With the COVID-19 outbreak has come the closure of our meeting spaces and the introduction of strong social distancing measures, and the past few weeks have seen us move into a life that includes a lot less physical interaction with each other. As physical beings, the gifts of our senses are the primary ones through which most of us experience the world, and much of our days are filled with connecting to other people through our touch and our gaze, our close conversation, and our shared physical reality.

The space left by the loss of our daily physical interactions is leading us into interesting new territory, as what I am noticing in myself, and am predicting for other people in the coming days and weeks, is an increase in the use of our extra-sensory abilities.

ESP, or Extra-Sensory Perception, is often referred to as a 6th sense, or when honed, as a psychic power. We all have access to our 6th sense, it’s just that we don’t really use it. The thing about ESP is that the more you use it, the more sensitive you become to detecting that layer of information in your field.

The work that I do is centred around my ability to “feel” into what my clients are experiencing. Sometimes these feelings come to my knowing, through my intuition. Often I experience their feelings and pick up on physical pain or emotional holding through feeling it in my body too (clairempathy).

With my clients, all of this is very conscious. I have created a practice of “leaning in” that allows me to do this detective work. I then “lean out” and leave it all with them, as I guide them through the healing, and eventually out of my healing space when we close the session.

Until I really sank into this work I didn’t realize how much I was predisposed to use my 6th sense to tune into experiences outside of my own for the benefit of others. I now actively practice tuning out when I need to, outside of my practice.

But the past few weeks have presented a new challenge for me, as the whole world (including me) is opening up even more to their own senses beyond the physical, and the airwaves are full of so much information as people reach out to each other in new ways and our individual ESP satellites power up. For the most part, at the moment these new ways of communicating are very much beyond our collective awareness. For me I have noticed that my dreams have been stronger, my intuition is on high, and my body (physical and emotional) has been acting as an even stronger channel for other people’s feelings – sometimes before I even realize I am doing it.

We think we are just reaching out to each other in non-physical ways using tools like Facebook, Zoom, Skype and the phone. But we are doing a lot more than that!

Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not. So what does it mean? Well that depends.

If you an empath then now is the time to really use whatever tools you have to spend time noticing what you are picking up on and clearing what is not yours. Protect your psychic space when you need to.

If all of this is new to you then welcome to the club! We need you. We need you to feel outside of yourself. We need you to be tuned into the bigger world around you. To be sensitive to the feelings of the beings that we share this planet with, and indeed to the feelings of the earth as a living being too. So open up to this new way of communicating! Be careful of course, and just like for those people that know they are empaths, remember that you are too (you just maybe don’t know it yet!). Seek guidance if you need it.

For too long we have been enclosed in our own very small worlds, putting our own needs first with minimal thought (or care) about what getting what we want might mean for the rest of the world. But those days are over. We are moving into a time where the only way forward will be a way that includes a lot more empathy for everyone and everything we share the earth with. Just ask your 6th sense, you will “see” this is true!

Want more? Check out my latest podcast with Ayana Young "COVID-19: A Chance to Stop, and Heal?"

Most of us are aware of the physical structures on which our lives are built. The homes we live in, the landscapes that surround us, the bodies that we inhabit. We usually also notice the substance that we create with our minds, and how what we think and imagine can often feel more real than what surrounds us in the material plane. The substance of the creations of our bodies and minds, the forms that surround us both literally and in our imaginations, make up the stage on which we play out our lives. Each day we perform an entire play, and in each moment, every line that we utter and prop that we grab – all these things that we “do” – seem to matter. If to no one else then atleast to ourselves.

But once the play is over…what then? Yes, that day may have included much productivity. Boxes ticked, jobs completed. House cleaned, homework done, bills paid, holiday planned. Structure added or organized within the physical form of our lives. A good day’s work.

What about all the other moments – the ones that often we often savour the most but that aren’t measured by a line crossed off on a to-do list? The friend that we hugged, the picnic with our kids, the glorious sunset we soaked up. Certainly these meaningful moments are what life is all about. Living to experience love, pleasure, creation and joy within the context of compassion and connection to the world around us is a very high state of being. But is that all these moments are? Moments in time that exist only in our memories once they have passed?

I don’t think so. I have come recently to have a very visceral experience of the accumulation of meaningful moments in my life. The feeling is of a structure almost as solid as the couch that sit on as I write this.

I think I was always good at recognizing and creating meaning. I would often find myself in a situation, or planning one, and think hmmm…what could make this EVEN BETTER? And then the picnic would be complete with extra cozy blankets, flasks of tea, spare towels for spills, and candle lanterns for when the sun began to sink. The friend would be hugged that moment longer, words of affection and appreciation expressed. The setting sun would enter my eyes and touch my skin, the surrounding smells filling my nose, the cool evening air caressing my lungs, as I took care to notice it all. When my son was born I upped my game even more, as creating meaning for him gave me a heightened sense of pleasure and achievement at levels that I had not known previously.

Now, this “meaning” of the 46 years I have lived so far, feels like a vibrantly woven tapestry from which I bound my way forward. I feel it as a part of my energy field, a layer that strengthens all the others, and that lends itself in to my present day moments as if to say “Here it is…that beautiful tapestry you’ve been working on…and look…an opportunity to add even more colour! Even more beauty!”. I am enlivened by it. I am strengthened by it. I live from it and in it. I breathe in my past, savour the present, and exhale my future, and every moment the meaning deepens, my heart expands, my gratitude grows. For every pain- and pleasure-filled thread is a part of this creation. Wow.

I have this, and you do too. Just take a meaningful moment right now to have a look at your own tapestry. I bet you will see, truly, you are an artist, and truly, every single coloured thread matters. And every day is an opportunity weave an even more beautiful, even more life-giving, even more meaningful life experience.

*For some great tips of creating meaningful memories check out my recent interview with Meik Wiking, author of "The Art of Making Memories: How to Create and Remember Happy Moments ".

For many people, the new year is an opportunity to reflect on where they have been, where they are at, and where they want to go. New year’s resolutions are thrown about, and some of them land and take root, and some of them don’t, and maybe we make them again the next year, or maybe we don’t.

Like most people, I certainly participate in this activity, as reflection is a very important part of properly digesting the experiences of life and making the most of the learning gained. The learning is a big part of what helps us progress along our path.

However, there are a couple of dangers when in comes to making resolutions. One is that sometimes our resolutions are ego-driven, not spirit-driven, and these can never serve our growth in any way other than on a very superficial plane. These intended outcomes are really driven by the misplaced expectations that we put on ourselves or take on board because we perceive them from other people, or from society in general. A second danger is that even when we tap into a spirit-driven action and “resolve” for a certain outcome, we can become overly fixated on the outcome. As a result we end up with a very narrow view of the path, and so instead of seeing those all important stepping stones towards the highest possible outcome we focus on the route that we think we are supposed to take, making the journey so much more challenging than it needs to be (or even impossible).

As someone who tries, more and more, to live by honouring flow and the direction that the Universe wants me to take, I have been working for some time to set intentions (and make resolutions) while still letting the Universe guide my path. For many years I had the energy to accomplish whatever I set my mind to by sheer will alone, but with age and wisdom comes the beauty of knowing that there is a better way, which is often helpfully accompanied by a decrease in energy to keep on willing things into existence!

So, how do we do this?

The truth is that the Universe REALLY wants us to hear our calling. The Universe wants us to follow the flow of where we are supposed to go.  But what the Universe never intended was that we jump into our sailboats, and then promptly neglect to hoist our sails, instead grabbing our paddles to willfully head for the stretch of coastline that we have set our sights on . What if, instead, we put up those sails, caught the wind, adjusted the sails when the wind changed direction, took a break when the sails went slack, checked our charts to make sure that we still wanted to head towards our original destination and that we were indeed still on course, and caught the next gust when the Universe sent it our way? Imagine crossing that stretch of water without having to pick up that paddle – not even once.

Making “resolutions” is important, as is asking the question if they are really divinely guided. If so, then you can trust that the Universe wants you to succeed (when one person follows their flow, we all benefit), and that the next step of your journey will be made available to you. This doesn’t mean sitting back and waiting for the outcome to happen, not at all! What it does mean is expanding your view. Take off the blinders. Wait for guidance. When that flash of inspiration happens SEE IT, TRUST IT, FOLLOW IT. You wake up and think “wow I really need to get in touch with that guy I met at that conference.” So do it! Reach out. Don’t let the next though “Oh…no…that’s dumb…he wouldn’t remember me anyway” win! The next stepping stone can be as simple as picking up the phone, or visiting that part of town you’ve always wanted to go to, or googling that thing you’ve always wondered about learning. To get to stepping stone #2 we have to step on #1 first!

I recently interviewed my Law of Attraction coach Karen Luniw for my Possibility Podcast and talking to her reminded me of all of the great tools that she taught me that I still use today, every day! My favorite remains asking the question “What would it take to…?”. This question is an open invitation to the Universe to respond, through the language of inspiration. The answer usually hits me like a flash of lightening “Oh yeah! I need to set a timer for the heat in my meditation room if I want to get up earlier to morning to meditate, a cold room is just not enticing on a winter’s morning.” Or “Yes, of course, if I want to put together a regular newsletter for my clients I better get back to writing regular blog posts.” The very question of “What would it take to…?” is itself an act of taking off the blinders, expanding my view, and giving space in my mind for my knowingness to respond with an answer.
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Sometimes the answers don’t come immediately. Sometimes I ask the question and I get nothing. I remain wondering what to do, but with the blinders off I am ready to receive the inspiration when it comes. I later notice the sign in the shop window, or remember that conversation with a work colleague, or find my guitar songbook that I’ve been looking for for months, and each one of those is often the very next step along the path to the outcome that I am seeking.

So this year, try making those resolutions, but know that although your job is to hear the call of the Universe and respond by pointing your ship in that direction, it is not your job to fill the sails…only to catch the wind!

What would it take for you to catch the wind this year?