Intuition in Action!

My blog has moved!

You can now follow me on the path to discovering your intuitive and Empath skills at
www.EliseLebeau.com/blog

See you there!
in love
Elise

The Universe always knows...

I am just finishing another round in the Manifestation Program©.  There's a feature in that program where you can let the Universe choose an exercise for you.  Meaning that you don't do them sequentially from 1 to 20, but rather you let synchronicity pick the best exercise for you on a particular day.

I always use that feature now.  And it's striking to me how the Universe always knows what I need most to hear, to be reminded, to work on...Today's exercise was about releasing control and I totally needed that to enjoy the end of this year.  Yes, I could be doing more to help more.  But the fact is that I can also relax in all that I have done this year and just let it go, float into the world!

I like to work on something big right at the end of the year and go through all the basic concepts and exercises of manifestation on it.  I feel it's a great way to clear up old resistances that are ready to be released while setting up the stage for a great beginning of year!

And indeed, I tend to land amazing contracts in the beginning of the year! 

In retrospect, I have to admit that I wrote all of my online programs primarily for myself.  For example, I wrote the Empath Survival Program© so I could post a quick links for Empaths who are trying to regain their emotional sanity. 

I wrote the Abundance Mindset Program© because I wanted a list of fun abundance activities I could do in the morning before I went to work.

The Intuition Program© started as a list of techniques to develop intuition that I kept using with my clients.  I thought it would be easier for them to have all this information online so they could explore each technique at their own pace.

And I still use the Manifestation Program© regularly when I want to create and attract something really big into my life.  I initially wrote this program so I could organize my own thoughts and synthesize everything I had learned about the manifestation process.

I have used this program to enhance my relationship with my son (we're so much happier now!), to get engineering contracts (I got 4 contracts including one at Intel!), to work part time while making a lot of money (I work 2 days a week right now!), to get a new car (I got a new Toyota Rav4 that's already paid for!), to expand the traffic of my web site (which had grown by 400% this year!) and even to loose a little weight (I dropped 10 pounds and did not put them back on!) .

Gosh, there's probably more things that I forgot!  The thing about the Manifestation Program is that you can use it for absolutely anything.  I have been the most avid user of this program and I have received spectacular testimonials from others who have used it as well.

In the end, I was the first one to use all these programs.  Which is probably why they are so "alive".  I keep updating them regularly.  Adding new ideas, making the exercises more comprehensive, clarifying the concepts...I feel that my programs are living, breathing entities with a life of their own!

In love,
Elise
www.EliseLebeau.com

"Our deepest fear is that we are poweful beyond measure"

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

----from A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson

in love,
Elise Lebeau, M.Sc., Professional Intuitive
www.EliseLebeau.com

The world is lighting up with Empaths!

A year ago, a created a web site for Empaths called "The Empath Community".  At the time, I thought there would be a handful of people who'd join and we'd exchange tips and stories about the trials and tribulations involved in this mind boggling experience.

Today, I looked at the Where are u? map that shows the location of our members as little dots on a world map...And I admit it, tears poured out as I saw the world literally light up with Empaths dots!

It warms my heart to see so many answer the call and step forward to say:
Yes, I'm an Empath (...and I'm not crazy dammit! LOL).

I cannot express in words our grateful I am that you are here. Every self aware Empath is such a blessing to our world. I feel profoundly moved by your courage to step forward and embrace who you truly are, no matter what others might think about this.

In amazing love,
Elise
Professional Intuitive
www.EliseLebeau.com

Want to connect to your Sprit Guides?

Spirit Guides are non physical beings who are specialized in "you". The number of Spirit Guides you have at any one point will vary. Typically, you have one or more that are with you all your life. Then some experts will come in and out, depending on what you're working on at the time.

Intuition is inner guidance that comes directly from you (or your soul). Spirit Guides are more like a board of directors...they provide a different perspective, offering advice and profound wisdom in times where we can't see what is going on for ourselves.

Spirit Guides are primarily interested in your growth and evolution. As such, they will NEVER encourage you to become dependent on them for answers. Instead, they'll give you what looks like "hints" in trying to help you move forward without revealing the whole plot.

PS: This can be immensely frustrating if you are not aware that they're doing this to help you develop your intuition along the way :)

Your Spirit Guides, just like your intuition, are always communicating with you...sometimes more successfully than others. If you want to directly talk to them, I strongly recommend the book "Opening to Channel"

When I first read that book, I kept thinking: "Wow, that's exactly how I would have said that!". It takes some time to build trust and feel like you can hear them without distortion but they are the most amazing resource available to you :)

In love
Elise Lebeau, M.Sc
Professional Intuitive
www.EliseLebeau.com

Following your intuition: Are you Driven or Inspired???

I admit it: I was "driven" for most of my life...My school teachers and employers would tell you that I worked hard and that I was determined.  And indeed, I got a lot of things accomplished in rather adverse circumstances.   

But, years later, all these things ended up feeling empty.  What was driving me forward was not inspiration, but desperation.  I was so worried about life in general that I kept making lists of things that I needed to do in order to be happy and then rush to complete them as fast as humanly possible. 

My life was a rat race that I could never win!

I feel eternally grateful that something happened to stop me in my tracks.  Otherwise I could have lived my own life like this: hurried, accomplished and miserable.  While I was pregnant, I underwent a spiritual awakening which turned on my Empath and Intuitive skills all at once. 

Suddenly, I could see that there was a LOT more going on that I thought.  And for a while there, I was completely paralyzed.  My system was broken and no amount of lists could help me.  I  didn't even know what should be on the list! 

The thing with Intuition is that once you start listening to it, it becomes really hard to ignore it.  And that can be seen as either a good thing or a bad thing...For example, I decided to redo my kitchen cabinet doors, oh that must have been 3 years ago.  And I just finished them a few weeks ago! 

If I had been "driven" by desperation, I would have gotten it done as quickly as possible.   But instead my Intuition always directed me to wait for inspiration, so as to get it done as happily as possible.  In fact, when I tried to force it and ignore my intuition, everything would go wrong and I'd end up dropping the hammer on my toes! 

Yes, it took a long time.  But along the way I had hundreds of amazing insights about that kitchen that I would not have gotten if I had finished it in two weekends.  I got creative ideas on how to do things more efficiently.  I changed the colors I had in mind many times until I found the perfect one which I now adore.  And every brush stroke left me with such a sense of fulfillment.  

This process of inspiration is pervasive in my life now.  And yet, once in a while I get caught in my old habits and try to get something done fast, just because it should be done.  Fortunately, that doesn't go very far until my Intuitive sense kicks in and reminds me that there is nothing valuable about action unless it's filled with meaning.

in love,
Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
Professional Intuitive
www.EliseLebeau.com

Must See Movie: "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay

Once in a long while comes a really powerful movie that "puts it all together". I had this experience when I saw "What The Bleep Do We Know" and I had it again when I watched "You Can Heal Your Life: The Movie", a new film by Louise Hay.  Wowsy...

This book came into my life during a very critical point in my life: when I went to see John of God in Brazil with Josie Ravenwing as my guide.  I had no idea why I was going to see him.  I was not physically ill at all.  But I felt this irresistible, almost painful push to go. 

I did not realize at the time how broken I was, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.  The healing I receive there was profound and changed my life.

Incidentally,  it is during that trip I met the two teachers that would show me exactly how to change my life: Louise Hay and Abraham-Hicks.

I was introduced to Abraham-Hicks by Josie, who mentioned their work on the Law of Attraction.  And my friend Valeria gave me Louise Hays' book "You Can Heal Your Life" when we came back to the US.  That book was a life saver for someone like me who needs something concrete to "do" while I learn new concepts.  I am forever grateful to those to have pointed me in the right direction!!!

If you do only one thing today to support your own happiness...make it to watch this movie!

In love,

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc., Professional Intuitive
www.EliseLebeau.com

Being a student again

I spent 10 years in college.  I was a straight A student and I hated almost every minute of it.

An yet, I remember at the beginning of each new class, I would sit down at my desk and expectantly look up to the teacher in anticipation of the great things I would soon be learning...only to be brutally disappointed when the class was boring and the exams were nothing more than mnemonic regurgitation.  Can you imagine 10 years of this sort of torture? 

Needless to say, after I got my Master Degree in Software Engineer, I swore never to take a class again.  Which goes to show you should never say never as I am currently knee deep in my PhD in Metaphysics.

In what?  I hear you say...Well, at least that's what I said.  I had never heard of such a discipline before I came across the American Institute for Holistic Theology.  Of course, the degree is not accredited with the DOE.  But it's the most fun and learning I have ever experienced in my career as a professional student!

Not only that but it's in my field!  I'm a Professional Intuitive (self taught, obviously, as I had no idea you could learn that in school) and it was profoundly surprising to me to find a degree that offered classes on Dream Interpretation and Chakra Therapy.  Wow!

So here I am, being a student again, after being a teacher for so many years!  Isn't life funny?  My 5 year old son is duly impressed that mommy is doing her homework while he plays video games.  And we play a round of Mario Kart on the Wii together when I am done...there's nothing like a little teaching by example for next year when he starts school :)

Although it was quite a shift for me to get back in my studying shoes, it's also such a refreshing change.  Instead of the hard work involves in creating material for others, I'm just drinking in what others have created.  This PhD program has exposed me to topics that I would not have approached on my own.  And best of all, I know that I am reading from the best authors on this topic as selected by eminently competent faculty advisers. 

My head is already swimming with ideas about my thesis...maybe it will be an experiment about Empath skills or a review of literature on the physiological basis of intuition.  Either way, it will be way more exciting than what I was dealing with during my terminally incomplete PhD in Psychology!

Ever since I started my career in this field, I always hoped that intuition would be "taught in school" at some point during my lifetime.  And although this degree is not likely to show up in accredited American colleges anytime soon, it is profoundly comforting that my hope has come true, in its own way.

in love,
Elise

Why I'm not making money as a Professional Intuitive...on purpose!

People who first visit my web site on intuition often ask me why I offer so much "free stuff". 
They can't believe how much information, programs and communities are available. 

• My Abundance Mindset Program is entirely free
• My EFT coaching videos are all free
• My Group Energy Healing Sessions are all free
• My Empath, Abundance and Intuitive community web sites are all free
• My Applied Intuition and Empath Management Program are practically free ($17)

The only reason I charge a fee for my online programs is because it costs me money to host them and spend time writing the code for my web site.  In fact, I have spent over 1200 hours over the last 3 years of my own time on the Manifestation Program alone.  There is a HUGE amount of programming behind all those nifty features and I do it all myself.

I also charge a fee for personal intuitive counseling session but I am only charging for my time, the healing that takes place during these sessions is free since it comes through me, not from me.

No matter how you add these numbers, it's pretty obvious that I am not making money from this work.  In fact, I tend to break even between my operating costs (about $300) and my income from my online programs and the few counseling sessions I can fit in my schedule.

No wonder some people ask me "What's the catch???"

And yet, there is no catch.  I offer thousands of hours of work for free because this is the most fulfilling activity for me.  There is nothing I enjoy most than getting an email from someone saying: "Wow, this is really working for me!"

But everyone's gotta pay the mortage...Not only that but I LOVE MONEY!  So how does this work out?  Quite simply, I have more than one job! 

I work on short term contracts as a software engineer.  Which means I set my own hours, allowing for time for my Intuitive Counseling appointments.  It also means I make more than $100 000/year. 

What are the advantages of this setup?

• I have only a few Intuitive Session a week, which is the most comfortable pace for me.
• I feel challenged by both left and right brain activities
• I am considered an expert in both field
• I receive money for my technical work from corporations who can afford it
• I can offer free information to people who can't afford my services

In one word, Free-dom. 

It took me many years to realize that this was the best setup for me.  At first, I felt like I should only have one job and make money one way.  That didn't work out...I didn like the idea of telling people I couldn't help them because they couldn't afford my rates.  So now I don't have to.  I just send them to my free programs (especially the Abundance Mindset one ;).

Don't get me wrong:  I always get paid for my time.  I am not a martyr and I do believe in having a balance between what is offered and what is received.  But anything that I can put on my web site (which doesn't require my time beyond the initial setup), I am offering for free or for less than the cost of a book.   

In love,

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
Professional Intuitive
www.EliseLebeau.com

Business Intuition: Redefining Success

Let me ask you this:
- If your company is making money but your customer are dissatisfied, are you being successful?
- If your CEO is working 80 hours a week and is on the brink of a heart attack, are you being successful?
- If you experience high turn over, absenteeism or alcohol in the workplace, are you being successful?

We live in a fabulously rich country and yet most people are unhappy with their jobs, work more hours a week and have less vacation days than any other industrial country like Japan, Canada or Britain and they don't feel they can achieve life/work balance. 

How long can we keep this up?  Burning out brilliant minds, breaking up marriages and financing costly medical plans to cover stress induced illnesses.  This is not a sustainable strategy for business success.  And yet, we keep trying to define corporate success in terms a "net profit no matter what" approach.

But at some point, we're scraping the bottom of the barrel.  Profit margins are shrinking, jobs are lost to outsourcing or downsizing and we're replacing quality with quantity when it comes to hours worked.  As if pedaling faster in the wrong direction could somehow lead us to a successful destination.

So what now?  Slowly but surely, some businesses have realized that rested executives make better decisions, happy employees are more productive and eager to satisfy customers and happy customers are loyal and bring more business.  Even if this means more time off, flexible schedules, job sharing, training and other expenses that target a simple concept: happiness.

Sustainable business success is not just about the financial bottom line.  It's about creating inviting, inspiring and supportive work environments so that every employee can thrive, both personally and professionally, while creating new venues for business profits.  A business works much better when it works for everyone involved.

But how do you find those great ideas that can turn your boat around and fuel sustainable business success?  That's where business intuition comes in.  There is no technique that will work for every business.  But there is always something that will work for your company.  You just have to find it.  And it must take into account the state of your industry, your company culture, your financial resources and so many other factors. 

How can you possibly compile all these critical factors without using your intuition or what most CEOs call their gut feelings?  When you're tapping into your intuition, you are freed from rational left brain limitations which constantly argue that everything is too expensive or impossible.  Instead, you are exploring the creative right brain which handles complexity through abstract thinking and creativity. 

That's where you'll find your strategy for sustainable business success.

In love,
Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
www.EliseLebeau.com
www.StrategicBusinessIntuition.com




 

"Atchoo" said my intuition

Are you impatient?  I know I am...  When I started to develop my intuitive skills, I could not wait to get to the "next level".  And I sure got what I wished for.  My intuition and my Empath Skills have grown exponentially.

But I guess there is such as thing as going too fast.  As my sensitity increased, I had to find new ways to keep it all in balance.  Afterall, I didn't want to be workin 24/7!  Unfortunately, that part lagged behinda little.  And one morning I woke up "too sensitive".

"Atchoo" is how it started.  I had suddenly become sensitive to everything, including pollen.  I had an incredibly powerful bout of seasonal allergies that would leave me exhausted from soo much sneezing.  This is kinda funny because sneezing is one of the most frequent signs that my intuition is trying to tell me something.  Sometimes it just tickles my nose or other times, I'll sneeze out right to interrupt what I'm doing and pay attention to my intuition.

But this was TOO MUCH!  I couldn't get out of the house.  My nose was bright red from the Kleenex.  I couldn't even sleep because of the congestion. 

So I had to back track and start turning down my sensititity.  Well, that's not easy to do!  I was able to control about 30% of my sneezes by using a visualization that turned down my intuition's volume (meaning I would not sneeze if I caught it early and did an emergency shut down of my sensitivity).  But it still left me with a chunky 70%.

I tried all kinds of things.  Alcohol lowers my sensitivity so I had a glass of wine ever day.  Taking medication makes me groggy (I'm so sensitive to them too) so I threw in some night time cold capsules.  That took care of big part of the issue.  But still, I was oozing energy from dealing with too much information.

I now have to do about 3 to 4 meditations a day just to keep afloat.  The meditations are used to interrupt my normal flow of thought (not to expand them!) thus reducing the amount of information I am able to process. 

Although I feel much better now, I am currently a slave to all my mitigations strategies!

So if you feel that things are going too slow and you wish your intuitive skills would sky rocket, beware: you might just get what you wish for...and you too will say "Atchoo!"

 

The Business Intuition Niche - We're Making Progress!

I've noticed more and more searches on Google are using the keywords "business intuition". It's still very sporadic but still, there's a trend. So what will it take to bring this concept in mainstream business conversations?

Well, probably a few more years. And a more systematic approach to intuition overall. This field has been plagued with dial-a-psychic connotations and the fuzzy-gut-feeling concepts, making it difficult to get a credible approach to strategic intuition.

Yet, every successful CEO is using intuition, whether she calls it that or something else. Business is a fluctuating world where you have to make decisions with limited factual information. That exactly the Business Intuition niche.

Business Intuition is a unique opportunity to turn sporadic "gut feelings" into a systematic right-brain approach to decision making. It's not about predicting the future or reading people's minds. Business intuition allows you to leverage all the little pieces of information that are scattered all over your conscious and subconscious mind. By bringing it all together in a coherent "whole", you are more likely to create lasting results than by just guessing or hoping it turns out well...

And when you consider that both Oprah and Trump attribute their success to following their intuition, it makes that approach pretty darn interesting.

So there's still a long ways to go but we are making progress! I was very surprised and so excited to get a call from Intel (an Engineering firm, no less!) asking me to speak at their employee conference about Business Intuition. They were specifically looking for an approach to Intuition that kept it relevant to the business world...A perfect match for my work in this domain.

So even though the trend is just beginning, it's definitely gathering momentum. And in business, there's nothing more exciting than momentum!

It Could Happen to you...

I woke up one morning and realized that all my dreams had come true.  It was a shock.  I hadn't planned on it.  Like most people, I had been disappointed enough times that I figured it was better to be content with what I could scrape together...

But I guess these things creep up on you. 

First, there was the dreams of my 10's:
1) I wanted to marry a man I loved and admired. 
2) I wanted to have a big house.

Then there was the dreams of my 20's:
3) I wanted to be rich.  At the time, that meant $60 000/year. 
4) I wanted new and safe cars. 
5) I wanted variety and fulfillment in my professional life.
6) I wanted to have a happy family.

This is my life right now (I'm 36):
1) My husband is a loving father and fantastic partner.  He's also amazingly smart with an IQ of 163 (meaning there's less than 30 000 people on earth with that kind of brain power)

2) I live in a 3800 sf house with an Art Studio.  My backyard is surrounded by 30 years old cedars.

3) I make more than $100 000/year.  We have no debts except our mortgage.

4) Both of our cars are less than 3 years old.  My hubby loves his Prius.  I love my Rav 4.

5) I have a dual career that I alternate every 6 months.  I'm a Software Engineer and a Professional Intuitive.

6) My in-laws (who live closer to us) are delightful people.  Our own family interactions are filled with hugs, kissed and tickles.

Now the funny thing is I could not exactly tell you when it all happened.  I followed my intuition along the way and there were plenty of twists and turns.  I don't even remember the last turn I took before I found myself on the other side...where everything is possible!

I have new dreams, of course, that include getting my PhD and writing an Amazon.com Best Seller.  And you know what?  I have no doubt that these dreams will come true as well...

In love,
Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
www.EliseLebeau.com

How Often Are You Enlightened?

There are so many recipes out there on how to become enlightened...Different concepts, techniques, processes, lifestyles changes.  The list goes on and on.

And yet, the enlightened beings that have walked the Earth all had a very simple trait in common:
They were happy. 

Just take a look at those little dancing Buddha statues and you'll see what I mean.  That's where my definition came from: a sense that enlightenment is nothing else than a path to happiness.

Divine will is always calling us in that direction, of course.  Nothing makes the Universe happier than for us to get up one morning and know exactly what to do to feel happy that day.   So we're all interested in enlightenment.  And we each have our own way of following that path.

Have you ever been happy?  If so, in that very moment, I believe you were enlightened.   You felt loved and understood, your mind was at peace, you were overflowing with gratitude and ready to be generous.

I remember vividly one such moment of enlightenment in my life: when my son was born.   Seeing his little fist wiggling in front of my eyes took away all the pain, fear and uncertainty.  I was blissfully happy.

What makes enlightened beings so few and so unique is that they can be in that state all the time.  When my new born son woke me up for the 6th time on that very first night, I wasn't so enlightened anymore...And this is what happens to us on a daily basis: we can get there but we can't stay there very long.

So the real question, for me, is: How often are you enlightened?
And the answer I always want to hear from my clients is: More often every day!

in love,

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc., Intuitive Counselor.
Discover the power of your intuition is the pursuit of happiness and enlightenment
www.EliseLebeau.com/intuition

Meditations Techniques You've Never Heard of

Meditation is a very personal thing. When my Empath and Intuitive skills went "live", I was overwhelmed with information and soooooooooooooo many people recommended meditation.

But I hated meditation...No kidding! Just sitting there, trying not to think of pink elephants. It was like a refined form of torture and, worst of all, oh so boring...

The answer came from one of my Spirit Guides one day. He suggested I try a mediation that involved watching movies. Huh? Does that count, I wondered... Since then, my guides have come up with all kinds of unusual meditation techniques that work for me, and now I love it.

Since I am an engineer, things make sense to me when they have a purpose. In my life, meditation is an processing activity, like a computer that needs some time to open up Word or to connect to the Internet. Computers also needs processing time when turning off, to cleanly organize all the new data that has been created.

When I meditate, I keep my left brain out of the way so that my right brain can process all the information I've been receiving (the right brain handles creative, intuitive and abstract data). When I'm done, my mind-computer is responsive again and I'm not just staring at the little hourglass, waiting for the processing to complete before I get my answer!

These are my two favorite meditations techniques. Try them out and feel free to tweak them! Remember that meditation is supposed to feel good.

The Movie Meditation:

1) Select a movie and set your intention to "meditate" while you are watching it.

2) As soon as you start watching, your brain will do what needs to be done to start processing. Even if you don't know what that involves, your brain does! Just like your brain knows how to keep your body functioning while you think of something else.

Movies are great because they keep your left brain busy, leaving the right brain free to go in processing mode. This is a lot easier than trying to turn down your left brain!

3) After the movie, take a moment to "reboot" your mind-computer.  Do you get a message?  What thoughts pop into your mind? This is a great time for profoundly creative ideas to come up so make sure you're listening! And take notes, if you feel so inclined! They'll be priceless!

The Cat Meditation

You know how some people take "cat naps"? A few minutes here and there and they're all refreshed! I've noticed that processing doesn't have to be done all at once in a gruesome 1 hour session. Your brain always knows where it left off processing and it can continue at any time!

The Cat Meditation is a series of very short meditations (and by short I mean that 5 seconds is enough!) that you can easily do without needing to stop the flow of your day. Over time, I have found that I was yearning for longer processing time without ever having to force it.

1) In the Cat Meditation, you're actually turning down your left brain for a brief period. This is different than the Movie Meditation, where you keep your left brain busy in order to facilitate processing. To do this, just imagine a blank screen in your mind. Like you're watching a movie screen but the movie hasn't started yet.

2) Keep it short! For most of us, it won't be long before you start seeing thing (or hearing things) on your blank screen. By then, your left brain has started being active again so you're done!

tip: If you can't keep the screen blank (it's ok, I had a hard time with that at first), try counting to 10. Your left brain might be more willing to stay quiet if you give it a little something to do at first.

3) Here are some great ways to practice this:<br>
- Do a Cat Meditation while reading a book each time you turn a page<br>
- Do a Cat Meditation while watching TV on the first commercial (mute the TV first!)<br>
- Do a Cat Meditation when you get in the car every morning<br>
- Do a Cat Meditation when you start to brush your teeth!<br>

Enjoy!

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
Professional Intuitive
www.EliseLebeau.com

"Thoughts become Things...Choose the good ones!"(c)
More Totally Unique Thoughts on TUT.com

The Sound of Silence

Once in a while, I get the urge to go on a silent retreat.  The first time I did this, I went through a 28 hour trip to Brazil to see John of God where I spent 2 weeks mediating 8 hours a day...Phew!  Since then, luckily, I've found deeply spiritual places that offer the quiet I need within a reasonable driving distance of Portland, Oregon...

My most recent discovery is the Hidden Lake Retreat 

Sometimes you can't help but being in awe at how Divine Will reveals itself in certain circumstances of your life.  Finding the Hidden Lake Retreat  was one of those experiences for me.

My life is filled with situations where I am primarily a caregiver.  As a mother, I am always monitoring my son's well being.  As an Intuitive, I'm always keeping an eye on my clients energy.  As a wife, I'm always aware of my husband's state of mind. 

It also spreads to friends and acquaintances who, even though they might not be aware of it, are always on my intuitive radar for quick energy work or intuitive suggestions to enhance their lives.  And I love every second of it! 

I also take very good care of myself.  I know what I need and I know how to get it.

But once in a while, I long for the quiet that comes from not taking care of anything at all.  And the best way for me to achieve this is through a silent retreat where I let other people take care of me.

But this has been tricky in the past...Not only am I deeply sensitive to my physical surroundings (meaning that some location are beautiful but their energy is jarred, overwhelming or troubled) but I am also easily affected by people's inner thoughts and feelings.  And although it feels great to turn off my filters and take off my daily armor, so to speak, it does mean that I am many times more sensitive to what's around me.

When I am in this state of total openness and vulnerability, I need to be surrounded by people who possess an unusual and powerful sense of calm, inner peace.  Otherwise my hyper sensitivity to their energy keeps me up at night...

I'm sure you can see how that can be difficult to achieve.  How many people do you know have this quality?  And I don't mean that they can put up a nice smile when they greet you.  But rather that they have a sense of profound peace at the core of their being.  I don't see that very often...

So most of the time I ended up trying to find a place where I was totally alone, which excluded being taken care of by someone else...

Well, not this time!  The Hidden Lake Retreat  is a magnificent mansion, tucked away on a private lake.  Every inch of it has been renovated in perfect harmony with the original grandeur of the house.  And yet, they've found a way to blend the historical knotty pine walls and claw foot tub with stunningly modern kitchen and bathrooms.

The owners, Lauri and Judith, are both accomplished chefs.  But what struck me the most was Lauri's intuitive cooking...She just knows what to cook for you.  And even though I do this for my clients on a regular basis (intuitively take care of their inner most needs), it was both surprising and oh so nurturing to have it done for me...

I was also delighted to find a room full of drums, Tibetan and crystal bowls.  I always take my Tibetan bowl with me but I was happy to see and hear Lauri's collection (she's a Shamanic Sound Practitioner).

But the most striking quality of this house is harmony.  Every inch is filled with a powerful intention to balance, soothe and nurture.  Near every chair, there's a foot stool.  Warm blankets lay at the end of the patio chairs.  A side table for your tea is always within reach.   Even when no one else is in the house,  you feel taken care of.

I was brought to tears on my first evening at the lake, overflowing with gratitude.  I felt as if this place had been designed for me, grown for years for the sole purpose of taking care of me.  And I'm sure everyone who has been a guest here has felt the same way, at various levels of consciousness.

Sometimes I feel frustrated that I am so sensitive.  It sure makes my life more challenging than most people's.  But then again, it allows me to appreciate what is going on here from every fiber of my being because I am so sensitive. 

I will be going home tomorrow, feeling taken care of and rejuvenated from the sound of silence that I have found here.

Thank you!

In love,
Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
Professional Intuitive
www.EliseLebeau.com

Warning: Common side effects of intuition include Understanding and Acceptance

When my life is in turmoil, I do find comfort in my intuition.  Even if it doesn't always spit out an answer that makes sense right away.  Somethings are so intricate, so elaborate, working themselves out over years, that you can't possibly understand them right there and then.  But a little intuitive introspection can help to accept them anyway...

I spent 10 years in college...  I have degrees in Fine Arts, Psychology and Engineering.  And yet, after working just 3 years in software engineering, my life got turned upside down by a sudden opening of my intuitive skills. 

At the time,  I didn't understand any of this!  Why couldn't I sleep anymore?   Why did I feel so bad in crowds?  Why did I urgently need to move into a bigger house?  And why, oh why, did I feel the urge to quit my job and become a Professional Intuitive...

The end result was that I quit my job and started my private practice.  It's not easy to walk away from a job that you love and that pays 100K/year.  And to think that I wasted 10 years in college!  But that kind of work just felt empty and meaningless at the time.   I did not understand why I was doing this...And so I ping ponged back and forth between fighting my intuition and following it.

At the time, the only thing that I was seeking from my intuition was understanding.  And even thought I could get these kinds of answers most of the time, sometimes I just couldn't.  In these circumstances where I was not getting a clear intellectual answer to my question, I would feel my intuition had failed me somehow...

It's only in the recent years that I started to have experiences where my intuition would not explain to me what was going on, but it would bring in information that I needed to be ok with it.  Meaning that I wasn't fighting against it, even if I didn't understand it.  Phew!  That made my life so much easier...

And that's where my definitions of these words came from: an hand-on experience of intuition that lead to an intellectual or emotional epiphany. 

Understanding: An intellectual knowledge about the meaning of events, thoughts and feelings.

Acceptance: An emotional state of being where events, thoughts and feelings are embraced  without knowing why they happened.

As it turned out years later, I did go back my beloved work in engineering!  Although I could not see this at the time, I wasn't leaving engineering for ever: I was just taking a little break while I explored something else.  And now I switch back and forth between my two exciting careers.  So all these years in school weren't just a waste of time after all...

It's always fun when our intuition lays out information that brings understanding.  But it's good idea to have a fall back plan...to acceptance.

In love

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
Professional Intuitive & Software Engineer
www.EliseLebeau.com

Intuition Quote 02/02/2008

"Intuition is like an inner flashlight...We need it most in the dark places of our lives, when all other lights have gone out."

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
Professional Intuitive
www.EliseLebeau.com

Tap into your Intuition with EFT

Are you ready to turn on your intuition RIGHT NOW?

Then sit back, relax and "tap along" with this EFT coaching video!

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
Intuitive Counselor
www.EliseLebeau.com

Intuition Quote 12/25/2007

"Your intuition will NEVER ask you to do something that feels bad. 

However, it will suggest that you do things that feel better, such as quitting a horrible job or getting angry at someone who is taking advantage of you."

Elise Lebeau, M.Sc.
Intuitive Counselor
www.EliseLebeau.com