Imagery Murdoch Books

Words Emma Vidgen // @emma_vee

Working as an intuitive and coach was never part of Helen Jacobs life plan. After studying media at Uni she forged a successful career in PR, but her intuitive gifts just kept tapping her on the shoulder. “Despite ticking all the boxes of my supposed ‘right path’ I wasn’t any happier for it,” says Helen.

But then something happened that she couldn’t ignore: Helen experienced what is called transmediumship (when a spirit inhabits your body). “It was as if I stood aside while Cathy popped in and proceeded to interact with my mum – Irish accent and all. I was aware of what was happening but not in control of it,” says Helen.

Bewildered by the experience, Helen visited a psychic who encouraged her to enrol in a workshop to help understand her gifts better. “I had no idea how it happened but the psychic information just poured out of me at the workshop… I didn’t really need to learn how. I just needed to practise,” Helen says.

As Helen learned to lean into her intuitive talents, she began to follow the crumbs and gradually transitioned from a corporate career to working full time as a guide and coach. “I had tapped in to an intuitive mind and began tasking my logical mind as its servant, allowing a new wave of living to emerge,” Helen says.

Living each day guided by her intuition has become a way of life. It led Helen to her husband, her home and to writing her first book You Already Know ($32.99, Murdoch Books). We caught up with the gifted intuitive to discover how each and every one of us can tap into the intuitive gifts we were all born with.

does everyone have the potential to BE INTUITIVE?

Yes! I think absolutely every single human on the planet has intuition! I remember when I first started giving psychic readings and people would always say to me, "Oh, is it something that was handed down to you?", and it was like, "Well, only as much as it was handed down to you…”

I think that it’s partly nature and nurture in terms of why some people seem to be more closely attuned with their intuition. It's like any other skill, some people may have a natural disposition or naturally be stronger in that area. But I honestly believe that anyone can learn to strengthen it, and it does take a bit of practice. It also depends on how far it was knocked out of you to begin with. We're not normally (at least in my generation) taught to be trusting it from the outset.

HOW DO YOU work on DEVELOPing your own GIFTs?

I often talk about intuition in the same way you would develop a relationship. You want warm up your intuition too. Intuition is felt, and the way that each of us feel something may be different.

So I guess if there's a step-by-step approach, we need to be noticing how we're feeling, and then figure out what that feeling is actually telling us. And if it is to move forward with something, then do that thing. And if it's not, then it's just showing us something else to process or to move through.

“Everyone does have this ability…It's like any other skill, some people may have a natural disposition or are naturally stronger, but anyone can learn to strengthen it, and it does take a bit of practice.”

HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN EGO AND INTUITION?

Let's say that we want to buy a dress or something… it sometimes takes a bit of self-awareness to figure out why we want to do anything. If we're talking about a dress, then it may be escapism, or we're trying to mask something, or we want to not wear the same thing that we wore last time, so they're all kind of head-based "You should do this," or, "This will help you feel something."

There are maybe a handful of times that I can remember knowing in my heart that, "Ooh, I have to have that dress." And I know we're talking about dresses, but it's exactly the same thing with when we meet someone or we just know something like, "Oh, I'm not meant to be here anymore. I'm not meant to be in this job, or in this place, or in this relationship."

HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR SIXTH SENSE AKA THE INTUITION WORKOUT

OK so now you know we all have the power to tap into our intuition, how do you actually do it? Like anything, practice makes perfect. “Something I was prompted to start doing was just when I woke up each morning, to take a few minutes to actually tune in to how I'm feeling,” says Helen. Set aside five minutes every morning to do this exercise as soon as you wake up.

On waking, sit for a few moments and quietly observe what emotions arise.
“For example, this morning I woke up and I actually did feel really anxious, and so I just sat with it and allowed myself to understand that feeling and to let the feeling pass,” says Helen.
Now turn your attention to your body and notice how it’s feeling.
Are there any aches or pains? Are there butterflies in your stomach? Are you feeling relaxed? Tired? Sore? Try not to judge what’s there, just notice what the sensations are in this moment. “Our bodies are actually designed to be communicating with us. They are not just the vehicle through which we're moving through life, but they are also the GPS system, they're one and the same,” says Helen.
If you’re struggling to connect with your body, get up and move.
See how your body responds to movement, or use a divinatory card to see where you’re at. “If we can't tune into our bodies yet, sometimes an oracle card, or movement is a great way to check in,” says Helen.
Now ask yourself what you need right now to be with these sensations and feelings.
“For me this morning I sat, I processed that feeling, I started moving, I had a big cry,” says Helen. “After that I felt like, ‘I'm good. I can go on and get through the rest of my day.’ And it was just over something silly that I had not given any time to yet.”
You can also grab a pen and paper and jot down any thoughts that come up.
“It could be as simple as asking yourself ‘what do I want to eat this morning? What do I want to wear this morning? Or what do I need in this moment?’” Helen explains. Messages come in all forms so if a song, image or scent pops into your consciousness, note it down. It will take time and practice to learn what the signs mean but if you make a note you can refer back and start to decipher the language of your intuition. “Just taking five minutes to set ourselves up, and understanding how we're feeling, and honouring those feelings can make a huge difference, not just to that day, but if we do that every day, the accumulative effect of that is really life changing,” Helen says.

To learn more amazing tools and techniques to strengthen your intuition, don’t miss Helen’s fabulous new book you already know AND CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE.

You Already Know by Helen Jacobs is available now ($32.99, Murdoch Books)

Helen Jacobs: the intuition workout