intuition - Flora of Asia™

Posted on July 15, 2021August 29, 2023 by kathleen aspenns

Clarity, Or How To Hear The Still Small Voice

The topic of clarity has been top of mind lately for me, and I’m seeing it playing out in my clients’ experiences as well. We all are renegotiating our lives, deciding what parts of our old lives we want to continue, and what to leave behind.

For some, the year plus of relative isolation was a partial blessing, in that they discovered their lives had become filled with obligations that drained them. And some have rediscovered the joy of spending time in community. Everyone I talk with is exploring the balance point between their old and new life.

I’ve been actively considering which of the social and business activities I really miss and want to continue, and which ones I was grateful to no longer see show up on my schedule. Creative work is a little easier to find time for – although, alas, not easier to actually sit down to do.

In all of this I’m trying to listen to the inner voice and hear what is really being called for, what I am here to do, and what is just noise.

Whenever I hear the dreaded “should” in the message, I know I can give it less weight, as my higher self never deals in social guilt. But, sometimes the clarity of what is a true message and what is mind chatter can be hard to determine.

And I also watch for my (totally normal and human) reaction to avoid that which is challenging, something asking me to stretch and grow. Just because I feel uncomfortable does not mean it is something to be avoided. The tension of approaching a threshold, and taking that first step into the new, will always feel a little terrifying and that is to be embraced.

We will always be growing, as long as we are here in these bodies. And we will always be awkward in our first steps trying out something new. Finding the humor in the awkward, and giving ourselves permission to not be perfect is a kindness we can extend for ourselves and our friends.

As I dance with this great “I don’t know”, and follow my path forward into an uncertain world, I am grateful to have the support of my flower essence allies. This issue of discernment, of hearing clearly the still small voice within, is where the flowers specialize.

Little Cerato flower essence for clarity

Blue Corydalis flower essence for inner knowing

Matsu Purple Sandalwood flower essence for a calm mind

When I consider this issue, the very first essence that comes to mind is Dr Bach’s Cerato. It is so precisely aligned with this topic, of connecting us to our inner knowing, that I reach for it again and again. I have the pleasure of growing this plant in my garden, and love to be reminded to listen to my guidance each time I pass by.

Two other blue flowers carry similar messages to Cerato. I have had the privilege of working with and creating an essence from a related species which I call Little Cerato. It has a wispier, more ethereal growth habit and tiny pale blue flowers. The essence has a quality of helping you connect to your higher self and the angelic realm, while staying firmly grounded in your body.

Blue Corydalis is an essence I reach for all the time in my client practice. This essence helps you reconnect to your purpose and path, and builds your sense of trust as you walk into the unknown. In this moment of emergence, the unknown seems to be the only thing we can see, and still we are all being called to engage in stepping forward.

Sometimes the difficulty in hearing our inner voice comes from the noise all around us. We are bombarded with prompts, messages, and the voices of others at every turn. One of my favorite essences to help tune out the chatter is Matsu Purple Sandalwood. Even saying the name slows me down, and helps me connect into my senses. As an essence, it connects you to the present moment, allowing you to have an experience of spaciousness and calm, a place where you can hear yourself think.

I hope you can connect into your inner voice, and to hear clearly what you are being called to do. And if you need help, a consultation and custom formula may be just the thing for you. I’d love to help connect you to the healing Nature can offer.

Posted on November 10, 2017August 29, 2023 by kathleen aspenns

Setting Intentions and Listening to Intuition

flower essence for clarity and intuition

In my practice, I collaborate with each client to create a healing intention to frame the flower essence formula to best serve them in the month ahead. A well crafted intention can guide a formula, and help her maintain focus on her desire for growth, change, and healing.

Recently, I was consulting with a client who had suffered a great deal of loss in the previous few months. A major relationship had ended, entailing a move and disruption to her work life. She was really struggling with intense feelings of grief and sadness. As we talked, I shared with her how normal it is for her to be feeling this way, and how flower essences could give her support, and soothe her through this painful passage.

As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked for her ideas on an intention for the flower essence formula. She had recently been introduced to the practice of intentions, and a friend had suggested an intention for her of “joy and gratitude”. She had been saying this intention to herself several times a day, as is often recommended.

When I asked her how this intention resonated with her, she burst into tears.

Obviously.

My practice towards intentions is to set an intention that is a little bit of a stretch, but does not feel a million miles away from current reality. The problem with a lofty intention is that it sets off our inner bullshit meter.

Your bullshit meter is an important, even vital, part of your safety equipment. It lets you know when someone is lying to you, has bad intentions, or can’t be trusted. It also lets you know when you are lying to yourself.

So many of my clients express a wish to enhance their intuitive capacity, which I wholeheartedly encourage. But the notion of intuition being like Glinda the good witch descending in a bubble of light…while that may happen once in a while, more often our intuition talks to us in a grounded, visceral way. Developing your connection to your innate, embodied intuition can absolutely save you from all kinds of misery. And everyone can learn to listen to their bullshit meter.

I think everyone has experienced doing something that they later thought “I knew I shouldn’t do that”. The trick to life is to listen, and not do it! This is your intuition, your everyday, mundane, life-saving intuition. Ignore it at your peril.

How to Hear Your Intuition

To learn to listen to your embodied intuition, I encourage students and clients to simply test how statements feel to them. Sitting quietly, tune into your body, particularly the sensation in your belly, solar plexus and chest. Then, make a statement that is absolutely true, such as stating the name that is on your birth certificate. Follow this with a statement that is absolutely false, such as “my name is Meryl Streep”. Try a few options with this and feel into your body. In almost every case, people have expressed surprise how clear and unmistakable it is once they knew the significance of the sensation. There is a lot of variation in where you will feel the true or false sensations, so it is best for you to practice and see where it is for you. Many people feel a tightening in their solar plexus for false, and a warm or tingly feeling in their chest for true. But everyone is different, you have to learn what it is for you. Regular practice can strengthen your skills and you will learn a great deal of refinement with the technique.

Setting an intention that has no basis in your reality and repeating it to yourself is a fine way to short circuit your intuition, because you are silencing your bullshit meter. Much better is to set an intention that is just one or two steps from where you are presently, to set your direction and create an attainable goal. For this client, for whom “joy and gratitude” provoked tears, I suggested something closer to “I am healing and feeling better each day”. You want to feel encouraged by your intention, not shut down by it.

Flower Essences To Develop Your Intuition

One of the first steps to hearing your own intuition clearly is to clear the clutter in your field. As we go through life, we pick up energetic debris from people and environments. A regular clearing practice will help you let go of all the stuff that isn’t your own, and help you start to identify your own signal in the midst of all the noise.

There are many options and practices for clearing. A wonderful way is to get out in Nature and simply take a walk, breathe in fresh air, and move your body. Bathing in salt water, whether the ocean or in your bathtub, can clear your field beautifully. And of course, there are many crystals you can carry or have near you that have clearing qualities.

One of my favorite ways to quickly clear my field is to use Centered Floral Mist. I spray all around myself, filling my “bubble” with clean fresh energy. The Himalayan Cedar essential oil is cleansing and protective, and helps me ground into the earth.

Flora of Asia Flower Essences for Intuition

Blue Corydalis flower essence for intuition

Blue Corydalis is one of my favorite flower essences to build trust in the process of personal development. The dramatic cases of awakening tend to get the attention of book publishers, but for most people, developing spiritual awareness is a slower, organic process. Blue Corydalis helps you trust in your own process, and have faith that you are going in the right direction.

Delavay's Tea Olive flower essence for intuition

Delavay’s Tea Olive flower essence helps you slow down and notice more. The world around us is noisy, chaotic, and fast moving. This can prevent you from seeing and feeling the still, small voice within you that is key to accessing your knowing. This flower essence helps you connect to a deeper rhythm and the wisdom that arises from stillness.

Illicium is the perfect flower essence for self-development practices. It helps you gain clarity and awareness of what is really true. This essence clears the clutter and noise, helping you build patience and calm. For the most part, inner wisdom does not come in sound bites as we rush around. We have to slow down, center ourselves, and listen deeply.

Little Cerato flower essence for intuition

Little Cerato guides you into connection with your higher self, while helping you keep your grounding and roots. Opening to the world of spirit can help you set your intention and course of action on this plane. Learning to bridge the worlds, so that we can act from our highest selves in an embodied way is an important practice in personal development.

Posted on May 13, 2017August 22, 2023 by kathleen aspenns

Three Flower Essences to Enhance Your Intuition

Many people think intuition is just for the spiritually gifted. Rare, special, and somebody who is not you.

I disagree completely.

I see intuition as a completely natural part of life, something that is normal and accessible to everyone. It is something that absolutely everyone has and can tap into, a simple skill that can be developed.

One of the definitions of intuition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is:

the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference

This definition shows the basic assumption that the only thought or understanding is coming from “rational thought” – i.e. the brain. This notion is outdated. In 1991, neurocardiologist Dr J Andrew Armour introduced the term “heart brain” after his discovery of the complex and intrinsic nervous system in the heart. The heart is in two way communication with the brain, and is able to make its own decisions. There is also research to indicate the presence of intelligence in the digestive system as well.

Our cultural bias that values only the intelligence and reasoning power of the brain is missing valuable information and insight that comes from the intelligence centers of our bodies. But how can we learn to connect to and develop our facility with this type of intelligence?

I teach many of my clients a simple way to start connecting with the intelligence of their bodies. It is a type of kinesiology, or muscle testing, that can help you get a basic yes/no answer from your body. Once you learn what a yes or no feels like in your body, you can start to develop more awareness of the signals your body uses to communicate with you.

Flower essences can also assist you in attuning to your intuition by helping you quiet your mind, become more receptive to the wisdom in your heart, and develop trust in your insights.

Working with flower essences and the intelligence in Nature can help you connect to your natural intuitive gifts.

Three Flower Essences to Enhance Intuition

Blue Corydalis flower essence is one of my favorite essences to help you connect to your intuition. The trick to understanding the reality of intuition is to realize that it is not a constant stream of information, instead coming in flashes and moments of insight. The challenge is to integrate these bursts, trust in the information, and take appropriate and sustained actions to follow the guidance. Learning to trust what you have received, and holding the knowing so you can act is the gift of Blue Corydalis flower essence.

Japanese Alder flower essence is another essence I reach for to help a client develop trust in herself. This tree helps you develop courage and quiets self-doubt. The essence gives a deeply rooted and grounded quality, helping ease the chatter in the mind and settling into the wisdom and connectedness of the body.

Little Cerato flower essence is helpful for connecting to the higher self, the guiding spirit of your life. The essence helps you maintain a grounded connection to your body as you open to higher realms of intelligence. This little blue flower reminds you of your connection to Source, and helps you shift your perspective from separateness to unity.