Category: Spirituality

Insights on Developing Your Intuition
intuition · Spiritual Mindset · Spirituality

Insights on Developing Your Intuition

Melissa ConklingLeave a comment

Developing my intuition has been an amazing journey. I have discovered some very interesting things along the way. Not only about myself, but about how intuition comes to me. So I thought I’d share some of my recent discoveries.

 #1 –  Intuitive insights are a lot like dreams. 

Even when I’m 100% positive I’ll remember it later because it was so clear in the moment, it often fades or blurs or I totally forget! 

Writing things down immediately after my listening practice was part of the process when I learned. As I got better at doing readings, I neglected this part more often. Recently I’ve discovered just how important it is to continue doing it so I can continue growing!

So I’ve learned the importance of being intentional with my intuitive practices and writing it down, not relying on my memory alone…because that hasn’t always worked.

#2 –  My position matters. A lot. 

One night, laying in bed getting ready for sleep, I began my daily listening practice. Unexpectedly, I had the sudden call to sit up. As I did, my intuition started to flow in a whole new way. 

I often feel my intuition through my whole body, so sitting upright rather than laying down allowed me to tune in with my physical body much more. Tuning into your intuition in an upright and untangled position helps a ton – so uncross those arms and legs!

#3 –  Don’t overthink it! 

One of the things I learned when I first started intentionally working with my intuition was to listen first, write it out second, and discern its meaning third. As my mind and intuition flow, my conscious mind loves to speak up and give her opinion during the process. 

Allowing myself to simply acknowledge and then let go of the urge to discern while listening has been incredibly helpful. Because once I do, that’s when my intuition really begins to flow. 

Sometimes I feel that thought of “Oh no! I need to write this down so I don’t forget!”  But I’m continuing to learn to trust the process, knowing that I’ll remember just what I need to, and know that if something is super important and I forget it, it will present itself again!

Building intuition is an ongoing practice and it’s getting stronger all the time. And maintaining that  beginners mindset is key! So often, we love to think we’ve mastered things and don’t need the basics anymore… But it’s kind of like exercise. Just because someone is an elite athlete doesn’t mean they don’t need to warm up, cool down, or practice!

Spirituality vs. Religion
spirit guides · Spiritual Mindset · Spirituality

Spirituality vs. Religion

Melissa Conkling1 Comment

So many people shy away from their innate spirituality for one big reason: Religion. They either believe spirituality is against their religion or they mistake them for the same thing. And it’s an easy mistake to make. Or maybe they had a bad experience with religion.

For thousands of years, religion has been a powerful force on this planet. In many ways, religion took over spirituality. It became the most accepted way to explain things that could not easily be understood. As Christianity spread, it even went so far as to incorporate practices and holidays from old, spirit-based religions to promote this new one.

To be clear, I don’t like to hate on religion. In fact, it fascinates me how similar so many of the world’s religions are to each other. Yet we tend to focus only on the differences. To me, religion is not separate from spirituality, but it’s not the same either. I consider religions to simply be different modalities through which people can access and make sense of their spiritual nature.

However, because of the politics and power struggles that make up the history of so many religions, the spiritual aspect as it pertains to an individual is often forgotten. “Spiritual” became an aspect of religion to strive for, rather than something we are born with. Spirit became something outside of ourselves, not part of who we are. We were told we could not connect to spirit without religious leaders or practices. And as with anything, when we are told something often enough and for long enough, we eventually come to believe it. 

Yet a part of us knows deep down that somehow and somewhere we are connected to the spiritual realm and that spirit lives within us. I got lucky in that department. Growing up Catholic, I attended CCD regularly. As I was nearing the date of my first Reconciliation, I recall having a huge sense of dread. We had to confess our sins to our priest for the first time. At nine years old, talking to adults was not something I loved to do…talking to anyone was not my thing. So the idea of having to sit one on one with Father Barnes and tell him about all the horrible things I had done so far in life absolutely terrified me. What should I even say? That I didn’t clean my room when my mom told me to? That I didn’t wash the dishes? The “sins” were unbearable!

As the fateful day approached, my dad sensed my dread and asked me if I was nervous. I will never forget his response when I confirmed his suspicion. He said, rather matter-of-factly, “it doesn’t matter. You can talk to God directly any time you want to. And you don’t need to go through a priest to do it. So just tell him about the fight you got in with your sister the other day.” And my nine year old mind was blown…and full of questions. If we can talk to God whenever we want to, why are they teaching us that we can’t? And more importantly, how do we do it?!

Thinking back on that moment, it is no surprise that I always felt more connected to spirit than a lot of people around me. Unlike them, I was told from early on that I was. I didn’t have to discover it after years of soul searching. It was simply something that I accepted. However, I did need to learn how to do it and to truly believe I had that power. 

Whether you consider yourself religious or not, and regardless of your past experience with religion, you are connected to spirit and you can communicate with God, the universe, whatever you choose to call it, and with your spirit guides as well. You just need to learn how to do it and how to believe in and trust the guidance you receive. 

To learn more about connecting with your guides, join me Tuesday, April 18th at 3:30 p.m. ET for a free Spirit Guides Masterclass. Click here to learn more and register.