Excerpt from “The Gift Within Us: Intuition, Spirituality and the Power of Our Own Inner Voice”

I’ve wondered why I have been inspired – or divinely guided – to write The Gift Within Us. After months of interviewing many highly gifted intuitives and respected researchers who are studying intuitive ability, I think I have the answers. One is to get the word out that people with psychic and intuitive abilities can be a tremendous help to us. The other one is to let everyone know the psychics’ message: that we are all born with the ability to tap into our “inner voice” – that quiet knowing people describe as a “gut feeling.” A “hunch.” A “feeling in my bones.” That feeling we often get when we are confronted with a difficult or challenging situation. It’s a distinct feeling that we know is not coming from our brains, but we feel it anyway, and it informs us of what decision to make or what path to take.

Multiple studies are being done by scientists to measure our brains during these instances to see what is happening. IT IS possible that the “vibes” we ARE getting at certain times are due to more than simply measuring how our intuitive right brain is interacting with our conscious left brain. Just as the gifted intuitives in this book often get their profound messages from their guides, angels who are there to protect and guide them, we each have a connection to spirit – wise, loving spirits who are looking out for us and who want to lead us down the right path. Perhaps we don’t have the ability to communicate with these guides as clearly as highly gifted individuals do, but this wise “inner voice” is there for us to access, if we choose to.

The challenge is that many people may not know that they can access this inner voice. Some may choose not to try, because they think that the notion of intuition is absurd. Part of the reason they might think this is that society has spent years – actually centuries – denying or belittling intuitive ability. To some, intuition is a subject to make fun of, and no sensible people would entertain the notion that they can tap into their “inner voice” and receive valuable information.

It is easy to understand why the concept of intuition has become so maligned. People who call themselves “intuitives” have been lumped into one ugly and unattractive stereotype. If you identify yourself as a gifted intuitive, you have to be a charlatan who is out to trick your clients and take their money. This image has degraded the entire concept of intuition and – due to this negative connotation – has essentially robbed some individuals of the ability to access that wonderful voice – the gift of divine wisdom – that we all possess.

One person I interviewed for this book, Gabbi Deeds, told me that the one question many of her clients ask is: “What is my purpose in this life?” Gabbi explains, “If every one of those people would simply open their minds and allow their guides, their inner voice, to lead them in the right direction, they would automatically be on the right path, fulfilling their purpose. The people who turn off that connection are the ones who are wandering around aimlessly, frustrated and confused, and ultimately unhappy.”

It is my hope that by demystifying intuitive ability, we can leave misconceptions about this marvelous gift in the past. The message is that if we actually open our minds and listen to our inner voice, we can start traveling down the path that our individual souls are meant to follow. We are not alone in this world. We have loving guides who are there for us, and who can help us become the best people that we can be. If we can realize this – and become humble and just listen – we can fulfill our destiny and achieve great things – for ourselves, and for the world we live in.

So the purpose of this book is twofold: to get the word out that there are gifted people to help us, and that it is good, and even important, to listen to your own inner voice. God , a higher power, the universe, the greater good, our guides – whatever we choose to call it – wants us to succeed, to be happy – to learn what we need to in this life, and to fulfill our purpose. These divine beings, these spirits, are on our side – they’re rooting for us!