Spiritual Resilience Sundays: The Miracle of Cueing The Hysterical Laughter

You're either doomscrolling or trying not to.....

Spring is a celebration of light out of darkness.

Even though the first few days after Daylight Savings Time can feel like state sponsored jet lag, that extra hour of light in the evening works like magic. Well, on me anyway. I'm not quite sure what the Savings part is actually saving, but I surmise that for some of us, it's probably bail money. Because whenever I consult the inter webs for a semi-concise explanation of what DST is, including its capitalist origins and what the variables would be if we ever decided to get rid of it, I can only read as far as the part where they explain that without it, the sun would come up after 8am in December in Maine.

That would undo me completely. I spend so much energy during the darkest weeks of the year just trying to remind myself that it is temporary, staring into my sunlight lamp as I recite all the reasons why I actually do love winter especially the respite it provides from frenetic activity. And the wonderment created by decorating anything with pretty lights.

But there are real limits to what I can take, to what any of us can. So cueing hysterical laughter is a coping strategy that I highly recommend. And my favorite form of hysteria is smartassery.

Btw, did you know that in early spring, the sun is moving from the last sign of the zodiac (Pisces), into the first (Aries)? A starkly astrological metaphor for why early Spring can feel very much like a darkest before dawn scenario.

It also might explain why I am hilarious first thing in the morning.

If nothing else the increasing sunlight affirms the miracles of plenty, strength, and joy appearing wherever there was formerly lack, weakness, or sorrow.

But this year, whoo. When every day seems like a further step deeper into WTF World, do we really want to have to endure longer days of it?

Yes. yes we do. Because there's a reason we say "the light of day is the best antiseptic". Your sense of humor is actually an investigative reporter. And guess what? Your intuition has a sense of humor too.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you’re probably starting to get it by now that I really, really, really want you to have a strong connection to your intuition. Basically, that means I will do anything legal to help make that possible. So let's shine some daylight on one of the biggest myths and misconceptions about intuition: that it is rare.

We think that intuition is a mystical gift bestowed upon only a chosen few. That we can only have intuitive experiences once in a while, unlike the unique type of person we believe intuitives to be. That your own intuition will never be as consistently active as a "real" intuitive. Please hear me when I say this is hogwash. These limiting beliefs are the reason we never think we're intuitive enough.

We believe intuition is something so lofty or sacred that we should be very formal and serious when we discuss it. We must speak in hushed tones.

I call BS on that too, obviously. We need to literally cue our hysterical laughter and make fun of that idea immediately. We need to hold protest signs around J.K. whatsherface not just because she's a terf and a bigot, but also because she created Sybil Trelawney, the most laden-with-cartoonish-stereotypes mystical character in recent memory. I'll go first: my sign will read J.K. Rowling Puts Her Cast Iron Skillet In The Dishwasher. (This is an idea I stole recently from a highly successful protest at a Vermont ski town against another highly unimaginative idiot who'd rather destroy democracy than go to therapy).

Your intuition is not beyond reach. Actually, your intuition is like that fun, funny friend of yours who is super easy to be around and who goes with you to Costco (insert any other big box store here we're not boycotting at the moment) so they can remind you to get all the things you forgot to put on your list.

They're your pal who is never even remotely high maintenance. You can serve them a fancy dinner on paper plates. But only if you feel like it because of course take out is fine and of course, if you are concerned about the environmental impact of paper plates, they will applaud you for using china and help with the dishes.

They're your friend who has perfect timing. They are thoughtful and sweet and say the most sincerely kind things to you just when you need to hear them.

And they're also your friend who loves you enough to tell you the truth even if you don’t want to hear it.

Your intuition is the person who is safe to be around. They are so generous with you that it never feels like work. You can relax and be yourself.

Playfulness and irreverence are the best tools we can use to understand intuition in a culture that is always trying to get you to believe intuition is strange. It's not. It's not unusual, unreliable, or dangerous. It's not lurking in the shadows. It doesn't bite.

The weirder and scarier you believe intuition to be, the less you’ll actually be inclined to trust it and use it.

But my money’s on you. You are a miracle. You are the most beautiful spring day of all.

One of the things that you are going to have to accept if you want to have a great relationship with your intuition is that you are a product of the culture which seeks to marginalize it. This means if we’re lucky enough to experience our intuition at all, by the time we realize what’s happening our intuition has had to wade through layers and layers of muck just to get our attention.

Becoming aware of those layers and exposing how they operate is the only way to remove their effect on you. There are times when you’ll have to roll up your sleeves and put some muscle into it. But trust me, any effort you put into this endeavor will benefit you more than you can even imagine. The more you change your thinking and beliefs about intuition, the less your intuition has to do to get your attention. The clearer you get, the more helpful it will be.

Remember, it’s never an issue of whether or not you have a strong enough gift. If you are human you have everything you need right now to frolic down the aisles at your preferred retail establishment with a robust commitment to DEI, with nary a care in the world because you know your gut has your back.

(Like in a good way. Like in a yoga class way and not in the way where maybe an ambulance has to be called).

One of the biggest categories of blocks to intuition are what I call thinking errors. These are universal and unchallenged assumptions about who we are as humans in the sense that almost every single person who has walked into my office over the last 30+ years has labored under the misunderstandings produced by these errors. Your intuition uses language and thought to communicate with you, so if it’s blocked by a thinking error, you’ll never hear what it’s actually saying.

Here are the three main thinking errors that make it hard to hear our intuition clearly.

1. We believe that we are fundamentally alone. We struggle with the idea that we are actually spiritual beings connected to other spiritual beings. As a result we are deeply isolated and don’t hear when our intuition is encouraging us to reach out to our loved ones and our communities, to participate in the cycle of giving and receiving that sustains us.

2. We are chronically pessimistic. We interpret the circumstances of our lives in the most negative way possible. This causes us to try and control and manipulate rather than hear the guidance of our intuition, especially if it is positive, loving and kind.

3. We constantly project how we are feeling from moment to moment into the future. This causes continual anxiety and fear and also keeps our focus on control of the outer environment, rather than on the intuitive messages that help us develop inner peace and resilience, and which allow us to have an honest response to what’s happening in our lives.

Each of these thinking errors loosen their grip on us quite easily the moment we begin to question them. That’s all it takes, just becoming a wee bit curious. All you have to do is open your mind up to the possibility that your intuition is specifically interested in directing you to the people and experiences that are going to help you become part of the highest good for the greatest number. And since part of that is experiencing your own personal highest good, you’re going to have to consider that (especially) the intuitive guidance that surprises you with its kindness, its riskiness, and its reassurance, might be exactly what you need to know to make that possible.

The other way to break up a thinking error is to make fun of it. Tease yourself a little for having committed these errors. We all do it, everyday. The only difference is some of us are more charming in our expressions of doom and gloom than others. We are all drama queens periodically.

This is where social media actually performs an excellent service toward humanity btw. Parody and satire are the tools that help us breathe. The gleeful, joyous mocking/speaking truth to power/parodying of is really only what we think might happen. And it makes me glad to be alive to see that exposed. It helps me get ok with being part of our civilization at this moment.

Listen, you for sure do not need me to remind you that life is hard. But living it well does not preclude becoming more positive, present, and joyful. So the miracle of getting our thinking straightened out is a gigantic, raucous miracle for intuition.

Of course the biggest miracle of all is when our stories of deliverance from darkness help others find the path out of their own struggle. There is no light stronger than the one we shine on someone suffering in isolation, stuck in despair, or afraid they’ll never feel better than they do on their worst days.

So go shine like you’re covered in string lights. I’ll be right here deciding whether to share pics of what my hair looks like straight out of bed in the morning.

Happy Spring, Smart Asses.