Is There an Intuitive in the House? by Elizabeth Eckert Medical intuition. In these days of holistic health fairs, Louise Hay's "little book" and Caroline Myss on Oprah, everyone's heard of it. And to tell the truth, we all want some. Some mystical, all-knowing person who can sit safely outside us and peer in, telling us why our back hurts, that we don't have cancer, and that if we just eat our greens and forgive Mother, then everything will be OK. Sometimes, the intuitive's insights can be enlightening, even life-changing. Other times, our best intuition is an inside job. When we perceive an insight for ourselves, healing occurs, regardless of the condition of our symptoms. Intuition is closely related to our intention. The word "intend" is defined as "to direct the mind on." When we direct our mind on creating a healing outcome, our intuition will give us all of the answers we could possibly need. When we direct our mind on staying safe and comfortable, resenting our betrayers and retaining the right to eat chocolate for dessert, we may block our healing process. We say we can't get it. We've tried "everything" and still our pain persists. The truth is that our own inner wisdom is banging on the door trying to get our attention, but we often don't want to hear what it has to say. Another word for that blasted attention-getting device is "symptom" -- also known as anything we don't like. Symptoms arise in our lives to get our attention. The reason that our attention needs to be gotten is so that we can learn something about ourselves. When we fixate on responding exactly as we've always responded, clinging to our story like a life raft, we block learning. When we refuse to see that our outdated perceptions are not healthy, we effectively slam the door on our own best source of healing information. Then we blame the doctor. Or shoot the messenger. During the course of 10 years' work with pain patients, I've seen this pattern occur over and over again. In truth, I'm just as human as the next person. I've even done it myself. Yet sometimes we humans are so amazing that we actually do see ourselves clearly. Take Joan, an extremely pleasant and insightful woman who I worked with recently. She complained of lower back, hip and pelvic pain. It all started about three years ago after a hysterectomy. And by the way, about that same time, her aging parents moved to town so that she could take care of them. She felt overwhelmed by the demands placed upon her from all sides, feeling that she had little control over her own life. Within several days of intensive work, Joan had realized that the symptoms that preceded her decision to have surgery had been serving the function of flushing the excessive demands of others out of her system. With this (albeit dysfunctional) channel no longer available, the stress pattern was lodging in her muscular system. She realized that the key to her eventual physical healing was to learn to set boundaries for her own needs, even as she continued to be present for her family. Joan saw that she had indeed "shot the messenger," and now that she was more receptive, she received the message first-hand. Joan is, without question, a medical intuitive, because she was able to utilize her intuitive sense to promote her own healing. How can we learn to engage that intuitive sense for ourselves on a consistent basis? My experience tells me that the key is in our perception. When our perception is clear, we have the capacity to receive guidance, recognize it as the truth and anchor a clear intention that supports our highest good. Maintaining clear perception requires some attention on our part. However, most of us know intuitively the types of actions we must take: --Tell the truth --Accept responsibility for the consequences of our actions --Practice the golden rule --Live in harmony with our values --Be open to new ways of seeing the world --Laugh, especially at ourselves, and --Have faith -- our Creator really does know what S/He's doing up there! Is there an intuitive in the house? Yes, and it is us! Elizabeth Eckert, Ph.D., is a neuromuscular therapist and practitioner of energy medicine who offers integrated multi-modal intensives for personal growth and healing. Her work is designed to "mobilize the healing spirit" as it frees the body from limiting structural distortion patterns. Contact her at (701) 839-4755, e-mail elizabeth@wellnessimages.com or visit www.wellnessimages.com for further information. Copyright (c) 2002 Elizabeth Eckert
March 2002