Before you even allow this question to tickle your brain, I’m going to give you the answer right now: I don’t know why psychics can’t pick the winning lottery number. I don’t know why they can’t go to the horse races and consistently choose the winners. I don’t know why they can’t pick the hot slot machines at the casino.

There. I said it.

As I’ve mentioned in other blog posts, intuitive impressions normally come without any fanfare. For me they appear as any ordinary thought.

But I notice when I try to intuitively pick a lottery number, I’m not allowing the impressions to flow. I’m too emotionally engrossed in the thought of possibly winning.

Though not to totally dissuade you, I have been known to pick winning scratch off lottery cards. But that’s because I only buy them when the random urge hits me. It’s not an everyday occurrence – which I suppose is a good thing. And when I do win, it’s normally a payout of $20 or less. Still, it’s a nice wink from the Universe.

But this post isn’t about using your powers to win games of chance. Besides, you don’t have to use that stuff as a crutch.

If you’re anything like me, you get up in the morning and go about doing some job. And that’s where your intuition can be a friend indeed.

There’s more than one way to cook a chicken

Every day when I sit down to write I use my intuition.

I ask a question in my mind, and then I allow the answer to come to me. But the answer may come in one of many different ways.

For example, if I’m stuck on a particular sentence, I’ll ask… “What can I use as a metaphor in this sentence?”Then I might get up and start looking at the books in my library. If I see a book that glows, I’ll pick it and thumb through. Something always jumps out at me that answers my question.

Just yesterday I was going to pick my daughter up from school, while trying to figure out how to re-phrase an advertisement I was writing.

As I was walking, I looked up and saw a bird soaring through the rainy, city sky. There was my line for the ad… “With Steven’s advice blowing under your wings you’ll be able to soar to sections of Goal Achievement Land that you’ve previously only dreamed about.”

Now believe it or not, this is the way I work all day long. And I’ve never had writer’s block.

I call it being Fluent in Symbolism. I’m able to read the random sights around me, and turn them into an answer for the question I’m asking. It’s actually one of the first techniques I taught myself when it came to using my intuitive ability.

It works so much that I’m both shocked and pleased at the same time. Trust me, it’s an awesome skill to have.

Saying the right thing at the right time

I also use my power to better communicate with my writing business clients. But in this situation I like using the tarot cards.

For example, before I get on the phone with a client, I’ll ask… “How can I best communicate with this person?”

Or I might ask… “What do I need to say that’s going to bring the greatest degree of clarity or assistance for their most pressing situation?” Then I’ll pick 3 tarot cards.

During a consultation last week I chose a selection of cards that told me there was nothing I could say. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but at the end of our session I understood.

My client was basically intent on going back to get a job that she really didn’t want. No matter what alternatives I gave her, she pleasantly agreed with me. She thought my ideas were great. But she’d already made up her mind that an unpleasant job was in her future.

Indeed, there was nothing I could say. And I was glad that I knew that ahead of time.

What can you do?

First thing – and this is the most important – is to choose the right question.

I’m very precise in how I word my questions, because that’s how you get the fastest answers. So if I want a metaphor, I ask for a metaphor. If I need a challenging statement, that’s what I ask for.

And if the answer I receive doesn’t work for me, guess what… I ask another question. There’s no limit to this stuff. Your powers won’t cut off after 10 questions a day!

Secondly, you might find it helpful to ask a question, and then get up to go to the bathroom or grab a drink of water.

When I’m really pressed for an answer, I like to wash the dishes or clean the bathtub. For some reason water triggers a response for me. Walking in the rain also works.

In this situation you’re giving your intuition a chance to communicate with you. If you’re just sitting there trying to force an answer, you’re going to get a thought – not a psychic impression.

By getting up and refocusing your thoughts on something else, you open the pathway.

Finally, say thank you. If you were a fly on the wall in my apartment you’d hear me saying “thank you” all day long.

I thought I was the only one who did this. Then I spoke to a bestselling author last year, who told me that he does the exact same thing. He thanks out loud all the time. Birds of a feather!

I realize that I’m a decent writer, made better from the constant flow of intuitive insights. I’m simply thanking the Universe for helping me do a better job. And for me, it works.

Warm blessings this weekend!

Friends and family who know what I do often ask – “What’s it like when you realize that you’re picking up an intuitive impression? Do you feel differently?”

It’s a valid question. When you’re watching these television shows and movies it sometimes looks like the psychic is going into some kind of over-the-top trance. Their head starts jerking around, or their eyes shut really tight. And not surprisingly they only pick up impending disaster or gloom.

My impressions aren’t quite so dramatic!

When I close my eyes to get into my heart chakra I sometimes see a hand. And that hand might start drawing a picture for me.

I find that when the hand starts drawing a picture it means the situation the person is asking about is still unfolding.

One of the most frequent pictures I see is a house being built. Sometimes it’s just the outline of the house. On occasion I’ll see entire pieces of the house being put together – kind of like a puzzle. Or I’ll see the house being outlined in various colors. I’ve learned to interpret each one differently.

Although there is a Hollywood-esqe quality sometimes…

Sometimes a scene from a movie will pop into my mind. It’s often something totally off the wall, but meaningful. That’s how I know it’s my intuition – it will be totally random.

I once got a scene from the movie Kung-Fu Hustle. (Not one of my personal choices, but my family loves this quirky movie!) I saw a lotus pen-type dagger going into a persons body. The man who did it had actually tricked the other fighters into believing that he had given up the fight.

To me, this scene was metaphorical. Like letting your guard down and then being tricked or being hurt.

And they tend to be very behind-the-scenes.

I find that I pick up a lot of the hidden agendas or the inner emotions and thoughts that my clients aren’t discussing. That’s the one aspect of giving readings which amazes me.

During a recent reading someone asked me about money. They wanted to know whether it would start flowing in.

When I pulled the tarot cards I saw a woman who looked like she had a lot to do with the money situation. I saw her spending a lot of the money that was already coming in – but that she wasn’t exactly proud or happy about it. She wasn’t doing it to be a gold digger, it was more out of necessity… or at least what she perceived to be necessity.

The client cut me off while I was giving him what I saw. But later in the reading he admitted that there was a woman in his life who was, in fact, bleeding him dry.

Sometimes it’s hard for people to hear the messages. Sometimes it’s hard for me to get certain messages about myself and my own situations! So I can understand when people cut me off. Most times they need a few days just to slowly soak it all in.

But the bottom line is-

My intuitive impressions almost always appear as regular thoughts. And that’s what makes them so hard for people to pay attention to. You might be swear you’re having a normal thought, and it’s really your intuition.

So if you’re someone who’s exploring their intuition, the most important thing you can do is to pay attention to those seemingly out-of-place thoughts that zip through your mind. Especially if you’re in a meditative state or you’re intuitively asking a question.

You’ll quickly find that your intuition really is constantly giving you hints.

It’s easy for most of us to feel intuitive and spiritually connected right after we’ve meditated.

The not-so-easy part comes when you’re trying to get into that mode when you’re at work, dealing with a significant other, or when you’re in the midst of the proverbial “shit hitting the fan.”

In fact, that’s the part that stunted my intuitive growth for many, many years. I couldn’t figure out how to match the inner intuitive me with the outer worldly me, at the same time.

It’s hard. And for me, the two halves didn’t really become a whole until I started giving intuitive readings.

When you sit down to give a reading you have to be “on” in front of somebody. So you’re forced to communicate from an intuitive vantage point. You have to be able to think it/feel it/see it/hear it (get the insight), speak the information you get, AND often try to interpret it as best as you can.

It’s like buying some CD’s to learn Italian, and then being shuttled to Rome to practice what you’ve learned. Although you probably know most of what to say, you’re going to feel nervous whenever you have to communicate.

But you also know that the more you force yourself to speak Italian, the better your pronunciation becomes, and the better you’ll be able to understand the natives.

I guess that’s why the act of giving readings – even just practicing on friends and family – helped me to become more intuitive in my everyday life. I was forced to speak the “language,” ultimately helping my fluency levels increase.

Now I’m not saying that you should run out and start giving readings. I mean if that’s your calling, then by all means do it. But if not, there’s a more direct path you can take.

1) When you wake up in the morning, acknowledge to the Universe that you’re intuitively doing or saying the right thing at the right time.
I’m not an affirmation practitioner, but I do believe that habitual repetition of action is golden. Even if you’re repeating the same thing once a day instead of 50 times a day.

As soon as the alarm sounds off at 4am, I smile a great big smile.

I say the same prayer of thanks every morning. I greet my guides and we exchange pleasantries.

I do this every, single morning without fail. It seriously helps to establish my mood for the day. And my philosophy is that you start things the way you want to finish them.

2) Pull a cue card.
A friend of mine shuffles her tarot deck and pulls a single card every morning. She uses that card as a point of awareness for the day. When a tricky situation presents itself, she thinks back to the significance of the card.

I started off pulling a card-a-day, but now I’m a bit more esoteric in my approach. As I’m performing my morning duties I allow an object to speak to me. Sometimes it’s a book. Sometimes I’ll notice that the clock times are different. Maybe it’s just an emotion that comes over me.

Either way, when I see or feel the object I instinctively know that it’s my cue card for the day.

If I’ve got an ongoing situation, I attempt to interpret the significance of that object. Otherwise I just remember it. Its purpose will normally come into play sometime during course of the day.

3) Listen and think with your whole body.
When I’m getting ready to give a reading over the telephone, I’m listening with much more than my left ear. I listen with my entire body.

And though it might sound strange, I can feel the energetic vibrations within the person’s voice. It will travel right through my body like a mellow shock of electricity.

I noticed that when I allow my whole body to absorb the sound, I get a much clearer reading. And yes… it can work for you too.

Take a few moments right now to imagine a white energy field circling your entire body. Keep it close to your physical body and imagine that it’s pulsating like a heartbeat. That’s your aura.

Listening with your aura is a good thing because your aura always surrounds you. So whether your speaking to someone face-to-face, over the telephone, or even online, you can take a few minutes to feel the situation out with your aura.

With daily practice you’ll notice how your aura changes depending on the situation. Sometimes when I’m thinking about doing something I get a steady humming feeling. For me, that’s a positive sign. Other times it’s like a rolling wave of energy. And sometimes there’s absolutely nothing.

Nothing is important too, so don’t try to force a feeling if you’re not feeling anything.

The thing about listening with your body is that you have to learn how to interpret the feelings that you’re getting. Because a hum might be positive for me, and a big NO for somebody else.

So initially you’re also going to go with your first impression (as far as what you should do). And you’re going to keep track of how your decision panned out. Was it good or bad?

4) Be consistent.
Perform these steps on a daily basis and you’ll begin to notice that your intuition is actually helping you in your everyday life.