Judith Orloff, MD. Five Steps to Intuitive Healing

Step 1: Notice Your Beliefs

Your beliefs set the stage for healing. Positive attitudes stimulate growth. Negative attitudes

impede it. It's important to rid yourself of counterproductive attitudes that you may not

even realize you have. If you examine your beliefs, choose life-enhancing ones, you'll create

optimal wellness. No organ system stands apart from your thoughts. Your beliefs program

your neurochemicals. I'm not suggesting that you be Pollyannish, but that you be

completely true to yourself. This will free you from unconscious negative beliefs that can

sabotage your healing.

Who gets sick? How can we get well? Is illness simply a result of genetics and other physical

factors, or does something else come in? Intuition? Spirituality? Your mind-set is the stage

on which your health history plays out. What you believe is not of purely intellectual

interest. The views you hold must be able to soothe you like a lullaby when it really counts.

Its good to read books, attend lectures and workshops about healing, but in the end your

convictions must get you through. Start now. Claim for yourself a sound vision of what

health and illness mean.

In our society were too often separated from such harmony with the natural world and

ourselves. Healing is something we do when we get sick, not a way of life. Its important to

articulate: What beliefs do you live by? Are they sustaining? Can you depend on them in

periods of crisis and despair? Determining your stance on illness is pivotal, whether you ever

get sick or not. Why? Because it crystallizes your priorities-not just about health issues but

about how you face everything. Faith, courage, compassion, humor, intuition, hope-dont

wait until the last minute to find them. How you cope with getting ill is how you cope with

any stress. The difference may be that when your health is poor, the volume is turned up

and your limits are stretched.

Is crisis an opportunity, as the components of the Chinese ideogram suggest? Or is this only

a rationalization for a situation that is really unredeemable? To clarify, lets learn from

intuition. It tells us that everything is not as it seems. There are layers of perception,

meaning upon meaning. Talk about magic and mystery! Yes, illness is challenging, as is any

heros path. What is being asked of us? All heroic challenges, physical or not, have one thing

in common: a call for a heart. What Im proposing is that this call is more important than

anything we will ever do, the raison detre of being alive. Especially if were sick or in pain,

the lessons of love dont always come easy. We must fight for self-compassion and the

intuitive link with a loving force that heals. Of course, none of us would ever want to be sick

or in pain. But if we are, loving-kindness, in all its ramifications, will offer us the strength we

need.

A healing life, in periods of illness of health, requires that you embrace a positive belief

system. But before you do so you must bite the bullet. Address up front all the internalized

negative voices that sabotage your getting well. Hear what they have to say. Allow the

whole unseemly cast of characters we all know so well to surface: the martyr, the victim, the

persecutor, the wounded child, the critical parent, and the faithless one. You must recognize

your opponents in order to defeat them. If I miss anything, you fill in the blanks. Does any of

this sound familiar?

Many of us spend a lifetime creating and listening to negative voices. Where do they come

from? Why do they so inexorable persist? To begin with, they echo the words of parents,

teachers, and other authority figures as well as normal individual insecurities. Further, body

chemistry plays a role. When serotonin levels are low, depression can ensue. Also, our

species history makes us anticipate danger to survive. In addition, we use anxiety to

motivate ourselves or to defend against being let down. If we expect the worst, its harder

to be disappointed. The problem is, we become driven by negativity, addicted to it. Consider

the endless mayhem in the evening news. Finally, bear in mind that in intuitive terms

negativity has an inherently noisier, more frenetic, and stronger charge than the more even,

subtler signal of the positive. Generally, as a novice, you pick up traumatic events and

emotional upheaval before anything else. Even in ordinary life our attention is compelled

more by the train wreck than by the system that works nearly all the time.

As you can see the negative voices have many sources, much power. To exorcise them

requires reconditioning your focus, replacing fear with faith. First, expose the tirade. Hold

nothing back. Go straight for the boil. Charge like a samurai: lance it. In one swift blow.

Second, summon every ounce of compassion you can muster to combat these untrue,

unkind beliefs. Dont buy into the fear. Third, tell these insufferable voices, Thank you for

sharing and keep moving on.

I ruefully appreciate from my own experience how tenacious negative voices can be. They

feed on our apprehensions and on the part of ourselves that is reluctant to be large. Just

when you think they are gone- theyre ba-ack. Nonetheless, there comes a point when you

must decide if you want a life that is fear-driven or one founded on love and hope.

Establishing this premise is tantamount to bringing your healing to the next level.

Remember, each gain will be incremental. Youll catch the negative voices faster; youll

dismiss them more quickly. Significant improvement, but its also true that the process is

ongoing.

In all types of illness, from cancer to a cold, never fail to remember the minds capacity to

heal, even what has been deemed unhealable. By lovingly learning to focus your intuition,

you can strive to cure or at least improve any health situation. This brings us to an

appreciation of a world where positive beliefs, emotions, and actions are prime factors in

getting well, can even stimulate our immune response. A world where our defense against

illness is related to a bodywide communication network we can take an active part in

programming. A mix of science, instinct, and mystery, this is how intuitive healing can

benefit you.

Exercise: Questions To Help You Create Positive Beliefs About Healing

Do your beliefs give you strength during illness? If not are you ready to find ones that

do?

In a health crisis, what role does intuition play? How far would you go to trust it?

How do you treat yourself when you get sick or are in pain? If youre self-critical how

can you turn that into self-compassion?

Do you believe love can heal? How about humor? Are you willing to put them to the

test.

Step 2: Be In Your Body

Your body is a complex and sensitive intuitive receptor. You must make a commitment to be

in it completely to heal. Most people in Western society are conditioned to live from the

neck up, ignoring the rest of their body. This stance is counter-intuitive. I'd like you to shift

that perspective-to enjoy your intellect but revel in your physicality as well. Being aware of

the sensuousness of your body opens intuition. Then you'll become more cognizant of early

warning signs your body sends. This gives you a head-start on preventing illness, choosing

healthy relationships, and avoiding detrimental situations.

You can't heal your body unless you're in it. Sounds reasonable, right? Then how come the

instant most of us get sick we check out, the sooner the better? We feel pain or discomfort,

we get scared, we withdraw. We're out of our bodies so fast, the last thing on our minds is

to rally every iota of awareness and energy to the part of us that most needs attention. You

might ask, How would this help? Let me explain. Intuitive truth 1: The more love and

consciousness you bring to your body when it is ill, the better chance you'll have of mending

it. Intuitive truth 2: If you resist discomfort, it will persist. If you soften around it, it will

lessen.

Let's get specific. You have what you're going to discover is appendicitis. First signs? You're

in agony, curled in the fetal position on your bed. Your body is sending out a frantic SOS.

Something's really wrong. You have no choice but to listen. You head for the emergency

room. You need surgery. No way out. Next thing you know, you wake up in recovery, sans

appendix. You made it. Your acute pain obviously had a purpose. It got you, fast, to the

hospital. Some pain is short-lived. You have it. It's treated. It's gone. Even with pain of this

kind, however, there's no question that informed attention is an asset. From the onset of a

health crisis, focusing your intuition can get you past all-too-human resistances. For

instance, people frequently die of heart attacks, failing to heed the warning of their angina.

As they say, Denial is not just a river in Egypt. Intuition combats denial. By tuning in to pain,

you'll get a more incisive take on how to deal with it. But, in general, here is a strategy that

never fails: Loving-kindness. Conscious softening. Releasing resistance and fear. Not

forsaking the body. This is where you begin.

What if pain becomes chronic? My patient Meg, a corporate attorney used to being in

charge-a control freak, really-was diagnosed with a bulging lumbar disc. Compressing the

sciatic nerve, this disc caused excruciating pain in her lower back and down her leg. Pain

became Meg's enemy. Drawing on techniques honed in years of legal warfare, she went on

a crusade to eradicate it: anti-inflammatory drugs, ice packs, acupuncture, physical therapy,

and gradual exercise. She did everything her doctor told her. Still the pain was there. The

more she dreaded it, the worse it got. One day she hobbled into my office, cane in one

hand, and cell phone in the other. An impossible juggling act, heart rending to see. On the

verge of tears, she said, "I can't take it anymore. I hate this pain. I just want to get rid of it."

Of course she did. Any of us would. But Meg was working against herself.

I had to teach Meg something contrary to her style of being in the world. She just wasn't

going to be able to conquer her pain. She'd have to harmonize with it. For a bold spirit like

Meg, this would be no easy task. Nor was this issue hers alone. So often in medicine we

have it backwards. We attempt to repair the body without consulting it. Pain has its own

spirit, language, intelligence, and rhythm. Pain is absolutely alive. It will speak to you, not in

the usual sense but on an intuitive level. First, open up communication. Odd as it may seem,

ask your pain-or any illness for help. Healing is collaboration, an opportunity to learn from a

sometimes demanding but most enlightened master. Approach your pain with deep respect.

If you do, it will respond, point the way toward getting well.

These practices gave Meg the courage to mend past wounds and change present behaviors.

It allowed compassion into many areas of her life. She never expected that part of her

healing would be to allow other people to support her: letting a friend drive to the movies;

asking a stranger to carry her bags when traveling. Meg's success wasn't only that her back

pain subsided. Much about her started to melt: her rigidity, her tendency to beat herself up

whenever she'd make a mistake, her impulse to give to others rather than take time to

savor or receive. She has become more mindful of beauty. The glistening sunlit boughs of

magenta bougainvillea arcing over her front porch don't go unnoticed anymore. Of course,

Meg didn't achieve this overnight, but an extraordinary new pattern had begun. Self

compassion is the most enduring antidote to pain or illness I know, a kind of oxygen that can

revitalize. Moving toward it is a lifelong path.

Your body also gives you leads about recovering from pain or illness through its internal

pictures. If you get sick you may have to undergo certain tests-X rays, ultrasound, CT scans,

MRIS, or endoscopy - some more grueling than others but all with their intuitive upside. I'd

like you to begin to consider these tests a training ground where you can learn to zero in

intuitively. I can't overemphasize the importance of having a distinct mental image of the

part of you that needs to be healed. These tests offer you that. Their visuals are structural

reference points that further ground you in your body.

Intuitive healing is always body-interactive. Why not put your medical procedures to

intuitive good? Why deny yourself such an asset? When traveling in a foreign country,

wouldn't you prefer to have a guidebook? I know tests can be scary, especially if something

is wrong. Even so, don't miss the magic of seeing into your body, a connector between you

and the substance of which you are made. The martial arts concept of mu-shin, or "no

mind," means no separation between mind and body. Power flows from this unity. Our

physical self, our emotions, a healthy body or an organ with disease-our capacity to heal

strengthens as we become one with it all.

Meeting The Master:

A Meditation For Dealing With Pain and Illness

Relax into the discomfort. Don't try to change it or rid yourself of it. Simply let the

pain be. Gently breathe through any tightening, fear, resistance. Loosen your grip.

Get to know the geography of your pain. Map it out. Become familiar with it.

Intuitively tune in to the discomfort. Does it have color? Texture? Emotion? Is it hot?

Cold? Does it move or stay in one place? Do you notice images? Sounds? Scents?

Memories? Ask the discomfort: What can I learn from you? How can I case my pain?

Focus lightly on the discomfort. Feel it completely. As you inhale, breathe all your

pain in. Visualize it as a cloud of dark smoke. Let it flow throughout your body, right

to the core of your compassion. Now picture every last bit of the black smoke

dissolving, purified by love. As you exhale, imagine this love as clear white light. Send

it back to your area of discomfort. Breathe in pain. Breathe out compassion. Breathe

in pain. Fill the pain with the healing breath of compassion.

Step 3: Sense Your Body's Subtle Energy

We are composed of flesh and blood, but also of subtle energy. Chinese Medical

Practitioners call it "chi," a vital substance which penetrates the body and extends many

feet beyond it. From an intuitive point of view, these vibrantly colored energy fields, whose

centers are called chakras have a significant effect on our health. For that reason, it is

important that we learn to sense this energy within us, recognize when it is off, and learn to

correct the imbalance. Feeling energy can be very sensual, an extension of love. Learning to

tap into your body's energy is healing.

Step 4: Ask for Inner Guidance

We each possess an intuitive voice that contains answers about our healing. Because our

intellect is often so loud, this voice often gets drowned out. It's essential that we learn to

access the stillness within--though meditation, quite contemplation, connecting with nature,

prayer-in order to gain answers about our health. Spend a few minutes each day devoted to

listening to this voice. It may appear as a gut feeling, a hunch, an image, a sound, a memory,

an instant knowing-as if a light bulb suddenly switched on. Learn to trust the signals your

inner wisdom sends.

Step 5: Listen To Your Dreams

Intuition is the language of dreams. Every ninety minutes each night during the REM stage

of sleep, we dream. Dreams provide answers about health, relationships, career choices,

any new direction. The secret is to remember them. I suggest keeping a dream journal by

your bed. Before you go to sleep, ask a dream a question. For instance, "Is this relationship

healthy for me or should I move on?" The next morning, write down any dreams

immediately before getting out of bed. Try repeating the question, every night for the next

week until your answer comes. As you develop the habit of remembering dreams, you'll be

able to benefit from this form of healing. As a physician, I have a continual sense of awe for

the relationship between body and spirit. As your heart opens, so does your intuition. Your

intuition will teach you how to see and how to love. It will instill in you a renewed faith to

face anything.

There is a healing instinct within you that can manifest in dreams. You'd be surprised at the

straightforward health advice they give, either spontaneously or on request. Tips on food,

preventive therapies, treatment options constantly come through-but we miss them. Once

remembered the essence of many of our dreams is lost because we, or our therapists, misinterpret

them. A patient told me about a recurring broccoli dream. "You can't be serious," he said, chuckling.

"It's actually trying to tell me what to eat? A vegetable?" Yes-it was. We often dismiss such practical

suggestions as meaningless. But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Keep it simple. Try something new. If you dream of eating a luscious mango, run out, devour one. Or

when, in a dream, you're soaking in natural hot springs, make a date to go. How do you know if the

advice you receive is right? Count on common sense to direct you. Though some intuitive flashes

may seem impractical or unexpected, the authentic ones will never suggest anything to jeopardize

you or anyone else's physical welfare. So, for instance, if you have heart disease and a dream tells

you, "It's okay to smoke cigarettes," don't do it. Question all messages that risk your health. Along

with this guideline, begin to familiarize yourself with traditional dream interpretation. I suggest Carl

Jung's classic text Man and His Symbols, or take a look at Creative Dreaming by Dr. Patricia Garfield.

In addition, there's an intuitive level to understanding dreams of which I'd like you to be aware.

Reliable intuitive information stands out in very specific ways. Watch for these clues:

Statements that simply convey information

Neutral segments that evoke or convey no emotion

A detached feeling, like you're a witness watching a scene

A voice or person counseling you-as if you're taking dictation from an outside source

Conversations with people you never met before who give instr-uctions about your health

I've found that my most dead-on intuitions either come across as compassionate or have no emotion

at all. Develop a careful eye as you practice separating the content of your dreams from your

reactions to it. Soon you'll be able to tell what is reliable health guidance and what is not.

Be aware that your dreams go by different rules than your waking life. Get ready for a mind shift.

Physical laws no longer apply. Gravity changes. In dreams you can fly! Remember as a child (or adult)

when you took off wingless, soared over mountains and valleys below. Healthwise, this is a reminder

of the vitality and freedom that is in you. Silence is pregnant. A dream's tone can be as restorative as

its content; a revelation about staying well can come through someone's eyes rather than words.

You are in partnership with your dreams. Initiate an ongoing dialogue with them. It's like consulting

the wisest old-time family doctor you can imagine who knows you inside out. You can ask your

dreams anything-even what seems most impossible. How can I keep my blood pressure down? What

about my hip pain or allergies? Are there ways to stop catching so many colds? No question is trivial

if it is meaningful to you. Expect answers. Some will be direct. Others may require interpretation.

Dreams can keep you well. Dreams provide answers. But first you must retrieve them. How many

nights have you awakened with the most amazing dream you were certain you'd recall? The next

morning it was gone. Our memories deceive. During sleep we experience a kind of amnesia. Dreams

are not of the rational mind. Your intuitive memory is what is needed. Here is a method I

recommend to remember your dreams. It's helpful to practice it each day. Soon it will become

second nature to you.

Four Strategies To Remember Your Dreams

Keep a journal and pen by your bed.

Write a question on a piece of paper before you go to sleep. Formalize your request. Place it

on a table beside your bed or under your pillow.

In the morning do not wake up too fast. Stay under the covers for at least a few minutes

remembering your dream. Luxuriate in a peaceful feeling between sleep and waking, what

scientists call the hypnagogic state. Those initial moments provide a doorway.

Open your eyes. Write down your dream immediately; otherwise it will evaporate. You may

recall a face, object, color, or scenario, feel an emotion. It doesn't matter if it makes perfect

sense-or if you retrieve a single image or many. Record everything you remember.

When you're finished refocus on the health question you asked the previous night. See how your

dream applies. One, two, or more impressions about the who/what/where of your solution may

have surfaced. Get in the habit of recording your dreams regularly. Be assured I've never met anyone

who can't be taught how to remember. Keep at it. If your answer doesn't come the first night, try

again. More details will emerge, rounding out the picture. Then look to your daily life for evidence of

what your dream tells you. The woman's face you glimpsed for that split second could just be that of

the healer you've been searching for.

I am guided every day by the five intuitive steps I've just presented. They have become my eyes.

They can be yours too. The intuitions about your health I speak of and live by are ordinarily without

boundary and are unseen. As you go through these steps they highlight, truths about your body,

providing a framework in which to recognize them. Ordering allows for a simple, focused

understanding. I have a great respect for structure as long as it facilitates our freedom. Go through

the steps with this in mind. With each health question you ask, be prepared to expand or contract in

response to whatever fluid motion is called for. Surrender all preconceptions about your healing.

This realm I'm attempting to outline ultimately escapes definition. The mastermind of all things

intuitive, the brains behind the scene, is of an infinite source.

What if, just once, you let yourself go, accept the gift unconditionally? I dare you. What do you have

to lose? And to gain? Breathe fire into what is dormant in you: your intuitions about a healthy body,

your sense of spiritual power from which all your intuitions come. Make these connections count.

They will last a lifetime. Open yourself to knowledge of how to heal. Let the mystery touch you. It is

everything, everything.

About Judith Orloff

Judith Orloff MD, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA and intuition expert, is author

of The Ecstasy of Surrender: 12 Surprising Ways Letting Go Can Empower Your Life (Harmony Books,

2014). Her other books include the New York Times Bestseller Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself

From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life, Positive Energy, Guide to Intuitive Healing, and

Second Sight. Dr. Orloff synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge

of intuition and energy medicine. She passionately believes that the future of medicine involves

integrating all this wisdom to achieve emotional freedom and total wellness.

www.drjudithorloff.com

FREE MINI VIDEO CLASSES ON YOUTUBE FOR YOU!

Please check out Dr. Orloffs Living Room Series to find out more about the special method Dr.

Orloff recommends to remember your dreams and other topics to build the power within. Stop by

www.youtube.com/judithorloffmd anytime.

THE POWER OF INTUITION:

DR. ORLOFF'S PERSONAL JOURNEY

by Judith Orloff MD

Im a psychiatrist and intuitive in Los Angeles. What I do isnt my job. Its my lifes passion. With

patients and in workshops, I listen with my intellect and my intuition, a potent inner wisdom that

goes beyond the literal. I experience it as a flash of insight, a gut feeling, a hunch, a dream. By

blending intuition with orthodox medical knowledge I can offer my patients and workshop

participants the best of both worlds. Now, listening to intuition is sacred to me, but learning to trust

it has taken years. Ive described the details in my memoir Second Sight which is meant to assure

anyone whoever thought they were weird or crazy for having intuitive experiences, that they are

not! This brief synopsis gives you a good sense of the book.

I grew up in Beverly Hills the only daughter of two-physician parents with twenty-five physicians in

my family. From age nine, I had dreams and intuitions that would come true. I could predicts illness,

earthquakes, even the suicide of one of my parents friends. This confused and alarmed me, as it did

my parents who were entrenched in the hard-core rational world of science. At first they tried to

write my intuitions off as coincidence. Finally, though, after I dreamed my mothers mentor would

loose a political election--which to my horror, came true--she took me aside and told me, Never

mention another dream or intuition in our house again! Ill never forget the look in my dear

mothers exasperated, frightened eyes, nothing I ever wanted to see again. So from that day on, I

kept my intuitions to myself. I grew up ashamed of my abilities, sure there was something wrong

with me.

Luckily, Ive had many angels in human form whove pointed me to my true calling as physician. In

the sixties I got heavily involved with drugs in an attempt to block my intuitions outnot something

Im recommending to you! Following a nearly fatal car accident at age sixteen when I tumbled over a

treacherous 1500 foot cliff in Malibu Canyon, my parents forced me to see a psychiatrist. This man

was the first person who ever saw me--not who he wanted me to be, but who I was. He taught me

to begin to value the gift of intuition, and referred me to Dr. Thelma Moss, a intuition researcher at

the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. She was to become my mentor and guide to developing my

intuitive side.

While working in Thelmas lab I had an amazingly specific dream which announced, Youre going to

become an MD, a psychiatrist, to help legitimize intuition in medicine. When I awoke, I felt like

someone was playing a practical joke on me. Id never liked science, and I was bored around all my

parents doctor-friends. I was a hippie living in an old converted brick Laundromat with my artist-

boyfriend in Venice Beach, working in the May Companys towel department. (Ive had a great love

of towels and sheets since!) The last thing I envisioned doing was medicine. But because I was

beginning to trust my intuition, I enrolled in a junior college just to see how it would go. So one

course became two, became fourteen years of medical training--USC medical school and a UCLA

psychiatric internship and residency.

The irony was, that during my medical training I strayed far from the intuitive world again.

Traditional psychiatry equates visions with psychosis. Working in the UCLA emergency room, Id

keep seeing psychotics who were wheeled in screaming, strapped to gurneys, accompanied by cops

with billy clubs. These patients professed to hear God and to be able predict things. They also felt

their food was poisoned, and that the FBI was on their tail. No one tried to sort through this

mishmash of claims. Typically, patients would shot up with with Thorazine, hospitalized on lock-

down inpatient units until their symptoms subsided. Seeing this so many times I doubted whether

it was safe or appropriate to integrate my intuitions in medicine.

When I opened my Los Angeles psychiatric practice in 1983, I had every intention of it being

traditional; Id use medications, psychotherapy, but I didnt intend for intuition to play a role. My

practice was extremely successful. Since I was a workaholic and also loved helping people, I had

twelve hour days, though very little personal life. But then I had a heart-wrenching wake-up call that

changed everything. It was an intuition that a patient, on antidepressants, was going to make a

suicide attempt. Because she was doing so well--nothing supported my hunch--I dismissed it. Within

a week she overdosed on the antidepressants Id prescribed and ended up in a coma for nearly a

month. (Had she not survived I wouldve been devastated.) The hardest part, though, was that I

thought Id harmed her by not utilizing a vital piece of intuitive information. This was intolerable for

me. From then on, I knew, as a responsible physician, I had to integrate my intuitions into my work.

After this episode, my journey to bring intuition into my medical practice began. I didnt know how

Id do it, but I put out a silent prayer to the universe to help me. Soon, I began meeting people, more

angels, who showed me the way. Gradually I grew comfortable with my intuition, set out to write

Second Sight. This took me seven years to complete because I had so much fear about coming out

of the closet as an intuitive. I was afraid of what my physician-peers would think, that theyd mock

me or blackball me from the profession. My mother warned, Theyll think youre weird. Itll

jeopardize your medical career. Ah Mother: I loved her, but thank god I didnt listen. Finding my

voice as a psychiatrist and intuitive has been my path to freedom.

Sure, theres a risk when you stretch yourself, but the rewards are enormous. Now, Im blessed to

travel around the country giving workshops on intuition to auditoriums full of extraordinary people--

health care professionals and general audiences alike--who long to embrace their inner voice. Im

heartened to see that many physicians are eager to deal with patients in the new way I offer.

Recently I gave an intuitive healing workshop at the American Psychiatric Association convention, a

annual gathering of the most conservative psychiatrists in the world. Im pleased to report the

response was wonderful.

Im sad to report that my mother didnt live long enough to see this. In 1993 she died of a

lymphoma. But, on her deathbed, she decided to tell me our family secrets. She told me, I want

to pass the power onto you. I was astounded to learn that I came from a lineage of intuitive healers

on her side of the family--my Jewish grandmother who did laying on of hands in a shed behind the

pharmacy she and Grandpop ran in Philadelphia. East coast aunts and cousins Id never met since I

grew up in California. Also, my mother, herself, had a strong inner voice which told her how to treat

patients for over forty years. Shed listened to this voice and secretly used her innate healing powers

to keep her lymphoma in remission for many years. Why didnt you tell me? I asked her. She said

simply, I wanted you to lead a normal, happy life, not to be thought of as weird like your

grandmother was. Oh Mother... Ill always be grateful for what she shared, but, still... shed waited

so long. Even so, I believe in the wisdom of the paths weve been given. Mine has been to fight for

what I believed in despite what my parents or anyone said. An invaluable but rugged lesson in

empowerment.

These days, no matter what Im going through, especially when my heart is torn in a million pieces

my intuition has sustained me. I hope that my journey in my book Second Sight can help you. One

thing Im certain of: if you follow your intuitive voice, you cant go wrong. Stay true to it. Intuition is

about empowerment, not having to conform to someone elses notion of who you should be. Its

about being true to yourself, and all the goodness that comes from that.

Meditations and Exercises To Reduce Stress

Dr. Orloffs Ten Prescriptions for Positive Energy

The First Prescription: Awaken Your Intuition and Rejuvenate Yourself

The Second Prescription: Find a Nurturing Spiritual Path

The Third Prescription: Design an Energy-Aware Approach to Diet, Exercise, and Health

The Fourth Prescription: Generate Positive Emotional Energy to Counter Negativity

The Fifth Prescription: Develop a Heart-Centered Sexuality

The Sixth Prescription: Open to the Flow of Creativity and Inspiration

The Seventh Prescription: Celebrate the Sacredness of Laughter, Pampering, and The Replenishment

of Retreat

The Eighth Prescription: Attract Positive People and Situations

The Ninth Prescription: Protect Yourself From Energy Vampires

The Tenth Prescription: Create Abundance

How To Protect Yourself From Energy Vampires

1. Take an inventory of people in your life who give energy, and people who drain. Specifically

identify the energy vampires, and begin to evaluate ones you'd like to limit contact with or

eliminate.

2. Set Clear Boundaries

Its crucial to limit the time you spend discussing a vampires gripes. Remember: the

difference between being a bitch and setting boundaries is attitude. Instead of saying,

Youre selfish and self-obsessed, I cant take you anymore, which a part of you likely feels,

take a breath and shift to your heart.

3. Meditate for a few minutes. Sitting in meditation is a life-line to your center, to the earth. it

will ground you when youve been zapped by a vampire. By calming the mind, you can re-

align with your essence. Close your eyes. Focus on your breath. Then. picture having a long

tail that extends down into the earths core and lodges in that center. Let the earth's energy

to fill your body.

4. Visualize a Protective Shield. When youre with vampires you cant get away from visualize a

protective shield of while light surrounding every inch of you. This lets positive energy in, but

keeps negative energy outparticularly efficient for vampires at family dinners or social

events where youre trapped.

A Three Minute Meditation to Open Your Heart

1. Settle in a peaceful place with no interruptions. In a cozy chair or in in a hot bath with

candles all around. Make it as sensual as you like. Get very quiet. Relax your body. Slowly

inhale. Then exhale. Your breath will bring you back to center.

2. Gently rest your palm over your heart. Concentrate on a person, place, song, or memory you

love. You may want to start with nature. Visualize a sublime dawn. Or picture your puppy

napping in your lap. If you prefer, focus on your higher power, whatever your definition. The

purpose is to feel love in a general sense, then specifically as a localized energy in your chest.

3. Observe the sensations in your heart, dramatic or subtle. Heat. Coolness. Tingling. Vibration.

Expansion. Bliss. Pressure releasing. Compassion. Let it happen. Dont hold back. With time,

youll feel a vortex of positive energy growing in your heart which spontaneously flows out

into your body.

8 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR POSITIVE ENERGY

1. The Three Minute Mini-Meditation Three minutes of meditation can work magic! Take a

break in a quiet place to center yourself. Close your eyes. Sit in a comfortable position. Then

slowly inhale and exhale. If thoughts come keep refocusing on your breath. Then practice

this visualization: Breathe in light and clarity. Breathe out stress. Breathe in vitality. Breathe

out fear. Do this until positive energy fills you.

2. Avoid energy vampires who suck you dry, and be around nurturing friends

3. Create a Sacred Space at Home to Replenish Yourself. It can be very simple. Mine is a small

table with candles, incense, and a rose in a vase. When Im exhausted I sit there, close my

eyes, and get centered again. A place to sit for at least five minutes where no one can

interrupt you. Home can be a retreat, not merely a pit stop where we plop ourselves down

on our bed after work exhausted.

4. Take Technology Fasts. Energetic breaks from machine or cyber exposure. Sitting at a

computer all day can drain you and cause what I have termed techodespair fatigue or

depression that comes from being around machines too longfaxes, emails, phones

included. Go out for a walk, breathe fresh air, feel the sun on your shoulders instead.

5. Stop Rushing! If youre a rusher focus on one thing at a time. Take a few minutes out to be in

the Now.Be totally present in the moment. Open your senses. Notice your environment.

Take pleasure in the tulips, the fountains, the puppies.

6. Do Nothing. Allow yourself to veg out and do mindless activities for a while (watch a soap

opera instead of CNN, read magazines, stare at the sky. Or stay in bed all afternoon with the

phone unplugged.I see the occasional veg out as a spiritual state because it restores energy.

7. Laugh at something or just be plain silly. Laughter increases positive energy, elevates the

immune system and endorphins, and decreases depression.

8. Anonymous giving builds energy. The paradox is that we profit from this at those time when

we may least feel like it. Help an old lady across the street. Hold the elevator for someone.

Bring a friend a peach. This reverses the misery and exhaustion of self obsession and

negative thinking.

4 Intuitive Tips to Be In The Now

Tip #1. Observe People Whore In the Now

To feel the power of Now, observe those whore in it. This intuitively attunes you to vibes

you can resonate with. Babies and young children are naturally in the Now. Similarly, for

creative people, the moment is everything. Take Maya Angelou singing and strutting her

poetry. Or YoYo Ma stroking his celestial cello. Attend a performance of someone you gets

you going. Also recognize that during emergencies we revert to the Now. If your seven-year-

old falls from a tree, your mind isnt going to roam; all your energy and attention will be with

her.

Tip #2. Follow Your Breath

Following the breath brings you back to the Now during a busy day. Many cultures equate

the terms spirit and breath: Latin, spirtus; Hebrew, ruach; Greek, pneuma; Sanskrit, prana.

Many of us walk around unconsciously holding our breath which constricts energy. Take a

few quiet moments to relax, eyes closed, focusing on each inhalation and exhalation: the

softness of breath entering your nostrils, your lungs; your chest rising and falling. Simply

follow the breath; dont control it. If thoughts intrude--and they will!--intuitively visualize

each one as a puffy cloud passing in the sky. Try not to attach to thoughts, an ability that

gets easier with practice. Just let them float by. Then, each time, return to your breath, your

body, and the Now.

Tip #3. Physically Feel Your Pulse

Locate and concentrate on the beat of your pulse: with your palm facing upward gently align

two fingers vertically on the wrist just below the thumb. Get used to how your pulse feels.

Then, with each beat, intuitively visualize your life force as golden energy rushing through

you, a beautiful sensation.

Tip #4. Repeat A Mantra

A mantra is a sacred word or phrase that can cue you to return to the Now. One translation

is that which protects one from negative energy. In Tibetan Buddhism, a mantra is passed

from teacher to student. Its either recited inwardly or aloud, a way to focus during

meditation or during chaos. So, in the chaos of your world a special mantra can retrieve you.

It could be ohm or shalom for peace, the Beatles song Let It Be. MIne is I am that I am

that I am that I am... Choose one that appears to you.

6 Positive Energy Tactics to Overcome Fear

Tactic 1. Know your fears well to avoid ambush

First, identify your fears, small or monstrous. Dont censor. For instance, Im not smart

enough, pretty enough...Ill never find a soulmate so I might as well not try. Some of my

biggest fears include ending up drooling and alone in a nursing home: or if I suddenly die at

home Id just lie there unmissed until my cleaning lady found me. Second,, say to your fear,

Thank-you for sharing. Then make a conscious move into your heart. To replace fear with

faith, I affirm, I will be taken care of, not abandoned. I also suggest meditating on your

heart to reconnect with whatever you love. I do this by focusing on Spirit--letting all that

renewing energy fill me. This reminds me Im not alone--nor are any of us.. Conjuring

positive energy in these ways collapses fear.

Tactic 2. Listen to your intuition

Once youve identified the fear, tune into the actual truth of the situation. Some fears are

protective, others are not. Our species history makes us anticipate danger for survival. In

contrast, we need to question fears tied to low self worth: were all entitled to an

extraordinary life, whatever form that takes. We also must question fears that were unable

to love. Even the severely traumatized can have enormous capacities. Fear seduces most

when we doubt ourselves. Follow these guidelines to tell intuition from fear. (1) Trustworthy

intuitions will energize you. They are either neutral, simply conveying information;

compassionate, never beating you up; or a gut feeling that something feels right or off. For

instance, if late at night you notice an unkempt man with sleazy vibes--your gut affirms this--

walking toward you, its prudent to avoid him. Or if during a date, your gut yells beware,

dont marry the guy. At the very least, take the relationship slow. (2) Irrational fear, on the

other hand, exhausts you. Its emotionally charged so that centered neutrality is impossible.

The content is often cruel or demeaning, with no gut-level confirmation. Irrational fear lacks

the clarity of feeling on target. One good thing: its denigrating rants give it away. Knowing

your fears keeps you from getting hooked.

Tactic 3. Say A Prayer to Lift Fear

Sometimes fear grips your spirit and just wont let go. You do everything right. You pin down

the fear. You tune in. You know its irrational, but still cant shake it. Now, ask for another

kind of help. You may believe in angels, or that your grandfather is watching over you (mine

is!). Whoever your positive energy emissaries are, get ready to call in the troops. Take a

breath. Close your eyes. Be innocent, not cynical. Know that the non-material world holds

much magic our rational mind can never understand. Then say a prayer from the heart. It

could be very simple: Please take this fear from me. Meanwhile, just stay open. No tensing

up. Let the positive energy youre summoning do its job. Requesting such intervention brings

amazing results.

Tactic 4. Make a gratitude list

Concentrating on what youre grateful for shifts fear. Gratitude is a form of positive energy.

If you want it, youve got to seek it out. Gratitude doesnt just happen. By accentuating

blessings, not problems, youre supplanting negative thoughts with positive vibes. Writing

gratitudes down solidifies them. Sometimes, though, riddled by fear, a gratitude list is the

last thing you feel like doing. Nevertheless, take contrary action--even if you resist, make

one anyway.

Tactic 5. Visit an uplifting place

When fear takes hold, brooding in isolation isnt the answer. Get out of the house. Its all

over if you become fears captive audience. Go to a setting that makes you happy. Positive

vibes will rub off on you. Soak them up. One of my patients goes to an aquarium. Another to

a cathedral. Another to a Malibu bluff. The energy sites you cherish in the world offset fear.

Tactic 6. Avoid Absorbing Other Peoples Fears

When fear crops up instantly ask yourself: Is this mine or someone elses? Sometimes,

though, it could be both. If the fear is yours softly confront it. If not, it may be easy to

pinpoint the source. However, say youve come home from a comedy full of fear, you

couldve energetically picked it up from someone beside you; in close proximity energy fields

overlap. Ditto with going to a mall. To detach from fear: (1) When possible, distance yourself

from the source. Move at least twenty feet away, out of their energy field; youll feel relief.

Dont err on the side of not wanting to offend strangers. In a public place I dont hesitate to

change seats if I get unsettling vibes. (2) For a few minutes, center yourself by concentrating

on your breath: keep exhaling fear, inhaling calm; practice the grounding and breathing

meditations youve learned. Try visualizing fear as black smoke exiting, and calm as while

light entering; it can yield quick results. (4) Fear frequently lodges in your emotional energy

center at the solar plexus. Place your palm there, as you focus on sending that location

loving energy to flush fear out. Keep pumping love from your heart into the area to purify

the emotional pollution.

Intuition and Health: Tips to Find the Right Doctor

(Adapted from Guide to Intuitive Healing: Five Steps to Physical, Emotional, and Sexual Wellness by

Judith Orloff MD)

I want to guide you through the process of selecting a health care practitioner to match your needs.

I'll point out qualities to look for and those to avoid. Here are some guidelines to follow. Also use

common sense combined with intuition to choose the right practitioner for you. Who you let touch

your body, prescribe medications, and counsel you about vital health strategies is one of the most

important decisions you'll ever make.

In Guide to Intuitive Healing I discuss in detail the dos and donts when evaluating or looking for a

doctor. Many of us have stuck far too long with a health care practitioner when we didn't follow our

intuition on whether they were a good fit for our needs. Seek out someone who blends intuitive and

technical skills implementing as many of the following guidelines from my book as possible.

QUALITIES TO LOOK FOR

Notice if your doctor:

Takes time to listen to you

Does he or she pay attention and let you fully explain why you are there? Is there good eye contact

or is your doctor staring down at a clipboard or a computer screen?

Is technically qualified

Does your practitioner have sold credentials? For example, an MD, Ph.D. or RN? Is he or she

licensed? Is your alternative healer certified, and/or does your healer have a good track record with

patients? Do you know anyone who can vouch for his or her high level of care?

Isn't offended if you ask for a second opinion

If needed, is your doctor open and non-defensive about getting another point of view? Will he or she

recommend a trustworthy colleague?

Presents you with options and is knowledgeable about (or at least open to) alternative health

techniques

Are you told the pros and cons of a few possible treatments? If you ask, for example, about

acupuncture, will your doctor react with an open mind? If you say, "Here's an article about my

condition, would you be willing to read it and discuss it with me? How does your doctor respond?

Honors your intuitions and preferences about your body

If you say, "My intuition doesn't feel good about this plan of action," does your doctor factor it into

the decision making? Or will he or she chide you, "Be serious that's not very scientific?" Does your

doctor encourage you to know your body's needs?

QUALITIES TO AVOID

Notice if your doctor:

Rushes you through an office visit

Are you interrupted by your doctor taking phone calls? Do you overhear him or her making dinner

reservations or golf dates? Does your HMO doc really make those fifteen minutes count? Or is he or

she abrupt? Distracted? Do you get cut off repeatedly or before you're finished explaining why

you're there?

Approaches you with a demeaning "holier than thou" attitude, talking in jargon

Are you told, "I'm the doctor. I know what's best for you?" Does he or she insist in using complex

medical terminology even though you've said it confuses you? Does your doctor refuse to explain

things in simple terms?

Isn't professionally accredited or technically skilled

Is your doctor unlicensed? Has his or her license ever been revoked? Do you know of any complaints

of wrong-doing from other patients?

Makes you feel guilty or foolish for asking questions

Does your doctor dismiss or minimize your concerns remarking, "You're overly sensitive," or even

worse, "You created your illness?" Is he or she patronizing, saying, "It's over your head. I can't

explain your condition in a way you'd understand."

Doesn't return phone calls within twenty four hours

When calling, are you told, "The doctor's busy and will have to get back to you," then doesn't? Is he

or she hard to reach during an emergency? Do you have the sense that your doctor's always tied up

with something more important than you?

It is your right to access who is the right health care practitioner for you. Taking responsibility for

your choice by evaluating the above criteria will lead to a more positive and productive relationship

with your doctor. The care and time you give to finding the right health care practitioner is very

empowering. It allows you to become an integral part of your healing process. When you and your

doctor are on the same wavelength, communication about all aspects of your health will be vastly

improved.

The Meaning of Deja Vu

Adapted from Second Sight: An Intuitive Psychiatrist Tells Her Story and Show You How to Tap Your

Own Inner Wisdom (Three Rivers Press, 2010) by Judith Orloff MD

"Dj Vu" is a common intuitive experience that has happened to many of us. The expression is

derived from the French, meaning "already seen." When it occurs, it seems to spark our memory of a

place we have already been, a person we have already seen, or an act we have already done. It is a

signal to pay special attention to what is taking place, perhaps to receive a specific lesson in a certain

area or complete what is not yet finished.

In Second Sight I describe many theories to explain dj vu: a memory of a dream, a precognition,

a coincidental overlapping of events or even a past life experience in which we rekindle ancient

alliances. What matters is that it draws us closer to the mystical. It is an offering, an opportunity for

additional knowledge about ourselves and others.

During a trip to Africa, Carl Jung described a feeling of dj vu when he viewed a slim, black man

leaning on a spear looking down at his train as it made a turn around a steep cliff on the way to

Nairobi. He writes, "I had the feeling that I had already experienced this moment and had always

known this world." Although this world and this man were something alien to him, he saw the whole

thing as perfectly natural. He called this a recognition of what was "immemorially known."

In Western culture, we are brought up to consider anyone who isn't an immediate member of our

circle of friends and family to be a stranger. Yet at times, you meet people whom you feel as if you

have known for years. You can talk to them about anything and they understand. You laugh easily

with them. The tone of their voice, the way they take their coffee, all seem commonplace. It isn't

that they remind you of someone else or that their qualities are simply endearing. You relate to

them not as strangers, but as people with whom you have shared history, members of the same

tribe.

A patient of mine named Shannon knew that she was going to marry her husband the day that they

met. She had dated a lot of men following her divorce, but none of them felt right. Then, she met

Bob. There was something about the way he smiled, the glint of his hair, his voice and the shape of

his hands, that made her think that they had known each other before. After talking it was clear that

their paths had never crossed, but after their first lunch date, they became inseparable. What

Shannon and Bob immediately felt for each other was more than just physical chemistry. It was a

natural compatibility and a depth of intimacy that usually emerges after couples are together for

many years. They were married two months after they met and have been together now for ten

years.

Im often asked how to tell the difference between a feeling of dj-vu when we first meet someone

and an attraction stemming from an addictive obsession. Some addiction specialists say that

whenever you meet someone and an explosion of fireworks go off, this is a sign not of true love, but

of one neurosis meeting another. They suggest that you run as fast as you can in the opposite

direction.

Based upon my work with the recovering community, I agree that there is a strong tendency among

addicts and some non-addicts to try to "fix" themselves with love and sex, rushing prematurely into

relationships inspired only by intense physical attraction. They often have nothing to do with dj-

vu, but stem rather from a basic emptiness that longs to be filled. There is no true bond between the

people involved, they hardly know each other, and these partnership attempts fail miserably when

the pink glow of newness wears off.

The fact that an encounter feels compelling or immediate doesn't necessarily mean that it is healthy

or unhealthy. The experience of dj vu must always be approached discerningly. However, mostly

dj-vu experiences are not obsessive or compulsive. They rather convey a quality that is quiet and

solid..

The possibility of having a dj vu is inherent in partnerships of all kinds, particularly the more

intimate ones. It can occur in business, friendships and family, often leading to pivotal outcomes that

can impact the direction of our life.

There are situations that are glitches in time, when the rules bend and the mystery takes hold.

Enchanted moments that sparkle. These are deja-vus. They can take place anywhere, at any time

and with anyone. Your real estate agent might show you a house that feels so familiar and right, you

instantly know it is yours. Or perhaps you are in a restaurant and sense an inexplicable kinship with a

woman sitting in the back corner booth. Don't let these possibilities pass you by. Take notice;

investigate. There is no way of predicting where each might lead or what it will teach you.

Summoning the courage to take a chance and act on synchronicities, to have faith in what is not yet

visible, will make the experience your own.

4 Techniques to Protect Your Energy

Adapted from Dr. Judith Orloffs New York Times Bestseller, Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself

From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life (Three Rivers Press, 2011)

Emotional freedom means learning how to stay centered in a stressful, highly emotionally charged

world. Since emotions such as fear, anger, and frustration are energies, you can potentially catch

them from people without realizing it. If you tend to be an emotional sponge, its vital to know how

to avoid taking on an individuals negative emotions or the free-floating kind in crowds. Another

twist is that chronic anxiety, depression, or stress can turn you into an emotional sponge by wearing

down your defenses. Suddenly, you become hyper-attuned to others, especially those with similar

pain. Thats how empathy works; we zero in on hot-button issues that are unresolved in ourselves.

From an energetic standpoint, negative emotions can originate from several sources. What youre

feeling may be your own; it may be someone elses; or it may be a combination. Ill explain how to

tell the difference and strategically bolster positive emotions so you dont shoulder negativity that

doesnt belong to you.

This wasnt something I always knew how to do. Growing up, my girlfriends couldn't wait to hit the

shopping malls and go to parties, the bigger the better--but I didn't share their excitement. I always

felt overwhelmed, exhausted around large groups of people, though I was clueless why. "What's the

matter with you?" friends would say, shooting me the weirdest looks. All I knew was that crowded

places and I just didn't mix. I'd go there feeling just fine but leave nervous, depressed, or with some

horrible new ache or pain. Unsuspectingly, I was a gigantic sponge, absorbing the emotions of

people around me.

With my patients, Ive also seen how absorbing other peoples emotions can trigger panic attacks,

depression, food, sex and drug binges, and a plethora of physical symptoms that defy traditional

medical diagnosis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that more than two million

Americans suffer from chronic fatigue. Its likely that many of them are emotional sponges.

Here are some strategies from Emotional Freedom to practice. They will help you to stop absorbing

other peoples emotions.

Emotional Action Step: How To Stay Centered In A Stressful World

To detach from other peoples negative emotions:

First, ask yourself: Is the feeling mine or someone elses? It could be both. If the emotion

such as fear or anger is yours, gently confront whats causing it on your own or with

professional help. If not, try to pinpoint the obvious generator. For instance, if youve just

watched a comedy, yet you came home from the movie theater feeling blue, you may have

incorporated the depression of the people sitting beside you; in close proximity, energy

fields overlap. The same is true with going to a mall or packed concert.

When possible, distance yourself from the suspected source. Move at least twenty feet

away; see if you feel relief. Dont err on the side of not wanting to offend strangers. In a

public place, dont hesitate to change seats if you feel a sense of depression imposing on

you.

For a few minutes, center yourself by concentrating on your breath: This connects you to

your essence. Keep exhaling negativity, inhaling calm. This helps to ground yourself and

purify fear or other difficult emotions Visualize negativity as gray fog lifting from your body,

and hope as golden light entering. This can yield quick results.

Negative emotions such as fear frequently lodge in your emotional center at the solar

plexus. Place your palm there as you keep sending loving-kindness to that area to flush

stress out. For longstanding depression or anxiety, use this method daily to strengthen this

center. Its comforting and builds a sense of safety and optimism.

Shield yourself. A handy form of protection many people use, including healers with trying

patients, involves visualizing an envelope of white light (or any color you feel imparts power)

around your entire body. Think of it as a shield that blocks out negativity or physical

discomfort but allows what's positive to filter in.

Look for positive people and situations. Call a friend who sees the good in others. Spend

time with a colleague who affirms the bright side of things. Listen to hopeful people. Hear

the faith they have in themselves and others. Also relish hopeful words, songs, and art

forms. Hope is contagious and it will lift your mood.

Keep practicing these strategies. You dont have to reinvent the wheel each time youre on

emotional overload. With strategies to cope, you can have quicker retorts to stressful situations, feel

safer, and your sensitivities can blossom.