CAN WE USE INTUITION TO VOTE FOR PRESIDENT?

 
TOP TEN SIGNS THAT YOUR INTUITION IS TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING|
By Susie Ebeling

1. You get a FUNNY FEELING somewhere in your body
2. You accidentally HURT YOURSELF
3. You notice WEIRD CONINCIDENCES
4. Things BREAK
5. You say: THIS IS MAKING ME SICK! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE
6. No matter how hard you try, things keep GOING WRONG
7. Things GET LOST
8. There is a REPEATING theme in you DREAMS
9. Your attention keeps getting drawn to a particular IMAGE, WORD, or PHRASE
10. You become increasingly UNCOMFORTBLE about something but you can’t explain why.

We all have a handle on intuition as it shows up in our hearts, guts, and mind. Can we use it to elect a president? Here I go through the Top Ten to find an answer.

#1. I Do have a funny feeling in my body. Well yes, I do. All of the time, now. I think it’s called anxiety based on all the bad news I’m bombarded with everyday

One day I read about polar bears becoming cannibalistic because of their eroding hunting grounds. I hurriedly pledged some money to the polar bears. Right after that on my drive to work  I heard on NPR that the Finance Committee was not going to tell the public how bad things were going to get but it was BAD.

I reached my tipping point of digesting reality. My bit of worldly denial that I keep in place to stay sane, abruptly shed away to reveal my heart to the troubles of the world.. I almost ran into a man and his son on a bike. .I concluded that it’s dangerous to sit with all the world’s troubles at once when I’m behind the wheel.

As a therapist and coach I keep my heart wide open to gather all kinds of information. I want to see clearly and see everything about my client, a couples dynamic, or a coaching obstacle. I pray every day to see things more clearly. Yet, clearly I am living a paradox. I pray to see more clearly but look what can happen. I believe I have to add in HUMILITY to this equation.; that is, I just can’t hurt for the world all at once. There has to be something bigger than me in this mix.

#2. I fell off my electric bike on the street. The fire house was in walking distance, so I got all kinds of attention, but I was pretty o.k. I didn’t break anything, thank goodness .Falling is dangerous. How long has our country and economy been in free-fall?
 
#3. I notice weird coincidences all the time. This connects with #9. Every time I look down I find a dime Every time my wallet spills out change I find only dimes in the bottom of my purse .I find dimes on my home floor and office floor, on other floors, on the street, and on the sidewalk. Today, I swear I found eight dimes in the cup-holder of my car. Not one quarter or nickel in the mix!  I mean, it’s getting ridiculous. My Higher Power doesn’t have to hit me over the head more than 8 times for me to pay attention!

#7.  I lost my wallet last week. I spent hours replacing cards. I found it this week. The silver lining, I guess, is that in the process of replacement I realized I couldn’t find my passport, birth certificate or SS. Card. My identity is wobbly!

#4. There is a repeating theme in my dreams. I dream that I surprisingly find a hidden building in Santa Barbara and I almost rent an office there with 360-degress of windows. Plenty of light but it has no privacy, so I reluctantly decline the office.

#10. I become increasingly uncomfortable about something but can’t explain why. The problem is, I CAN explain why, all too clearly.

The world is in a terrible place. Polar bears are in trouble, along with children, women, soldiers, water, and the earth itself and that hurts my heart, big time. We have a presidential campaign going on. It’s very disheartening.. The  L.A. Times divided voters in the country into three camps: disgusted, nauseated, and undecided. I am one of many saying, THIS IS MAKING ME SICK.! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE

The campaign seems to be a live thing, with an momentum all its own that relates to nothing..

I think I would feel better if one the candidates would just sit down and talk to me clearly, simply, and honestly  McCain just doesn’t explain things and Sarah Palin winks at me. Obama doesn’t look at the camera and both he and Biden come off so professorial. And that is so annoying. I would really like a chance to vote for the candidate  not just for my Party.

“I do not like this game!”. Dr. Suess  
Change, change, change. Tell me the specifics!  Give me some details! 
However Chris Rock says, “don’t blame the player, blame the game.”

My interpretation:

1. I thought finding the dimes meant I should keep my money close. Now I think it means that there is abundance for me, even in the midst of a Wall Street meltdown. And I think that’s a good frame of mind so I don’t add to the panic and so I keep giving to others. Do the opposite of what my fear yells at me to do when I let it.
2. If I can’t ride my bike then I’ll walk and stay grounded. We are living in a time of the unknown and its scary. It’s good to know that wherever my feet are, there I m. a
3. Grab hold of my center and keep my identity solid. Get documents to match.. .
4. I am just one human. I can’t handle seeing everything, all over the world. That’s too grandiose.. There must be shelter for me from the storm, sometimes. Ask for help from the Divine.
5. That funny feeling seems to be alleviated when I do something. Even something little that expands my compassion and my heart, in a different way and doesn’t hurt it in the process.
6. Do something in the black and white realm, to get relief from the grey of the uncertainty. (see #5).

I have found a new game: full of different paradoxes to hold me in place.. Stay centered and grounded .yet reach out to others. Keep my money close to me yet see abundance and give some away.. See and learn all I can and at the same time keep one window closed and the blind down, just for a little relief and humility. Look for things I can do that are in the black-and-white. .I don’t for a minute think I’m the only player and if one candidate gave me a clue; a discrete particle that he understood, then he’d be my guy!

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ABOUT WENDY ALLEN, Ph.D.

Wendy Allen, PhD, has been a psychotherapist for 20 years in Santa Barbara. Her PhD is in Clinical Psychology and Organizational Development. She travels across the country presenting programs for psychotherapists, health care professionals and business people who want to become leaders in the workplace, including anyone who wants to achieve personal and professional goals towards more success, fulfillment and profit.