Connie Vinci

I grew up Lutheran, (or as my husband says: Catholic Lite) and I was confirmed and married in the church.  But, I didn't stay with it. Oh, God stayed with me, I know. But, I found a difference between being religious and being spiritual. Although I turned my back on the church, I felt my relationship with my Creator was bigger than a man-made denomination. I asked Holy Spirit to lead me, to create a personal experience of a Higher Power. Wow! What a ride!

I am a spiritual being living a human life in a physical world that is part of a vast universe. I am created from Love, made of Love, here for the purpose of sharing Love and experimenting with the many ways Love can show up. And so are you!

I used to think I needed to behave a certain way, do and say certain things to eventually become a spiritual woman, if possible, before I died. Otherwise, I would get my crown in Heaven. Or, I'd go the other way and spend eternity separate from my Heavenly Father. I now believe these limiting concepts are not true and are an attempt to control me, to have power over me, and distract me from my personal relationship with God, my Source. So, I've opted out of playing that game. The Truth is: I claim my sovereignty as a precious child of the Divine Creator, and I do not give my consent for anything less. I acknowledge the laws of my country, and abide by them, and I commit to the greater laws of Love.

My friend Cynthia said something that has stuck with me: "What it comes right down to is this: Love is all that matters. Everything else is simply technique!" It made me ask: What would Love have me do, be, say, or release in this moment? How can I be more loving? "What Would Jesus Do?" is not simply a Christian movement of the 1990s. It is a question that I often use in my decisions.

Intuition is part of our whole being. Everybody has intuition, can be intuitive. Some people have intuition more obviously than others, much like everyone has musical abilities. Some people can sit at a piano and plink out a scale or "Chopsticks", while other people can sight-read sheet music and entertain. Still others, have a passion for music, study it in depth, practice regularly and go on to write, record and/or perform music professionally.

What is intuition? It's that hunch that says "drive a different route today", and you later discover traffic delays in your usual route. Or, the hunch that going into that place is a bad idea tonight, and you later hear on the news that there was a big fight at the time you were thinking of going in there. Or, intuition is the recurring thought of someone you haven't connected with for months, and then they phone you.

Do you think that intuition is paranormal? According to Wikipedia, para comes from the Greek and means "above, beyond or contrary to". I think intuition is normal, and it is above or beyond our five physical senses; it is our sixth sense, our extra-sensory perception of the world around us. I believe it is a gift that is hardwired into our being; it gives us guidance for what is ours to do and to experience in our lives. You might have a different opinion, and I respect that.

Acknowledging and developing my intuition has expanded my world to include subjects that formerly frightened me. I grew up with "The Twilight Zone" and other unsettling programs on TV that sensationalized psychic phenomena. While scared by a lot of it, I was also intrigued and interested in some, too. Telepathy, empathy, messages from the departed, healing without chemicals, dowsing with a pendulum were all subjects that attracted me and led me to a lifelong, ongoing quest for answers and demonstrations.

I love to use metaphors and symbology to help me understand life, so I use Tarot cards and oracle cards in my spiritual practice. The pictures on these cards are symbols of the energies and dynamics in motion at the moment. Their meanings offer an opportunity to look at the issues from different perspectives. A layout or spread of these cards can depict the ebb and flow of information available to the non-verbal parts of myself. The message is communicated to my conscious mind in order to be useful. For me, this is a form of personal prayer: I ask a question and this is Spirit's response to me in a form I can grasp.