Intuitive Messages Aren't Always About Good Things

by Jillian Maas Backman

Over the years I have taught myself to trust and cherish my spiritual intuitive nature. It has allowed me the ability to open doors to indescribable experiences that have enriched my journey three fold. This great abundance didn’t happen overnight. I had to invest dozens of years fine tuning this craft by studying the internal connection between myself and the universe at large.

My intuitive sense is a blessing and an innate tool I use to formulate consistent success. However, once I adapted this artful living, struggles began to pop up. I was learning first- hand the flip-side to living this awakened lifestyle choice.

I make a concerted effort in my life to stay positive as much as possible. Surround myself with people who love to grow, manifest change and avoid negativity. This includes people and circumstances in my intuitive world as well. When I first began embracing this talent I naively thought at some level I could control all the messages coming my way. I was in charge of picking and choosing the intuitive information being received from the universe. Act on the ones I liked and simply discard the rest that required hard work. The kind of choices that cause discomfort upfront but have enormous rewards in the end.

How naive and intuitive youthful I was back in those days. Thinking I could avoid any negative messages that might complicate my decisions. Talking myself into believing certain messages did not pertain to me and pretend they never existed. I have since come to understand the error of my own ways. Planet earth works on well-defined polarities, night and day, good and evil, light follows darkness. Why in the world did I ever entertain the idea that the universe could hold back half the story is beyond me? A movie script without a plot, no friction or challenge to overcome and no heroes to save the day. How can problems be resolved if I only chose to grab hold of the “fluffy intuitive stuff” and not accept an intuitive message in its entirety. I had to surrender to the fact one needs to receive all intuitive insights, the good and the ugly in order to create sound solutions.

My work is based on self-improvement of the individual. I am a firm believer in the trickle-down theory of wellness. Healing oneself will ultimately help heal the planet. There have been times in the past when I receive intuitive insights meant for a larger audience other than just my clientele. When this occurs there are several criteria that must be met before I share with the world. The messages must contain work that can be done by all individuals and possibly create lasting changes on a global scale. When the answers to these questions are a resounding YES! I jump in. For example, the blog piece I wrote last year on the bully crisis happening throughout our local communities. There were intuitive insights that needed to be shared and could lend a helping hand in eradicating such indignant behavior toward our fellow human beings.

As in the sad loss of the child I wrote about in that blog post, I must once again reference the latest loss of a child I cannot intuitively ignore. The fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida several weeks ago. The minute I heard about it my gut went crazy, doubling over with grief and pain. Stopped me in my tracks and demanded my full awareness. Kicking my senses into overdrive with internal raw truthful messages from all directions. The kind of messages I have painstaking avoided in the past because they lay heavy on my heart and hard to receive. To a certain extent, completely out of my control. My knee jerk reaction was to retreat and spiritually shut everything down pronto. Turn an intuitive blind eye to my internal body cues-But my gut won’t let me!

Intuitive warning signs are evident everywhere I turn. Red flags flying sky high signaling more drastic events to come if we refuse to pay attention to this event in front of us right now. As much as I would love to tell each and every one of you to avoid this situation and turn a blind eye with me to the story, I cannot do that without a guilty conscious. I have to fulfill my part of a spiritual intuitive bargain set forth long ago.

The episode unfolding in Florida is pulling us all back in time and forcing us to take an unobstructed view of unresolved issues. This is completely normal and understandable. We revert back to what we know best, our past. Past experiences, past knowledge and in this case, past open wounds. We do have centuries of unfinished lessons and energetic residual relationship pains that haunt us today. Lessons we must re-visit before officially closing this historic chapter. Asking and invoking energetic forgiveness to ancestors on all sides and honor the great strides they endured. Hard lessons assimilated through bouts of horrific human generational experiences. All leading up to a crescendo of celebrating differences and catapulting that energy into communal strengths. We must always hold heavenly reverence those individuals who stood proudly in front to guide us through the first phase of cooperative relations. We stand in the midst of the next elevated phase of cooperative relationships with new lessons to be learned. Lessons most of us are willing, able and ready to examine again if need be to secure our hopes towards a peaceful existence.

Hateful words are being thrown around from both sides and stirring up my intuitive nervousness. Each one of us has the right to our opinions, but collectively it can be distorted. There is great passion on both sides of this sad sad event. My fear at this point is we may all be sitting on top of a ticking time bomb ready to explode any minute. Someone is going to say something inappropriate and trigger an unnecessary unstoppable tidal wave of hate crimes across this country.

Please, I implore each one of you to attempt to keep the physical actions in check. Watch the verbiage that comes out of your mouth. As we know from past experiences words cut just as deep into human flesh as a knife itself. I am not asking anyone to turn away from this issue. I am only asking that we stand strong and unite on keeping our senses in line with what is appropriate. Sure, there are some among the crowds that want us to lose our tempers and reacted violently. They want us to go down the sick road we have already traversed. We do not have to repeat our historic lessons in the same way as before. We are better than that. Many of us hold within our hearts the Utopian vision of a new world order. What better time than now with this situation to foster those thoughts.

This vision begins with restoring trust. Another child has lost his life over our mistrust for each other. We have lost our forefathers trust for one another. When trust is lost in any relationship it takes time to re-build from the bottom up. It is not going to be easy and we cannot revert backwards. It is simply unacceptable if we what to thrive futuristically. We must keep our sights looking forward during this awkward time of vulnerability we sense from another and repair our lost sense of trust among groups different than ourselves.

I am optimistic about learning our social relationship lessons. America looks more diverse than it did back in the day, but the souls remained the same. It may not show on the surface but we have been growing expectationally in this area. In the past there were no books or “how to” therapies on connecting with our “authentic selves.” Moving away from notions of personal victimization into the realm of individual empowerment by asking the powerful question of who am I? Not afraid to claim personal strengths and weaknesses and welcome revolutionary new thoughts and actions. Denounce violence and believe whole-heartily in using honest communication to restore harmony. What hidden messages are we missing from the past that might shed light on solutions for the future? What lessons are we overlooking that need to be addressed now? What new and innovative relationship therapies can we apply here that can shift all of us to a more positive healing outcome.

We all want to see justice come for this family and the memory of this child. But, I implore each one of you this time to push beyond physical closure. Ask this in the name of all families in similar tragedies. Pray that we stay on target with the lessons and resolve our differences. Grant each one of us the courage to enact these lessons in our own homes, communities so the next generation can be proud of work we accomplished together.

Bring forth leaders that can speak of healing rather than separating the masses. Deliver rhetoric of hope that fuels our intuitive eternal optimism. Let these words embody the energy of love and carry them deep within souls and dissolve the most impenetrable shields of bigotry like never before and close this lesson forever.

In intuitive justice,

Jillian Maas Backman

Jillian Maas Backman, Author, Beyond The Pews, Breaking With Traditions and Letting Go Religious Lockdown and host of the radio show, CHANGE ALREADY! Your Future, Your Choice! www.jillianmaasbackman.com  

Soulful Medicine

by Jillian Maas Backman

As an intuitive life coach I find it very rewarding to write encouraging words which inspire hope and change to all that read my blog posts. This one was suppose to cover the intrinsic benefits from the practice of meditation. However, life has a funny way of changing directions without your permission. There are times when roles reverse themselves with a blink of an eye and the life coach becomes a student in the course of life on purpose.

I was asked to join the team of Time’s Up authors because of my diverse background in both life coaching and intuitive sensing. It lends itself to an interesting perspective of both intellectual thought and soulful insights that are unique to all of us. I have also been quietly involved behind the scenes in dozens of unsolved missing person cases over the years, and have been quite happy to convey intuitive messages to those much more capable than I to implement progress to every case. It has afforded me the opportunity to create a deliberate separation from those directly involved. More importantly, keeps me grounded in my own intuitive space for clarity without outside distractions.

Since involving myself in the Time’s Up movement I have seen post after post of heartbreaking accounts of missing person cases, and unsolved mysteries occurring throughout America every day. It has become so prevalent in all communities there is no escaping the indisputable fact that each one of us will probably be personally touched by this human epidemic at some point in our life.

You would think working so closely in this field I would be prepared for whatever comes my way. Growing up in the church, I was faced with the undeniable truth of human tribulations on a regular basis. However, no matter how many times you experience first-hand suffrage through the eyes of another you never get used to sensing the toll it takes on a human soul to endure the loss through tragic circumstances.

I recently crossed paths with a man in a nearby community that was directly involved in an unsolved missing person’s case. In fact, it was the father of the missing child. As he began to recite his story I found myself lost in his sorrow as a mother and an intuitive. I immediately began searching inside myself, attempting to gather up some insightful intuitive wisdom to fill the silence between us, possibly easing his aching heart for just a moment. There was nothing appropriate that could convey his loss was my loss. His human confusion was now a part of my human confusion. Two strangers struggling awkwardly towards the same outcome, a higher understanding of what he and his family were going through.

As a natural born healer we are trained to jump directly into “saving mode.” I was drawn to provide some kind of clarity to this man’s desperate disillusion and supply him with appropriate intuitive answers to his unsolvable reality of human experiences. I could not bring his child back home or make his family feel better emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. I had nothing but love to share with him. Love of the energy kind. The soulful medicine that can heal the deepest human wounds anyone can withstand.

I will probably never see this gentle lost father ever again, but the loss of his child will be forever in my heart. He brought forth a lesson I shall never forget. There may be times in the future when I become too comfortable in my separate isolation from the world at large. Hopefully I will never become complacent with the intuitive work at hand and remember each family is unique in processing their own grief. As healers, we should let their specialness be our guide to uncovering unseen clues from the universe.

As we parted ways, both turned to a tried and true method of human coping that supersedes all man-made grief. He asked me if I would pray for his child. I did what this distressed father asked me to do. I prayed. I prayed for his family as a mother and an intuitive interpreter for peace in the distant future for all those involved.

In ever-growing gratitude,

Jillian Maas Backman

Heeding And Taking A Stand

By Anny Jacoby

With the holiday season in "high gear", shopping until you drop, cooking and baking, dinners and celebrations and the new year approaching I felt it only appropriate to address awareness causes that pertain to victimization. And, what can you do for others and yourself.


Awareness months are a result of presidential proclamations suggesting their importance which recognizes special months, weeks or days as symbolic statements that highlight causes, interest groups and diseases that an administration thinks deserves attention. Many proclamations date back decades and are updated periodically. To achieve an awareness month, you simply have to ask. Requests usually go through the Office of the Public Liaison, and the proclamations themselves are written by the office of the staff secretary. It helps to have a cause that fits snugly into a current president's worldview. Yes, it also helps to have some connection in the government.


Personally, the following awareness months are dear to my heart and mission:

• January - National Personal Self-Defense Awareness Month
• January - National Stalking Awareness Month
• April - National Sexual Assault Awareness Month
• April - National Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month
  
• June - National Internet Safety Awareness Month
  
• September - National Human Trafficking Month
  
• October - National Domestic Violence Awareness Month
• October - National Cyber Security Awareness Month

Not only during the above months should we take heed or take a stand but every day of your life you should be aware and proactive - awareness is the first step to any form of personal safety or self-defense. It all begins with you.


The terms "personal safety/self-defense" definitely do not make us feel all warm and fuzzy but it is extremely vital to have the knowledge about, even if it is only a "little". Just knowing a little can literally save your life or that of a loved one. Personal safety is extremely important for females because we tend to be the safety advocates for our families, friends and peers but we must not forget about ourselves.


Whenever I speak or teach I ask, "what does the words "personal safety or self-defense" mean to you"? The answer that I hear over and over is, "it has something to do with defending ourselves from someone who is physically attacking us". On the contrary, personal safety begins with mental defense. It is imperative to learn what the warning signs and red flags in domestic violence are as abuse begins with emotional, mental, verbal, spiritual, financial abuse and much more (power and control). There is nothing wrong with being pro-active and putting your safety before anything or anyone else.


Most people think that personal safety/self-defense is hurting your attacker before he/she can hurt you. On the contrary, the most important part of personal safety is doing everything possible to AVOID fighting someone who threatens or attacks you, AVOIDING potentially harmful conditions. Personal safety/self-defense is about outsmarting attackers, not always outfighting them.


This is not to say that you shouldn't be prepared in case of an attack. Consider training to learn valuable defense techniques, mentally and physically. Generally a person may use reasonable force when it appears reasonably necessary to prevent an impending injury. A person using force in self-defense should use only so much force as is required to repel an attack. Ultimately, the goal in personal safety is to not need to use physical defense but if you do, escape with little injury to yourself as possible.


The National Crime Prevention Council sends a loud message as to how to avoid undesirable situations to name a few:

• Understand your surroundings. Stay in areas that are open, well lit and well traveled.
• When possible, travel in a group - use the "buddy system".
• Make sure that your friends and parents know your basic schedule, where you are going and with whom; that you arrived safely and what time to expect you home.
• Your body language shows a sense of confidence - use it. Look like you know where you are going, be and remain alert.
• When riding on public transportation, sit near the driver and stay awake. Assailants look for vulnerable targets.
• Always carry a cell phone, in a holder on your clothing - not in the bottom of your purse or in a pocket. Make sure that it's programmed in speed dial with numbers of a few friends/family members and 911.
• If you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, trust your instincts. Heed to them, trust them as your instinct seldom fails you.
• Focus on what to do instead of what not to do.

Personal safety/self-defense can be warm and fuzzy once you learn what it really means and how to use it to your advantage. Give yourself permission and allow yourself to become strong mentally and emotionally which in turn will result in an outward expression of confidence. Assailants prey on weaknesses.

With January being a new fresh start in many ways it is also a time for reflection and revisions.What a better time to learn to respect ourselves? With it being time for renewal and new beginnings it is a perfect time to say:


"Yes" to ourselves


"Yes" to our self-esteem


"Yes" to our awareness


"Yes" to our self-respect


"Yes" to improving both our mental and emotional well-being


"Yes" to learning how to physically protect and defend ourselves




Wishing everyone a wonderful, Blessed Holiday season; a prosperous and healthy New Year.


Take care and STAY SAFE!

"Trust Me, I AM YOUR INTUITION"

By Anny Jacoby

You are walking to your friend's home suddenly it is night fall. The directions you were emailed earlier in the day from your friend are a bit confusing, you're not exactly sure where you are. You pick up the pace, walking faster, you pass Second Street, Third Street, Fourth Street, Fifth Street. In an instant your eyes are drawn away from the piece of paper in your hand and you look around, realizing that you are now, totally lost.

You panic. You begin to speak to yourself, "Breathe....breathe". Looking around you feel vulnerable because you do not know where you are; your mind is trying to figure out where you might be and you are limiting your self-protection because you are distracted. As you continue to walk toward the next block, you see two men leaning against the side of a building. You start to think.....Should I ask them for directions? However, you start to get a deep uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Something is telling you to turn around and go in the opposite direction. The warning voice in your head will not go away and it only gets louder and louder matching the increased pace of your heartbeat. You stop, the slight hesitation in your footsteps grabs the attention of the two men. Do you ignore your gut feeling and brush off this strange feeling as paranoia? Or, do you listen to THE voice in your head of the warning signals going off and run like hell?

Listening to intuition is often the most ignored safety step. Intuition and awareness are the first two steps to safety. It's always easier to dismiss our hunches with logic or rationalizations. In some cases, we can get away with choosing to listen to logic or wishful thinking over our intuition. But the consequences of taking unnecessary chances can be something we carry for the rest of our life if something bad happens.

We often do not respect our instincts/intuition because we don't want to become paranoid and make unreasonable decisions as a result. We need to be able to trust our gut, our brain needs to be equally involved in that process. The best way to determine the usefulness and accuracy of intuition is to use it. When it comes to deciding whether or not to confront a possible dangerous situation and you begin to get that weak, ill, warning feeling....it's best to trust those warning signs. This is YOUR INTUITION facing the threat and telling you to get away.

So, you ask....how can I tune in to hear my intuition? Following these suggestions may be of help:

1. Listening to intuition always requires a choice of where you place your attention. Ignore anything that will distract your attention.

2. Be silent.

3. While being silent, focus your attention on emotional feelings, images or words that come to your mind. This allows you to identify what your intuition is saying.

4. Be willing to do what intuition says to do.

5. Don't question it: Intuition NEVER engages debating.

6. Follow your intuition.

7. Understand that other people will always have judgments about you. You determine what is right for you! Don't do what your best friend or others tell you what to do. Don't rely on trusting your elders because we have heard for years "they have the years of experience". Listen to your own intuition and act on it.

Your intuition will ALWAYS lead you in the right direction. You are the only one that knows what YOU are feeling.

Isn't it just easier to trust intuition?

Is there anything wrong with BEING SMART?

I would rather be wrong of my intuition than risk putting myself in danger.

Wouldn't you?

Take care and STAY SAFE!