Lucky For Me - Interview #2

Steve Whiteford and I had so much fun doing our first video podcast / interview last month that we decided to do another one. When we did our first one, out here in California we were in the midst of rather overwhelming weather challenges but even with the flooding, mudslides, power / internet / cell phone outages, we managed to pull it off.  

We set out to do our second one and wouldn't you know it, Steve (who lives in Texas) was the one who was in the midst of rather overwhelming weather challenges. Once again, regardless of the number of downed trees and power outages, etc. that were going on around him, we were able to connect to create our second interview.

We are taking it as a sign that if we are still able to do these with all that chaos going on around us, then what we are attempting to do must be supported by the Universe.  LOL 

Here is the description that we included with our second video podcast so you can get a feel for what we cover.  It is about 35 minutes long.  

In this second installment of Lucky for Me, Maureen and Steve discuss the new career path that emerged as an outcome of her journey with Lucky - that of an Animal Communicator and Energy Practitioner. During this segment, we delve into how she works, how her intuitive abilities play a big role in her practice and what someone might expect if they have a session with her. Steve also shares his own experiences of having a session with Maureen and his beloved Corgi, Jenny so folks can get a first-hand account of what it is like to have a session with Maureen.

Lucky For Me - Interview #2

I hope you enjoy hearing some more about the journey I went on with Lucky. Not only how it led me to create a new business but also more about what the animals have taught me regarding their purpose in our lives and the myriad of ways they are here to support and assist us if we are open to what they have to offer.

Lucky For Me - Interview

I had the absolute pleasure of getting interviewed by Steve Whiteford this past week to talk about my book, Lucky For Me - a Journey of Healing and Self-Discovery.  

Steve and I worked together a decade or two ago when I was working full time in the corporate world as a consultant (training, coaching, facilitating). Steve and I both contracted with the same consulting group and the first time we met, we hit it off immediately. 

We lost touch for a while but reconnected when I published my book. He read it and loved it and after having some wonderful email exchanges and chats about the book and about our lives, he thought it would be fun to interview me about the book. We set out to create a video-podcast and managed to do that this past weekend.

We had a great time making the video and we both felt it gave a more in-depth look at Lucky For me. I am sharing a link to our chat / interview about the book in the hopes that it will give you some more information about the book and the type of work I do. (the video is about 35 min. long)

You can access the link to our interview here: Maureen's interview with Steve

Given that Steve has a wide breadth and depth of knowledge about Emotional Intelligence (and has written lots of articles on the topic) we were excited to see how much overlap there was between what I learned on my journey with Lucky and what he knows about E.I.  We discussed the possibility of doing further video-podcasts like this where we dive into these topics in more detail. Given that we have both learned so much over the years . . . about the emotional intelligence of humans AND animals - we think people might be really interested in hearing more. So stayed tuned - if we put some together, I will be sure to post about them here. 

If you are interested in learning more about Emotional Intelligence, a great resource for you are Steve's articles, here is a link where you can find them: Steve's articles on E.I

And if you haven't bought a copy of Lucky for Me yet, here is a link to purchase my book: Lucky For Me

Listen to your intuition

I believe that everyone has intuition, whether you call it a gut feeling or an insight or something else. It's the thought that comes into your mind, a "knowing" that you have, although you aren't sure how you came to "know" it.  Personally, I think the real challenge with intuition isn't "getting it" but rather learning to listen to it and to trust what comes to you.  

In the work that I do with animals and their guardians, I find that one of the areas I focus on a lot is helping the guardians learn to trust their intuition.  They all have it, as evidenced by the number of times I tell people what I am picking up from their animals and I hear them say, "I was wondering about that" or "I had a feeling that is what was going on" or "That thought went through my head the other day."  Whether it is a medical issue or an emotional/behavioral issue, my clients often have a good idea about what is going on with their animals but are afraid to trust it.  

I feel that part of my job as a healer and animal communicator is to help my 2-legged clients develop more trust in what their intuition is telling them.  The benefits to them are many, i.e. the more they trust the insights they get, the better and more quickly they will be able to help their animals, and if they are trusting their intuition, they will have less need for me or someone like me.  

This surprises some people and they question why I would want people to need me less.  My philosophy is no different now than when I was working as an organizational development consultant.  I think my job has always been to empower people, to help people trust themselves and believe in themselves.  I think the more we trust ourselves, the stronger and more capable we become.  And the more we listen to our intuition, the stronger it becomes as well.  I want to help people to believe in themselves, not help them be dependent on me because making people dependent is "unempowering" them in a way.  

If you don't currently believe you have intuition or you aren't currently trusting the "knowing" you have, I encourage you to start paying attention to the number of times someone tells you something and you think to yourself "I had a feeling . . ."  When you are at the vet and he/she says "This is what is going on with your animal," how often are they telling you something you already suspected?   If you go to an alternative practitioner, whether it's a chiropractor or an accupuncturist, or you meet with an animal communicator, pay attention to the number of times you think to yourself "I had a feeling that's what was going on."   I think you'll be surprised by the number of times you were "right" about what was going on with your animal.

Often times our fear of trusting ourselves makes us listen to other people too much and then things get really confusing.  I can't tell you how many of my clients have said to me "Well, I thought this is what was going on with my dog but then Sally at the dog park said it was probably this, and my next door neighbor said her dog had similar symptoms and it was that, and now my head is spinning and I have no idea what is wrong with my dog and I'm really scared."  Most of the time, when the person finds out what is wrong with their animal, they were the ones who were right . . not the lady at the dog park or their next door neighbor, often times not even their vet.  

I had one client whose dog had received a "cancer diagnosis" from her vet, based on some lab work.  She kept saying to me, "I just don't think he has cancer."  That thought never left her mind or her heart.  Her intuition kept telling her he was not a dog with cancer and several months later when they had his lab work done again, this time the lab work prooved that she was right . . . he just didn't have cancer.  Hard to know if the lab work was wrong in the first place, or if her positive thought and belief that he was well helped create that outcome.  All I know was that her intuition kept telling her he didn't have cancer and her intuition was right.

So, trust your intuition!!  Don't ignore the "knowing" that comes to you.  Trust yourself!!  You'll be happy you did!