Divine Intuition
Revised and Updated Divine Intuition Your Inner Guide to Purpose, Peace, and Prosperity Lynn A. Robinson
Cover design: Jeff Puda Cover Image: Yagi Studio/Getty Images Copyright 2013 by Lynn A. Robinson. All rights reserved. Completely revised and rewritten from Divine Intuition: Your Guide to Creating a Life You Love, copyright Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., 2001. Published by Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint One Montgomery Street, Suite 1200, San Francisco, CA 94104-4594 www.josseybass.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read. Jossey-Bass books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Jossey-Bass directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S. at 317-572- 3986, or fax 317-572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Not all content that is available in standard print versions of this book may appear or be packaged in all book formats. If you have purchased a version of this book that did not include media that is referenced by or accompanies a standard print version, you may request this media by visiting http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit us www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Robinson, Lynn A. Divine intuition : your inner guide to purpose, peace, and prosperity / Lynn A. Robinson. -- Rev. and updated. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-118-13127-5 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-22506-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-23852-3 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-26317-4 (ebk) 1. Intuition--Miscellanea. 2. Spiritual life--miscellanea. I. Title. BF1999.R555 2013 204.4 dc22 2012030303 Printed in the United States of America FIRST EDITION OF THIS TEXT HB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS Introduction vii 1 Directions from God 1 2 Your Intuitive Gift 11 3 Intuitive Nudges 19 4 Make Your Dream Come Alive 27 5 Opening Your Mind to the Divine 37 6 Divine Surrender 45 7 Between Two Worlds 55 8 A Clear Path to a Positive Life 63 9 What Do You Say When You Talk to Yourself? 71 10 Power Phrases for Peace of Mind 79 11 How Do You Know When It s God on the Line? 89 12 How to Connect with Divinity Every Day 97 13 How to Recognize Your Calling 105 14 An Invitation to a Bigger Life 113 15 Angels and Other Divine Helpers 121 16 Flowing Gracefully Through Change 129 17 The Power of Prayer 137 v
vi CONTENTS 18 Make the Choice for Joy 145 19 You re on God s Payroll 153 20 What Would You Do If You Were Brave? 161 21 When It s Time to Take Action 169 22 God s Lesson Plan 177 23 Choosing the Path with a Heart 185 24 Letting Go of What Holds You Back 193 25 Is It Your Fear or Intuition? 201 26 God s Delays Are Not God s Denials 209 27 Amplify Your Intuition with Gratitude 217 28 When Indecision Strikes 225 29 Where Do You Go from Here? 233 Resources 241 Acknowledgments 245 The Author 247
INTRODUCTION I believe in intuition. And I believe in living my life intuitively. I wrote the first edition of Divine Intuition: Your Guide to Creating a Life You Love in 2000. I was thrilled when it became a classic in the field of intuition and was reprinted around the world in more than a dozen languages. I ve heard from thousands of people who ve read that first edition of Divine Intuition. They want to make a difference. They feel moved to live their mission, their calling, their purpose. They describe themselves as healers, teachers, scientists, engineers, physicists, coaches, caretakers, spiritual seekers, parents, compassionate friends. and neighbors. Here s part of what I wrote in the Introduction to that first edition. One of the ways that I access my intuition is through my dreams. My technique is to write a few paragraphs about a current problem or concern before I go to bed at night. I then try to summarize my concern into a question. I imagine that I am releasing this question to God. I fully expect an answer. It may not come by morning but it always arrives. Sometimes I receive an answer that comes into my thoughts fully formed. Many times I receive a little fragment of information, a whisper from my soul. vii
viii INTRODUCTION Several months before getting the book contract for the first edition of this book, I wrote the following in my journal: I have been praying for some months now about my next steps, my life purpose. I have a successful business giving intuitive readings to individuals from all walks of life. They call me from all over the world. I feel richly blessed. I have an abundance of clients. I love what I do. I feel I am of service to the people I speak with as well as to my community. I teach classes and love sharing what I know. I feel guilty because I should be very grateful with the abundance I have in my work. But something is missing. I feel the need to reach out to more people and share with others what I have learned. I see people yearning for the spiritual, searching for meaning, trying to understand why things happen the way they do. This was my summary question distilled from that paragraph: What next step should I take in my work? Here s the dream I received: I am being led down a corridor by two golden angels. I ask them where we are going. They inform me that they are taking me to a class about what God wants you to do. I tell them that I m very excited about this class. I ve been praying about this for a long time. I thank them for accompanying me. We reach a door to the classroom. One angel points to the workshop sign on the door. The title of the class is printed on it. It says Directions from God. The other angel begins to gently shake me. She says, Wake up now and write that down. This is the subject of the book you are to write. This is not intended to be a book about what I think God wants you to do. It s also not about my conversations with God. This book is about you about listening, feeling, and experiencing God s presence through your divine birthright your intuition. Marianne Williamson (2006) writes of God as the pure and all-powerful love that rules the universe and lies within us
Introduction ix all. We call God by many names: higher consciousness, the universe, and divine wisdom, to name but a few. No matter what word you use, I believe there is an invisible intelligence that animates our world and provides wisdom and love to guide our lives if we can just learn to listen to its prompting. I ve often joked that when we are born, we should arrive with an instruction manual from God about our life purpose. Or we should be given a tape like the one in the old television series Mission Impossible: Here is your mission should you choose to accept it! In fact, over the years, I have come to believe that we do receive these instructions. They come through the whispers of our souls through our intuition. As we listen to this guidance from within, we not only hear the directions for creating a life of peace and meaning, we also receive ample instructions for living the life of our dreams. My Background I haven t always been able to tap into the power of the inner guidance of intuition. In fact, it took me quite a while to figure out a career for myself. During my twenties, I worked in a number of nonprofit organizations. In my early thirties, I worked as the operations manager of a software company. But I always wanted to be self-employed and be my own boss, making my own hours and having some degree of financial independence. I certainly wanted to make more money than I was in the nonprofit organizations. I started asking myself questions. What is it that I love? What would my ideal work situation look like? What hobbies and interests do I have that could produce a living? How much money would I like to make? I wrote all this down and came up with this list: I like counseling people. I like to study metaphysics and consciousness. I m a good listener.
x INTRODUCTION I like to teach. I want to work for myself. I like to write. I toyed with the idea of becoming a psychologist. I sent for some applications and went on a few interviews, but after each one, I felt let down and disappointed. Everything felt heavy, as if there were no flow to it. Intuition often speaks to us through feelings and body sensations, and that sense of heaviness indicated to me that becoming a psychologist wasn t a good choice. I thought about becoming a psychic. I had always been interested in metaphysics, intuition, spirituality, counseling, and human potential, and being a psychic summed up all those interests for me. I saw myself as being an encourager for my clients, along with their hopes, dreams, and callings. However, I was a little concerned about the negative stereotype of Madame Eva gazing into her crystal ball and announcing she saw bad things in your future. I had taken classes on developing intuitive skills and had read many books on the topic of metaphysics. I decided to take a risk and began to give mini-readings (short intuitive readings to address a specific question) to friends. Much to my surprise, they were astonished at the accuracy of my information. I wondered, How do I develop a psychic reading business?! I joked that if God posted a Psychic Reader Wanted ad in the Boston Globe employment section, I d apply. Barring that, I wasn t sure where to begin. One aspect of what I learned in all of the metaphysical books is that whatever you focus your attention on tends to manifest in some way in your life. I thought about how I could apply this to my desire for a new career. I knew the outcome of what I wanted: to become a psychic. I just didn t know how to get there. I decided to go to work with my understanding of
Introduction xi practical metaphysics to see if I could get some assistance from what I affectionately call the helpers of the universe. (I ll give you more on that later.) My goal: I have a full-time, successful psychic reading business. To focus my attention toward this goal, I created three visualizations, stating them as if they were already fact: (1) My appointment book is full of clients, (2) I see myself sitting across from a happy client who is getting a psychic reading from me, and (3) I see my voice mail filled with lots of messages from clients wanting appointments. Every morning and every evening I visualized these things and affirmed my success. I pictured myself as successful in my business and felt the excitement of having work that I truly loved. I also prayed and asked God for help in creating this if it was for my highest good. About a month into this process of manifesting my vision, a friend who had been sick for a long time died. As I walked into the room for his funeral service, I heard a voice say, Sit there! Sit there! My attention was quickly drawn to an empty seat next to a woman I didn t know. I looked around to see who had spoken those words, but no one was near me. There were quite a few people in the room I knew, and I wanted to sit next to them for emotional support. But the feeling was so strong I took the seat next to the stranger. At the end of the service, the woman and I started talking, and she asked me what I did for a living. Have you ever had one of those times when your brain doesn t engage with your mouth? Despite the fact that I was an operations manager at that time, I answered, I m a psychic. I was immediately stricken with alarm. Why had I answered this way? What would she think?! I had done readings for a few friends and friends of friends, but I had never defined my career that way and felt flustered by my answer. Of course, she couldn t hear those voices inside me, and to my surprise, she was quite open and receptive. She then told
xii INTRODUCTION me that she was a writer for the Boston Globe and would love to have a reading so she could write about it in her column. We arranged a time for me to go to her house to give her a reading. I was nervous! What if I blew it? What if I didn t get any intuitive impressions or sense of what her life was about? What if she hated what I said? What if I was wrong? I was in quite a state when I arrived at her home. Despite my anxiety, as soon as I started the session, a remarkable peace came over me. The information flowed easily and effortlessly, and she was really pleased. She called a few weeks later to say that she d written a piece about our session for the paper. She wanted to tell me not to be disappointed if it didn t appear in her column. She was pretty sure her editor wouldn t accept it, mostly because of the topic and also because she didn t often allow articles about specific individuals in the column. A few days later, the writer called again and left a message saying her editor was enthusiastic about it and agreed to run it. Here s what Mopsy Strange Kennedy wrote in her article, Psychic Psychology (1987), in the Boston Globe Magazine: Whatever one s vision of a psychic might be, Lynn Robinson is probably not it. There is a practical quality to what she offers, and at the same time she has been known to have some extraordinary seeings into the specifics of a client s life. Once associated with Interface, a holistic center, Robinson has what might be loosely called a perspective of spiritual psychology. She can be descriptive and explanatory about a situation or relationship, but she s not above occasional direct suggestions. Her findings are most concerned with addressing the rhythms of a person s life, understanding the stubborn blocks and flowing places where that thing called growth might take place. Her insights partake of a Zen-like suppleness that allows for flexibility and
Introduction xiii grace, even in the presence of what might be unsettling or painful. Within the next six months I received over four hundred calls from this one article. Most of these people made appointments, and my business was launched. My goal had come true in a way I could never have orchestrated if left to my own devices. I had a successful psychic reading business. Then it hit me: I had joked that I wanted God to post a psychic reader position in the Boston Globe, and it was there just not in the Help Wanted section. That smystoryofhowoneofmydreamscametruewith help from the universe. Several years later, I was able to take my stories and experiences and publish them in Divine Intuition, which was very successful. But then, as sometimes happens, things took a different direction In 2011, the original publisher sent me a letter saying they would no longer be publishing Divine Intuition. It was a full-color, illustrated book that had become too costly to print. I m a very calm, cool, and collected person. I usually don t get overly dramatic or upset about things and can see good in almost everything. In fact, I m so optimistic that a friend (who was a little annoyed with me at the time) labeled me pathologically positive. I assume that if a life difficulty emerges, it s simply opening the way for something better to come along. However, when I received the publisher s note, I was devastated. I cried and yelled at God about how unfair this was, how many people had written to me and loved the book, and how betrayed and abandoned I felt. The next day I was still upset and crying. I felt so strongly that this book was supposed to be in print. I didn t know what to do. So I asked God for a sign. I was expecting an unusual butterfly or bird to show up, a song on the radio, or some words
xiv INTRODUCTION on a billboard you know, the usual kind of sign from God thing. All day long, nothing out of the ordinary happened. However, every time I felt discouraged, I just kept repeating, God, I want to know that your hand is on my life. By the evening, nothing had happened. No sign from God. At this point, my husband decided that the only thing that was going to make me feel better was a good, old-fashioned hot fudge sundae. So off we went to the local Dairy Queen, where the following image showed up as part of the topping: I know that God s hand is on your life too. I m very grateful to my agent, John Willig, and my editor, Sheryl Fullerton, and all the other folks at Jossey-Bass for letting this book have a new life. In this revised and updated edition,
Introduction xv you ll find lots of new techniques, updated materials, new chapters, and some new and inspiring stories from my life, as well as from my clients lives, over the past decade. Divine Intuition is about helping you learn how to access the rich wisdom available to you through your gift of intuition. We often hear about the importance of trusting this inner guidance. But we don t know how to listen and act on it to make practical everyday decisions about our lives. My hope is that this book can help you receive your directions from God so you can live your life with enthusiasm and joy.
Divine Intuition
CHAPTER 1 Directions from God There s an invisible organizing intelligence that we re all part of, and we re all here for a reason. WAYNE DYER Everyone, even a devout atheist who believes God doesn t exist, has a belief about God. You ve picked up this book for any number of reasons. Someone told you it was great. You may have heard me on radio or seen me on television. Perhaps you feel lost and need some guidance, and this book says it provides you with some divine direction. You may be one of the 95 percent of people who believe in God. But who or what is God, and what does God have to do with intuition and bettering your life? The Many Ways to View God What s your vision of God? An old man in a white robe sitting on a throne in some vast unseen place in the universe? Do you believe that life is an accident, and you just happen to be here by chance and then you die? Do you believe that when others pray, their prayers are always answered? Do you wish desperately that life came with a set of rules? Perhaps you believe in a God who passes judgment on you and punishes you for your sins. Or maybe you believe that God has a specific purpose for your life if you could just figure it out. 1
2 DIVINE INTUITION The first word that comes to me about the experience of God is peace. I feel loved, I feel cared for, and peace comes with that no matter how difficult the situation. Bernie Siegel Deepak Chopra writes in his book, The Essential How to Know God (2007), One bald fact stands at the beginning of any search for God. He leaves no footprints in the material world. We cannot know God through the usual way we find things out: through our physical senses. So how do you know God exists? You may have read many books on the subject of God and religion. You may have read none at all. My guess is that you picked up this book because you thought it might help you find some answers. There is no one truth or right way to view God. Many will dispute that fact and claim to have The Answer. Wars too numerous to count have been waged over who has the right belief about God. You will find your own truth within you. That s where God placed it. We often personify what we can t see or understand. So for the purpose of this book, however you choose to view or experience God is fine. May you find value here even if you re a nonbeliever. I believe that God exists as a positive force in all our lives. I believe that it doesn t matter how you view God: as a source of life, love, divine energy, spirit, life potential, all-that-is, goddess, universal intelligence, or as a wise old man sitting among the clouds and surrounded by angels. I use many of these terms throughout the book. Feel free to change the ones I use to terms you re comfortable with. I am not a biblical scholar or a religion expert. I come from a Methodist family that viewed church as a place we went to on religious holidays, which is to say that I didn t grow up in a deeply
Directions from God 3 religious or spiritual home. I ve come to my understanding of God through over twenty years of being a psychic intuitive counselor. Musician Kenny Loggins once observed, Feeling is God s mirror; intuition is God s telephone. I know from personal experience and from working with thousands of clients that intuition is a ready source of direction available to all of us, compliments of the universe, or whatever one chooses to call God. Fortunately, we all have it, and we are all capable of developing it for practical use in everyday life, as well as for discovering and achieving our life goals. Many people think of intuition as the domain of a gifted few, even though it s now recognized not as a rare, accidental talent but as a natural skill anyone can cultivate. It s true that some of us are intuitively gifted in the same way that an outstanding musician or artist is gifted. But I believe the world will be a far better place to live when we all know how to routinely use the gift of intuition to enhance the quality of our lives. Webster s defines intuition as quick and ready insight and the act or process of coming to direct knowledge without reasoning or inferring. It is derived from the Latin word intueri, which means to see within. It is a way of knowing, of sensing the truth without explanations. My favorite definition of intuition is from a fifteen-year-old girl who said, Intuition is like when you know something, but like, where did it come from? We ve all heard the admonitions: Follow your heart, Listen to your inner voice, and Trust your gut. These are some of the ways that we receive intuitive guidance, and those common phrases make it sound easy. But what do you do when your inner voice sounds like your inner critic or, worse, your inner child run amok? How can you learn to distinguish between your own inner knowing (your intuition) and your deepest inner fears?
4 DIVINE INTUITION A Wise, Loving Source I believe that each of us comes into this life with a mission, a purpose in life. It s often referred to as a calling. It s the thing that brings joy and enthusiasm. The root of the word enthusiasm is entheos, which means God within. But think for a moment about what that really means. When you feel enthusiastic about your dreams, it means that God is speaking through you and saying yes to your goals. The feeling of enthusiasm is one of the ways intuition speaks to us. I ve spoken to thousands of individual clients and students about the meaning of their lives and life in general. I ve seen people struggle with concern about being punished by an unforgiving and vindictive God, and I ve seen others embrace God as a loving, positive source of comfort and guidance. Others I ve known have no belief in God and experience difficulty with the idea of finding purpose and meaning. My intention in writing this book is not to add yet another volume to the many books out there on the bookstore shelves that proclaim, I have the answer. My purpose is to assist you in finding your own answer. I believe the key to your destiny resides in your heart By listening to the Creator and soul. The power I call within, we are led to our right God placed it there, and you can access it through your intuition or inner guidance. path. Julia Cameron Here are some of the basic assumptions I make about God s role in my life: There is a wise, loving, and intelligent energy that I call God. This energy flows through me and all of the universe. I may not be able to see this energy, but I choose to believe that it exists and that it has my best interest at heart.
Directions from God 5 I believe that God informs me through my intuition about my best and highest direction. This guidance, if followed, will lead me to greater peace and harmony in all aspects of my life. When I feel confused and uncertain, I go to this source of wisdom and choose to trust the guidance I receive. I believe that God and God s wisdom are hard-wired into our genes and our reason for being. From time immemorial, we have in some way worshipped a higher power. For as long as people have inhabited this planet, there is evidence that they believed in some greater energy, deity, God, or force. Psalm 46 in the Bible says, Be still and know that I am God. It s a concept echoed many times throughout the Bible and in other spiritual books. You re asked to wait, be quiet, and listen within to hear the wise voice of God guiding you. Spiritual guidance intuition is your soul s compass. It s always there, whispering answers and giving direction. It can guide you to peace and harmony in your life. We all lead busy lives. We re on our phones, sending e- mails, tweeting, creating friends on Facebook. We go into the office early and stay late so we can keep our jobs. We re parents of little kids, and we re trying to make ends meet. Or we re the children of aging parents and so have no time for ourselves. We may tell people with some pride that we re crazy busy. We have endless to-do lists. So where do we find time to be still and know God? Take a moment, and think about any significant and important relationship in your life. You make time for it. It may be just a quick check-in by phone or a cup of coffee together. Friendships don t thrive and grow on neglect. That s where finding time to listen to God s voice comes in. Find your stillness in any way you can, and tune in to that still, small voice of God. To do this, take a few minutes throughout the day to stop, breathe, and
6 DIVINE INTUITION listen. Or take a walk and imagine God as your walking companion. Perhaps you might enjoy a daily inspirational message, book, or e-newsletter. Sit quietly and contemplate the message and its relevance in your life. Prayer is when we talk to God. Intuition is one of the main ways God answers. You ll read in this book about the many ways we receive this wisdom. I would be honored if this book inspires a dialogue between you and God. If you haven t visited with God in a while, consider this a reintroduction. If God has been a constant source of guidance in your life, perhaps you can use this book to go even deeper into this relationship. We live in a time of monumental upheaval and change, Silence is the language God and many of us are frightened speaks, and everything else is and feel lost. The media a bad translation. have an incredible focus on negative news the bad things Father Thomas Keating happening everywhere. We re no longer able to trust in the external powers that we once had blind faith in our governments, our corporations, our religious leaders and politicians and we re forced to go within and find the answers for ourselves. When we do, we have the power to transform this world from one that appears to be fueled by pain and suffering to one offering joy, solace, and love. But where to begin? How can you as one person make a difference in this world? You begin in these ways: Going within Praying Meditating Visualizing and imagining a world at peace Living from a place of love and trust, not fear
Directions from God 7 Treating yourself and others with respect, kindness, and compassion Listening within for the answers you seek Knowing you have the power to transform this world Divine intuition is within you and responds to your desire for peace in your life and peace in your world. Your job is to listen and take action on the wisdom you receive. Intuitive Answers My hope is that you will find comfort and direction in this book. Whatever your belief is about the divine source, you have access to a deep inner wisdom that resides in your soul. Your intuition can summon the answers from this divine wisdom and help you live your life fully with your heart open and your arms flung wide. The commonality I have found in world religions is that we are counseled to love others, forgive, be of service, and act with humility and compassion. People have experienced God in the wind, in a church or temple, in the trenches of a war, on the street, in a baby s eyes, in the last breath of a loved one, in their cars, offices, and even a bar. God is an energy, an all-pervading spirit. God is truly everywhere in our waking, our sleeping, and our dying. Many of the more logical among you will point to the fact that I can t prove God is right there. Yet I see signs of God everywhere. Universal wisdom resides in the daffodil that knows to blossom in the spring when the earth is warming. God s love is in my neighbor s heart when she arrives with dinner after I return from a long trip. I feel the presence of spirit when I hear children laughing as they ride their bikes outside my house.
8 DIVINE INTUITION I witness the protection of God when my friend gives birth to her son. Most important, I know that divine wisdom resides in you, my readers. Through your intuition, you can gain enlightenment and direction from all-that-is, which is God. That wisdom is part of you, and though you can t touch it or see it, you can experience it. It s there, and it s real. In each chapter, I ve included exercises, techniques, or journal writing ideas to help you access your own fabulous inner wisdom. My hope is that through this book, divine energy will become alive for you, and you may use it to create a life and a world you love. Ten Questions About God You may find it helpful to have a journal or notebook to use as you do the exercises. I find it more effective to use paper and pen when receiving intuitive answers. That may simply be personal preference. If a computer or other device is more your style, feel free to use that. As you begin the book, ponder these questions so that you gain some clarity on your thoughts and beliefs about God. Some of the answers may be clear to you now, and some may become clearer as you read further: 1. What is God? Describe your belief (or lack thereof) in God. 2. Have you ever experienced God s presence? If so, describe the experience. 3. What were you taught about God when you were a child? 4. Are your beliefs the same now that you re an adult? If not, how do they differ? 5. What practices (such as praying, meditating, or going to religious services) bring you closer to God? 6. How do you envision God?