Empowering and teaching others to live life intuitively by remembering who we are, blending intuition with common sense, and coming from that place at all times ~ in all that we do...

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Journalling to My Self - Part I

"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
William Shakespeare
To thine own self be true. If only it were that easy. Most of us ... after many years of questionable upbringing, sibling rivalry, an education system that seemed bent on knocking the stuffing out, and a society where everything, even the pain we suffer, is measured ... are still striving for a perfection that seems forever just beyond our reach.
So we talk to our friends and we buy self help books (occasionally reading them), go to workshops, see a therapist, do some counselling, visit psychics and commune with whoever we pick for our higher power, desperately trying to be better, to grow, to become healthy, balanced, grounded or whatever the term is at any given moment. I can admit to all of the above, and a lot more besides, over the years. Approaching that magical age of 40 I got to thinking.
I create... We all create. I won't get into the intimate details, but as either man or woman we have the ability to create a child - and it don't get much more creative than that! And whether I build a bookcase, write a book, set the table, prepare supper, I create the best bookcase, manuscript, dinner table, meal, that I can.
I was created... (and I'm going to keep this so non-denominational, it's not true) ... Whoever, Whatever, However ... I was created. Somehow I don't think that He, She, It said: "I know, I think I'll make a really lousy Shena today!" I believe that what was said was: "I think I'll make the best possible Shena that I can."
Meanwhile here I was trying to be better, improve, change, grow, ground myself, you name it. Wasn't that like someone bringing me over a nice dish for supper that they had created, and I blithely add spices, whip up a sauce, or sautee it in brandy ... without even tasting it first?
How insulting! It occurred to me that maybe all I really had to do was to stop trying so hard to be perfect and just be who I was created to be ~ my self.
Which is where this all began, being true to my self ...

Journalling to My Self - Part II

Now in no way am I demeaning therapy, friends, counselling, psychics, books, workshops or anything else that we can try. All of the above have helped me enormously and besides, I actually now do most of the above, for myself and with others.
But the single most thing that has been with me day in, day out, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and joy, in quiet moments and in celebration, in the depths of despair and the heights of the awesomeness of life, is my journal. You see, there's a special relationship between me and my journal that has yet to be found elsewhere. Think about it: a journal doesn't disagree with you, doesn't argue back, doesn't criticize, is always there, and best of all, LISTENS. It’s a safe place to scream, to be silly, vent, explore feelings and beliefs that I might not just yet feel comfortable sharing with others. Mine goes EVERYWHERE with me. I am totally indiscriminate about what I put in it. My days, my thoughts, great quotes that inspire me, recipes, photos, the fortune cookie message from last night's dinner that was unbelievably meaningful. Notes on a book I'm working through, a class I am taking. Cards, I keep copies of letters I have written to other people. Stuff I don't know where to put but don't want to part with. I have no rules. I buy sturdy, ring bound, inexpensive notebooks with a pocket inside the front cover, and decorate it, making it mine. I make sure I have an abundant supply of pens I like to write with, one permanently clasped inside the rings. I do have some really beautiful journals that I have purchased in a weak moment (they were on sale) and a couple that friends have given me, but I am afraid they lay abandoned on my bookcase. It's really hard to make a mistake in a lovely book, it's even harder to be nasty and I absolutely cannot, for the life of me, swear on ivory colored paper. I just can't. And I'm not saying you have to swear, but sometimes writing an entire page of the rudest word you can think of is very cathartic. Doesn't happen on ivory paper, trust me.

Journalling to My Self - Part III

I have no special time to write, no particular topics, and especially no set amount a day. This is my best friend remember. Unconditional love on both sides. And because I get to be really who I am, it becomes a joy to visit, a treat to pick up and write a little, and yes, a huge comfort at three o'clock in the morning when I feel very, very alone and the dog is snoring soundly in my ear. My journal is my friend, my confidante. I have always been able to see things more clearly when I am writing them down. It calms me, and helps me to feel all the things that I'm trying not to feel. I don't seem to be able to fool myself when I write. It helps me see myself differently. My journal is my reflection, a mirror to the inner part of me. When I look back over the pages at a later time I can relive the good, positive feelings I had about myself, I can actually see the changes that are coming about, and sometimes, just sometimes, I catch a glimpse of the wonderful person within. Why journalling? Because however honest I like to think I am, to a certain extent I can still B.S. my way through or out of most things. Especially when it involves my own stuff. When I write, it's really, really hard to lie. And when I do, I know full well what I'm doing. And word by word, journal by journal, I find that I am becoming more true ... to my self.
©2000 Shena Meadowcroft

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Make a Wish

On a cold snow-filled day in Calgary, Alberta in January of 2001, I sat down with soft music playing, a mug of tea, candles glowing, a pile of old magazines, a large board, and a wish in my heart.
All I knew was that I wanted to make a collage of what I wished to have in my life from that moment on. As the evening drew late, I let myself tear out images and words at random. Each piece of paper was then given a thorough going-over by my heart and soul: Is this exactly what I wanted from now on? If it passed the test, I glued it down.

The next morning it did vaguely occur to me that there were an awful lot of kayaks, beaches and forests in my finished collage, Calgary being on the prairies and all. But I had been true to myself and there, in plain sight, was my wish for my future.
Life, as it does, went on. By May I knew I had to sell my house and get rid of 90% of what I owned. Everyone asked where I was going. I hadn’t a clue! I wanted out of the city and even contemplated buying a motor home but could never quite manage to figure out where I’d put all my books, or “Magic” my daft (and 120lb) Lab, which were the two things that didn’t come under the 90% reduction rule. Besides, I’d have plenty of time to figure out where next between the house selling and the possession date.
Which ended up being 10 days… The morning after I sold the house I got on the computer and happened across a site called BC Classifieds… rentals… cottages (always wanted to live in a cottage!) which I rented sight unseen (totally out of character) and ten days later arrived on Vancouver Island with a magnificent view overlooking Qualicum Beach. It wasn’t until I unpacked after another move, this time into a forest that I discovered my collage. To my astonishment EVERY single word, phrase and image on it had come to pass.

This lead me to design a workshop called “Road Map to your Dreams,” and every time, every student has fulfilled their soul’s desire as per their collage. The hardest challenge they have is getting past the fact that it could actually happen!
My collages have now evolved into a large 9” x 11.5” art sketchbook or on-going WISH BOOK – On a regular basis I glue down pictures, images, phrases, words that represent what I want in my life. I keep in it wish lists, things I want help with, dreams still searching for the light of day… Right now I am looking for a place to live here on Gabriola. I’ve included are some of the pages from my WISH BOOK.
I went all out on my WISH LIST for my new home, down to the minutest detail, regardless of what I choose to spend on rent. I also write about what I am looking forward to doing there, like making jams this summer, or snuggling by the wood stove, or lounging in the hammock… I describe in detail “I am writing and painting, doing my work and intuitive counselling… caring for and growing my own vegetables…”
I glue… I write… I say “Please”… and “Thank You”… I dream… I wish… and most of all… I trust.

Go on, try it, make a wish…

Just be sure to let me know when it comes true!

Friday, March 13, 2009

Learning to Trust

“How do you learn to trust your Intuition?” I’m frequently asked. For me, trust was the hardest lesson to learn. Although clairsentient (receiving information through feeling) from birth, I later came to the world of an Intuitive, figuratively kicking and screaming. A logical, down to earth, organized (even my herbs and spices have been known to be filed alphabetically…) individual, I relied totally on my “common sense.” The fact that it was uncannily accurate had to be a coincidence.

As an adult, I’d been told repeatedly how intuitive I was and how honed my abilities were. I refused to accept it. Never mind that there were signs of the flashing neon light variety, I wouldn’t believe it. To me it was plain and simple: Prove it!
So I did. Finally. I challenged myself to write down every single time I had a feeling, or an out-of-place thought, or a sense of something that came about without thinking. For two whole weeks. I carried my journal with me, and every single time I thought of someone, for example, that I hadn’t heard from in a while, I’d jot it down:
(date) (time) (thought/feeling)
And then as things occurred, which they generally (and alarmingly) did, I wrote that down too.

And after two weeks (and being totally freaked out) I knew this was no coincidence. The list didn’t lie.

So I started to pay attention, and, heaven forbid, actually listen…. And I got more titbits, and feelings, and sensations, and I recorded them too… and things happened.

I still do this every now and again. Because even though I have been working as an Intuitive Counsellor for many years now, and have worked with a countless number of people all over North America and Britain, the thrill has never left me. I make a note and …. some time later… sure enough… something happens. “Woo-Woo Stuff” as one friend calls it.

Just in the last few weeks for example:

~ I thought of someone I hardly know and wondered whether to give her a call in case she was going to our recycling centre, and maybe I could meet her there and get a ride to the part of the island where she lived. Not ten minutes after writing this down in my journal the phone rang: she said she was on her way to recycling, and wanted to drop off a “Shena” sweater she had for me on the way back…

~ I woke up one morning with this intense urge to go to Bamfield. I’d only been there once, a year ago, but loved it. Not an hour later my friend called me to tell me one of his clients wanted him to head over her way in April to do some tree work. For the first time in two years. Yep, Bamfield!

~ I’ve had a run on movies recently. I was talking one evening about the movie “Moll Flanders” to my friend and about a week later walked into a small store that carries a tiny section of movies for sale (max 50 titles) … and there it was! The following week I talked about another little known Canadian movie called “Beach Music” – three days later, same deal! And just this week I was thinking about a wonderful movie set in Venice whose name I could not remember for the life of me, only to be at a friend’s birthday party the same evening. He opened the bag with his present, and a DVD dropped out. It was in there by mistake as one of the guests had brought it to lend to another one. You’ve got it!
(The movie was “Dangerous Beauty”)

And just this morning I was thinking “I really want to call…” when the phone rang before finishing my sentence and my friend Sandie, another wonderful Intuitive in Calgary, said “…hello”

Small stuff maybe, but keep track of it, pay it some attention and soon you’ll be getting a lot more. It’s all a matter of trust, but for those logical ones amongst us…. keep good notes!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Intuitive Insights

The greatest gift that we are all given at birth is our Intuition. As an Intuitive, I believe that each and every one of us has the answers that we need within. Sometimes we don't necessarily see them immediately, or want to admit to them, but within our hearts ~ we know. My job is simply to gently take a look with you at what is going on in your life, past, present and upcoming. I will offer you a different perspective, by reading between the lines and helping you to connect the dots, encouraging and empowering you to trust your own intuitive gifts and wisdom. I support you in making the choices that you know are right for you by giving concrete information and tools to do something about them!

“Your generosity and insight into my soul has been remarkable. You have given me lots to think about, reflect on, and visions for my own future.”

“Thank you for sharing all your wisdom ~ and for letting your light shine ~ I feel safe to be here.”

“I stand on this ledge, looking out over the ominous unknown, and I am no longer afraid. I know (finally) that I am not alone.”

Available by phone, email or in person
Individuals or Groups

Intuitive Insights
Shena Meadowcroft
shenam@shaw.ca

Looking at what is going on in our lives…
and what we can do about it