For the past 50 years, best-selling author and intuitive guide Sonia Choquette has been helping people across the world get in touch with their intuition – something she says is crucial if we are to live fulfilling, meaningful lives.
“You’re really stuck in last century awareness if you don't acknowledge that we are energetic beings in an energetic world and that what you see on the surface is absolutely not all there is,” says Sonia, catching up with HELLO! to discuss her latest oracle deck Trust Your Vibes. “It's just not the whole story. And if we’re denying our energetic awareness, then it’s like we’re walking through the jungle at night with blinders on. Why would you want that? The more informed you are, the more aware you are.”
So does following our intuition – our vibes – help us align with our life’s purpose? “One hundred per cent,” nods Sonia. “Here's my experience as someone who's been teaching this way before it was even remotely interesting to the public in a big way: we are always intuitive. We have always been feeling vibes. This is nothing new.
© Getty Images"We're more than just survival-craving animals - we are spiritual beings who seek meaning. Meaning is a basic need, it’s not just a luxury for the woo woo crowd. Everybody's life needs meaning and alignment. I want everyone to feel as though they are living an authentic, meaningful life - and trusting your vibes is the compass that keeps bringing you back to that possibility.”
Here, Sonia gives us her top tips for tuning into your intuition…
Get out of your head and into your body
“You're not going to pick up vibrations if you're stuck in your head trying to figure things out. Your head - your ego, your brain - cannot feel energy. So we have to get into our bodies to begin to feel energy. So the first thing to do is a particular type of breath - you breathe in, and then you exhale with the intention to empty your mind and your energy of your own resistance.
© Getty Images"So pull your belly to your spine and exhale like you're blowing out, then breathe in again, open your jaw like you’re going to sigh or yawn, and then - like you're going down a slide - just let out a loud sigh, and then smile. You’re now instantly in your body, in your heart, plus that sigh is one of the most stress reducing actions you can take. At the end of that sigh, something happens. You stop being in your head and you start listening. And that’s allowing you to become aware of your vibes. So – breathe, sigh and smile. It opens up your perception and elevates your awareness of energy.”
Name your fears (aka empty the garbage)
“This is another thing you can do – it’s really effective, quite simple, and works every time. If you’re unable to find direction, and you're trying to figure it out, then this is a clear indication that you're in fear. So rather than fight it, name it. Name your fears. ‘I'm afraid I'll make a mistake. I'm afraid I'll make the wrong decision. I'm afraid I'll be alone. I'm afraid I will be misunderstood, can't pay my bills…’ - whatever it is. I call that emptying the garbage. You have to do this before the next step which is…”
Say it out loud
“Once you’ve ‘emptied the garbage’, put your hand on your heart and say, ‘My intuition says…’ And just speak it out loud. You'll always come up with something, but I say there's a way to test it. If it's true intuition and it's good guidance, your body will feel instantly relaxed. That's why we say ‘ah ha!’ - it's an automatic response. So ask out loud: ‘What does my intuition say?’ And then answer out loud: ‘My intuition says - or my higher self, or my ‘above-my-ego self’ says, and answer out loud - then check how your body feels."
Write it down
“This is fun - write down what your higher self, or your intuition, says, because even if you choose to ignore it, in one week’s time you'll have evidence that you probably should not have ignored it. So that's very impressive! It's like, ‘Oh, my higher self said this. I wish I had had paid attention.’ But at least you have evidence. Evidence is very effective.”
© Getty ImagesTrust your vibes
“When you speak of your intuition, don't speak of it as if it's an unnatural thing - because you keep reinforcing the idea that you shouldn't listen to this, that it’s weird. It’s not weird. It's a natural skill.
"So you say: ‘My vibes or my intuition fabulously gave me this information’ - and reframe it. I like to say simply, ‘I trust my vibes’. It gives you power, it gives you reinforcement, and it's because all of this is so natural. It'll come about pretty easily - so you don't have to believe me. You'll have your own positive experience!”
© Getty ImagesSonia adds: “Monarch butterflies can find their way across continents and back, and whales can cross oceans and back. We too have an inner compass that is very important to us living in the best possible way - to feeling safe, secure, connected, creative, and aligned. Those are the things that our vibes are constantly guiding us towards feeling safe, creative, empowered and connected to the things that matter to us.
Those things are just as important as breathing and eating and sleeping, and that's what these inner senses, your vibes, are guiding you to experience. So of course we need to trust our vibes.”
Pull an oracle card
“There’s a number of ways to make pulling an oracle card a daily practice, but the most simple is just pulling a card for the day. You can ask, ‘What do I need to be aware of today?’ It’s like checking the weather, but you’re checking the vibes. When you pull the card, just take a moment and say, 'OK'. Think about it, do a little creative connecting of the dots - but if you say it out loud, those dots start to connect spontaneously.
She adds: “When I say trust your vibes, you're actually experiencing something. Energetic information. It's either coming from your higher self, which is what the oracle deck addresses, or your higher self is making you aware of the energy coming towards you - that gives you information, like ‘pay attention to this energy’, or 'take a break', or 'reconsider'. Because the energy is informing you that it's time to be aware of what choices you're making, and if they're not going in a direction that aligns with you, then it’s time to adjust.
"This is information that we're all learning to start paying attention to, whereas for hundreds of years we've been told to ignore it. But now, even science is saying don't ignore it. This is actually something we possess. There's even an interesting word – interoperception – in other words, internal perception. This is no longer woo woo.
"What used to be called woo woo is now new science – evolved, current science. This Trust Your Vibes deck is the simplest way to help you start paying attention, recognise what the energy is saying, and help you make better decisions.
"As we're learning how to live energetically, the Trust Your Vibes oracle deck is a wonderful on-ramp to that – it’s the simplest way to start living with energetic perception. We don’t have to completely upend our reality and go meditate on a mountain in a sarong. We just need to pay attention and validate our experiences that we've been conditioned to ignore.”
Trust Your Vibes is on sale now, published by Hay House
