The Intuitive Way: The Definitive Guide to Increasing Your Awareness

Penney Peirce is a workshop leader and creative consultant and her book "The Intuitive Way" is one of the most practical to choose from on the market. It is organized like a 10-week course and is packed with reflections and exercises. After having it read once, I had success just picking up a chapter again and doing a few exercises. The exercises are fun and inspiring. It's a book you keep and go back to for that reason. She starts by what she calls "The cleaning of the lens of perception" which is about tuning to your own intuition and preparing to open up to it. The second part of the book is devoted to using many tools of intuitive development to recognize and then interpret the messages of intuition. She gives us a good chapter on body-based intuition. The last part of the book focuses on day-to-day messages of intuition such as dreams and how to regularly follow your insights. Good reads going with this most hands-on guide would be Julia Cameron's books, Natalie Goldberg's books and Ray Bradbury's "The Zen of Writing" (for those into writing) and Hal Zina Bennett's.

Ms. Peirce has written a thoughtful and well-organized guide to developing our relationship with the intuitive mind. Her premise is that each person has an intuitive faculty, which is our birthright as human beings. However, some people are more in touch with this faculty than others. Thus her strategy is to show us what blocks intuition, then how to work to unblock it. The exercises she provides to help us do this take up a large part of the book. In that sense, it is more of a workbook than just a book to read. Part 1, entitled "Creating a Clear Lens," walks the reader through a series of exercises to clean out habits of thought, fears, and unhelpful beliefs which most of us carry around until we do our interior housekeeping. Many exercises resemble the work that so many people do in therapy, that is, uncovering painful issues from the past and clearing them out. This clearing opens up the channel from the "Big Mind," that is, the intuitive mind, so that we can receive guidance. In Part 2, "Accessing Subtle Information," the focus turns to specific exercises for developing more sensitive perception and awareness. You will find here an emphasis on using your body awareness to tap into your intuitive mind. This makes perfect sense, as being grounded in the physical realm gives us a stable base from which to extend outward into the unknown. Finally, in Part 3, "Making Intuition Useful," Ms. Peirce leads us through exercises on applying intuition to everyday life. She includes very good information on dream work, working with the creative process, self-healing, and accessing super-conscious guidance, among other topics. This is really a lovely book. It is down-to-earth and practical, but also leads the reader gently into the spiritual realm. Ms. Peirce does not promote using ESP or telepathy in order to control the future, manipulate others, or otherwise get one's way in life. Rather, she encourages us to open up to a higher consciousness, and live our lives by creating in tandem with this consciousness. Through this work we become more at peace, more loving, more creative, and just plain happier.

This very readable book is packed with encouragement and inspiration for those who want to learn how to tune into their own intuitive wisdom. I led a 13-week class based on the book, and every one of my ten students felt it raised their awareness and abilities. Some of them have told me that they periodically review the book for fresh inspiration and guidance. There are certain sections I, myself, like to review when I don't understand why something is happening to me. The book helps me reframe how I'm seeing things -- an invaluable ability!

I picked up this book at the same time I picked up "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. I'd recommend any artists to read the two together; or if you've already read one, to read the other. This book gave me a 'new' way to look at the world. You start viewing things differently and find that you are less stressed and more intergetic. I've found that my mind abounds with possibilities and I now follow through with each one. I also keep an eye out for those 'little' hints we get during the day as to the things we should be doing. I now feel that I have a better understanding as to the direction my life should take. I don't question things as much, instead, just 'let things happen'.

Outstanding book. Very practical and offers insights that are immediately usable. I highly recommend this book to everyone.