We're born with the natural ability to instinctively know when someone is lying to us, when they're trustworthy, when they're threatening. But many people grow up in hostile environments, with family's who erode that knowledge. For instance, in an alcoholic home, the child may recognize that Papa gets nasty and sleepy when he drinks that smelly stuff, but Mama says, "No, Papa's just tired." Since the grownup knows more, the child ignores his/her judgment. Parents may insist that no one outside of the immediate family can be trusted and the child shouldn't tell anyone what goes on in the home. As children, we look to authorities to confirm or deny our truths to help us learn discernment.

The instinct of who to trust is still there in all of us, buried and ignored. It's been called the "Still, small voice," and is always whispering to us. Most of the time we don't hear it, mistake it for something else, or our fears override it. Learning to tune into it again takes practice.

In my experience, if you experience obsessive thoughts about a situation, such as "He always lies," or "They're going to steal my idea," that's not intuition, but old information trying to protect you. The subconscious is comparing the current situation to a past condition. The concerns may or may not be correct, depending on the circumstances. But generally it's just mind chatter, coming from past fears.

However, if you have an instinctive response, as I did, to a situation, then I'd suggest you pay attention. Investigate further if you have a nagging feeling that won't go away that something just isn't right. A visceral, physical response to something going on is a definite sign. Having nightmares, tense muscles, anxiety, intestinal upsets, or frequently getting sick may begin to happen if you ignore the signals. This is the intuition getting more serious and forceful in its attempts to get noticed.

Once you identify that something has caught the attention of your intuition, begin using your analytical mind. Is everything that's going on congruent? Do the person's actions and statements match? Are they contradicting themselves, or what you know to be true? When you discuss the situation, do you feel satisfied with their responses, and how they treat your concerns, or are you still uneasy?

Ask the Universe for clarity. It's amazing, once you do that, how often the truth comes out. But you have to be open to what you hear, because sometimes the answer will mean you have to make some hard choices. And there are also times when the more positive answer is harder to believe in the light of our old experiences.

One way to learn to discriminate between your fears, logic and intuition is to begin asking to be guided in different ways. For instance, ask what you need to wear that day, what order you should do your errands, what route should you take to work, etc. You'll begin to notice that sometimes you'll be guided to do something out of the ordinary that proves to be of benefit to you.

Answer: God isn't like a parent spoiling their child. Everything we could desire is already in potential, waiting for us to acknowledge, recognize and accept it. Imagining that there is a Divine Being possibly judging us worthy for a desire means that we believe that we're separate from It. We're the ones who restrict our access to our good. The Universe cannot force us to accept Its bounty or constrict it, for we are one with It.

For example, imagine a group of artist's, each with a natural talent. God flows through them in the potential of their ability. The Universe doesn't restrict that talent, but if they don't exercise it and practice, they won't be able to express it well. They need to train their eye to view things so that they can reproduce them clearly, and train their hand to draw the way they want.

The talent is there in potential. Some artists draw naturally from early age, because they haven't been told they couldn't. Others feel they're "not good enough artists," or feel unworthy, so will put blocks in their own way to reinforce that concept. They have to learn to overcome those blocks before they can access and use their ability. Some artist's work hard to develop their talent, feeling that they have to work hard for anything they get.

I could also use the example of an athlete having talent in potential, waiting to be acknowledged and exercised. No matter what the desire we have, it is already in Divine Mind, waiting for us to accept it for we are one with it. But it won't be given to us on a silver platter simply because we want it. We have to do the mental, emotional, and physical work to change our consciousness to accept it.

I've worked with visualization and imaging for thirty years, and in that time have read many books on the subject. This is one of the best books I've read that not only describes the process, but also explains how it can specifically help in various aspect of your life.

Dr. Peale doesn't define imaging as a magical process that alone will make all your problems disappear, but that opens up the way for solutions and guidance. Once the goal has been set and visualized, then there must be "discipline, determination, patience, and persistence" for the idea to become reality. Using examples and success stories, Dr. Peale explains how imaging can improve self-esteem, finances, success, worry, relationships, health, faith and much more.

Known for his wisdom and ability, Dr. Peale helps people change their attitudes towards their everyday problems. This book shows how using the natural ability of imaging, your challenges can be conquered. The technique he describes is very simple, and is used by everyone each day. I recommend it highly for anyone wanting to learn more about the important tool of visualization.