Many of us are feeling a lot of feelings these days. That’s a vague way of saying that our unprocessed emotions from the past 2 years of trauma is catching up with us.

Take some time to acknowledge your feelings (and this Processing Negative Emotions tool can help do that). What emotion is still inside your body? Where is it? What does it look/sound like? Many of us have a lot of grief from lost relationships. Yes , there may still be anger, but beneath the anger is often sadness.

Write down these feelings. Where did they come from? What message do they have for you? What might happen if you begin to let them go? Let tears flow if need be. This can be a powerful emotional release.

Writing, tears, mindfulness of emotions are all ways to take the emotion outside of us so it doesn’t become a permanent fixture.

Another powerful way to bring in healing and to release our emotions is by learning to receive guidance through our intuition.

To begin understanding your intuition, I suggest starting with an intention to 1) understand the difference between the Ego voice and that of the Higher Self/guides/angels (otherwise known as intuition), and 2) notice the feelings you have in your body, a simple way that intuition speaks to us.

The intuitive voice is loving and kind. The thoughts or feelings that come from our intuition, or our Higher Self, accept us for who we are, unconditionally. These thoughts are usually short and to the point. It may be a thought that says something like: Reach out to your friend or Let it go. The thoughts often seem to pop in out of nowhere; they aren’t thoughts we generate on our own.

The Ego voice, on the other hand, is judgmental and analytical. It can be pushy and generally just make us feel bad in some way. It often speaks in long, drawn out phrases. The Ego will say things like: You can’t/don’t/shouldn’t or People might/It might. And it likes to ruminate over the worst-case scenarios and it worries about what other people think of us. As the Ego cares about power, revenge and being better than someone else, it’s really good at suggesting to us all the ways that we are not worthy or enough.

Our intuitive, Higher Self doesn’t care about any of this. It wants us to know that no matter what we do, we are always loved. It reassures us that we are always enough and always worthy. It reminds us that we are doing the best we can, and that we are always learning and growing from our experiences. It comforts us that everything will be okay.

When we initially react to something, especially to a new idea or possibility in our lives, our Higher Self usually produces the first instinct or feeling we have. But, soon after, the Ego may jump in with reasons to doubt, fear or question that original feeling in some way. It can be tricky to identify the thoughts of the Higher Self since they just feel like our own thoughts! The Higher Self usually sounds like a quiet whisper, whereas the Ego is louder. Due to our left-brain wiring, most of us spend our lives listening to the voice of the Ego!

A past client, who I will call Brian, once shared with me during a session a story about receiving a clear message to go check on his dog, who was being cared for by a friend. The message started as a thought in his head and then turned into a feeling. Yet, he talked himself out of calling the friend, not wanting to seem like he didn’t trust in her ability to care for the dog. Later that day, Brian found out that his dog had been hit by a car and had a broken leg. His dog ended up being fine, but Brian realized that his intuitive voice (probably his guardian angel) had been trying to guide him. He learned in that moment exactly what his intuitive voice sounded and felt like, and vowed to always listen to nudges from Spirit from that day forward.

When we ignore our intuition, we can have problems with decision-making and confidence. This displays a lack of trust in our Higher Self. When I spend too much time in front of my computer, often my Higher Self will tell me to take a break! I have learned to stop right then and there and pause. If I ignore the guidance, I will often get an antsy, yucky feeling or even a headache.

Here are a few easy ways we can learn to open up our intuition:

• Keep an intuition journal. Write down your intuitive insights, hunches and experiences. This tells your angels and guides that you are listening. It opens the lines of communication!
• Repeat the following intuition safety mantra 3 times a day, 3 times in a row for a while: It is safe for me to see. It is safe for me to hear. Write this on a post-it note and stick it on your bathroom mirror. Or make it a reminder in your phone.
• Clear your third eye (the chakra in the center of the eyebrows that opens our psychic senses) and your crown chakra (the chakra on the top of the head – our connection to Divine consciousness). Visualize beams of light coming in through your crown chakra and through your third eye. You can also hold quartz crystals over your third eye for cleansing and clearing.
• Ask Archangel Michael (an angel who is known for releasing fear and invoking protection and courage) to help you clearly see, feel, hear and know the guidance your Divine sources (I especially like angels, and here’s how you also can connect with them) have for you! Ask anytime you wish.
• Hug a tree to practice feeling energy. Connecting with elements of the Earth helps us attune to varying vibrations. Notice what message the tree has for you! Often the message of trees is: You are loved.
• Set the intention to receive messages during dreams. Upon waking, write down what you remember.
• Access the Akashic Records to learn more about your soul, past lives and lessons you are working on!

The messages from our intuition can help us heal and process how we are feeling. Ultimately, we will come to understand that everything will be okay.

Until then, like a volcano that needs to erupt, the emotions will find their way out somehow even if we try to bottle up the top. Irritability, lashing out, even sickness manifesting into the body can result if we do not allow our emotions to be felt, processed and released.

It will take time. Imagine how good you will feel when you move toward the acceptance stage, like in the stages of grief. Be gentle with yourself.

Continue to ask Divine guidance to help you. This is how we move into higher stages of consciousness and universal healing.