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An excerpt from Stop Checking Your Likes 
by Susie Moore

Your intuition is the inner pressing of the wiser you. It’s the still, small voice inside giving you direction. It’s the oldest, wisest part of you. Notice how every time someone gives you vacation recos, they’ll describe the best activities based on what they did. Their intentions are good, and suggestions are wonderful if you’re feeling them! But sometimes the pressure to “do all the things” in a new city is exhausting. You end up needing a holiday from your holiday. So if you got to Rome and you don’t really feel like seeing the Vatican, the Colosseum, or that “must-visit” gelato bar...don’t! So what? If you’d rather just drink Sangiovese, shop, eat pasta, and take in the atmosphere, then do that! It’s your holiday. And it belongs to you. The same goes for choosing a career, a city, even a couch.

Think of a time when you’ve trusted your intuition, even though it seemed to make no sense at all. What happened? Think of a time when you went against your intuition, because it didn’t seem sensible to follow it. What happened?

Direct Message

Think for a second and take a deep breath. What is that knowing? That something inside? That voice?

It’s your wise AF inner guidance. And no one else can tune in to it but you. It can help you with a million things — from choosing the right career path to meeting your life partner even to saving your life. Yep. It’s that vital.

Your Inner Pilot

You can listen to advice, yes. You can talk things out with people you trust. But only you can ever ultimately know what’s best for you at any moment. The question you want to ask yourself is, In this moment, am I letting my intuition guide me? No one knows what’s inside you, the same way that you don’t know what’s inside others. Your desires, intentions, and instincts are not felt by anyone but you. You have an inner pilot ready to drive your beautifully unique life forward...you just have to use it. It’s your greatest treasure.

Living a Self-Directed Life

Can you stop second-guessing yourself  ? Even the most extraordinary among us, those we look to for guidance, have ordinary problems just like we do. Other people don’t know better, even though it can seem that way sometimes. And they certainly don’t know best when it comes to knowing what’s right for you. I’ll never forget the time I heard a well-known spiritual teacher say onstage, “I’ve written six self-help books and I’m a f*cking mess!”

This is where self-approval will save you a thousand times. When you can rely on your inner like button, you’ll be living a self-directed life. And unlike all those people on their deathbeds wishing they’d lived a life truer to themselves, you’ll reach that stage with far fewer regrets. And the sooner you can get there, the better for you. You don’t have to wait until you’re on your deathbed!

When you trust yourself, not only will you make better, aligned decisions, but you’ll have far more fun, too. Your inner guidance doesn’t just want to keep you safe. It wants you to have a rich, full, healthy, vibrant, playful life! Because the basis of a good life is joy, freedom, and personal progress. That is what the universe is always supporting. And using your brain, tradition, or societal rules alone can hinder that.

One January morning, when my regular yoga class became a mat-to-mat experience, I had to laugh a little at the universal New Year’s enthusiasm. But in this particular class, the teacher said something cool to all the newbies in the room: “If you lose your balance and fall, that’s perfect. If you don’t know the pose and have never heard Sanskrit before, that’s perfect, too. Just copy the rest of us and try your best. If you’re confused and regret coming at any time — also perfect! Just enjoy yourself. Explore your body’s limits. Play around.”

And as the class kicked off, I was surprised by something: the experienced yogis seemed to have the least fun of all. I noticed their furrowed brows, their discomfort when toppling during a standing balance, and their rushing ahead instead of flowing with the breath.

As for the newbies, one of them asked, “Hey, what’s an asana?” They were just throwing themselves in wholeheartedly, and it didn’t matter that they didn’t know the terminology. They had the most fun, and probably got the best workout, too. A couple of them even went for it with headstands — something I never even attempt after nearly ten years of going to classes! And it worked, dammit!

Again, take a breath and think of a time when that brain of yours entirely led the way. What happened?

Now take another breath and think of a time when your heart led you fully. What happened?

Reflecting on that for a moment, do you want more of those heart-driven, intuitive moments to create your life? Probably, right?

There’s nothing wrong with using your head. It’s an amazing decision-making filter that keeps you safe and helps you make sound decisions. But the brain isn’t pro-experimentation.
It’s not willing to look stupid, take a risk, or make a mistake. Our heads like routine and the perceived security it brings us. But not every decision needs to be sensible. Pure sensibleness blocks opportunity. The universe gave us a brain and a heart. We need to use both in making decisions.

So what’s the heart like as a guide? Well, it doesn’t overthink. It feels. It goes where it’s called. And who knows where that can take you? Maybe something as unexpected as a successful headstand (that would’ve taken your brain more than a decade to arrive at).

Instant Intuition

If you’re still feeling stuck, here’s a potent Instant Intuition technique that will help you make the right decision:

Sit down comfortably.
Take a few deep breaths to clear your mind and settle the body.
Close your eyes.
Visualize your first option. See yourself moving forward with this choice. Picture it happening in the present moment in vivid color. Imagine the activity, the outcome, the ripple effects.
Keep breathing, and notice how your body feels and responds.
Now visualize your second option. See yourself moving forward with this choice. Picture it happening in the present moment in vivid color. Imagine the activity, the outcome, the ripple effects.
Keep breathing, and notice how your body feels and responds.
If there’s a third and fourth option, keep going until you’ve covered them all.
Which option made your body relax? That’s the best decision for you.

See? Your body will support you in making the right choices. Your body houses around 30 to 40 trillion of the most intelligent cells on earth! Respect them!

Anything that creates a spark of curiosity within us or generates some desire that typically lies dormant is often our intuition guiding us to say yes to more. Human beings are different from all other animals. We have the gift of higher consciousness and the ability to make choices using both our instincts and our intellect. We have this wildly helpful thing called instinct, and a brain that’s smarter than any computer that exists. We can feel and think. We can understand doubt, process it, and use our intellect to reason. And when you use everything that’s available to you, you’ll never have to blame anyone else again. You realize how powerful you are in creating your life. And you won’t let yourself down.

Susie Moore is the author of Stop Checking Your Likes and What If It Does Work Out? which was named by Entrepreneur as one of the “8 Business Books Entrepreneurs Must Read to Dominate Their Industry.” A former Silicon Valley sales director turned life coach, she has been featured on The Today Show, as well as in O Magazine, Business Insider, Forbes, Time, and Marie Claire. She lives in Miami, Florida with her husband Heath and their Yorkshire Terrier, Coconut. Find out more about her work at www.Susie-Moore.com.

Excerpted from the book Stop Checking Your Likes. Copyright ©2020 by Susie Moore. Printed with permission from New World Library.

I know it's easier to see auras against a blank, light backdrop, and indeed, I often see my toddler's aura when she is in the bathtub and my husband's aura when I'm sitting and he's standing above me with the white ceiling behind him. I have noticed that I see the auras of my toddler and my husband a lot, but I hardly ever see anyone else's aura. Why can I see some auras, but not others? Also, why is it that sometimes I can see theirs, but most of the time I can't? Thanks!

- Aubrey

Dreamchaser:

I believe the answer to your question is really simple. You can see your child's and your husband's auras because you know them and feel comfortable with them. You also feel the energy exchange going on between you and them. These factors open you up to interact on a higher spiritual plane with them than with others.

Energy moves between all living things. We can feel it and be open to it, or we can not feel it and be closed to it. It is hard for you to get to know people, to allow people into your life and your "energy field." As a result, it will be harder for you to get to know them "spiritually."

You absolutely can see other people's auras if you are willing to open up to their energy exchange with you. If you notice, you see your husband's and child's auras when you are at peace and in a relaxed state, when you have no walls or defenses up.

I think you should try the "Bubble Method" that I write about so often in this column. When you go outside the house, picture yourself inside a bubble. You can make the bubble of any material and any color that you would like. My bubble is made of purple water. Just picture yourself stepping into a bubble and it sealing around you. Your energy can get out, but no one's energy can get in if you don't want it to.

Imagining yourself in this bubble is like making a pact with the Universe. The Universe will protect you so that you can experience the energies of the world. When you're in your bubble, you can safely feel OPEN to people around you.

Open up your solar plexus by taking some deep breaths and feel the energies that you want to feel. Remember, your bubble will protect you at all times from any negative or "harmful" energies or entities. I bet you will start to see auras once you are used to being protected inside of your bubble.

I always "bubble" when I am reading for clients. I need to protect my energies so that I don't get drained. I choose to feel my clients' energy enough to give them a good reading, but do not let them "vampire" me.

Once you start to feel safer with energies around you and start to see more auras, I also think you are going to find that you are an empath. That is why it's so hard for you to connect to energies - you learned early in life that it was draining for you to do so.

I wish you safe and enlightening encounters with energies and auras.

*****

Astrea:

Many times I will see the auras of my husband and my family, but most of the time, their auras are hugged close to their physical bodies because they aren't allowing anyone to view them.

People naturally pull their auras in close to their physical bodies most of the time. Unless they are spiritually enlightened and aware that they CAN manage their own energy field and know how to do that, our ability to see their auras will be sort of hit or miss. Once you've had more practice with people outside your own family, you'll be able to access the auras of people who will allow that to happen.

There are lots of good books about aura viewing, and many people think that auras can be photographed. Find a book that contains the photographs of many people's auras and study those photos. You'll begin to see various patterns in most of them. For example, people who are old, young, well or ill will share some of the same aura characteristics. This knowledge will help you view others who are willing to let you.

If there is someone in your area who is teaching aura viewing, it would be good to go and take a class or two with them. Sometimes it just takes another person doing something to help you step into the power to do it too.

Through study and practice, you'll find that some people don't have an aura that extends much beyond their physical presence. People who have suffered physical or emotional abuse, for example, may never be able to let their auric protection out where others can perceive it.

Though you'll be unable to see their auras even with their permission, this will give you a clue as to who they are and what has happened to them in their lives. Sometimes a simple discussion of what has taken place will "free" people like this to release that energy, which should enable you to see it around them.

The only time we can see someone else's aura is when that other person is either consciously or unconsciously ALLOWING us to see it. Your child and your own husband don't feel you are invading their personal space by viewing their auras from time to time. They are "open" with you.

To see the auras of people with whom you're not intimately connected will take some work and lots of practice. It may also take their permission, whether stated out loud or telepathically. Try to be patient, for practice always makes perfect!