From overthinking to intuitive mastery

Greetings,

Welcome to August, my friend, and your monthly alchemical attunement.

An alchemical attunement is the process of...

✨ Using our own wisdom and evolution as a tuning fork, bringing us into vibration with our highest Self.

✨ Bridging the mystical and the mundane, the spiritual and practical, spirit and soul, joy and grief.

✨ Transmuting our "base materials" into gold... turning pain into power, wounds into wisdom, and grief into grace. 

Apache Spirit Warrior and my dear friend Carmen Baraka used to say, “Don’t follow your mind. Don’t even follow your heart. Follow your gut.” 

Carmen was the first person in my life who taught me about following my gut. She introduced that phrase into my conscious awareness, and I think it’s pretty natural to feel initially contracted around that advice… 

But what about the vast intelligence of my brain? 

What about the fact that I am smart, clever and astute?

What about the fact that my thoughts create reality? 

What about the old hermetic law that “all is mind” and our entire awareness and co-creation with the world begins with the mind?

And what is this absurdity about not following the heart? 

Doesn’t the heart lead the way? 

Doesn’t the heart know what it wants? 

Isn’t the heart also infinitely wise and intelligent? 

Can’t I trust my heart to lead me always toward what is best for me and for the world? 

Friend, these are sound and reasonable arguments that I myself have made. And, I can also step into another pair of shoes and make these counter arguments:

THE MIND is analytical, strategic, and intelligent. But that does not necessarily mean that it comprehends the whole picture and a holistic context of truth and reality. Overthinking is a pitfall we all tumble into. If you know the Tarot, then you know the mental suit of the swords is a brutal landscape of imagery that reflects the dangers of too much mental energy. The mind is where self-doubt, insecurity, judgment and criticism all live.

THE HEART wants what it wants—  to love and to be loved. I learned in my very first relationship when I was 15 years old that love is not enough to sustain a healthy relationship. I’ve learned that lesson many many times. I've also observed that the heart is where my inner child lives. Blindly following my heart often results in a surprising and unexpected realization that my inner child is actually sitting in the driver seat of my life, steering based on her undeveloped, immature understanding of the world, and her unmet needs and wounding.

THE GUT is where we literally transmute nourishment into energy. Another name for the gut is intuition— while it doesn’t actually reside in our middle belly region, it is fascinating that the gut and our intuition are almost interchangeable in the context of embodied guidance. When I follow my gut, my intuition is taking the lead. The wisdom of my mammal body is guiding. And I have yet to experience a moment where my gut and my intuition lead me down a path I did not wish to travel that was not in the highest and best interest of all parties involved.

Here’s a pattern of overthinking I’ve noticed…

I will receive an intuitive hit, a nudge, a ping, a sensation of gut, instinctive knowing. 

At that very moment, I am at a choice point, where I can either move in the direction of this intuitive green light, or I can pause, and let my mind begin to dissect, intellectualize, rationalize, strategize and inspect every ounce of implication. 

Nine times out of ten, what started as a clean sensation of yes becomes a muddy ball of knotted I’m not sure. A veritable rat nest in my brain. Impossible to decipher. Instant confusion.

You wouldn't have any knowledge of that cycle, would you Kate? 😆 

If we watch dogs or birds or any other animals together, clearly there is no thinking when it comes to how they relate to one another. There is pure instinct, primal gut knowing. Who knows why some dogs love to sniff each other's butts? Who knows why some birds will eat at the feeder together peacefully, then chase others away with a menacing squawk?  

They follow the wisdom in their bodies without hesitation. 

I am working on developing that embodied wise guidance in myself. I recognize more and more that my gut and intuition are also where my psychic gifts of deep listening live. In order to further develop and refine them, to turn up the volume on those energetic gifts, I have to strengthen the muscles of trusting them when they come. When I strengthen that muscle by trusting them and acting upon them, they come faster and more often.

Care to join me in turning up the volume on your intuition?

This is your invitation for today and for this blessed month of August. 

Let’s make some magic shall we?

✨ 3 Alchemical Prompts ✨

⚡ ️ What is one example of a circumstance where you received a clear, embodied, intuitive, gut knowing, and then allowed your brain to intervene, making a mess out of a moment of clarity? 

⚡ ️ Journal about it: Where were you, what happened, what did it feel like?

⚡️ What does it feel like in your body when you get an intuitive hit? Describe it. Do your best to put it into words. How do you know your intuition is speaking to you?

⚡ ️ What might you do differently in that moment of recognizing your intuition, so as to avoid letting your well-intending mind or impassioned heart intervene?

✨ Alchemical Mantra ✨

As I honor the infinite wisdom of my mind and my heart, I choose to let my intuition lead the way.

I am actively awakening my ability to listen, trust and respond to the divine guidance of my intuition. 

✨ Alchemical Attunement ✨ 

Sit quietly where you won’t be interrupted. 

Take 3 to 5 slow, deep breaths, breathing in through your nose for 4 seconds and out through your mouth for 8 seconds. Elongating the exhale for twice as long as the inhale is one of the swiftest ways to regulate our nervous system, and it is crucial our nervous system be regulated in order for us to even hear the voice of our intuition. 

Tune in and call forth the wisdom of your body and your wise intuition. 

Simply ask your soul essence if there is any information that wants to be shared, conveyed, or revealed to you in this moment. 

Sit quietly, breathe and notice. Be gentle with this process. 

When you’re ready, open your eyes and write down any nudges you felt or information you received.

Are there any action steps that you can take toward this intuitive nudge today, maybe even right now? If so, don’t hesitate. Schedule it into your calendar if need be. 

Make a clear intention to notice if and when your heart and your mind begin to muddy the waters of this moment of clarity. 

Kate, this is a muscle we get to strengthen! What a delightful process of connecting with ourselves as a vessel for the pure energy of Spirit to move through us.

I hope you enjoy this spiritual fitness routine and take heart in knowing that you are turning up the volume on your intuitive guidance, which will never lead you astray.

To our embodied wisdom leading the way,

Britta