LIVING BY INTUITION

Sarasota

It is one thing to have intuitive flashes but to follow them is quite another.

Often, our intuition doesn’t make “sense”. It’s not what reason and logic say we should do and we’ve been taught to make decisions based on these two.

Some months ago, I made the decision to live by my intuition.

For years I have felt the need to move to a place that was quieter, slower and surrounded by nature. But my logic and reasoning dictated I should stay in Los Angeles. I ignored the murmurs of my intuition, but suddenly, in the silence, my inner voice was clear:

“You must leave L.A. Move to somewhere warm, near the water. This is where you will heal.”

Logic and Reason quickly stepped in, reviewing possibilities – Mexico, Ghana, Atlanta, the Carolinas, Hawaii, Costa Rica? – and having arguments with Jim.

I reminded myself to follow my intuition. A chance conversation with Annie C. from our community led to my sharing the news and what I’d been guided to look for.

“That sounds like where I live.” She said.

“Where’s that?”

“Sarasota, Florida.”

Florida? Isn’t that where people go to retire?!

But Annie’s description was compelling. She was a naturalist and loved the beaches the wild life, the climate, the community. The coincidences kept coming and they led to Sarasota.

Was I creating these coincidences or was it my intuition guiding me to where I was to go?

On the train to a workshop in upstate New York, I chatted with a man and a woman standing in line. She lived in Florida and he had just come from Sarasota!

I met a woman at the workshop. Where was she from? Florida, and she had lived for years in LA! She loved the weather and the people. She liked the city she lived in but if she could do it all over again, she would live in – Sarasota.

On the way home, I discovered I had no seat on the bus even though I bought a ticket. The driver offered me a stool next to him. I was irritated because I had paid for a seat. My inner voice told me to let go of the feeling and make the best of it.

I asked him about his work. He was a temporary worker who spent his summers at the Omega Institute. Where did he live the rest of the time? Florida. His favorite city was – you guessed it – Sarasota.

Jim and I went to Sarasota last week. Annie met us and we saw the city through the eyes of someone who loves it.

We loved the humidity and the tropical rain. We were surprised at how green Florida was and the beautiful waterways in and around the city. There were homes overlooking canals and the beaches were pristine, with fine, white sand as soft as snow.

The city has opera and ballet companies, a growing spiritual community, universities and colleges. It was very clean and orderly and there was no traffic – at least not to us Angelenos! In all, an attractive place, but something was missing.

On the way home, Jim and I were silent. I felt deflated. All the signs had led to Sarasota. It was very nice but it lacked the topography, racial diversity, variety and excitement of a big city like Los Angeles. I simply couldn’t imagine spending the next 10 years of my life there.

And Jim felt the same.

So was this what happened when I listened to my intuition? Had I missed the signs? Reason started to take over, strategizing and figuring things out. Exhausted by my mind chatter, I went to bed asking for guidance.

In the morning I woke up to the voice.

It said, “You must leave L.A. Move to somewhere warm, near the water. This is where you will heal.”

I didn’t understand. What did it mean?

Hours later, I got it. My intuition said, “You must leave L.A. Move to somewhere warm, near the water. This is where you will heal.” It never said how long I was to be there.

I was the one who began to create a ten-year plan. Again, logic and reason had taken over. We would move to Florida, buy a house, later we would get a place in Jim’s hometown in Pennsylvania so Jim could realize his dream. In a few moments, I was planning the next 10 years!

What if I simply went to Sarasota to heal and stayed as long as that took and then see where my intuition led me next?

Once I let go of the timeline I had created, I felt a burden being lifted and an incredible feeling of lightness and adventure came over me.

It was my expectations and my projections that had tripped me up. What if I simply followed the guidance and let go of the rest?

If we can only let go and take one step at a time follow the guidance trusting that the next step will be shown to us….

Imagine the grand adventure life would be become if we were willing to allow it to unfold; if we are willing to live in the “let go”.

I am choosing to live in the “let go”. We move to Florida in November.