Using Your Intuition by Diane Bator

 

  

Using Your Intuition

I'm one of those people who sometimes seems to know things before they happen. Not always. I don't profess to be psychic or a medium or anything of that sort. But there are times where "coincidences" have popped up and left me a bit rattled. Since I'm still working from home for the foreseeable future (no pun intended there!), I have delved a little deeper into honing some skills and trying to see if it's all a series of coincidences or if I really am tuned into something larger than my creative brain.

Don't get me wrong. I'm as skeptical as the next person but I don't believe things just happen.

I find it interesting that I will write a book then later meet people with the same name as a character or two. Or (and we've all done this) that I will think of a friend and they will text or call out of the blue.

Or if I have a song in my head when I get out of bed in the morning, it will be the first one I hear on the radio that day - like those pesky Christmas carols that get stuck in our heads all day. Those little things.

In my quest to hone my intuitive skills, I've done some fun little exercises. One of them was taking twenty identical recipe cards and writing a single word on each. Ten positive words and ten negative words. Then you fold them and stick them in a bag or a container then draw them out one at a time and see if you know whether they are positive or negative. In my case, I used red ink for negative and purple ink for positive so I could also go with the colors.

I did really well the first few days. I averaged about 13/20 every time. I had a really good session (16/20) and a couple of really bad ones (9/20). I can't say I'm exactly confident about my abilities with this but it has been kind of fun.

The one place I have trusted my intuition is with my writing skills. Part of honing that skill was done by meeting in a writing group and using prompts to free-write for 15-20 minutes at a time. One thing I discovered about my mindset is that I can clear everything else from my mind and just let my mind flow with the prompt. I don't tend to use my imagination, I just let the ideas gush out of my head and onto my paper.

One thing I miss about doing those exercises is that the hive mind (most of the group at times) seemed to either pick the same prompt or had similar elements in their written pieces. It fascinated me how we could all be on the same wavelength while simply sitting in the same room.

Since I've been unable to meet with my usual group, I've had to keep my mind going with other ideas:

• Writing a completely new story for NaNoWriMo helped to keep my ideas from going stale.
• Switching between two different series or even going from writing to needlepoint to give my mind a break.
• Playing mind games, such as the Negative/Positive idea, to create a new challenge.
• Rewarding myself for writing a certain number of words.
• Journaling about the "coincidences" in the day.
• Sometimes even playing with Oracle or tarot cards to see what pops up.
• Playing word games like Best Sellers or flipping pages in books to find the 7th sentence on page 77 or some other random number.

One thing I have found with writing is if you stop trying to force it, the words come more smoothly. The Japanese call it mushin or "no mind." Don't think. Just do.

At the top of my post, you will see The Bakery Lady, which is my only book set at Christmas so far. Oh boy! I have some work to do in the future! Book in my Wild Blue Mystery Series,  The Bakery Lady introduces Leo Blue to Christina Davidson who knocks the confirmed bachelor for a loop!

From the moment Leo Blue meets the tattoo artist 's sister Christina, he's drawn into a web of bread dough and lies. Christina Davidson has returned to Packham with a duffle bag full of secrets. Leo soon discovers her biggest secret is Christina's alter ego and her husband who stands accused of murdering an up-and-coming artist. He promises to help set things straight and plans to bring husband and wife together for Christmas—even if it costs him his sanity and the love of his life.

You can buy this and my other novels by clicking here!  I have also added Helga's 12 Days of Christmas that runs throughout the book below...

Have a Happy Holiday Season!!

Diane Bator

Helga’s Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, someone gave to me a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the second day of Christmas, someone gave to me two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the third day of Christmas, someone gave to me three French horns, two Christmas wreaths, and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, someone gave to me four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, someone gave to me five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, someone gave to me six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas, someone gave to me seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas, someone gave to me eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths, and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas, someone gave to me nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths,and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas, someone gave to me ten glowing candles, nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, someone gave to me eleven silver bells, ten glowing candles, nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, someone gave to me twelfth assorted angels, eleven silver bells, ten glowing candles, nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

Merry Christmas!