Keeping In Touch With Your Intuition: Cynthia Elliott Of ShamanIsis On How To Get In Touch With Your Intuition And When To Trust Your Intuition When Making Decisions
An Interview With Maria Angelova
Practice listening to your gut. When we first develop our intuition, “our gut” speaks to us. Please pay attention to your gut and begin with what it says. Over time this will open up your intuition and allow you to tap into it on a deeper level. Notice when you put your hand over your stomach while thinking. This reaction can be your body’s way of saying to pay attention to your thoughts.
Intuition is defined as the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning. Where does intuition come from? Can it be trusted? How can someone tune in to their intuition? To address these questions, we are talking to business leaders, coaches, mental health experts, authors, and anyone who is an authority on “How to Get In Touch With Your Intuition And When To Trust Your Intuition When Making Decisions.” As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Cynthia Elliott.
For over 20 years, author, inspirational speaker, communications pioneer, life guide, creator, and cultural commentator Cynthia L. Elliott, known as ShamanIsis, has been helping brands, executives, business icons, and celebrities realize their dreams. As a strategic visionary who founded the field of brand communications through her agency Dreamweaver, her work has placed international brands on the map, turned new products into superfoods, and made inventions popular with global trendsetters. Most recently, she shared her mental wellness, life experience, and astute observations on self-love and inner intelligence in her new book, Unleash the Empress: Spiritual Health for Life Wealth, a must-read for anyone healing trauma, seeking consciousness, a dramatic transformation, or mind, body, and soul harmony.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I feel incredibly fortunate to have spent my formative years in a Catholic orphanage. That experience drove me to break the rules in pioneering fields of study as an entrepreneur. However, that trauma was also a source of great pain that ensured I masked my true story for decades. In 2019, while launching a sustainable collection, I had a breakdown of the soul. I was very overweight and depressed. I went on a wellness journey that taught me self-love, inner intelligence, and a method for mind, body, and soul harmony. That experience and process are what I share in my new book, Unleash the Empress: Spiritual Health for Life Wealth. Today, my mission is to help others learn the powerful spiritual health practices that lead to inner intelligence, mental well-being, balance, joy, and abundance.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One quote has struck me recently as prophetic. Through quantum physics, we are finally beginning to embrace what it means. The quote is, “Future medicine will be the medicine of frequencies.” — Albert Einstein
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
His Dark Materials by Sir Phillip Pullman came into my life during great personal pain and change. Reading the trilogy reminded me of the inspiring books I read as a child. Books that helped me understand that you can create your future.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Let’s begin with a definition of terms so that each of us and our readers are on the same page. What exactly does intuition mean? Can you explain?
Steven Spielberg has a great perspective on intuition. He says that intuition whispers, which is so true. Intuition knows something without consciously thinking it through. A deeply subconscious part of ourselves that silently calculates experience, data, and inner knowledge to provide an eerily accurate understanding of a given situation.
How would you define common sense? Are intuition and common sense related?
Intuition is the ability to guess accurately without resorting to reasoning. Common sense is the practice of using conventional wisdom. When developed, they can work very well together.
How are they different from each other?
Intuition is subconscious reasoning. Meanwhile, common sense is the conscious practice of using our wisdom.
What are the positive aspects of being in touch with your intuition? Can you give a story or example to explain what you mean?
There are a lot of great benefits to using your intuition. Intuition enhances creativity, increases self-knowledge, assists us in making better decisions, and can improve physical and mental health. Many people said my dreams were impossible when I first moved to NYC. I intuitively knew I could do great things and never let conventional thinking determine my trajectory. Thank goodness I believed in myself and never needed to argue my belief in everyone’s potential for greatness.
Are there negative aspects to being guided by intuition? Can you give a story or example to explain what you mean?
One of the things I found sad in big business is how many brands, companies, and careers I could have saved if people had listened to my intuition. I have always said it’s like watching a car accident long before it happens.
Can you give some guidance about when one should make a decision based on their intuition and when one should use other methods to come to a decision?
If you have highly-developed intuition, you should use it to inform all your decisions. Some decisions require common sense or scientific-style analysis. Inner intelligence uses a wise blend of all data-gathering options to make the best decisions.
From your experience or perspective, what are some of the common barriers that hold someone back from trusting their intuition?
The number one reason people do not trust their intuition is due to other people’s opinions. The most successful people in the world use every type of intelligence as guidance but are famous for ignoring the views of entire industries and going with their intuition. The second reason people do not trust their intuition is due to self-doubt. I see this a lot in the dynamics between people. We see red flags and ignore them all the time. Your gut is rarely wrong.
Here is the central question of our discussion. What are five methods that someone can use to become more in touch with their intuition?
1 . Pay attention to patterns. Clocking patterns in your conscious and subconscious mind is food for the intuitive engine. From using my intuition for so long, I know that picking up on patterns, such as signs and synchronicities, is essential to developing intuition. These can be signs from the universe to pay attention to important detail or be careful of certain people. Patterns can also be a great way to notice unhealthy issues that hinder success or progress. Seeing patterns allows you to use them or change them.
2 . Pay attention to your dreams and visions. Our dreams and visions tell us things the conscious mind can’t or may not want to fathom. Many times my life was saved by my dreams and visions. They told me things my conscious mind didn’t want to believe. For example, I escaped kidnapping attempts as a child and also decided against a meeting that was to take place in a building where tragedy struck. Intuition is significant in your personal and professional life. Keeping a journal of your dreams and visions is helpful. Revisit them after meditation.
3 . Practice listening to your gut. When we first develop our intuition, “our gut” speaks to us. Please pay attention to your gut and begin with what it says. Over time this will open up your intuition and allow you to tap into it on a deeper level. Notice when you put your hand over your stomach while thinking. This reaction can be your body’s way of saying to pay attention to your thoughts.
4 . Use meditation to quiet the mind. We have over 70k thoughts per day. Yes, it is a lot. That brain traffic gets in the way of using our intuition. Regular meditation allows you to focus your thoughts and even empty your mind. We need that break to reboot our brains. If you are not meditating, you are doing yourself and your intuition a disservice.
5 . Listen to your body. Our bodies are miraculous. As I noted earlier, we often put our hand over our stomach when our gut kicks in. Our entire body is like an antenna. Do you step back from someone’s presence? Do you avoid looking into their eyes? That can be your intuition telling you they are bad news. Listen to your body! It knows. Do you seem to find reasons to avoid something? Which can be procrastination, but it can also be your body saying something is wrong. If you find yourself emotionally exhausted at a job or with a person? That can be your intuition telling you that you need to make significant changes in your life.
You are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
That is a tie. I would say consciousness allows people not to be reactionary to life. That is a mission I am already on, to triple the number of people in consciousness.
I am also very interested in using technology to allow people to change their frequency. My go-to quote right now by Einstein is, future medicine is the medicine of frequencies. We are seeing this technology come about, but I think more can be done to service people suffering from depression and anxiety. I would start clinics where people who cannot afford cutting-edge technology can get into a flow state. Those are the people who need expensive technology the most. Our veterans, for example!! They should have the finest care that money can buy!!! AND NEVER HAVE TO WAIT FOR IT. That is one of my soapboxes!!
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
People generally choose a great thinker who is no longer living. When we have a modern-day Einstein making waves across many industries, I would say Elon Musk. His quote on needing something to look forward to was instrumental during my transformation.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Feel free to reach out to me through ShamanIsis.com or any of my social media accounts listed at the bottom of my website.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.
Keeping In Touch With Your Intuition: Cynthia Elliott Of ShamanIsis On How To Get In Touch With was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.