Insights – Melannie Thomas

Life Coaching, Career Coaching, Business Coaching and Spiritual Guidance/Coaching are becoming more mainstream as people struggle with our down economy.  People are  seeking new ways of achieving their personal and professional goals.

Although we all have the answers within us, a skilled Coach can draw them out and help direct us to solutions that not only suit who we are, but put our feet squarely on our path.

“Thank you so much for your insights and your seamless perceptions.  It is so helpful to me.”   Carol S.

The Coaching process can be defined as a ‘creative partnership’.  I have been Life Coaching for several years.  It is one of the most rewarding aspects of my business.

“I place so much value on your kindness, insight and wisdom which has always been so validating to me.  Thank you for being honest with me .  I hope you know how much you are appreciated!”  Kerry H.

I will be Reading Signatures at the Sebastopol Farmer’s Market on Sunday May 30. This reminded me that I have been ‘reading signatures’ for more than 35 years. It is quite an amazing gift; and what I do is purely intuitive.

However, there is the field of scientific handwriting analysis that is used in the Criminal Justice system and also by Companies and Corporations seeking to screen potential employees. The oldest and most widely recognized school for teaching ‘grapho-analysis’ is IGAS. There is also ‘Grapho-Theraputics’, which is a handwriting therapy.

Although I was very attracted to the scientific method, I long ago had to make a decision to go in one direction or the other. I decided to stay with my intuitive style. It was the right choice for me, my career and the clientele I serve.

On this special day I invite you to take some time to acknowledge, remember and honor family, friends and the fallen heros that have served our country.

The Summer Solstice is rapidly approaching. Monday June 21 will mark one of two times in the year when the Sun is farthest away from the Equator; the greatest distance away from the Earth.

On this longest day of the year, take a moment to reflect, to enjoy, to acknowledge the changing cycles and seasons. If you are able, get out into Nature. Breathe in the beauty. Allow yourself to relax into the glory of the natural world.

Yes you are! Everyone is intuitive. In our culture most people don’t believe they are intuitive, and many people believe that intuition simply does not exist.

For proof, simply look at your own life experience. “I knew it was you!” is a common response to a phone call from family or friend. Intuition is like any other sense. And like the sense of taste, for example, it can be cultivated, trained and made a useful part daily living.

Take a few moments each day to observe your ‘intuitive’ experiences. Note ‘the way’ you receive the information, your particular style, and, learn to ‘trust’ the process. You will soon be on your way to understanding and using your extra sense.

Heart pounding? Feel anxious? Full of nervous tension? Absolutely one of the fastest ways to calm down and center is by taking three deep breaths. It is a simple age-old technique that can be done virtually anywhere and it is FREE!

The key is to take as deep a breath as you are comfortable doing, inhaling through your nose. Hold the breath to the count of four…one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, etc. Then exhale slowly and completely via your mouth. Hold the release to the count of four; and then repeat two more times. If you are unable to hold the intake or release to the count of four, hold it for as long as is comfortable for you.

Daily practice of this excercise is an invaluable tool for Finding Your Center.

What is Intuition?
Intuitive abilities are universal. The ‘sixth sense’ is as inherent in the human species as hearing, smelling, seeing, etc. And like its fellow senses, is expressed at greater or lesser strength within each individual. One person identifies with a keen sense of smell or keen eyesight, another with an extraordinary sense of hearing. So too, intuition varies in strength from person to person. I prefer the word intuition to psychic primarily because of the unsavory connotation implied by the contemporary use of the word psychic. More often than not, it is a catch-all phrase for charlatans. This is not meant to imply that all people who call themselves psychics are scam artists. But in a field with an intangible product so impossible to regulate, there are many who prey on a fearful and vulnerable clientele.

Although I prefer to use the word intuition as applied to myself and my professional practice, there are places where the word psychic is wholly applicable – as in defining various abilities subsumed under the following major headings. The most common and familiar of these being clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience.

Basically this means, ‘seeing’, ‘hearing’ and ‘feeling’ beyond the normal range of the senses. They are often considered supernatural abilities. Now supernatural is defined, in part, as being above or beyond the laws of nature. Advances in quantum physics demonstrate that beyond the fundamental laws of nature, there are laws of creativity which by their very nature preclude consistently predictable energetic responses or ‘results’. And which might, at times, be called supernatural.

Because intuition is as inherent to human beings as love or faith, it is a natural, not a supernatural function. It is our perceptions based on superstition and scientific empiricism that cast these abilities into a pit of skeptic derision.

Reflect for a moment on your own experience. Focus on the small, repetitive occurrences. For example, you have been thinking of a certain person, usually a friend or relative, and then ‘out-of-the-blue’ they contact you or you ‘just happen’ to run into them. You purchase some item at the store and you’re not sure why, like paper towels for instance. Later you discover that you are out of paper towels. The phone rings and you ‘just know’ that it’s your Aunt Martha; and you’re right. This list goes on and on.

We take so many of these day-to-day experiences for granted that we lose sight of their origin in our intuition. Additionally, when such premonitions are of a darker nature, we are often disturbed by them, and like a bad dream, we push them aside.

As humans, we fear what we cannot understand; often turning to skepticism and ridicule as a way of making ourselves more comfortable. I invite you to take a fresh look at your intuition!