Author, spiritual teacher and Reiki teacher Dawn Mellowship explores our intuition and her theory on the circles of life.

We enter this world in a state of oneness, with ourselves and with the universe. At this time we have a profound connection with our intuition. Recent research from a Yale University team has discovered that babies have a sense of morality, which is an instinct rather than a learned behaviour. The study, which was published in the journal Nature, demonstrated that infants of 6 and 10 months old can distinguish between helpful and unhelpful individuals. Already at this tender age we have an understanding of our external environment, which I would predict is the product of our intuition, a strong and powerful connection with our souls that has not yet been tainted or modified by human interaction, our upbringing, environment and the pressures of socialisation. Babies have a wonderful sense of innocence about them. The world has not corrupted their sense of self.

It is not long before babies mimic the traits of their parents and as they grow older into children, teenagers and then adults, their sense of self and purpose is derived, not from the strong intuitive connection they possessed at birth, but from processing external information, from parents, friends, work colleagues, the media and other walks of society. Children are rarely encouraged to embrace their intuition and are instead persuaded to shirk inner knowledge in favour of external answers. We find it hard when someone presents us with insight that is devoid of physical evidence. Have you ever spoken to someone about a matter that you were sure about but could not explain? When they question you, asking, “How do you know this?” the only answer you can provide is, “Because I just do.” We are not programmed to compute that response, longing for the answer to be backed up with solid proof, but science has not yet caught up with our intuition. Humanity might think that it is mastering nature and learning to tailor the universe to its needs, but the universe can swallow the world up in a second and humanity would have absolutely no control over that. Global warming is proof of that.

All scientists have to accept that they are fallible as human beings and there are many occurrences that they cannot yet explain. If they could truly decipher our intuition as a connection with our souls and discover the mechanisms behind that, I wonder if people would look to their intuition for the wrong reasons, not because they believed in it and wanted to grow spiritually and emotionally, but because experts had told them to do so. Of course, it would be unfair to say that science has discovered nothing about our intuition. Researchers at Washington University in 2005, found that the anterior cingulate (ACC) part of the brain is more active when an individual is about to experience something potentially harmful. It is believed to serve as an early warning system, helping the individual to avoid hazardous situations on a subconscious level. It is also recognised that the brain generates its own electromagnetic (EM) field. Professor Johnjoe McFadden at the University of Reading has suggested that this field might be “the seat of consciousness.” I would call it our intuition.

Albert Einstein once said “the only real valuable thing is intuition.” In my view his statement is absolutely right. Indeed, Einstein believed in God, not a God that served as a moral guiding compass for society but a creator. The word God strikes abject terror into many people who associate God with the dogmatic and punishing God of religion. For me God is a creative intelligent and loving energy.

Rather than dismissing spirituality and perceiving intuition as the product of evolution, I think we should be looking to something much more ethereal. Personally, I feel that it is impossible to look up at the stars, to see the intricate and complex nature of the universe and believe that this just happened by itself. I neither subscribe to big bang theory, evolution theory or the creation theory of the bible. In my opinion, science is too hooked up on technological advances and their vision of the future involves manipulating nature and rejecting our souls. It is a vision driven by physical desires rather than intuition, which brings me onto my next point.

As we traverse through this life, we very often allow our physical desires and our emotional longings to control us. It is hard not to, the society we live in is geared towards the pursuit of our physical desires. Many scientists clearly do not believe in the soul because if they did, they would not genetically modify anything they can get their hands on, they would not be working to create microchips to furnish us with ‘superhuman’ powers and prolong our human existence, they would not be producing nanomachines driven by bacteria to transport drugs around our bodies. They would not be flagrantly ignoring death and failing to explore its aftermath for those who have departed from this world. Instead they would be looking to discover why we are here as souls and they would be motivated by unconditional love instead of money and power. Humankind cannot master nature. It can learn from it or modify and destroy it. I fear that it has chosen the latter.

Capitalism is about making a profit and we are too far into it for any other system to take its place. We wouldn’t know where to start. Largely speaking, the people who control this world do not want us to trust in our intuition, because if we did, they would no longer be in a position of power. We would lose all faith in their words and actions and no longer allow them to dictate our lives. Our apathy would be replaced with direct action on the part of everyone.

In the current climate it is so hard for people to be intuitive. The wonderfully strong intuition we have at birth is quickly shattered and replaced with a confused combination of physical desire and emotional yearning. In energetic terms I believe that we have three bodies, which I compare to three circles, a physical body, an emotional body and a spiritual body. When we are born these circles are as one and our intuition guides our physical and emotional bodies. As our lifestyles, interactions and society impinge upon us, these three bodies drift apart.

Our physical bodies direct us towards fulfilling our physical desires. They want money, power, possessions, sex, drugs, alcohol, and so on. Our emotional bodies long to be loved, but in the absence of our spiritual guidance they latch onto conditional love, but it never quite meets our expectations and we very often feel that something is missing. We look for love in the wrong places and feel that we need certain things that are deemed to be social ‘norms,’ such as marriage, having children, being with a partner. Sometimes our emotional bodies become attached to our physical desires and we convince ourselves that we need to have a big house, a big car, a myriad of possessions and personal power and glory.

The happiness we derive from any of these things is fleeting and so we accumulate more and more, we become desensitised to certain pursuits because they rapidly move from being a taboo to normal modes of behaviour. We are swimming without a paddle because we don’t have that intuitive connection; we instead rely on the inherently flawed guidance of our physical and emotional bodies.

Our spiritual bodies desperately try to pull us in the right direction, but their guidance falls on deaf ears. We are utterly oblivious. Perhaps there are fleeting moments where we hear our intuition and think, “should I listen,” but it isn’t long before we reject its guidance and pursue a different path. Our lives take a turn for the worst because we ignore our intuition. All the pain and suffering on this earth is bred by humanity and we chose to endure that pain and suffering. It can end if we make different choices, ones that are based on intuition.

There is a way out, even if not for everyone, then for some. You need to discover who you are, why you are here and learn to distinguish your physical and emotional desires from your intuition. We can all do this if we choose to. George Eliot said that “the strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice.” Choose your destiny. Search until you find the answer. Look beyond the words that are presented to you and see the real message, the real person and the real world. I have written several books and my current book exposes the dangers of certain cosmetic constituents. When I think about the beauty industry, I don’t see beauty but an industry that is out to make a profit by fostering anxiety about our physical appearance. Think about what you see when you consider what is happening around you. Forget the charm that powerful figures present and look for the truth. It’s not a secret. It is there for the taking.

By opening your eyes and your mind to the wisdom of your intuition you can come to have all the spiritual answers you need, you can bring those three disparate circles into a united trinity of wholeness. If science has no answer for your knowledge, it doesn’t matter; have faith in what you know. The founder of the Japanese healing therapy I practice, Mikao Usui, said in the 1920s that science had no explanation for energy healing, but that one day it would, and sure enough science has explored healing and found answers. Many studies have shown the healing effects of electromagnetic energy, whether from a machine or from a healer. There are even some very good theories as to how it actually works at a cellular level. Perhaps one day there will be answers to explain your inner wisdom, but don’t wait for them to appear, trust in yourself enough to not need that physical form of validation. Be more like an infant and see the world with untainted and intuitive eyes.

Dawn Mellowship is an author, journalist, ethical stylist, spiritual teacher and a Reiki practitioner and teacher based in the UK. Her first book, Passage to Freedom (O Books) is available from Amazon and all good book stores. For more information see www.dawnmellowship.com.

The 21st century has seen a rise in humanity’s interest in ’spirituality.’ The Cambridge Dictionary describes spirituality as “the quality of being concerned with deep, often religious, feelings and beliefs, rather than with the physical parts of life.” There are a rising number of people drawn to so-called spiritual pursuits, but the problem I have is with what spirituality has come to mean.

The word by its own definition suggests concern with that which is not of the physical body, however what it has come to mean as far as I can see is a kind of spiritual consumerism. People think they can dabble in tarot cards or buy a few runes and that denotes an interest in spirituality. Shops are cropping up everywhere with the tools to be a ’spiritual’ person. Being ’spiritual’ seems to be something that anyone will proclaim without thoughts of the choices they have made in life or their actions and their consequences. Humanity is desire driven yet simultaneously stretching out one arm to dip into the spiritual realm and taking out whatever it fancies.

Celebrities are a prime example of humanity jumping on the spirituality shopper bandwagon. I was flicking through TV channels recently when I came across a programme about celebrities and religion. I was surprised to see (well only a little surprised) that certain celebrities rush to buy bottles of Kabbalah water, which are supposedly infused with Rabbi meditations. This allegedly gives the water amazing healing powers. Whatever happened to ‘right’ living and offering unconditional love! I am not a religious person but I do consider myself to be somewhat of a Christian in the true sense of the word. I believe that the words in the bible “Our love must not be a thing of words and fine talk. It must be a thing of action and sincerity (1 John 3:18)” to be true.

Wearing a bracelet or drinking water or energy drinks with rabbi infused meditations is not going to save anyone’s soul if that is what they are hoping for! As far as I can see all these things are merely gimmicks to make a tidy profit. Numerous hip-hop stars in the US adorn themselves with million dollar jewel encrusted crosses as if the size of their jewellery reflects their spirituality and commitment to God. All the while these stars are rapping about guns, bitches and dropping pills. The even more astonishing thing is that people worship celebrities as if they were some kind of divine beings. Humanity seems to have gone completely mad.

People seem to be hungry for ‘gurus’ who will feed them exactly what they want, in effect like a spiritual buffet. Rather than telling people the truth exactly as it stands a commercial guru will offer people a buffet of alleged spiritual answers. The individuals can then dip into the buffet and choose the answers they would like to hear at that particular moment in time.

Life is about learning lessons, hard work, trusting your intuition and making the right choices for yourself. Marketing bottled water as a cure all for society’s ills or wearing a belt made in the Vatican that is sprinkled with holy water doesn’t boost your spiritual ranking.

Don’t get me wrong, searching for spiritual answers and the quest to make ourselves better, more enlightened human beings is wonderful. Accessing our intuition and trusting that we have all the spiritual answers we could ever need in life is beyond fantastic. I am constantly learning lessons every day of my life and we all learn something from everyone we come into contact with.

The search for truth and for the divine that lies within is, I believe is the means to true contentment and peace. However, we have to be discerning with the information we take on board. The answers we seek are not external to us. Some books do have pearls of wisdom but much of what is written or said comes from people’s perceptions rather than true intuition. We need to trust our own intuition, as this will never fail us. Jesus said in the Gospel of St Thomas “Split a piece of wood and I am there. Pick up a stone and you will find me there.” The divine is all around us and within us. All we have to do is ask to access that truly spiritual part of ourselves. Undoubtedly there are some people that can point us in a certain direction, but beyond that it is up to us to take control of our own lives and ultimately take responsibility for our selves.

If you type the word ’spirituality’ into msn over 9 million results show up spanning a wide range of differing spiritual and religious belief systems, mixed in with courses in miracles and spiritual goods galore. So if you are doing some soul searching, be careful in whom you trust. Let intuition be your guide and maybe resist the urge to buy the jewellery infused with the power of prayer or the courses that promise miracles with no effort involved. Say no to pseudo spirituality!

It can seem hard to have faith in the twenty-first century, but the reward is worth the endeavour.

Most of us long to have faith in ourselves and the universe, yet faith can appear to be elusive and difficult to grasp. Some individuals have faith throughout their lives, regardless of their external circumstances, some people had faith once but lost it, causing them to question everything they had come to believe up until that point, and others have never known faith in any way, shape or form, remaining uncertain of precisely what it means to have faith.

Our lives only flow as they should, without the emotional rollercoasters and series of lows and highs, when we have absolute faith in our intuition, in ourselves, in the universe and the reality of what we can achieve. Personally, I believe in God, not in a religious sense but as a loving, creative energy that nurtures and guides us. My faith is immense, but I acknowledge that it could be stronger, because if my faith was absolute I would never worry.

Of course, I have to confess that I do sometimes become anxious, but not for long because I resolutely follow my intuitive guidance and deep down I know that everything will be as it should for me. It wasn’t always that way. There was a time when I had no faith at all, but at the age of 24 my life was radically transformed by a Japanese healing therapy called Reiki. I don’t even recognise the girl I used to be, because I grown so much. Ten years ago I never would have predicted that I would become an author, journalist, Reiki practitioner and teacher, spiritual teacher, ethical stylist and web designer, but making a commitment to follow my spiritual path, relinquishing all my physical desires in favour of pursuing that path, opened up a whole new world to me.

We can all grow spiritually, we can all have faith. Without it we feel hopeless and lack direction in life, we frequently ask ourselves, “Why isn’t my life going the way I want it to? Why haven’t I achieved my potential?” We can only achieve our potential when we embrace our intuition, follow its guidance at all times and foster a profound faith in our own inner wisdom, the insight that is born out of a connection with our souls, a connection with the universe, or what I would call God.

As well as following our intuition faith is about being able to adapt to circumstances, recognising that just because a situation is not as we would wish, it does not mean that there is no reason for it. Everything we experience in life is a lesson and we can choose to learn from that lesson or to ignore it. When we choose to learn, our lives become richer and more fulfilling. Faith is also about trusting that our spiritual answers will come to us as and when we need them, as long as we are adhering to our inner guidance. If we lack faith, we form needless obstacles that stall our self-development, when instead we should be focusing on the positive changes we could be making in our lives.

Cultivating faith is no mean feat, it requires dedication and hard work, but the results are truly worth it. Be prepared to change your life for the better, to take your life in a healthy direction and put the effort into listening to your intuition above and beyond your physical and emotional desires. See the trials and tribulations of your life as an opportunity to gain strength and to learn from your mistakes. Ultimately look within for your answers. There is a glorious soul within you that is waiting for you to open your mind to its insights. When you find faith, it will liberate that beautiful soul; it will truly set you free.

The word love is used so frequently in modern society and applied to so many different things, but what does unconditional love really mean? Author and spiritual teacher Dawn Mellowship sheds some light on love.

One of the main pre-requisites for attaining enlightenment is the capacity to love all living things unconditionally. We cannot progress on our spiritual paths and hope to obtain ultimate wisdom if we lack a profound understanding of love. The Advanced Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary defines love as, “to have strong feelings of affection for another adult and be romantically and sexually attracted to them, or feel great affection for a friend of person in your family.” This is a tragically human definition of the term love, the type that often comes with strings attached and what I would refer to as conditional love.

There is a profound difference between earthly love and spiritual love. Of course, it is not to say that there is anything wrong with being affectionate and attracted to someone, but unconditional love requires so much more. It means being able to see the bigger picture and doing what is right for people’s souls above and beyond what their physical bodies may desire. It means appreciating that everything happens for a reason, that everyone has a purpose for being here and whilst we may not understand that purpose, it doesn’t render that purpose any less valid.

Language is inept to convey the real magnitude of love. We frequently use the term to the point where it is losing its value. Some people will declare that they love food, their house, money, clothes and a cornucopia or other physical objects and possessions. We don’t save the word for when we sincerely mean it. Sometimes our love is provisional, depending on whether a person does certain things for us. There are individuals who have no concept of love at all because they have never been shown unconditional love, rendering them less likely to express it to anyone else.

As we develop spiritually and gain a deeper understanding of the universe and our place in the universe we come to grasp the real meaning of unconditional love, a love that cannot be restrained, that is caring but detached and honest yet firm. Sometimes it is incredibly tender and on other occasions it is harsh, because sometimes people need to be told the truth, painful as it may seem in the short term, to benefit their overall journey on earth. It can mean standing back from situations, allowing people to make mistakes when necessary, telling harsh home truths to make individuals aware of the consequences of their actions, encouraging others to take responsibility for their lives, listening to those who need an objective ear, enjoying being in a relationship but not needing to be in a relationship and not needing to be around other people, but being happy alone, with the universe surrounding you. This love lasts forever. It allows people to learn painful lessons when need be, it is not dependent on anyone or anything else.

Indubitably it can be difficult to watch loved ones suffering but we need to learn when to step in and provide a helping hand and when to step back and let people make their own decisions. We all have choices in life and our decisions dictate our level of spiritual development and happiness. When we are children our choices are more limited and parents have a responsibility to nurture us with unconditional love, which will ensure that we make good choices as adults. As we grow older there comes a point where we must assume responsibility for our actions and at this point we can choose the direction our life takes. We should not take peoples’ choices away from them, because they will be forced to experience similar situations over and over again, until they finally make their own choices. Emotional detachment is essential on the path to enlightenment. It allows us to be objective in any situation, whilst still displaying empathy.

Everyone needs to recognise that all life on this earth is precious. By learning to replace conditional love with unconditional love, we can foster a meaningful and genuine kindness towards ourselves and others.