Being Present

By Sonia Choquette

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It’s no wonder that kids are so good at getting attention,because they desperately need it.

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So many people have the false notion that following your intuition means tuning out the real world, but nothing could be further from the truth. As strange as it may seem, in order to become aware of your sixth sense, first it’s necessary to be mindful of the environment around you and fully conscious of what’s here and now. My spiritual teacher, Dr. Tully, taught me that the key to developing inner knowing is to pay attention to what’s happening in the world around you. He told me that those who think that receiving spiritual guidance is about tuning in to some otherworldly frequency are confused.

     “Genuine intuition,” he explained, “is founded on accurate observations of current reality. It’s this information, when turned over to the higher mind, that leads to the most advanced insights.” In other words, you need to be completely present in the moment to activate your vibes.

     Many of us today, especially parents, are so overbooked—juggling too many things at one time, constantly playing catch-up, and racing around like crazy—that we often end up diminishing our awareness to nothing more than a whirling gray fog. When we’re so overwhelmed and exhausted, we can’t see the most obvious of details, let alone tune in to the more subtle, intuitive aspects of life.

Be Interested

     I truly believe that one of the bedrocks of helping people—especially your children—develop their sixth sense is showing your interest and care. I’ve noticed that a number of immensely creative and highly intuitive people had at least one nurturing, dedicated adult to guide them. Steven Spielberg, for example, had a mother who was very supportive of his passions. She helped him make his earliest movies, even taking him out of school at times to do so. And in the case of Jane Goodall, the famous primate anthropologist, it was her mom who cleared a major obstacle that allowed her to go to Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees in 1960. At that time, it was unheard of for a young woman (Jane was 26) to go by herself to live among the animals in Africa, and the British authorities refused to let her go until her mother volunteered to accompany her for the first three months.

     Many of my six-sensory intuitive friends have also had highly present and interested parents. As I’ve already mentioned, my friend and mentor Lu Ann, a gifted intuitive and a spiritual scholar, had a mother who readily shared Lu’s passion for philosophical query and a father who was more than happy to engage in deep discussions with her. Similarly, my friend Ron, a musician and composer, had a very attentive and aware father who bought him his first guitar the minute he noticed his son’s love for music; and he has enthusiastically listened to every original composition Ron has written since the third grade.

      Of course I’m convinced that my own upbringing provided the foundation for the strong development of my gifts. My mom was always present and listened to and enjoyed being with her children. She laughed, joked, danced, and talked with us for hours. We looked forward to telling her about our days after school because she truly wanted to know how they had gone. Even the neighborhood kids came over to our house to have conversations with her. She and I shared a special passion for all things psychic. One of our favorite pastimes was discussing vibes and spirit, and to this day, we continue to enjoy it.

     I recently heard a National Public Radio report on orphans in Romania that mentioned how a lack of interest and attention had affected their lives. The first thing researchers discovered was that, on average, when these children grew up, their IQs were fifty percent lower than those of adults who’d been raised in loving and affectionate families. The orphans—even those who’d received some remedial help later—also had smaller brains and heads than their peers unless they’d gotten support before the age of nine.

     If lowered IQs and decreased brain size are the result of inadequate attention, we can hardly expect children’s higher intuitive faculties to thrive unless they receive excellent care. It’s no wonder that kids are so good at getting attention, because they desperately need it. When we give them genuine, positive encouragement, delighting in their spirit and sharing their world with them, their inner awareness blossoms like a flower in the sun—and so does ours.

     Be creative in finding ways to be more present for your children today. Talk with them, not at them. Ask them how they feel, especially about their vibes regarding the things happening in their world. Explain to them that their sixth sense is natural and that we all have a quiet inner voice that speaks in our heart, guiding and protecting us throughout our lives if only we listen and follow it. Don’t be surprised if your kids readily understand what you mean. After all, they’re born with a strong connection to this innate wisdom, and you don’t have to do much to get them to talk about it. They’re conscious of their intuitive feelings and will be glad to share them with you if you’re interested and open about your own.

     If your life is jam-packed with obligations, get out your appointment book and find time to be with your family members before you commit your entire schedule to everyone else. Take a few moments to be with your loved ones before you fall exhausted into bed, letting them know that they’re worth your time and attention. Make it one of your top priorities to have the energy and presence of mind to listen to their experiences and concerns before they go to sleep.

     I know that many parents today were raised with the belief that you can’t play until your work is done. However, today we know that our to-do list will never be finished and that we must carve out the time to have fun. As a matter of fact, one of the most brilliant intuitive thinkers of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein, considered play his most important pursuit. After he died, several scientists examined his brain to see how it differed from others and discovered that both the left and right hemispheres were far more highly developed than most people’s and that he had grown many more glial cells, which help in the transmission of signals in the nervous system and play a role in intuitive awareness.

     The researchers had been inspired to study Einstein’s brain by an earlier experiment, in which scientists had placed one group of rats in a sterile environment that provided only food and water and offered no playful stimulation. A second group was put in a virtual Disneyland that included wheels, mazes, and other entertaining activities. As suspected, the deprived animals not only didn’t grow any new glial cells in their brains, but they actually lost twenty percent of the ones they’d started with. Furthermore, their awareness and intuition diminished, and they became sickly and weak. In contrast, the rats that were given fun things to do experienced a thirty percent increase in their number of glial cells. They were far more resourceful, creative, and healthy than the rats that had been put in the impoverished setting. It was an amazing discovery!

     The scientists who investigated Einstein’s brain concluded that his intense and relentless pursuit of play had led to the development of the all-important glial cells, an essential component that contributed to his intuitive and creative genius. They also inferred that anyone who adds more enjoyable, stimulating activities to their lives will also grow more glial cells, thus significantly increasing their imaginative and six-sensory capabilities.

     By engaging in daily play, Einstein changed the face of the world. Who knows what marvelous achievements will come about if you encourage your own little geniuses, and even yourself, to experience more pleasure and recreation. With this potential in mind, don’t you think it’s worth rethinking your lifestyle? If you put off the joys of sharing creative time with yourself and your children until you’ve finished your work, you risk missing out on everything, including the chance to develop more amazing glial cells. This would be an irrevocable loss for all of you.

     You don’t need large amounts of time to have fun with your kids and share their world. Even five minutes of quality presence and play is worth hours of preoccupied effort. For your own spiritual well-being and intuitive growth, allow yourself the leisure to actually get to know and enjoy these light beings who are your children.

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Excerpted from Chapter Two of The Intuitive Spark by sonia Choquette. Published by Hay House, it is available at retail and online bookstores.

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