Bringing Intuition Home to Your Child by Sonia Choquette

I constantly remind parents that developing an awareness of inner guidance is only one part of the equation for living an intuitive life. The other is having the willingness and flexibility to accept and respond to the sixth sense when it does show up. You and your children won’t receive its value and benefits unless you can fully embrace its subtle messages and act accordingly. Intuition is a gift, but at times it may require that you change plans, break with tradition, rock the boat, challenge authority, or reverse your direction—and believe me, it often will.

Inner wisdom exists to help us make better decisions and prevent us from making costly or disruptive mistakes. It also serves to direct our attention to the best ways of achieving goals, alert us to potential problems and dangers, and protect us and keep us safely on our path. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that intuition—especially a child’s—is likely to call for a change of plans.

This is a very important message for moms and dads because one of the greatest blocks to children’s six-sensory awakening usually lies in the parents’ unconscious or automatic inclination to tune out their kids’ insights as a matter of habit.

For example, recently I was on a plane going from Minneapolis to Denver and was seated next to a well-dressed businessman and his six- or seven-year-old son. During the flight, the father took out The Wall Street Journal and began to read, while the boy, who sat between us, played with some sort of electronic game. I leaned back in my seat, deciding to meditate for a while.

A short time later, the child said, “Dad, I saw an angel in my room last night!” Hearing this, I opened my eyes.

Without even looking up from his paper, his father responded, “You were just dreaming.”

There was silence, then a moment later his son spoke again, “No, I was awake, and she was in the corner just smiling at me.”

The newspaper snapped as his dad turned the page and insisted, “There’s no such thing. You were sleeping.” And he continued to read.

The boy stopped playing his game but kept staring down at it. He took a breath and gave it one final try. “Dad, it was real. I was awake, and she was very beautiful.”

Now the man seemed annoyed. “Son, this is nonsense! Now if you can put it out of your mind, we’ll read a book together.”

A puzzled look crossed the child’s face, as if he were having an internal debate. Then he said, “Okay, let’s do it.” The father put his paper away, and they began to read.

My heart sank. The little boy had just made an extremely difficult decision. He’d had a wonderful spiritual experience and obviously wanted to share it with his dad, who had dismissed him without a thought. He’d also gotten his son to drop the subject in exchange for his full attention.

They read together for a while. The child was clearly enjoying interacting with his dad, but eventually the man got up and went to the bathroom. While he was gone, the boy picked up the electronic game and began to play once again.

Pondering how he was being cut off from his intuitive life, I impulsively leaned over to him and said, “You know what? I believe you did see an angel!”

With that, his whole face lit up. Then his father returned, and that was the end of our conversation.

What I witnessed on that flight is, sadly, very common. All too often, it only takes a dismissive remark from an insensitive or unaware parent to disconnect a child from their inner knowing. As one woman put it, “If intuition were a fire . . . my mother would be a firefighter!”

Even those who are committed to encouraging the development of their kids’ sixth sense can fall prey to negative responses. As human beings, we’re all creatures of habit, especially when it comes to intuition; and some of our ingrained tendencies contain blind spots that interfere with our goals.

Kids receive spontaneous six-sensory messages more readily than adults do; and as parents, we need to listen to them. After years of being indoctrinated to look for what the agenda calls for—for what seems to be instead of what is—our own intuitive edge begins to dull. In contrast, children usually have a pretty keen ability to discern what’s what.

A good way to keep their instincts sharp, as well as reawaken your own, is to respect their first impressions, listen to their vibes, allow their natural responses, and encourage them to share their feelings with you. Take them seriously and believe what your kids are telling you, even if it seems unlikely or puts you in an uncomfortable or even awkward position.

A simple change in your awareness and habits in this area can create tremendous breakthroughs in sparking and validating your children’s gifts, and also reactivate your own intuition. Pay attention to what they’re saying, what they want to do, and what you want to do. If you recognize their vibes as an important response to energy, then you’ll understand how a sensitive mind picks up these frequencies. In fact, a kid’s clear mind can sense many things adults overlook or filter out because they don’t want to know. Children do tune in to what we’re tuning out, and they need you to show them that the information they’re receiving matters.

Excerpt from The Intuitive Spark: Bringing Intuition Home to Your Child, Your Family, and You by Sonia Choquette.