Akemi Gaines of Yes To Me has offered to share her knowledge about intuition, the ego, spirit guides, and the role they can or do play in our lives.
The synchronicity of how this interview came about is quite fitting to this topic.
I had been considering emailing Akemi to ask if she might like to be interviewed here on Loving Pulse. I had pondered this, battling with the ego, who told me that I probably couldn’t pull it off. I mean, Akemi had been interviewed a couple of months previously by Hunter Nuttall. I didn’t think we could add any more to that. Little did I know….
A day later I received an email from Akemi herself. She wondered if I would be interested in interviewing her. You can imagine my surprise… and delight. And so without further adieu, I’d like to open the floor to Akemi.
Welcome Akemi, and thanks for making this interview possible.
Akemi: My pleasure, Davina and readers!
1. I’d like to start off by first asking, how would you define intuition?
Intuition is the communication from our higher self, spirit guides, and beyond.
2. Is it true that all human beings have intuitive abilities? Do we sometimes lose our connection with them as we grow into adulthood?
Of course we all have intuitions! It’s more of a matter of whether you recognize the signals from the spiritual plane, and how well versed you are at understanding the signals. Some develop their intuitive skills further, and some ignore the messages or close up the connection because they are taught logics are superb.
Davina: I can imagine that as we grow into adulthood we can get caught up in logistics and fed false beliefs from our egos that cause us to block or lose touch with our intuition.
3. What type of signs or sensations would you suggest a person be aware of to recognize guidance from their intuition?
There are four major pathways where spiritual messages come through:
Immediate knowing (claircognizance);
Physical sensations (clairsentience);
Non-physical sounds (clairaudience); and,
Non-physical images (clairvoyance).
Each person has a unique skill level with each communication pathway. Many people are good at claircognizance or clairsentience (sometimes called gut feeling) but fail to recognize they are receiving spiritual messages.
Intuitive input may be subtle and come in a flash, but it is not confusing. Our spirit guides don’t play games such as giving us a hint and testing to see if we can figure it out, or manipulating us with anxiety-causing threats or guilt.
Davina: You know, sometimes I feel like they are playing games when I try to interpret some of my dreams. I’ve caught myself thinking, “Oh come on… in English puhlease! No more symbols!” I see that you speak to this a bit later in Part 2 when we discuss dreams so I won’t say anymore here.
Akemi: Ha ha… I know what you mean Davina. Let’s see if I can clarify this. I guess spirit guides don’t mean to play games, but they do have a slightly different frame of reference.
For example, “marriage” means long-term romantic relationship for them, and not necessarily the legal status. So if you ask them if you are getting married, you may get a positive vibe and months later, still find you’re legally single with a caring boyfriend.
What to say, they live on a spiritual plane! They also don’t seem to understand money very well, but they do understand we want or need certain stuffs. And as you point out, they love symbols. For them, symbols are more direct and accurate than language. So these kind of communication challenges do exist between us and our spirit guides. This is why we need to practice the communication.
Oh, and additionally, they are very respectful for our initiative. Sometimes, they give us just enough info so that we can start working on it. They don’t do the part of work that is justifiably ours. That is different from playing guessing games, but it may feel similar to some of us.
4. What can a person do to increase their intuitive abilities?
The first step is to clean up the mental clutter so that the gentle communication from the spiritual plane can be recognized. Meditation is a great way to do this. Many of my Akashic Record Reading clients report increased sensitivity to intuition as they clear their energetic blocks.
Davina: I can attest to that after having experienced an Akashic Record Reading with you Akemi. I’m feeling a greater ability to trust in what I cannot see. An analogy would be like a child who is learning to walk. After a while they don’t fear falling down anymore and walking comes naturally. Soon they are running and jumping.
Akemi: Exactly! Another analogy would be learning how to drive. In the beginning, you are so overwhelmed. You need to look around, check certain signs and signals, understand which sign means what, while you adjust the pressure on the gas or brake, and . . . OMG! But after awhile, it becomes second nature. And the prereq for driving is you have clear mind.
5. Akemi, I know some people do not resonate with the idea of meditation. Personally, I go through phases where I simply cannot, or do not want to sit for any length of time and meditate. This may indicate some resistance to tuning in, or it could be that sometimes we are just on another channel so to speak. Can you suggest other ways to practice listening to or for your intuitive voice?
Although sitting quietly is the standard form of meditation, it doesn’t always have to be that way. The objective is to calm our mind so that our soul has a chance to come forth. So any method to calm our mind is meditation.
For some people, walking along the quiet nature trail is a form of meditation. In both Christianity and Buddhism, there are forms of standing or walking meditations.
Sometimes, you also “accidentally” get into the meditative condition when you are relaxed and immersed in what you are doing, such as in the bath or while doing sports. Automatic writing is also very effective.
6. I suspect that intuition is never wrong, just your expectations or perception of the possible outcome is. What would you say to this?
Our ego’s fear and prejudice can certainly get in our way to appropriately understand intuitive knowing. The ego is very afraid of us connecting with our higher self and spirit guides because that would mean it can no longer be the tyrant it is for most of us.
But we need the thinking function to interpret the intuitive knowing, so it’s more about training the ego than killing the ego (which would be impossible). There is an art in appropriately understanding intuition as we discussed earlier.
7. What is the difference between our subconscious and our intuition?
In addition to our conscious mind, we have the subconscious and the superconscious mind. The conscious and the subconscious minds are attached to our physical body.
The superconscious on the other hand, transcends the physical body. At this time, I consider the superconscious to be the soul – which lives many lifetimes. Some people consider the superconscious as representing the collective consciousness; it transcends the individual consciousness. That is an interesting perspective too, and I contemplate what these two perspectives may mean.
Intuition is the communication from our higher self (which is another way to refer to the soul or the superconscious) and spirit guides. It is communicated to our subconscious and conscious minds.
8. When you receive a first instinct or gut reaction, would you say that it is your intuition at work? Would you necessarily act on your instinct? What about the old saying, look before you leap? Doesn’t that contradict this whole idea?
An “instinct” can mean either the immediate intuitive knowing or the ego’s fussy scream. With practice and experience, you can tell the difference. If I hear “Don’t take that road!”, I act on it right away – what negative result can come from this even if my intuition were wrong? Being a few minutes late because I took the back road? And what if it were right? Saving my life? Now that is a decision the conscious mind makes with the intuitive input. Other times, you may decide to “look before you leap”.
Davina: Aha, so sometimes the “instinct” can be the ego! This is tricky business. Up until now I thought that the ego came after an instinct as a judgment call.
9. When someone such as yourself works closely with your spirit guides, how do you stay grounded and present in your daily life?
This is a very important question for anyone who does a lot of spiritual work. We do have the tendency to be too up high in the ether and we definitely need to ground ourselves.
After I’m done with my work, I close my conscious connection to my spirit guides. My spirit guides are always with me and can contact me any time, but I close the door from my end with the understanding that they can open it as they see fit.
In addition, I strive to take time to do some grounding work such as exercising and cooking. I’ve heard gardening works well too, by literally touching the ground.
Davina: So, it sounds like you close the door so to speak, and go about your business, while keeping a listen in case they knock.
Akemi: Well, sometimes they knock even when I’m not really listening . . .
Davina: I think this is a good spot to take a break for today. So, Akemi if it’s ok with you and your guides *smile*, let’s close the door for now. We will continue on Monday with Part 2 where Akemi talks about déjà vu moments, light bodies, dreaming and out of body experiences. Wow!
I hope you will join us.
In the meantime, please ask Akemi any questions you might have or share your thoughts below. And, if you are new here and you don’t want to miss Part 2 please subscribe to the feed.
31 comments
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November 6, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Cath Lawson
Hi Akemi and Davina – this was a really interesting interview and much different to the one with Hunter.
I really like the idea of the super conscious. I didn’t know what it was called before. But I know I sometimes have ideas that I don’t feel could possibly come from my own mind.
November 6, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Akemi "spiritual entrepreneur" @ Yes to Me
Thank you, Davina, for this interview opportunity. I feel very honored.
If someone has any questions for me, please leave the comment here, and I will do my best to answer them.
Blessings,
Akemi Gaines
November 6, 2008 at 7:35 pm
veredd
I don’t think there are two persons more different than Akemi and me… but it’s very interesting to get to know Akemi and her ideas better. Thank you for an interesting interview!
November 6, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Betsy
Hi Davina and Akemi – spirit guides are such a fascinating subject. When my friends and I were told who ours were, I was floored. They emphasized intuition as guidance as well. Sometimes I think that we might give our intuition more credence if we acknowledged it as being from an other. The one-ness of the super-conscious is really a powerful concept as well. I’ll be looking forward to the next part of the interview.
November 6, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Hunter Nuttall
This was great! Akemi, did you know through claircognizance that Davina wanted to interview you? Or maybe a gut feeling (clairsentience) that you should ask?
I found it interesting that our spirit guides might have trouble communicating because they have a different kind of language. If they don’t understand money very well, then I guess mine could be very confused, thinking “What are you complaining about? You have money–there’s a dollar in your pocket right now.”
But why is there a communication barrier? Have all spirit guides had experience in a human body? Or have some never incarnated before? If they’ve never been human, it must be hard to understand some things. And if they have been human before, do they remember their human experiences, or do they have some kind of amnesia, the same way I don’t remember being a spirit?
November 6, 2008 at 8:37 pm
Akemi "spiritual entrepreneur" @ Yes to Me
Cath,
“ideas that I don’t feel could possibly come from my own mind” This is a very good way to recognize intuitive message and distinguish it from what I call “ego’s scream”.
Vered,
^_^
Betsy,
Yes, I think the ultimate goal is to realize we are one. Not just on a rational level but as a deep understanding.
Hunter,
My main channel is claircognizance. Yeah, Davina was calling me 😉
It seems some spirit guides have never been incarnated in the physical bodies. And even when they have been in this world before, they may have forgotten some aspects of life here. So in my Spirit Guides Reading, I check this for each guide.
I love the way you put it “the same way I don’t remember being a spirit” Exactly. We are quite forgetful.
So, to improve the communication, you might want to give them a refresher. For example, you might want to tell them something like “Money is one way we, in the physical dimension, exchange energies. When I get foods at the grocery store, I pay money. I also need to pay the mortgage to secure this place of living, and I want to buy new clothes, new gadgets, etc etc. To make money, I deliver value by doing … ” Of course you can add / edit this to be more appropriate in your situation.
And then, they might give you a big nod “OOOh, now I understand!”
Hope this helps.
November 6, 2008 at 8:52 pm
davinahaisell
Hi Cath.
I know what you mean about having ideas that you feel couldn’t possibly come from my own mind. I find that happens a lot. And really WHERE do our thoughts come from? Hmmm.
Hi Akemi.
You are most welcome. It still makes me smile to see how we “connected” to let this interview come about.
Hi Vered.
You are welcome 🙂
Hi Betsy.
I find the idea of spirit guides comforting.
Hi Hunter.
I love your questions! I like to compare spirit guides “symbols” to shorthand. I sense that their communication comes (from wherever it comes) at the speed of light.
It’s a flash. And to try to translate it into words (for them) means slowing it down and losing the full meaning of the message. I also see it somehow being similar to hieroglyphics or other languages that use symbols such as Chinese.
Unfortunately, we are “listening” on a different channel and so we don’t always get the full message because of the communication barrier. That’s my 2 cents. Perhaps Akemi can expand on that.
November 6, 2008 at 9:56 pm
davinahaisell
Hey Akemi… and the best part about “calling” you in that way??? No long distance fees 🙂
November 7, 2008 at 12:34 am
Robin
Hi Davina and Akemi – that was so interesting! As you said Davina – I think it can be really tricky knowing when impulses are intuition or something else. The intuitive arts can help people get in touch with it. I think this is such an important topic! ;=)
November 7, 2008 at 4:34 am
Evelyn Lim
Thanks for making some of the definitions very clear here! Clarity is important so that I can sharpen my skills on intention, when I make a request.
I have past life flashes that I have been doing this type of work and seem to know far more back then than now. I am now on a path to bringing my conscious memory up-to-date, with all that I know on a sub or superconscious level.
November 7, 2008 at 8:25 am
Barbara Swafford
Hi Davina and Akemi – What a fascinating interview. I’ve always followed my intuition and it never lets me down. I’ve never heard it called ego before, but whatever it is, it “works”.
November 7, 2008 at 8:45 am
davinahaisell
Hi Robin.
I couldn’t agree more!
Hi Evelyn.
Interesting. And I even understand what you are saying too 🙂 That is neat that you are seeing this from your past lives and working on it here and now.
Hi Barbara.
Glad you have enjoyed Part 1. Akemi is sure interesting to talk to. I think you misunderstood something along the way though; ego is for sure not the same as intuition… Akemi….. are you there? Would you like to clarify this for Barbara?
November 7, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Urban Panther
@Davina – I think you raised a very important question about grounding. I find it is critical. I have done readings for groups, which turned out to be too many in one shot, and ended up with a blinding migraine. I also know that when I work with a certain set of tarot cards, I will get a headache, as they are extremely powerful. Therefore, I use them sparingly. It is all about balance. When I run, I know my body needs rest days. When I work with energy (my concept of spirit guides), I also know I need rest days. Of course, like Akemi says, there are days the energy comes a-knockin’ and I have to listen no matter how tired I am.
Looking forward to Part II
November 7, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Akemi "spiritual entrepreneur" @ Yes to Me
Davina,
We’ll develop this communication path further ^_^
Robin,
Glad you enjoyed it.
One way to tell ego’s scream from genuine intuition is to see if it’s fear based. Ego really likes to use fear as a way to stay in power.
Evelyn,
In Part 2, Davina and I talk about Deja Vu. This is another interesting area to explore.
Barbara,
Good to know you trust your intuition.
Davina,
Thank you for following up for me. Ego is . . . well, one way to define is it is our lower self, or the mind that is not very in touch with the higher self, the soul. When the mind is not communicating with the soul, it starts to think it is the king, and we start identifying with the ego. In truth, the mind (and body) are the soul’s tool and vehicle. When used as a tool, the mind and body are very useful — it is why we came here to begin with, to experience life as physical beings.
Panther,
Take care of yourself — this kind of work is quite demanding to our physical body and mind.
November 7, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Urban Panther
@Akemi – yes it is, and yes I do *smile*
November 7, 2008 at 8:10 pm
davinahaisell
Hi Akemi.
Thanks for the clarification about the ego.
And Panther, I see Akemi has addressed your comment so I’ll just say Hi! and thanks for reading and sharing 🙂
November 7, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Dot
Davina and Akemi, thanks for this! It’s very interesting to me, and I can’t wait until my reading with Akemi in less than two weeks! I feel like I’m attending a Spirituality University class.
November 7, 2008 at 10:27 pm
davinahaisell
Hi Dot.
I’m happy you are having fun with this and excited for you that you are having a reading with Akemi. A spirituality university class… I like that! 🙂
November 7, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Marelisa
Hi Akemi: I would like to know if you’re also sensitive to what other people are feeling and thinking (not just sensitive to messages from your spirit guides), and if so, what do you do when the people around are having a lot of negative thoughts and feelings which may be affecting you?
November 8, 2008 at 12:22 am
Tom Volkar / Delightful Work
Davina – great job on your follow-up questions; they lead to some excellent distinctions that were very helpful. Akemi – this is useful and it shows the excellent fit that you are for this work. Do you have the sense that this comes very naturally to you and you could have been doing this work even earlier?
November 8, 2008 at 1:18 am
Akemi "spiritual entrepreneur" @ Yes to Me
Dot,
Good to see you here, and I — apologize for the long lead time. I mean, it’s nice for me to have a long waiting list, but I also understand that the current lead time is too long. I will work on it.
Glad you are enjoying this interview!
Marelisa,
Great question. Yes, I am. For a long time, I thought I was “fussy” because I could tell if the person in front of me really likes me or not, regardless of how nice he or she may or may not be. I couldn’t prove it, and many people thought I was a bit paranoid.
To protect myself from negativity — I guess the first step is to detach. (And I think this is important whether you are particularly sensitive or not.) I think it’s about trusting that the person is at the most appropriate stage of their learning even though it may appear they are deep in negativity.
I also want plenty of me-time. This is good for the grounding, too.
Does this answer your question?
Tom,
Umm. . . I’d love to improve my intuitive power further. I think I’m one of those who had blocked the natural intuition for a long time due to social conditioning. It’s good to be opening up finally.
November 8, 2008 at 2:25 am
Lance
Intuition…sometimes I doubt it. Why? Because, almost without fail – it is right… I guess that’s a hard thing for me to get over, being able to fully trust my intuition.
I’ve also recently again tried my hand at meditation – and found it to really help me to mentally focus — so I’m looking forward to doing this more – and you’ve given more reason here on why I should!
Great interview, both of you – Akemi and Davina! This is a subject that is kind of a gray area for me, so your information was really beneficial!
November 8, 2008 at 4:20 am
davinahaisell
Hi Tom. Thanks!
Hi Lance. It is a challenge to trust the intuition. I guess more so because we know that it isn’t always the intuition we are hearing, and to know the difference. Glad you are enjoying this.
November 8, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Akemi "spiritual entrepreneur" @ Yes to Me
Lance,
So you are saying you find it hard to trust your intuition because it is right? It’s hard to accept what you don’t rationally understand, isn’t it?
I’m glad you like meditation. Take time in your spiritual development.
November 10, 2008 at 8:38 am
Kelly@SHE-POWER
Davina, these were really thoughtful questions that revealed a lot. I found the idea of non-physical intuitive sounds quite interesting as I’ve nver considered that before. I’m very visual or instinctual – I think I’d feel like I was going nuts if I heard sounds.
So Akemi, I was wondering – how do we know if ‘feelings’ we have about which path to take in life are based on fear and avoidance or actually intuition about another course which may be better for us now?
I really do rely on my instincts and a sense of what my heart wants to do when I make decisions in life. But sometimes I wonder if fear or some other issue sometimes fools me to take an easier or alternative path. Thereby putting off what I really should be doing.
I hope this question makes sense.
Kelly 🙂
November 10, 2008 at 8:51 am
Maya
Hi Davina,
Thank you for this interview.
I am curious to read the rest of the interview. I think I can sense my intuition pretty well, but with so much going on in life, I wonder if I am reading myself wrong sometimes ….
Is there a way to figure this out?
November 10, 2008 at 9:55 am
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November 10, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Akemi "spiritual entrepreneur" @ Yes to Me
Kelly,
That is a very important question — actually I can go on and on about this, but let me try to be brief.
Intuition comes in a positive enlightening way. It feels like a light just came in — the “aha” moment. It does take practice and experience to discern the different between intuition and other noises, however. This is why it’s a good idea to start acting on intuition with small things and see how you feel and what happens.
On a side note — actually it is not only our ego who make those “noises” There are negative entities who send out misguiding messages. It is something I check in my Akashic Record Reading — whether my clients are affected by such negative influences.
Maya,
Because you are talking to Davina — I’m just sending you a smile ^_^
November 10, 2008 at 7:30 pm
davinahaisell
Hi Kelly.
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed these questions. I’m with you on that one!
Hi Maya.
You are welcome. I’m not sure anymore if it was my idea, or Akemi’s 🙂 But we shared the effort.
An interesting and very common question. You know what? Honestly, I haven’t figured it out either. It’s hard to answer you on this because it depends on what it is you are trying to accomplish, or what the actual situation is to give you something to relate to. What factors are involved? Fear can get in the way, or self doubt.
What IS stopping you? If you want to share more in the comments section, please go ahead. Otherwise, send me an email and I should be able to clarify a few things for you.
But, I’m no expert… Akemi has more practice and experience than I do on that subject.
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