What diet are you on?

"You should definitely be on the Paleo diet," said, well, everyone in the last three years.

There is so much talk about which diet is right -- Paleo, Primal, Atkins, Flat Belly, Macrobiotic, Vegetarian, Vegan -- that sometimes, on information overload, I think, "Blah, blah, et cetera, ad nauseum, whatever."

Everyone is looking for foods that work for their body. Some people want to loose weight, others want to gain it. Others want to have more energy and vitality. Some folks want to cure long-standing ailments and illnesses, while others want nothing more than to look good naked. Hey, whatever blows your skirt up (or floats your boat). It's important that we eat healthy if we want to maintain health, right?

Right.

But why is it so hard to find what works for us?

When I was in college, I studied environmental science and became shocked at how much environmental degradation occurred because of factory farming and the meat industry. I decided that I would become vegetarian. Later, for the same reasons, I went vegan. And I thought everyone should be vegan. I read books that supported my views on how my chosen diet was the diet most "optimal" for human health and the health of the planet and felt very smug that I had all the answers.

And I was right. But not for the rest of the world -- for me. And only for a little while.

Four years later, I was having health problems and went to a naturopathic doctor. She noted all of my symptoms, took blood tests, and said to me, "You have a grain intolerance. You have to stay away from grains, wheat especially, and you need to start eating meat again."

That pretty much rocked my world.  I made the dietary changes, I knew she was right. Eating meat and staying away from wheat was really resonating with me -- my stomach problems subsided, I had more energy, and my brain fog went away. But it wasn't because I was on a specific diet. It was because I was eating the foods my body needed at that period in time.

Our bodies reside at a certain energetic vibration. This vibration is a result of our belief systems, family and cultural programming, individual experience and emotional health, to name a few. The newest, sexiest diet isn't going to work for everyone because WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT. We are also different at different phases of our life, given that our vibration changes as we move through life.

Whenever I hear someone recommending their newest fad diet or weight loss program to everyone they know, I cringe.  It's natural that we want to share our success with others, however, we must recognize that what works for us is working because of where we are in our life and how the energy of our successful program resonates with us.

In trying to battle a Candida infection, I gave up sugar, grains, caffeine, fruit, alcohol and vinegar and started eating a diet of vegetables, meats and healthy fats. This diet, while recommended by most health care practitioners for eliminating Candida, didn't resonate with me intuitively. There were components of it that made sense, but others that seemed counter-intuitive. Since I'd asked a professional for help, I took the advice.

I gained 5 pounds and my infection didn't go away.

Just because something works for one person, or a thousand people, doesn't mean it will always work for you. This is why learning to trust your own intuition is so important.

When we learn to be in communication with our body and what our body really needs, we often learn that our needs changed based on season, temperature, age, emotional climate, ailment, etc. Our body is an excellent barameter that constantly gives us feedback as to what is working and what isn't. Often, we meet signals of pain, weight gain, or other "negative" messages with frustration, when really, our body is simply giving us an answer. "What you're doing isn't working for me. Please try again."

In Ayurveda, there's a term used often in treatment called "Upashaya," which means "trial and error." Sometimes we need to try a few things before settling into a new diet or treatment plan. Intuitive counseling provides us with more information as to what's resonating with the body and which dietary changes can be most effective.

With all the diet and health advice out there, it's easy to start believing that you need to "do something" for yourself, or "fix something" within you. We are constantly told that we are too fat, thin, smart, sensitive, forward, timid, dramatic, weird, etc. We live in a society that tells us that we need to fix ourselves in order to fit in.

There is nothing to fix. You are perfect, and your body is a perfect representation of where you've been in your life and where you are right now. Maybe we want to take steps to find a higher level of health and vibration, and that's okay. Your body is giving you all the information you need to take the steps to be healthy and stay there. Once you remember that you are a spirit in a beautiful body and don't need fixing, this information will make itself available to you.

Psychic Myths Debunked

This week, Hay House Radio is hosting a "Best of Hay House World Summit." That basically means that they've taken some of their best authors, brought them together to have conversations about a wide variety of spiritual topics, and are broadcasting these talks all week long, for free. (If you're into all things spiritual and you're not sure what Hay House is, please check them out). On Sunday, I listened to a great talk between John Edward and John Holland, two well known psychic mediums, about psychic fact or fiction. The things they talked about are such common misconceptions about the work that I and other psychics do that I wanted to share some of their thoughts along with my own.

First, a little clarification of terms. Most of you notice that I don't use the term "psychic"very often to describe the work I do. This is because I feel like this term carries a lot of negative connotations. Psychics have long been cast as scary witches, crazy people, and those who have lost touch with reality. And, frankly, there are a lot of fakes out there who use the term to wield a false sense of power. The only place I use the term psychic in my business is when I'm speaking directly to that audience. Today, I'll be using that term a lot, so let me define it.

A psychic is simply someone who makes use of their innate intuitive abilities, which usually include a mixture of clairvoyant (ability to intuitively see pictures of information), clairaudient (ability to hear information), and clairsentient or empathic (the ability to feel information) abilities. As a move through this post, I'll try my best to explain some of the myths out there about psychics and provide the truth as I understand it.

Some people call themselves psychic. Others call themselves a medium. Others still use the term psychic medium. A medium is different from a psychic, and is a person who speaks to those who have passed over to the other side. Psychics can be mediums and vice versa. The difference is that, while some psychics can gain snippets of information from loved ones who appear during readings, they don't usually have the ability to have full conversations with passed spirits. In the interview I listened to, John Holland stated that he believed that mediums were born and not trained. After receiving much psychic training, I would tentatively say that I agree with him.

I am a psychic, not a medium. In my readings, I sometimes receive small pieces of information from passed loved ones, always in the context of what I'm reading, as if they want to add something. But I don't often see or communicate with the dead.

This leads me to Psychic Myth Number 1: Only some people are psychic

Everyone is intuitive, or psychic. Just like any other ability, you have to train and practice in order to develop it. And just like some people are naturally better at sports or writing than others, some people will naturally be better developing their psychic abilities. Just because I'm not naturally good at tennis (and I'm not, trust me), doesn't mean that I can't play. It will take me more training and practice to become a pro, but if I love it, I can get there.

Everyone has the ability to "listen to their gut," or "trust their inner voice." Doing this is following your intuition or being psychic. The first psychic skills you learn to develop are those that tell you more about yourself, your anatomy as a spirit, and the tools and concepts needed to navigate the intuitive realm.

That being said, if you want to develop your intuitive skills, it's really important that you choose a method that supplies you with tools to navigate the psychic world. I've been sharing some of the tools I use in readings because they are central to the work I do. When a surgical student starts medical school, they aren't handed a scalpel and told to start cutting someone else. Instead, they're taken through years of learning about physical anatomy, pathology, and how the body works. Then they practice, practice, practice, before they start performing surgery on others. It's the same with psychic skills. You first must learn to ground yourself in the knowledge of spiritual anatomy before you start learning to work with others.

I've really enjoyed learning through several psychic schools that share similar teaching principles -- the Berkeley Psychic Institute, Spirit is Calling and, locally in Seattle, Psychic Awakenings. All have beginner meditation classes and workshops for beginners to start to play with your intuitive skills. But just like there are several medical schools or sports programs, these aren't the only schools out there. Like anything else, do some research and see what resonates with you.

Psychic Myth Number 2: Psychics are Always "On"

Just because you play tennis for a living doesn't mean you carry your racket with you into a restaurant, right? Similarly, just because I conduct intuitive sessions for a living doesn't mean that I'm reading you intuitively while we're out for coffee. I'm not.

Keeping with my tennis analogy -- when you're on the court, there's a lot you have to field. You have to estimate where your opponent might hit the ball, what kind of spin there is, where your shot should land, how tired you are, etc. It's exhausting work! Good thing you can walk off the court when the game is done!

As a psychic, when I'm in a reading, I have to be aware not only of the energy of the person I'm reading, but of my energy -- I need to keep my emotional and survival energy low, I need to stay grounded and keep the readee grounded. I need to keep the reading space free and clear of outside energy. I have to shield myself from outside energy and the energy of the readee so that I'm not not "taking on" their energy or being influenced by it. This can become exhausting, too! Just like any other profession, we have the ability to turn off the psychic screen when we're finished with our reading.

Also, reading people without their permission is psychic attack. Just like a tennis pro wouldn't go around hitting people with tennis balls to try and get them to play, an ethical psychic won't go around reading people without their permission. On the show "Long Island Medium," Theresa Caputo regularly goes up to people on the street and tells them what their loved ones are communicating to her. The show always shows these happy, sappy responses that probably are heart felt. While I enjoy her show, I think that style of "attack reading" is unethical.

So next time we're having coffee, remember that I may be picking up information about my surroundings intuitively. Intuition and spirituality is the lens through which I see the world. So I may notice that the barista is hiding some greif, or that I feel uncomfortable by the couple arguing silently in the corner because my sensitive shell picks that up. I may notice that you feel aggravated or joyful or whatever it is that you're feeling. But I'm not reading your thoughts or trying to pick up more than I need to in that moment. That would be truly exhausting.

Psychic Myth Number 3: Psychics Read Your Mind

Psychics do not read minds. They read energy. Psychics have the ability to read your energy field as it is currently. If your energy changes, which it does constantly, a psychic can read that, too. Sometimes, your energy field is projecting a question that you've been throwing around in your mind. I remember once during a reading, I looked at the third chakra of my client and inside was a big question mark and the word, "ego." I said, "It looks like you have questions about the ego." She replied, "Oh my god, I've been thinking about that all night!" So it may have seemed like I read her thoughts, but I really just read her energy, which at the time was a reflection of her thoughts.

Psychic Myth Number 4: Psychics Predict the Future 

.....in movies. They predict the future in movies with a crystal ball. But like I just stated above, psychics have the ability to look your energy as it exists now. It's like John Holland said on Hay House Radio, that psychics have the ability to tell you about the highway you've been on, the twists and turns you've taken to get there, and which exits are available to you. I would add that, in times of transition, I can help you look at the energy of those "exits" to see what challenges or opportunities each would present. But we all have free-will -- you ultimately choose your own destiny.

A bit more about predicting the future -- there are a lot of psychics out there today who claim to know future events. Many of these psychics use the help of spirits that they channel into their bodies. I call these psychics "Transmediums," as they are inviting the spirit of another being into their body and then gathering information. While I believe that transmediumship can be a valid form of gathering information, it is a skill that takes a lot of practice and a very solid foundation in psychic skills in order to stay protected and receive valid information. I tend to take channeled information with a grain of salt, especially as it pertains to future events, but you are always free to make your own decisions about such information.

Our current reality is based on our thoughts, feelings and perceptions -- our energy. I've described before my thoughts on fate and destiny -- your fate is the deck of cards you are dealt. Your destiny is how you play your cards. Similarly, the current state of humanity and our world is based on the overall energy of humans at this point in time. Thus, our future is changeable and predicting it is like trying to throw a lasso around the wind. The more we each work with our energy to create the reality we want for ourselves and for our world, the more that future worldly events will reflect that.

Psychic Myth Number 5: All Psychics Want To Be Famous!

There is a certain power to any profession. We live in a culture that values fame, fortune and power. Being psychic, or being in any field that claims to "have answers," tends to attract a lot of attention from others. Some attention is good, other attention is not so good. People today want answers. They want reassurance and validation of their choices and their existence. What you'll find in a true psychic reading are simply the answers that are inside of you. In a true psychic reading, the psychic reads just your energy field and the answers you have displayed there. They do not tell you what you should do or judge you for past mistakes. They objectively show you what IS, and let you decide what to do.

I "came out of the psychic closet" in order to help people. Understanding my energy field has been a tremendous help in understanding my world and my relation to my world. It's been a gift in my life that I want to share with others. I have always been drawn to intuitive arts, and how the health of the energy body reflects in our physical body more than any other thing I've done or studied. This field of self inquiry has been a gift in my life and I simply want to share it with you.

The more I put myself out there and gain new clients, the more energy I have to be able to handle. I am a highly sensitive person, which allows me to do the intuitive work I do so naturally. However, it's a double-edged sword. As I grow into a bigger business, my ability to handle the attention, admiration, questions, concerns, resentment, jealousy and any other energy thrown at me by my clients must grow as well. It requires a lot of personal work, skill growth and meditation for me to keep up with it. Most psychics I know feel the same.

With any amount of power comes responsibility. A responsible psychic is not one who wishes to be famous, but rather to help people. Helping people at a psychic level requires that the psychic be grounded firmly in their own practice of skills and knowledge, and that they monitor their level of business growth equal to the amount of energy they can handle.

Psychic Myth #6: All Psychics Are Fakes and Shouldn't be Trusted

There is a lot of pressure in our culture to laugh at any information that doesn't have a firm foundation in science. However, science itself is simply a belief system. I am a scientist -- and I have two advanced degrees to prove it. But I firmly believe that there are other ways of knowing and understanding the world.

Some psychics are fakes. And unlike tennis pros, it can be harder to tell if a psychic is faking. Trust your gut. If the psychic is playing on your fears rather than reading your whole energy, asking general questions to gain answers, or claiming they see your future clearly, they're probably a fake. If they've done no training and have no skill set or qualifications, they may either be a fake or an amateur without proper training. We all get to have our own thoughts, feelings and opinions about the world. Let your inner voice guidance tell you what is real and truth for you.

Please let me know if you have any questions about this topic or the spiritual world in general. I will answer to the best of my abilities. Like anyone, I am still learning and I do not have anywhere near all the answers! I am having fun on my own journey and through the process of helping others. Thanks for reading.

Get Well and Stay Well, Even When Everyone Else is Sick

Autumn is around us. I can tell because the leaves on the Seattle trees are changing colors and starting to fall, sweeping around streets and trails with the wind. Mornings are chilly and crisp, and it smells cold. I've brought out the space heaters, stocked the tea cabinet, and my stomach asks me for soups and heated foods instead of raw salads. Also, all around me, people are getting sick.

I took a three day vacation a few weekends ago and when I got back to work my co-worker said, "Oh, by the way, watch out -- everyone's sick." She was right. Our office manager had a cold that lasted two weeks. Some clients were calling in sick and others were coming in sick. When I asked them how they were feeling, so many of them said, "Oh, you know, I've got this cold that's going around."

There is lots of science out there about germs and how germs are spread. I know my aunt watched some Opera special on germs and became almost OCD about public bathrooms. How was it that she had been in public bathrooms all her life and hadn't caught some terrible disease? Oh my, better protect myself with toilet liners and hand sanitizer and not touch door knobs or shake hands or look at people too closely...can I contact disease through eye contact? 

I exaggerate. A little.

I'm not arguing that science has been able to show how germs, viruses and bacteria travel between people, places and things and have the potential to make us sick. But what makes some people sick and not others? Science says the immune system, and I agree, but I want to add another layer to that. Not only do we have a physical immune system that relies on our diet and lifestyle for strength, we also have an energetic immune system, and its strength relies on the information we have about how we get sick, how we stay well, and what belief systems we have in general about health and wellness.

Sickness, like everything else, is essentially a vibration. Whether or not we get sick depends, in large part, to whether we match the vibration of sickness.

When I was in graduate school I got sick a lot. I was under so much stress that my poor immune system was shot. I was also at the beck and call of my graduate professors, my thesis, and to my fellow students. I'd feel myself start to get sick and I'd say to my body, "No! Not now! I can't afford to be sick this week/this semester/until after this test!" I'd drink tea and exercise and go on with my busy-ness and stress. But I could feel that vibration of sickness working to pull me down. Eventually, when the test was over (or the project, or the thesis) and I had no energy left to fight, I'd get sick. It was usually over a holiday or a long weekend -- you know, during some time when I could "afford" to be sick.

I'd given up my fight -- and matched the vibration of sickness. I know I matched the low, icky vibration of sickness because of that feeling of it pulling me under, into its depths, and taking over.

There are some things in life that are inevitable. Like death. Some day, we each of us will die. But how we live until that point is almost entirely up to us. How we choose to set our vibration of health and vitality is up to us.

Sickness is essentially an attack on our vitality.  Sickness means that something is attacking our inherent right to health and vitality. Whether caused by poor diet or lifestyle, by belief systems that do not serve you, or by accidents, it's all still blockage. Remove the blockage and you restore vitality.

In this day and age, improper diet and lifestyle routines are one of the major reasons so many of us become sick each year. We can change what we eat and how we take care of ourselves pretty simply. The other reason I believe so many of us get sick is by running energetic belief systems that keep our immune system from functioning fully.

One of the main blocking beliefs I already mentioned, "A cold is going around." If your body is running off of the belief system that there is a "cold going around," then a belief that probably follows is, "so I could catch it at any time." This is a belief system that opens the door for the vibration of sickness.

Another is the belief that "I always get sick in the fall/winter/spring." You just affirmed your reality. The universe is there to give you what you ask for.  This belief system opens the door for the vibration of sickness.

A third belief is an unflinching belief in the science of germs. As we discussed, science shows how germs can make us sick. However, science, just like anything else, is essentially a belief system. It's belief that the scientific understanding of germ theory is the final word on disease transmission. That belief limits you by putting you at the mercy of that scientific theory.

So how do we strengthen our energetic immune systems? First, by looking at blocking belief systems that might be contributing to getting sick and clearing those out. It takes shifting our perspective from believing in being the "victim" of yearly sickness to being the owner of our own bodies.  Second, we work on holding our highest vibration of health and vitality even amidst the pressure of lowering our vibration to match the sickness around us.

(There's always pressure to match energy -- matching energy is natural for us. It's one way we can relate to the experience of others. There's energetic pressure to match the vibration of sickness, even if the afflicted person doesn't want to spread germs. Part of this pressure is from the strength of a very large societal agreement that we have about belief in germs and germ theory that says if one of us is at the mercy of germs, we all should be. Disagreeing is like energetic rebellion.)

If you're not sure about what your belief systems are or how to remove them, Intuitive Wellness Coaching can help. We can do exactly what I'm describing so that you can have a vital year of health and wellness!

What happens if you still get sick? Learn from it, and don't beat yourself up over it. Gather information about how you got there, what you were feeling, what the beliefs were that you or others around you held, and then practice wellness. Pull in the vibration of wellness and allow yourself to truly have it. Ask yourself what wellness practices you can do to get well and stay well, and see what responses you get. In my meditation, I was told to drink lots of broth, add green juice to my mornings, and to eat lightly. Listen to your body.

Wellness is a practice. Practice well.

Releasing the past; right and wrong.

Sometimes, I get in a bit of a funk. Do you ever feel that way? Like something isn't quite right, and you're not sure what it is, but you just feel kinda stuck? I've had that feeling for the last couple of days.

I really don't like having that feeling.

It makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong, because this is what I help people do for a living -- I'm intuitive and should be able to figure things out, immediately, right?

But I'm also human. Thankfully.

This thing that was bringing me down felt arduous, felt heavy like pregnant clouds, but ever out of my reach of understanding. My analytical mind was having a hay-day trying to figure it out.  It's amazing to me the myriad of ridiculous thoughts my analytical mind (ego) can come up with to justify me feeling down. I swear, if the only way of knowing things on this earth was through analyzing them, I'd go crazy.

Luckily, there are other ways of knowing.

Last night, I had a dream that I was being denied access through a gate that lead to this beautiful mountain top. I was being denied access until this person from my past came back and allowed me to move through the gates. I was furious, because I wanted to hike into the beauty of the mountain, to access the healing available there, and to gaze back at the view. I was also furious because I didn't want to wait from this person from the past to catch up to me and to interact with him -- not because I had anything against him, but because I wanted to move forward.  I felt torn -- part of me wanted to just blow through the gates but another part of me was fearful that if I did, something bad would happen.

I woke up with a feeling of unease. It reminded me of the feelings I'd had when I suspected I might get fired that day, or be broken up with, or be reprimanded for something. It was a feeling of failure.

I immediately put on my hiking shoes and drove out to my favorite forested park for a walking meditation. As I started walking, I realized two things that my dream seemed to represent to me. The first was that my past was haunting me and keeping me from enjoying the dreams and aspirations I have for the future. And second, the reason that the past is haunting me is because I've been stuck on ideas or energy in my space that want to affirm that there is a right and wrong way for living in the world.

There have been several instances just this week where counseling others included the spiritual truth that there is no right or wrong in the spiritual world -- there is just our experience. Right and wrong are concepts that our analytical mind create (don't get me wrong, moral judgements can have a place in society, I'm not here debating that).  When we get stuck not wanting to make the "wrong" decision, we are essentially stuck in fear -- fear that if we "do it wrong," something bad will happen and we won't be good enough. Our actions just have consequences, that's it. Some consequences we will like better than others, but essentially it's trial and error, learning and growing.

As I walked through the beautiful, rainy morning, I practiced turning off my analyzing mind of focusing on my breath. As I watched the morning unfold, I had the realization that everyday, nature lets go of the old and moves forward. Sometimes, like during the change of the seasons, letting go takes some time -- leaves dry out, drop, and trees release excess wastes and waters and prepare for the winter. It's a process. Sometimes, it happens quickly -- like during a big storm, when a branch just isn't strong enough and snaps off the tree. Either way, the tree keeps on living and the forest finds a new way to support the change.

Sometimes, letting go of our past takes time. Sometimes it's a process. But the more we keep ourselves within the limited mindset of right and wrong, the longer that process will take. Today I remembered to be gentle with myself, to keep practicing the miracle of being in the present moment and accessing the joy that is found there.