Navigating through change is a constant part of living which greatly impacts our health and well being. There are a myriad of choices and actions we must take to keep our lives in balance as the escalating demands of the workplace, relationships, and being true to one’s self compete for our attention. The way we respond to the changing demands of these three areas determines the quality of our lives. 

To help us successfully navigate through these changes, we are endowed with an inner psychic guidance system which communicates with us through physical sensations, emotions, intuition and insight. However, our lives have become so busy that many of us have lost touch with this guidance. The result is greater stress, disease and dissatisfaction. Once you connect with and create a relationship to this system you can use it as a resource to receive answers to small as well as major life questions. It is a touchstone that is in integrity with who you are at your core.

What you focus upon grows. If you are focused on trying to figure out solutions using logic alone, the information you receive will be limited by conditioning from the past. The logical function of your mind is great at sorting information and creating plans, however the quality of your life depends on using both your logical mind and your psychic guidance system. Cultivating your ability to pay attention to physical sensations and emotions reestablishes your connection to your intuition and insight. 

The first step in communicating with your psychic guidance system is to slow down and turn attention inward. Once you are in touch with your body and emotions you can begin an internal dialogue to receive the answers you seek. Slowing down to get in touch will yield more meaningful and satisfying results as you move forward in your life. 

STEP I: Creating physical, mental and emotional awareness

1. Sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. What do you notice about your connection with your body and emotions in this moment?

2. Begin to observe your breath without changing it. Just notice. Become aware of the subtle movements in the body as you inhale and notice what you feel as the body expands to receive the breath. Notice what you feel as the body relaxes on exhalation. What are you aware of in your belly, chest, ribs, back, throat? Feel the breath as it enters and leaves your body.

3. As you continue to remain aware of the breath, what other physical sensations do you notice? Begin a dialogue with yourself starting with “Right now, I’m aware of...” You may notice the point of contact between your body and the chair, the air touching your face, tension in your shoulders, or an itch on the surface of your skin.

4. Continue this focus on the breath and body for several minutes. When you are ready, become aware of the subtle sensations that form a recognizable emotion. Where does this emotion live inside your body? Notice what size it is. Does it have a color? Does it have a shape? How does it feel as you stay present with it? Explore the edges of the sensations of this emotion within your body. Do not judge or try to change whatever experience you are noticing.

5. Now what do you notice about your connection with your body and emotions? Open your eyes. Once you have formed a close relationship with your body and emotions you can continue with a dialogue that will provide you with the answers you seek.

"The quality of your life depends on using both your logical mind and your psychic guidance system." 

STEP II: Dialogue with your psychic guidance system

1. Identify a clear question.
Example: Fred felt deep fatigue from long hours of work, barely carving out enough time for his wife and two young daughters. The only other thing he had enough energy for before he went to bed was TV. Having completed a strategy for his company’s new direction, Fred felt that there was no plan for his personal life. He felt flat spiritually. Looking at himself he thought, “This is not who I am, not what I want to be, but this is where I am.” He felt trapped in a box that was not bringing him joy. He wanted information about how to get out of the box and how to create a life that was balanced and fulfilling in all areas. 

2. Ask, “What do I want to experience?”
Go deeper into the inquiry of what you want. Give this inquiry not to the analytical mind, but to the body and the emotions. You may ask your heart, breath or belly. After you ask this question, spend time noticing the sensations and the subtle messages that come. Allow whatever comes into your awareness to simply pop out without judgment. You may want to make notes as things come to you. Example: Fred discovered that he longed for spaciousness, time for rediscovery and time for himself and his primary relationships. He wanted to get in touch again with his sense of desire and what really excited him personally. If you don’t know what you want, you may first want to explore what you don’t want. For example, I don’t want to only have the energy to work at my career. I don’t want to be isolated from my family. I don’t want to miss out on enjoying the simple things of life. For each of the things that you don’t want, notice what you wish would be present instead. For example, I want to balance my energy and time between work, family and self. I want fun-filled intimate times with my family. I want time to smell the roses.

3. Articulate what you want in a simple statement.
Look for a felt sense in your bones that resonates as “yes.” Let this statement incubate, re-read and adjust it as necessary. For example, Fred saw that he wanted to have energy instead of being depleted, wanted to slow down and form a new foundation for his life, and work smarter not longer.

4. Experiment with putting what you want into action.
At this point your habitual thinking may say you cannot have what you desire. Instead of capitulating to this old way of thinking, ask, “What is my next step to bring this into my life?” Make your step something that you feel good about and small enough that you can actually do it within a week. Set up a time each week to create another step. Small steps actually taken are giant steps. For example, Fred started with a plan for a hike, time to browse in bookstores, time for re-envisioning himself and his relationship with his wife. Ironically, our ancestors had more of a handle on listening to the wisdom of their psychic guidance system than we do. They were more advanced in understanding and responding to the messages within that tuned them into their authentic needs. That is the very same quality that we need to rebuild to successfully navigate life today in the 21st century. We need to slow down and relearn how to listen to the inner messages of our body, mind, and spirit. As we learn to receive these messages we come home to ourselves. We become the conscious creators of the lives we wish to live.

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Richard Michaels and Marcia Goldberg are certified life coaches. They have presented workshops on personal, professional, and spiritual development for more than thirty years. They are co-founders of Lifeworks East West, an alliance dedicated to helping people realize their visions, values, and goals through combining cogntive and intuitive knowing with strategies for effective action.

They are co-creators of Exploring Your Life Mission Workshops. Richard is co-founder of the year long Personal and Professional Coaching Training at the New York Open Center. He is a founding member of the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Lenox, MA. Marcia is the creator of Designing Your Destiny Workshops, Tele-classes and Continuing Education for Coaches. She is past Executive and Spiritual Director of Kripalu Yoga Center in Sumneytown, PA.

You can reach Richard at Lifeworkse@aol.com and Marcia at LifeworksW@Comcast.com. Their website is www.LifeworksEastWest.com. 

This article was originally published in Spirit of Change Magazine—not to be confused with OfSpirit.com Holistic "Internet" Magazine & Resource. We thank Spirit of Change, New England's Premiere Holistic "Print" magazine, for allowing us to give new life to this article and share it with OfSpirit.com visitors for education, entertainment and empowerment. 
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