Have you ever known someone who has big dreams or plans for themselves, but for some reason, can’t seem to make any progress? Someone who idealizes a certain job, lifestyle, or even partner, but hasn’t made any strides in that direction?  

Perhaps this is you: Are you putting something off ? Are you waiting for the “right time”? Maybe you are rejecting opportunities that you think are not perfect, but could be a stepping stone towards that thing. Or, do you just lack confidence in yourself toward that dream?  Is there a longing for something in their or your life that you aren’t paying attention to?

If this sounds like you or someone you know, here’s a handy checklist of questions to ask yourself:

1. Is anxiety taking over?  Pay attention to your anxiety.  It’s telling you something; it is pulling at you. It might be the feeling that you are missing something. Once you have determined what you are yearning for, action is the most immediate way to calm that anxiety.  Anxiety is not being fully present, and grounding yourself through action will empower you.  It is in peaceful silence that anxiety has no home.
2. Is fear stopping you? There is always going to be some fear in going after what you want, because actualizing your dream involves risk- risk that you may fall down or screw up, or make a fool of yourself, or lose money… The fears are easy to list. There is no reward without risk.  But what are the possibilities if you succeed?  Go ahead, write them down- you might be exceedingly happy, empowered, healthy, or joyous.  Write about the enormous abundance that you imagine.
3. How invested are you? How much time, energy, and focus are you dedicating toward this dream? Sacrifice and making hard decisions is a part of journey towards that dream.  You simply must put the time in. No one gets a free pass.
4. Is it too late because you’ve reached a certain age? Do you think it is too late because you have “real-life” responsibilities: bills, family, children, health, friends? When is it really too late to keep working towards your dream? I am an optimist at heart- a dreamer- and I can get caught up in the dream and nearly float away, but I also have a grounded, practical side that wants to see results.
5. When do you call it quits or decide to modify your dream?

My simple, quick answer is: When there is no longer joy in your pursuit of this dream, then you have to find it in yourself to let go and modify that dream.

 Questions to help determine if it is time to reroute your dreams:

Are you asking everyone for their opinion on the topic?

It’s always good to turn to those few people whose opinion you admire or that someone you meet who has some connection to what you are seeking. When you are looking to everyone for assurance as to whether it’s too late or not, you are going down the path of it being too late. That means you don’t believe you can create that something that you want.  You can create that something, you just have to decide to create it.  It’s when you are looking to others to confirm (“Can I do this?” or, “Did I miss the boat?”) that you are on the border of missing the boat.

What is it that you are looking to create?  

Go ahead: sit back and think on it , but it shouldn’t take that long.  What do you really, really want? What do you yearn for?  What was the last step or action you took toward your dream?  You must invest time in your dreams. Have you?  You will know you are seeking this dream for the wrong reasons if you just can’t find it in you or the time to take action toward it.  Are you just talking about it? Real action- taking chances, making concrete plans, and working at it in any possible way that you can.  If you are not, I think you need to reevaluate and consider if this is something you think you want, but don’t actually desire.

My final question is: Are you seeing results from your efforts toward this dream?

If you are, keep on the path. If you aren’t, the modification may be to keep at it, but “on the side.” There are times that you do have to say, “I have given this my all, now I need to change course because it just isn’t working.” You aren’t giving up; you are making a choice to reroute your journey.

Letting go is not a negative thing. It may initially feel uncomfortable, or it may actually give you relief.  What you are doing by letting go is creating flow.  Flow brings new things and new opportunities, often sparking new ideas and inspiration for those things that bring you joy.  Creating a new map of life can bring you some of life’s biggest surprises and joys, but you must let go of what is in one hand to be able to receive something new.  Finally, we all have our own journey and our lives unfold in different ways.  You do not have to conform to the typical anything in life, you just have to remain true to revealing who you are to the world.

I wish you confidence and empowerment toward your dream. You can do it.

– Mo

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It’s something that can so easily happen to anyone- you can look up one day to discover your life, filled with so many commitments and responsibilities, is running you. We are always looking to find balance, and it can become more and more challenging if we don’t take the reigns, because life can take a hold of us. I have to check in with myself on this regularly. It’s my nature to be a worker. In high school, I worked three jobs during summers. That momentum has never stopped. The difference is that now I’m more responsible for keeping balance and not letting life run me. So, how do I know when I’m in charge or my commitments have taken over?

The tell tale signs that you have taken a backseat to running your life:

1. You are over exhausted.

It doesn’t even register that you are exhausted because you’re just going through the motions. The days feel longer than normal. Perhaps you are 15 minutes late when this is not your usual. At the end of the day, you have little energy to do anything other than do the things that take the least effort. Exercise is not even in the cards because you are drained. You fall asleep as soon as it is possible -everything else is put to the side because the only thing you feel you can do is close your eyes. I know I’m over exhausted when the first thing I want to do when I get home from work is cozy up on the sofa to read or surf the the internet. That is my “least amount of effort” mode. What is your least amount of effort mode?

2. You haven’t done any of these three lately: Laugh, Sing, or Dance.

If you have not done at least one of these three, then life and its demands have taken over your personal needs and happiness. All of these three are forms of joy, and we all need joy in our lives to be balanced.

3. Spontaneity has vanished.

No matter how structured you are, everyone needs a little room for spontaneity in their life. If you have become so rigid because of time constraints, demands, or responsibilities, then you need to take a step back and breathe. Break out of being a creature of habit and mix things up.

4. Planning for fun isn’t happening.

Are you finding that you are so busy that you can’t find time to socialize? Does “fun” sound stressful? If you can’t find the time for fun, that means you need down time. We all have at least one or two people in our lives that we love to see or talk to, who uplift us, and if the idea of seeing them sounds like too much work, then you know your answer.

5. Creativity has been put to the side.

Creativity is balancing. Everyone has their own creative outlet. It could be going outside, doing yard work, tinkering around the apartment or house, cooking, decorating, reading magazines, music, dancing, or planning a night out. What was the last thing you created? Can’t think of it? There is your answer.

So…Why is this important?
The world needs you and the unique gifts that you bring to it. Demands that run your life take away creativity time, which ultimately halts your ability to uniquely contribute to the world. When you are on autopilot, you are neglecting two main aspects of your life:

Emotional Well-Being. If you are going through life without taking a moment to honor your emotions, you are shoving them to the side to be dealt with “later,” which can eventually lead to an emotional uprising that you can’t ignore. This could affect any and all of your relationships: your family, friends, or your co-workers. This is because Spirit will only allow you to push it to the side for so long before it rears back at you that you are missing the good stuff in life by your numbing behavior.

Physical Well-Being. When you ignore the signs that tell you that you are imbalanced, life can catch up to you and literally stop you in your tracks physically, as well. It can be a physical ailment, an actual event that happens to ground you, or something you enjoy being taken away from you. Sometimes, it’s a minor course correction by coming down with a sickness that keeps you home for two days. If you are greatly imbalanced, you will be stopped from doing something you love, which will let you know who is really in charge. These challenges can be our greatest teachers in life, which ultimately is the lesson that you need to slow down. It doesn’t have to be this way, but when you are on autopilot for an extended period of time, you are giving the universe and Spirit no other choice.

How do you stop your life from running you?
1. You have to recognize it and want to stop it. This is the first major way of stopping this cycle in its tracks. It’s very easy to let life run you. You might not realize that you are no longer in charge. Your obligations and your responsibilities take on a life of their own and you realize something is out of balance.

2. You need help: You can’t do it alone. When you’re on autopilot, you can forget about larger networks who can help. Delegate some of those responsibilities and allow yourself support. It won’t be easy at first, but be patient with the transition.

3. Carve out time for yourself. Find a way to carve out a quiet evening, a day, or even a weekend away somewhere so you can hit the “reset” button. Evaluate where you need to start creating boundaries, delegating, and where you need to start saying “no” and start saying “yes.”

Life can be rich. It can be the chocolate cake with ice cream and berries on top. Or, if you don’t make time to deal with the “extras,” it can just be the cake on it’s own. The “extras” can only be added when you create space for down time and they are what makes life even sweeter. I wish you all the “extras” you desire. So should you.

-Mo

Sterile. Cold. The waiting room of the fertility clinic is somehow packed at 8 in the morning. I have to get my blood drawn. At 40 years old and never having a child yet,  I came here to find out my level of fertility. Only in Manhattan would you walk into a room like this to standing room only. Looking around at all the couples in the room, I ask myself: am I really here alone? This is uncomfortable, but the alternative takes away my power and being here keeps it in check. I’m being proactive so that I can make informed decisions. Knowledge is power.  And it won’t affect me in my day-to-day. This is what you do. It can be distressing, but you just have to create room for it. It’s raw, but the powerful stuff in life is raw.

So now what? How can anyone relate to this– from a guy’s perspective, or even from another woman’s perspective? My most immediate answer is that this is real. I am momentarily uncomfortable. I don’t want to be in this situation, but it is just what it is: An experience. I don’t have control over all the circumstances, but I do have control of my perspective, and I choose positivity. From this positivity, creativity expands. Answers or solutions surface. This is the empowerment of making decisions and putting one foot in front of the other, even though you may not have the answer in the moment.  Whether you are in a fertility clinic or at some other crossroad, what I know is to have faith, including faith in ourselves and our decisions.

This is a part of the soul’s human experience  – that clash between having faith vs. worrying that it won’t work out.  I have a life for me that I love in Manhattan and it has been a dig-in and work- hard journey. It is still not my “perfect” place, but I’ve made some pretty good progress. I continue to work at attaining my desires, but sometimes it feels really hard. I know at this point in my journey that it doesn’t have to be. I know it is an outdated conditioning that believes only hard work is rewarded. What about replacing that cliché saying to, “all work done with positive intention is reciprocated.” To believe that things don’t have to be hard can feel unimaginable, but it doesn’t have to be.  You just have to decide to show up in a way that is positive and responsible. You don’t have to take my word for it, because you will feel it and know it when you do.

How do you not let fear win?  First, by keeping your perspective positive. Second, reaching to those who wholeheartedly support you and are there to listen when maybe you aren’t feeling so positive and you need that boost.  It’s a form of trust, which comes down to the first mention of faith: Trust that your tribe, or those you are sharing this information with, are really there for you to help you sort it out. Third, go have fun and live your life. We do it in this playground called Manhattan. We are in shared quest together; that is, we are not alone.

The most important message, no matter what your challenge, is that we must leave space within ourselves ready to receive goodness and love.  When things feel uncertain, it’s easy to fill all our minds up with worries and concerns.  But is there room for the good stuff?  The good stuff really boils down to one thing: love. We have to make sure we have not filled ourselves up with drama. For me, I have to quiet the chatter and fear of what could crush my heart’s desires. Instead, I choose to create a big space for happiness and fulfillment. I live an unconventional life and I have to be sure the opening in my heart for those experiences that I desire might be unconventional as well.

What is it that you are longing for – a new relationship? an easier life? health? a new job?  Now sweep away the drama: that anxiety, the worry, the angst. To move that energy is different for everyone –  I make quiet time for myself, I do my best to meditate, walk in the city, pilates, and hang out with my dog, Cooper.  Make a big clear space for the good stuff, whatever it is that you want.  Make sure your good stuff space is much larger than the bad stuff- see it. If you’re struggling, try to change your perspective.

I know my friends and I that work ourselves to the bone are good, intelligent, kind, creative and deserving souls who want just one simple thing: to create the families we desire. I’m going to make sure I create that space in myself and keep sweeping away any doubt or anxiety that makes me think otherwise. I hope you can do the same for your desires. You may not be a single woman living in Manhattan, but it doesn’t matter; wherever you are, whoever you are, or whatever situation you are in, we all have dreams that we are trying to manifest and we must remind ourselves that it’s making the room and believing in them that is the most important tool we have. Love really does conquer all, you just have to believe it, feel it in your bones, and let it permeate every daily experience you have.

If you liked this article, please pass it on to someone else who is working towards their hearts desires or give me a like at the bottom of the page. Tell us in the comment box below about your desires and how you are going to push away the dust to create room for your dreams. Create the space and believe.

– Mo

I think it’s fair to say that no matter who we are or where we are at in this journey, we can always find ways to create more meaning in our lives. You can be in your 20s just out of school, in your 40’s transitioning to a more mature phase, or you can even be about to retire. It applies to all of us. Meaning can be defined in so many ways, but under the umbrella of its definition, it involves purpose, passion, and feeding your spirit, with the bottom line being fulfillment and what makes you tick on a daily basis. Creating it requires a certain mindset in connecting with our hearts and souls. Life is a form of work (it doesn’t have to be a struggle) and we can either jump in and take it on or sit back and watch it go by. That is, you can be the driver of your life or the passenger.

What creates more meaning in our lives is very individual.  What feeds our Spirit is different for each one of us- we all come in with different gifts. Some of us are athletes and thrive on keeping ourselves physically active; some of us are musicians and take our instrument of choice; others are painters, artists, mathematicians or science buffs.  It’s magnificent that we all have different things that make us tick (and must be adjusted to meet our growth at different points of our journey).  

Do you know what makes you tick? Do you know what brings you joy?  If you do, then keep doing it. There are many of us who aren’t sure what it is that makes our heart sing, and perhaps discovering the answer might feel scary, and that’s okay.  It might require major changes to make it happen.  For those searching,  these are the things I have learned from my own quest to find more meaning: Most importantly, be patient and kind to yourself.  It requires an adjustment to your point of view. Become your own Sherlock Holmes: become interested in what grabs your attention or pulls on your heartstrings.  Remind yourself that this is an individual process and is different for each one of us.  Do what works for you in order to get yourself moving.  Don’t worry about the end goal of meaning.  If you feel frozen, take one step— just start moving and remember to trust yourself and the rest will surface.  Finally, some of us need tough love and some of us need gentle pushes in the right direction and some of us need fear put in front of us in order to make us move, but no matter what it’s between you and you.

A fun way to look at your personal quest is that it’s a scavenger hunt, but for life.  Once you begin the hunt and move towards your goal, you will run into more experiences and people who support it. Everything has meaning and be sure not to judge what others find meaningful. It might not resonate with you, but that’s what makes the world go round. Just remind yourself that when you do what pulls at your heart strings, you contribute and add love to the world.

If you aren’t sure where to begin, I suggest starting by asking yourself these questions:

1. What do you like to spend your time doing? If you feel like you don’t know, take the pressure off. The answer is there.  What was the last thing you did where you didn’t think about time? What did you enjoy spending your time doing  as a kid?
2. What do you think makes life meaningful? How can you bring this into your day-to-day? What can you do for 5 minutes today towards this?
3. Is there something that you have avoided and might be interested in experiencing? Take one step toward it.

If you are hitting a roadblock:

• Too much in your head? Get physical. Go work out. Go run. Do something to move the energy and feel alive. Sometimes we become numb and stuck in our heads.
• If you are someone who requires a more gentle approach to things, go for a walk, do yoga, stretch yourself out of your head to a place of peace.
• If you are feeling like your worst critic, tell yourself two positive things in the morning when you wake up or before you go to bed that you appreciate or value about yourself.  Know that optimism is a muscle in your personal development that you must strengthen. 

Finally, know that the majority of us in life have experienced the same feeling of discontent and that it’s a part of the journey. You most definitely are not alone— we’re in it with you and we can’t wait to see your passions surface at whatever stage you are in life.  I can tell you for sure, it’s the most rewarding hunt you’ll ever be on.  

It’s Holiday time and oh what fun! At the same time as the festive season approaches us, we, unfortunately, have a crisis going on – there has been worldwide violence and a fight for our freedoms.  Because of this, my thoughts go to how we can unite to fend off fear in a peaceful way. Last year, I tweeted out every day from Dec. 1st until Christmas gifts that give back. I will do the same this year because we can never be reminded enough of the power of giving, but I do believe we can do something even more powerful.

As I sit and watch my Sunday morning shows on politics and the world, I’m frustrated. On these shows, I hear a divide of political parties and campaigns. I don’t want to hear about divide and how parties pit themselves against one another. What I want to hear is how we are working here and abroad to help other nations fight against imminent threats. How are we doing our part?  Isn’t it more important that we focus on how we are uniting more than anything else?

I continue to flip from one from one Sunday morning show to the next, none of them encouraging us to unite.  It seems we are so shortsighted to be covering these issues in this divided sense. In frustration of not wanting to hear the same old rhetoric, I scroll through my DVR and highlight an interview episode with Nobel Peace prize recipient, Malala Yousafzai, which I had recorded and had not gotten to watch. I feel a bit of hope enter my consciousness. I am relieved to watch an 18 yr old girl’s fight in speaking out for the education of the 66 million women of the world who don’t have access to schooling.  I am relieved that she is not talking about divide. How is it that this 18 year old has such an understanding of the power of being united?  Why can’t our world just take a tiny bit of this understanding and expand on it?

Perhaps the most effective response to the powerlessness that we feel is simple: to pray.  And pray however you pray— through meditation, through kindness, through joy, by going to church, whatever your method. Prayer brings peace by relinquishing control of that which we cannot control. But it doesn’t stop there. We have a responsibility to bring that peace into our everyday life. We all need to really ask ourselves: “How can I be more peaceful each day and not contribute to violence in any way?” We have to start with awareness of ourselves and those we come into contact with.

I speak about energy in everything I write because I believe in the power of it. That is, the unspoken can be just as powerful as the spoken. So, perhaps the most important thing is the intent to add to the harmony in this world to gain more peace, understanding, and compassion in our everyday. If we could dedicate just 1 minute a day to remind ourselves of this intention, there would be shifts, shifts that make way for everyday miracles, and right now we need them all over the world.

What is the best way to add more peace to a violent world?  What prejudices can be stopped? First, start from the inside and then reach outward.  We can never go wrong with starting with our own inner work.

It’s so easy to forget what is outside of our walls when we feel crisis and hardship in our immediate lives. But, if we can give just 1 minute a day to step outside of our own hardship and challenges and look beyond, healing occurs in unexpected ways. A new vision is formed, a new awareness is created, and that is what joy and the holidays are about— another form of expressing love towards one another.

I hope for a peaceful, blessed holiday for everyone.

-Mo

Share what ways you give back. Hashtag us in your tweets! #GIVEBACK

I think we all want to have the recipe required to  “make sh-t happen.”  From my experience, there are 3 things required of myself to make things happen.  I want to share these approaches with you in hopes you will incorporate them, if you don’t already use them, to make that thing that you want manifest as quickly and easily as possible.

I think everyone loves to “Make sh-t” happen,” because the most obvious result is being productive. But the fact of the matter is, I have learned that I don’t make anything happen. What I actually have learned to do is feel my way through a situation in order to make sh-t happen.  What people call, “making sh-t happen” is actually, “How to feel through a situation to make things happen.” What does that mean?  I’m going to give you a concrete example, because sometimes we hit what feels like gridlock or a wall in a situation that we would like to make happen. There is no reason to get stuck if you feel or listen to your intuition.  There is always another route.  It is when I am looking for that alternate route to my desired outcome that I stop in the middle of it all and I shut the outside world off – I internalize and ask myself, what is the next best step. I use these tools for the solution:

3 TIPS TO MAKE SH-IT HAPPEN

1. First, focus inward and become open to your feelings/intuition.
2. Second, take action on these feelings.
3. Third, be persistent yet calm in response to your feelings or intuition.

To clarify how I use these 3 tools, here is one of my latest everyday examples of how by using my intuition and mind, I made things happen. On Sept. 25^th, the iPhone 6S+ was released and I had to pick one up for work purposes.  On the launch date, I stopped by the Apple Store and was told that both colors that I wanted (Rose Gold or Gold) were not available because they were sold out.  I was fine with this.  After all, it was my first attempt and the stop-in was a bit on the fly.  A day or two later, I was very specific in knowing what I wanted—the iPhone 6S+ in Gold (not Rose Gold) with 128 GB.  It is said by many that you must be specific in telling the universe what you want in order for the universe to deliver. I now had my specifics, and I was ready for the phone to turn up.

But the phone wasn’t just handed to me, even though I believed and had the intention that it would be. I stopped by the Apple Store again—for the 2^nd time—on the Upper East Side, to see if they had it available.  To my dismay, I was told they did not have it and that the best bet to getting the phone would be to go online at 8AM and book an appointment at Apple, at which time I would see the availability of the phone I wanted and then schedule it for pick up.

The next morning, starting at 8AM, I checked every store in Manhattan. There was no 6S+ in Gold with 128 GB to be found.  You have to input each store individually on the computer, so it’s time consuming. On top of that, the inventory updates in real time, so at any time, products that were once unavailable could suddenly become available again. At one point, I found the Gold one I wanted in the Short Hills, NJ store. This would take a bit of an effort to get, being that it is an hour outside the city, but I followed my intuition and texted my brother who I knew was coming into the city the next day, to see if he could pick it up on the way in.  He replied to me that he could; however, paying for it and showing ID when he was picking it up would put a stab in my plan.

Undeterred, I kept checking the stores as if I was watching the stock market. Unbeknownst to me, my brother kept checking as well.  I then received an unexpected call back from my brother, “Mo, I see a Gold one available at the Soho store!”  I hopped onto the Soho location and sure enough, there it was: a Gold 6S+ in 128 GB showing available.  I selected it and got my appointment for half an hour later.

I ran out the door and grabbed a taxi with my dog in his carrier (he comes to work with me) and headed further downtown.  I got there 10 minutes early. I wanted this phone, and my Spirit was telling me, “Get out that door!” Since I was early, I was the first person next in line. The Apple employee was very cheery and walked me over to a table while he pulled up my order. Within seconds, he said, ”Oh, I’m sorry, we don’t have a 6S+ Gold 128 GB.” Now, some people might take that answer and their mind would tell them, “That’s it.  There is no phone,” but my intuition told me differently.  So, I smiled and said, “Well, your website said you do, and as you see I have the appointment.” He replied, “I know, but I’m sorry, we don’t have it.”  I said very calmly and politely, “Please get the manager.” (I was not leaving without the damn phone that I spent all morning hunting down!)  He said, “I am the manager.”

I replied, “Well then please get your manager.” He said, “I’m it.”  Again, my intuition told me to stay put, so I took a breath and I said, ”Well, there is clearly an error in your system misrepresenting what is available. We need to fix this problem and get that phone.  Get it from another store’s inventory if you have to, please. Someone has one.”  He looked at me in the eye and he knew I meant business. Again, he looked up at me and then back down at his phone.  My Spirit told me he had the solution as long as I stayed put. There is a way.  He said, “Hold on.  I may have a solution; I think there may be a return for one Gold 128GB.  I’m going to check and I’ll be right back.”  I said, “Great, thank you.”

I stood there and repeated to myself, “I know I am getting this phone today and I’m leaving with it in my hand.” I was not bitchy or rude in any way— I was just matter-of-fact to the gentleman.  He returned with the phone in hand and said, “I took this from someone who is returning it, so it’s the only Gold phone in the store.” I said, “Great, thank you!”  Problem solved.

What I have learned from working in this city is how to be persistent about something I want and “pull a rabbit out of a hat.” We usually are persistent out of necessity for anxiety and time-pressed situations, but if we focus our energy, it turns into manifestation. Anxiety that is turned into focused energy turns into trust, which the Universe ultimately responds to energetically by delivering our request.  It delivers when you have felt your way through a situation—and this doesn’t mean being rude. It means feeling things out as they come and constantly reassessing what is in front of us. So, if a person on the other line is stonewalling you (just like that guy at Apple first started to do), tuning into your intuition tells you to have them give you another person (I asked for their Manager with no emotion, just matter of fact). Assess if the person you are speaking with matches the vibration: Do they feel like they also want to make things happen?  If not, the universe is saying, “Go to someone or somewhere else.”  Sometimes we have to get the right person on the phone, and sometimes we have to tell them why we want something to happen. Once we are in sync, all the ducks line up and—wah-la!— that thing happens because we felt our way to the solution.

Now, sometimes this isn’t easy and sometimes it is, so being persistent and reasonable (using both your intuition and mind) is key.  That is, there are times we have to convince the person on the other line that they can help.  It’s a balancing act and really another form of sales. You are selling to them why they are going to help you and if they are not taking the sale (you don’t feel they are on the same page as you), you have to go to the next person or higher up (a different energy). It’s a game of being open, taking action, and being persistent, which is the mind and intuition working together. It’s ultimately the game of life and choosing your experience.  We can always find another avenue to make things happen- even little things, like getting the new iPhone. The fun part is, we can choose.

Now go.  Go try it.  You have things to manifest.

-Mo

I was in my 20s when I first learned that your intuition always has the right answer over your intellect. It felt right to me on many levels. So, I began playing scientist. I continued to read as much as I could about intuition and observe my everyday choices. I wanted to be clear on how it felt when I was trusting my intuition vs. my head, or when I was using both in decision making. I remember my first tests of intuition being in my simple everyday choices. Should I take a taxi or subway that day? Should I stop for a latte or should I go right to the office? I would find the answers by being flexible with these little choices and then letting the answer unfold as my day moved on- was it seamless or challenging? I would take notes when perhaps I talked myself out of the taxi because my mind said don’t spend the extra cash and then take the subway, only to find that it was delayed, throwing my day off. I would notice that my intuition was right: I should have taken the taxi. I don’t take a taxi every morning, so if that thought even drops into my consciousness, then that is spirit saying, “Make your life easier and take a taxi today!” Try it yourself. Maybe you don’t live in a city, but find something that you can “test” and use it every day. This will strengthen your ability to tune into your intuition and listen to your spirit. That is, try to start recognizing when your Spirit is trying to help you with an “aha” suggestion.

Intuition can be referred to as your “gut,” or a feeling that moves you. Your mind, which is equally important, should work with your intuition, not against it. Your mind is the one that slows you down and makes you question yourself, just like it did in my taxi transportation experiments. So, if you are trying to better tune into your intuition, know you are using your intuition when you don’t overthink your decisions. Instead, you are making a decision based on how it feels. I had done this countless times before I read books that explained to me I was in fact using my intuition. It has changed my entire life to gain this understanding. I believe that if we all worked on really trying to feel our intuition and listen to our spirit, supported by our logical mind, then the world would be a much easier and more harmonious place for everyone.

I find it can be more difficult to distinguish between your intellect and your intuition when making important decisions. The sure-sign way I have figured out whether my mind or intuition is talking to me is by observing my actions. Yes, the old saying, “Actions, speak louder than words,” is the truth. For instance, have you ever thought, “I don’t think I want to go to this event or party,” but something within you gives you a feeling that you should just go? That’s your spirit dropping in and your intuition telling you to move ahead. This is when I will literally talk to myself and say, “Mind, please stop. Spirit is moving me to get dressed, so I’m just going to trust this feeling and go.” This is when it is so important to be open and trust. In order to live by your intuition, you must be flexible and move with life.

When anxiety or fear pushes you to do something, it is your mind—not your intuition—speaking. This leaves you feeling drained and frantic. Spirit does not drain you when you are moved by your intuition- it moves you. You are moved out the door to something that doesn’t make sense, causing a disagreement in your mind; you are moved to take an action by maybe stopping somewhere, or emailing or calling someone.

Finally, what I have observed from being a scientist on the topic of intuition is that almost all of the very successful people I have gotten to know during my last 17 years in this city are extremely intuitive and live that way without thinking about it. They trust when Spirit just drops in and go with it. They might not classify it as intuition, but they trust themselves or their gut. They don’t over think it. One could call it a carefree way to live, or even brave. I think it is brave, or maybe someone would call it having faith in situations, but I think they are one in the same. What I think it comes down to is that living by your intuition and spirit requires you to move with life and be fearless while working with your mind in harmony, which ultimately creates a journey of wonder and surprises. It makes life interesting, for sure.

Try it. Experiment. You won’t be disappointed.

-Mo