Monday – Funday

The writer Joe Lansdale says the key to his success is, “I write like everyone I know is dead.” Most writers are told to write about what we know. The famed writer Anne Lamott says this: “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”

It’s a tough line that we writers walk. Most of the world lives behind screens and masks and passive aggression and fragile egos. It’s hard to be direct and honest and “say it like it is”, full well knowing that someone else’s “say it like it is” about the exact same situation, may look like an entirely different “is” than yours. Many times, my truth is not the same as your truth (and yet confusingly, these opposite truths can be mutually accurate, all at the same time) And then we’ve got the whole “cancel culture” thing going on. And on top of all of this, we have our natural human beings’ need to be liked and to be loved and to be understood. We don’t consciously want to hurt anyone – even those who have hurt us. And we don’t want to be hurt in the process, either.

This is why journals and diaries are wonderful. This is also why it is also important to get your own personal take on things, out there in the world, in one form or another, even if it is just opening up to a trusted friend. Honestly, the world doesn’t need ten more of the same “Awhoooos” wolf songs in a row. That gets rote and boring and tedious. It feels fake, easy and sometimes conniving and controlling. What I have found, many times in my own life, is that when I am more open and honest and vulnerable in my communication, it seems to give others permission to do the same. And it makes me feel closer to people and it also makes me realize that a lot of all of our “Awhoooos” in all of our different lives, are more similar and relatable than we would have ever expected. And in intimate moments, the next song is called “Awhooo” and instead of rolling our eyes, we all smile at each other and we often nod in appreciation of what we share in common.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

1325. Do you have any phobias?

Sixth Sense

I happened upon an interesting podcast the other day, in which a self-proclaimed psychic medium was being interviewed. The psychic insisted that all of us have psychic abilities, i.e. “the sixth sense.” Our intuitions are a part of all of us. The psychic said that the reason why most of us don’t trust our “gut feelings” is not that the feelings/sensations are ever wrong, but it is our interpretation of the sensations that often prove to be wrong, thus causing us to mistrust our hunches and instincts, when they show up again. The body knows something is up, but our egoic, know-it-all minds and imaginations quickly take over and create, ever-growing narratives and stories about what our intuitions are trying to tell us.

Those of us who call ourselves creatives (artists, writers, actors, poets etc.) are often considered to be sensitive people. Being called “sensitive” unfortunately has taken on a negative connotation in society. It implies, weakness or softness, or touchiness, but nothing could be further from the truth. Sensitive people are just deeply attuned to the energy and feelings within themselves, and all of the energy and emotions surrounding them. It’s easy for sensitive people to get overwhelmed in crowds and highly emotional situations because they feel everything fully and profoundly. Their perceptions of even the slightest changes in mood or atmosphere are noticed immediately and felt deeply and acutely. Sensitive people are actually quite strong. They live vividly. A wise person once told me that there is no such thing as being “too sensitive”. You are as sensitive as you are made up to be. Being extra sensitive can make life a little harder, especially during sad or difficult times, but on the flip side of the coin, sensitive people experience beauty and love and elation and awe at higher levels than most do.

The psychic who was being interviewed on the podcast I listened to, insisted that most of us are more sensitive than we own up to being because of society’s conditioning that “sensitive = bad.” Being sensitive is nothing more than being highly attuned to every element of life. If you shut your sensitivity down too much, you miss out on so much awe and depth and seeing past the surface of things. Some would argue if you shut down your sensitivity and intuition too much, you could even miss signals that could save your life. Dulling the senses, always means dulling every sensation, even the positive ones.

So how do you learn how to trust your own intuition and sixth sense? Listen to your gut feelings. Listen to those hyper-aware sensations you get such as your hair standing up on your neck. Notice dreams that are particularly compelling and memorable. Be aware of things outside of yourself that seem to be signaling to be noticed by you. Don’t immediately start a dramatic, narrative story about why you are feeling that particular sensation, but don’t discount the feeling or sensation either. When you just notice that your intuition is signaling you, take a deep breath, so that you can best hear your own intuition’s calm, quiet, wise, all-knowing voice, which will lead you to the next best step for you to take. Save the stories about what your intuition is telling you, for later. Live in the sensations and the fullness of now.

Fun tip: The psychic suggested that the next time you have a strong hunch about something, write it down and mail it to yourself (or you can even send yourself an email). So when your hunch proves to be the truth, you have time-stamped proof of the validity of your own intuition’s capabilities. It will help your analytical mind to become less negating of your intuition over time.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Full Hearts

“I’ve always had a theory that some of us are born with nerve endings longer than our bodies.” – Joy Harjo

I’m a sensitive, spongy person. I wish that I weren’t. I try to put on a persona that I’m not sensitive. Sometimes that works, but then my weak tear dams tell a different story. I once asked a wise woman if it is a bad thing that I’m sensitive. She said, “No, it’s not bad or good. Sensitive is just what you are. Sometimes being a more sensitive person can make life a little bit harder, but it can also make life more intensely beautiful, and rewarding too.” Ah, the two sides of a coin thing . . .

“We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain.” – Alan Watts


Happy Monday, to all of my fellow empath friends. I appreciate your beautiful, full hearts!! I think that God gave us the gift of these delicate, yet rugged, perceptive hearts, because God knew that we could handle, enjoy and convey, the pure beautiful intensity of Life. Mondays can be rough, reflective days for us. But they also can be joyously, miraculous days, too.


“Sometimes I think,
I need a spare heart to feel 
all the things I feel.”  – Sanober Khan