funny, honest and practical – as you’d expect from Denise. For some reason, the word “inspired” really spoke to me.  I guess I had taken inspired action when I followed through on my intuitive nudges, but there’s so much more inspired action I could be taking.  When you’re really following your own path, you have no idea what’s next and it often comes down to acting on inspiration and intuition.  Taking inspired action that feels expansive drives you forward.  And I did take inspired action the next day – 3 workshop collaborations coming up in 2020! 

REFLECTION: What inspired action could you take in the next couple of days?

3. Define yourself on your own terms and detach yourself from society’s labels

This was another gem from Denise.  She’s insistent on calling herself an “unbusy mum of 3” because women who are mothers always end up getting labelled as a “busy mum” ahead of their achievements outside motherhood.  Although I’m not a mum, it was reinforcement of the idea that we’re the authors of our own story – if we choose to be. The less we buy into other people’s stories and labels about who we are, the happier and more at peace we’ll be.   We’re multi-faceted incredible beings with intellect, emotion, creativity, spirituality and a whole heap of other pieces and parts.  Society’s labels just can’t capture all that we truly are.  So shake off the labels and outside definitions and go inside to connect with all that you really are. 

REFLECTION: What labels from society are you buying into about yourself?  What could you replace them with? 

4. Remember your inherent beauty

Robert Holden got the music going and danced around on the stage.  He’s not a natural dancer (!) but he certainly got his groove on and made us all smile.  In his talk, he showed a video created by Dove – a company he’s worked with – on beauty and being average.  The video showed 2 signs above doorways around the world. One sign said “beautiful” and the other said “average”.  These were places where it didn’t matter which door you went through, you still got the same place, so it was really telling which door the ladies on the video chose to go through.  There was a lot of hesitancy around going through the “beautiful” door but eventually, lots of them did go through the “beautiful” door and owned being beautiful.  

The insight that came to me wasn’t so much about my physical body being beautiful, but what I’ve written so far in my book writing.  I’ve dismissed lots of it as ugly and average because it’s so raw and emotional. But the insights and discoveries it’s brought me are really beautiful and I would love for my book to act as a mirror back to my readers about their inherent beauty <3 

REFLECTION: Would you walk through the “beautiful” door or the “average” door?  What would it take to walk through the beautiful door? 

5. When you do something and intend it to help others, you can’t help but help yourself

Lynne McTaggart shared some fascinating research on prayer and intention.  I really loved how clear she was about what could and couldn’t be said for sure from the research she did.  In other words, when people prayed with the intention for peace or less violence in a place, there did seem to be a drop in violence.  But there’s no way of really knowing if the prayer caused it.  What she emphasized was that the changes reported by the people sending the prayers and intentions were remarkable.  It seems that by focusing on praying for others or sending intentions of healing or peace to others brings it about in yourself.  I know from my own book writing that setting out to write something that will help other people makes it a powerfully transformational process for yourself.  

I didn’t get to try out the intention experiment on the day because I had to had a job to do elsewhere but I certainly tested it out at the first opportunity and really noticed a shift.  I always use oracle cards at the networking meeting that I run, but this time I added an extra-strong intention for everyone to draw a card that would benefit someone else at the meeting.  Sure enough, I felt an extra-strong flow of energy coming through me as I shuffled the deck – just as Lynne had described in her talk. And it really did take the group readings to another level of connection and insight. 

REFLECTION: Where in your life could you be a bit too self-focused at the moment?  Where could you intend for others’ peace, healing, love and happiness as a more powerful focus?

6. Clearing yourself creates a power that enhances your creativity

I’d had to dash off before the end of Lynne McTaggart’s talk to help out on the Moonology oracle card readings that were happening downstairs.  The deck’s creator, Yasmin Boland was there to give readings to people who bought her deck that day. She offered us volunteers a reading, so of course I was going to grab the opportunity!  My card sparked off an awesome conversation with Yasmin about book writing and the clearing of yourself that you need to do sometimes to allow your book’s message and energy to come through.  

I reached my left hand out to take a card with the intention to have a card that would tell me what my soul wants me to know but there was something about her deck that make the question more precise as my hand touched the right card for me.  It was really about what to do next with my own book writing. I chose an incredible card that not only gave me practical advice but also carried powerful symbols about the key events in my life that the book is based on. 

My writing coach always says that to write a truly transformational book, writers need to go through transformation themselves while they write it.  It then creates an energetic blueprint that readers can pick up on to help them with their journeys. Yasmin said that she’d sometimes had to do clearings when she got stuck in creating her deck.  But I could feel how powerful that had made her deck and I really think that’s why my card was so powerfully clear in its message.  

REFLECTION: What creative projects do you have that are on hold at the moment?  Could some energy clearing help you move forward?

7. Let your dreams change and don’t let your inner pleaser lead you away from what your heart knows is right for you

I really enjoyed my day at I Can Do It.  I got lots of tips and insights from the Hay House authors.  I had wanted to be a Hay House author and had been working towards what was needed to do that.  I even submitted an (admittedly pretty poor) entry to the Hay House Writer’s Workshop competition in March 2018.  But what was really interesting on the day was that my dream had shifted and I know in my body that Hay House isn’t the right publisher for my current writing project “Pieces to Peace”. 

On the day, I had a wonderful chat with one of the editors and she gave me so much great insight into the realities of book writing.  She was really encouraging too. It was perhaps one of the best moments of the whole day and I was so glad I got a chance to show my appreciation for the extremely kind and well-thought-out feedback that I got for my entry in the competition.   I could tell how hard they’d worked to try and work out what I was aiming at that time!  

If I still had an over-active pleaser part of my mind, I’d feel obligated to keep going for Hay House as the publisher after they helped me so much.  But I’ve already made the mistake of working with people out of feeling obligated and slightly guilty about how much they’d helped me.  It never ends well when it’s your inner pleaser making the decision.  It’s far better to receive the generosity in my heart fully and have the patience to wait for what’s really best for me and pass on to others how great my experience was so that everyone gets that win-win outcome. 

Dealing with my inner pleaser through writing my book meant that I could stick to what I know in my heart is best for me.  Rather than feeling uncomfortable about receiving help, I could be at peace with receiving help and know that it’s far better to fully receive it and share it on than it is to feel obligated to give it back straight away.  

The funny things our minds do!

REFLECTION: Is your inner pleaser under control?  Or could it do with a bit of taming? 

The Next Stage of the Journey

So basically my book “Pieces to Peace” – or rather the energy behind it – was the main thing nudging me to go.  At the time of writing this blog post, it’s still in bits and pieces but gradually coming together. Writing it so far has been a transformational experience full of unexpected twists and turns that I’ve had no choice but to surrender to.

The “I Can Do It” event was a powerful way for my book to show me what she needs from me next. And like the whole of book writing journey so far – I couldn’t plan it or predict what the book needs next.  I had to follow the intuition and stay open. 

And so in reading this blog post, you’re already a part of this exciting journey. And I’d like to invite you to join The Pieces to Peace community for the latest updates and insights that she brings through. You’ll get insights and find out more about the transformations that have happened and how you can have them in your life too. Just fill in the form below to get going. <3