Intuition is a gift which we all possess but can sometimes lay dormant. It is a gift which I always encourage clients to tap into as it holds the key to heart-centred living and making aligned choices in their career or life. In this article I share with you how my intuition (and Madonna) guided me into taking a trip back to the place where my career and spiritual journeys began and enabled me to reconnect with a forgotten part of myself.
When inspiration strikes, taking action is easy
I did it. I finally got to see Madonna on The Celebration Tour. It was meant to be after all. And getting there was one of my greatest examples of the power of listening to my intuition.
It was one seemingly normal evening in late January and the Madonna song ‘Back In Business’ came into my thoughts which triggered me to put a whole playlist of Madonna songs on whilst cooking dinner. I knew that The Celebration Tour (which I had attempted to go to on two previous occasions) was not done yet. She was now in North America and I had this overwhelming urge (divine guidance) to look at the venues and see if I could make it happen one last time. This is a milestone birthday year for me and it felt deeply symbolic to me to go and see Madonna and relive all the songs I grew up listening to.
As I looked through the list, Miami leapt out at me. Florida is a place where I lived and worked back in the mid to late nineties and also one which I had avoided going back to for 17 years, following the ending of a relationship over there. For many years now, I have dreamt about the place where I used to work (The Breakers in Palm Beach). It seemed there was something for me to explore and perhaps heal, but for so long I had resisted it.
The surge of energy which was pulsing through me was too big to ignore. And so that evening I made the intuitive decision to book the tickets to see Madonna and revisit my past. Although I can often take my time over decisions and overthink things, I have also found that when true inspiration strikes, there is really no decision to make at all. All it takes is for us to trust in the feeling (and to not let our ego self talk us out of it).
Revisiting my past, healing my present
And so, on Easter Monday, my partner and I headed off to Florida. To the place of my very first job and my very first spiritual awakening. Arriving there reminded me of a previous example of inspired action when I was contemplating leaving Florida and heading back to the UK to work in London. I spent many months pondering and trying to process in my head that which was already evident in my heart. It was time to go. One day the Universe decided to present me with a very obvious sign, in the form of a person walking down the local pier with a t-shirt saying ‘London’ on it. I knew without doubt right there and then, that was my next step.
Going back to Florida was a very healing experience for me. I very quickly felt all the negative energy towards the place just melt away. The reconnections I made with friends over there filled my heart in a way I could never have imagined at the beginning of the year. In many ways it felt like I was falling back in love with America again. I realised I had closed myself off to this. I had a filed away this part of my life in a drawer with no intention of reopening it. Perhaps this is what my dreams had been telling me? My intuition knew exactly what I needed.
The importance of honouring our younger selves
The Madonna concert itself was deeply satisfying and in many ways it echoed the rest of my Florida trip. She was reflecting on her past and her own journey – both musically and personally. She introduced on stage a masked dancer who symbolised her younger self – the ambitious twentysomething with raw talent just starting out in New York back in the eighties. She gave her a hug and encouraged us all to embrace our own younger self and where we came from.
I knew there was a message there for me to acknowledge the twenty-two-year-old who turned up in Palm Beach to start her career back in 1996. To honour the courage she showed to leave home like that and her sense of adventure of living in another country and making a brand new life for herself.
But, perhaps even more significant than that, is the bravery she showed to listen to the murmurings of her soul which were emerging for her at that time. Surrounded by an extreme of wealth and materialism and no obvious outlet for her spiritual side, she felt out on a limb. I realise now that that was my birth as a Spiritual Warrior. I am beyond grateful to my younger self for staying strong and true to herself. Because that paved the way to being who and what I am today. A spiritual being living in full alignment with who I am and the work I am here to do.
Madonna's other messages
There were two other messages which Madonna had for me. One was the acceptance that life is a mixture of ups and downs, no matter what our outer circumstances. She talked about her claustrophobia and recent battles with her mental health and the importance of acknowledging this. Whilst this came as a shock, it also showed me the vulnerable, human side of a person who is always portrayed as so strong as so fearless. I believe there is great power in sharing our truth with others.
The other message was a very literal one which was written on the back of her younger self dancer – “No Fear”. Fear is an emotion which pervades so much of our lives. It can keep us stuck in situations far longer than we know is good for us. It is a topic which inevitably comes up when I work with clients who are looking to change their career or take their business to the next level. Confronting it, connecting with courage and inviting in trust are essential on the journey towards realising our potential.
I decided to leave the States in 2001 with no other job to go to. (I have done this three times now). I trusted that I would be OK and that the Universe would provide, which indeed it did. Courage is not the absence of fear. It’s the ability to act in spite of fear. And so now, if and when any fearful thoughts arise (which they do) I will draw on this message and my younger self to tap into the courage which is still there.
It all makes sense
And so, as I look back on my trip to Florida, it makes perfect sense to me now why seeing Madonna in London wasn’t meant to happen for me. It was meant to happen in Florida, during my milestone birthday year to allow me to reconnect with my past and to fill my heart with all the love and joy that was waiting there for me. It feels like the greatest gift I could receive as I approach this new decade.
Sometimes (often) things don’t make total sense to us, especially if we are going around in circles pondering over something such as a career change. But I encourage you to simply trust. Trust that when the time is right to act, your intuition will give you a message or a feeling which leaves you in little or no doubt around what to do. Invite this guidance in now. It’s the best navigation system you have.
I want to end this article with a word of thanks. Firstly to my friends (who are more like family) in Florida who welcomed me back with such open arms and still had so much love to give after all these years.
And to Madonna:
- Thank you for sharing your journey in such an honest and human way
- Thank you for luring me over to Florida so I could reconnect with people who matter to me
- Thank you for showing me that I can be resilient and determined when I am motivated
- And thank you for helping me honour my younger self – I will keep hugging her
Hello, I'm Rebecca
Career Coach for people on a spiritual path
I support mid-career professionals who are ready to make a career change, launch into a more purpose-led career or business or simply enjoy a more fulfilling or balanced working life.
I believe that we all have a purpose here on earth and that life is too short to be stressed, unfulfilled and playing small.
