Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Fun Friday - Twitter, News Bits, & Trust Your Intuition

30 Day Blogging Challenge – July 15

Fun Fact Friday!
On this day in 2006, the social networking service Twitter was publicly launched. Do you use Twitter? What are your thoughts on it? If you don't, tell us how you feel about social networking in 140 characters or less.

I did not join Twitter until... well, I think it was Nanowrimo that eventually sent me into that realm. I am not a huge fan. Saying things in 140 characters is a bit confining... I do find it interesting though. I read what others post and often repost things I find intriguing. Rarely do I comment myself, but I am sure I have done so...

Blog City – Day 859

First of all, I want to say my heart goes out to all the families involved in the barrage of violence happening around the world.
Please take a moment to discuss something that is trending right now in your area in your entry. Are they important or trivial? I know when I glanced on MSN and saw the list, my first reaction was ... Seriously! Where is our world going?

So here is a trivial news bit:
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/6769182-ontario-quickly-turns-down-toronto-s-r...

This is just common sense - don't walk and text. There should be no need to even bring this up in a city council meeting... but apparently some people are just so into their phones they are brain dead or simply stupid. If I need to send a text, I either wait until I am in a safe spot to do so or I walk out of the way of the people flow - against a wall - and do my text, before moving on into the flow again. I need to be present in my surroundings. It drives me nuts that people are so focused on things not in their immediate environment.

Love Louder - Amplifying My Life

I have decided as part of my blog to comment on each of Preston Smiles's ways to Love Louder. He has written an intriguing little book or 33 Ways To Amplify Your Life. The full title is Love Louder: 33 Ways To Amplify Your Life.

Day 15 - Trust Your Intuition: Intuition is the GPS of the soul

"At some point we've all heard that small voice whispering guidance from within."
According to Preston Smiles these are signals that we get on a daily basis, whether we're tuned in or not. It could be your gut telling you to not go somewhere or do something. Heeding that advice is a good idea. Not heeding it can lead to trouble.
Most of us have been taught to look for answers outside ourselves, but Smiles believes, everything we need is already within,,, the intuition. Some call it your gut instinct, others say it is the voice of a Higher Power - God. Whatever you call it, it is worth paying attention to. Trusting your intuition is about trusting yourself. Doing this increases the love to give to yourself and others.
It is that first thought that comes... the one that comes before the second, third and fourth thoughts that have you doubting yourself.

Intuition can come in many forms: a gut feeling, an aha moment, a body signal, or a flash of insight. It can unfold slowly like a movie. It is usually subtle and appears differently to different people. To Smiles it is one of the most powerful tools when you chose to tune in to it. To use it, you must exercise it. Smiles gives 4 ways to activate your intuition and use it to love louder:

1. Go within yourself or you'll go without. We are so much more than our thoughts, once you learn to quiet your mind, you can access your intuitive intelligence. He recommends twenty minutes - a kind of meditation - focusing on slow breaths to relax your body, focusing your attention on the inhale and exhale, letting thoughts be like clouds that pass by as you watch them, then refocus on your breathing.

2. Take action on all AHA moments. When you hear the call from within, answer. Pay attention and act on intuitive moments. The more you do this the more of them you will get. Intuition is activated when you put it to use and trust it. These moments can be awesome guides once you chose to trust them.

3. Question and journal. This is similar to Julia Cameron's Morning Pages... letting stream of consciousness open up and guide you. Smiles suggests asking questions iu a journal and then waiting for the answer. Being active in the communication, asking questions and making a habit of listening and writing down the answers. Cameron's Pages allow you to write these questions and as you are just letting the words come, the answers will come as well. You kind of get out of your own way, in a sense.

4. Listen to your body. Your body has its own wisdom, catching everything and sending signals along the way. Notice which people give you energy and which drain you. By using your body's signals you can create a team of energy givers, and begin to limit you time with energy drainers.

I find I listen to my body and move away from my mother when she is feeling darkness and her emotions are dragging her down... this usually happens when she has had a little more wine than usual. It does not mean that I abandon her.... but I don't try to pick her up at those times - like I used to as a kid, I wait for the wine to go, she she has a clearer head... and the morning is fresh and new again... she is more receptive then. I have gotten very good at sensing my mother's moods over the years. As a child it was a coping mechanism.... now, it just makes good sense and I am grateful for the more sensitive radar.

I feel I have been listening to my inner voice a lot lately. Listening to that still small voice as it tells me to go back and help, to use my cell phone to call 911 when a grandfather and his grandchildren had found a man who had fallen into a ravine. To go out and be neighbourly when a package arrived next door. Moments I listened to and felt good about myself afterward for putting myself out there and making things a little better in my corner of the world.
Noticing these sparks of intuition make me feel in tune with myself and that makes me feel lighter and useful.