I've noticed something about fear and intuition that seems a bit ironic: young people are often more psychic/intuitive than older and supposedly wiser folks! Even people who demonstrate remarkable psychic gifts when they are young can lose them over the years if they succumb to fear and become too careful about life in general. Young people tend to fear death and other disasters less than older people, so they take more risks and live on an edge where more things are possible. Their vibrations tend to be higher because they're full of life and desire instead of fear and worry. So I'm not surprised to hear you say that you used to be more intuitive, and now find it hard to sort your fears from your intuitions.

Sorting fears from intuitions is really tricky because we talk about intuitions as 'gut feelings,' but intuitions aren't emotions at all. Even when we get spontaneous warnings of danger, they aren't delivered with fear; fearful feelings may follow the intuition, but they aren't one and the same. Unlike fears and worries, clear, accurate intuitions generally don't come with any emotional kick to them; the information feels more like watching a movie or hearing a story. While it may contain some emotional information, our own personal reactions are a step or two removed from the message.

Intuitions aren't thoughts either; you can't reason your way to intuitive insights. Where worrying is linear (if A and B happen, then C may follow), intuitions are like holographic capsules of sudden awareness. In fact, they often don't make sense at first, and we have to ponder them in order to comprehend their meaning.

Over the years I have heard from hundreds of people who were somehow warned, helped or enlightened via their intuition. For the sake of this article, let's focus on warnings of danger. Time and again, people who narrowly escaped some tragedy thanks to an intuition report how strangely calm they felt as they were receiving that warning. For example, someone may be driving down the highway when suddenly they have the intuition that they should change lanes. They act on this warning quickly, without questioning it, and the next thing they know, something occurs in the lane they were driving in that could have proven fatal. Following this event they may be shaken up and amazed by the whole experience, but while it was happening, they were strangely calm.

The gut intuitions you describe in your letter strike out of the blue like this; they come unbidden and at totally unexpected moments. We all have these spontaneous sorts of experiences when faced with danger. To be able to consciously and purposefully consult your intuition whenever you desire, you must develop your psychic abilities.

A major component of psychic development is cultivating the faith and objectivity to look past what we think is best in order to see truth. It can be hard to be objective when it comes to our own concerns. This is where the development of faith comes in: if you truly believe that everything happens for a good reason and everything works out in the end, you won't worry to begin with, and will be open to hearing or perceiving the truth about any situation.

One thing is for sure: the more we tend to worry, the harder it is to hear our intuition clearly or access higher guidance. This is because our thoughts affect our vibration, and in order to tune in to truth and wisdom, we must have a high vibration. To be able to purposefully access our intuition about anything at any time, we must develop unwavering faith in the benevolence of life, for then all possibilities are acceptable to the conscious mind.

Since a calm, detached mind is essential to clear psychic perception, meditation is important. I highly recommend you take up regular meditation and work on cultivating your inner observer so you can emotionally detach from whatever is happening in your outer experience and calmly observe whatever comes up. This will empower you to view your whole life with calm detachment, which is like being able to back way up to see the big picture whenever you feel the need.

Also, devote yourself to psychic development. Working with a pendulum is a simple, easy way to begin. Do remember that you may not be able to access answers to every question you have at that time, so before beginning with the pendulum, ask: May I ask this question and receive an answer at this time? and Is this something that can be currently known or seen?

Of course, the information you can get from a pendulum is very limited, so you'll want to move beyond it in order to get deeper insights and guidance. (My space here is limited, so for information on psychic development, please search our archives, consult the many excellent books and websites devoted to this subject, or sign up for a local class.)

When consulting your intuition, instead of asking if things will go the way you want them to, ask deeper questions such as: What is the higher purpose behind this situation? What am I supposed to be learning? What are my options, and which choice or approach is wisest? How can I cultivate the greatest love and harmony in this situation?

Again, remember that you may not always get an answer. Many of us want to be able to psychically read every possible scenario, and if we are looking for answers before those answers even exist, we may begin to make stuff up. We must be so detached that we're even at peace with not getting as much information as we'd like to have right now.

It's also important to establish strong relationships with your spirit guides, for then you can always ask them for more information or guidance on how to work with (and make peace with) the answers you receive.

Like any other skill, practice is essential. Keep a journal in which you note your intuitions and how they pan out. When they do and don't prove accurate, take note of how you felt when they came to you. Soon you'll be able to discern how it feels when you're receiving accurate intuitive impressions.

Another important aspect to consider is the fact that you have the power to affect outcomes, so you can visualize what you desire instead of passively allowing your mind to wander into fearful thoughts. This is key because it is generally feelings of powerlessness that lead us to worry, and when we remember that we aren't powerless - that can create what we want - it gives our minds something to do that is positive and constructive.

Knowing what will happen is nothing compared to being able to use our psychic senses to influence the course of our experience. The questions we ask of our intuition are therefore paramount. Asking simple, fear-based questions about what is going to happen can do us more harm than good, while asking wise and powerful questions such as what we should do and focus upon in order to fulfill our dreams can prove very helpful indeed.

- Julia