July 14, 2025 • 27 mins
Your primary instrument is you. Just as no one wants a surgeon with a dull scalpel, no client deserves a helping professional who hasn't maintained their most essential tool—their own clarity of mind and intuitive capacity.
Dr. Julie Merriman unpacks the profound connection between intentional self-care practices and our ability to maintain clarity and access our professional intuition. Rather than vague concepts, these qualities emerge as precise professional assets that directly impact our effectiveness and resilience in helping roles.
Clarity, as explored in this episode, extends far beyond clear thinking. It's a multidimensional quality encompassing cognitive clarity (processing complex information under pressure), professional clarity (understanding roles and boundaries), empathic clarity (connecting deeply without becoming enmeshed), and ethical clarity (navigating moral ambiguities with confidence). Without cultivating these forms of clarity, we risk becoming reactive, inefficient, or even harmful in our practice.
Meanwhile, professional intuition is demystified as the sum of accumulated knowledge and experience processed at the subconscious level—those informed hunches and gut feelings that help us recognize patterns and subtle cues that explicit data might miss. This isn't mystical prediction but rather your brain's remarkable capacity for rapid pattern recognition, especially valuable in emotionally charged or fast-paced situations.
The episode offers practical, accessible approaches to cultivating both clarity and intuition through mindfulness, movement, somatic awareness, and reflective journaling. Each practice creates space for the mental quiet and bodily attunement necessary to sharpen our professional capacities. Dr. Merriman emphasizes that even five minutes daily of these practices can transform our effectiveness, comparing the process to polishing a lens that allows us to see more accurately or tuning an instrument that produces more harmonious sound.
Ready to refine your inner compass? Download this week's activity guide by subscribing at juliemerriman-phd.com and commit to a simple practice that will enhance your clarity and intuition, transforming both your professional resilience and personal wellbeing.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey y'all, I'm Dr Julie Merriman and welcome to
Soul Joy.
Today we're moving to the thirdeye chakra and exploring two
vital qualities clarity andintuition.
And we'll discover howcultivating these internal
assets is deeply rooted in ourcommitment to embracing
(00:21):
self-care practices.
Because, my friend, this is avery necessary component of
holistic, sustainable self-carepractices.
Because, my friend, this is avery necessary component of
holistic, sustainable self-care.
All right, all right, all right, welcome, welcome.
Thank you so much for taking afew minutes to hang out with me
(00:41):
today.
So last week I talked a littlebit about a bulldozer being in
the front yard and constructionworkers in my bathroom, and
that's much the same thing thisweek.
But I am excited to have these,uh, the projects completed.
So, yeah, you put up a littlebit right to get what you want.
(01:02):
So let's see what.
What else is going on this week.
It is summer here in Texas.
Well, not just in Texas, it'ssummer, and here in Texas it's
pretty hot, and this year myhusband and I we planted a
gorgeous garden and I tell youwe have got tomatoes and okra
(01:23):
and squash beans.
I I mean, we've got all kindsof treasures coming in from the
garden.
So I'm really enjoying hangingout with the dogs in the morning
and watering the garden andpicking the garden and just all
those mother earth kinds ofthings.
It's kind of fun.
So that's what's going on atthe merriman household this week
.
So, okay, professional helpers,this podcast is dedicated to
(01:44):
preventing and overcoming theoccupational hazards of the
career we chose specificallyburnout, compassion, fatigue and
vicarious trauma.
But, as I say every week, thispodcast is for everyone.
If you are having a humanexperience, this podcast is for
you.
In our demanding fields,whatever it might be, we're
(02:10):
constantly bombarded withinformation, emotions, critical
decisions.
It's easy to feel overwhelmed,to lose our footing or to second
guess our instincts.
But imagine operating from aplace of quiet confidence, where
your thoughts are clear.
Your professional intuitionacts as a reliable compass.
(02:32):
Wow, that's what we're aimingfor today.
Let's start with clarity.
Okay, that's one that I thinkwell, personally, I've struggled
with in the past.
I think it's an importantcomponent to work with and y'all
, for us helping professionals,clarity isn't just about clear
(02:53):
thinking, it's multifaceted.
Okay, we're looking atcognitive clarity, the ability
to process complex information,identify core issues and make
sound decisions, even underpressure.
It's cutting through the noiseto see the signal.
Professional clarity that is,understanding your role, your
(03:18):
scope of practice and yourboundaries with precision and
your boundaries with precision.
This prevents overreach,burnout and ethical dilemmas.
Next we have empathic claritythe capacity to deeply
understand and connect withothers' experiences without
(03:49):
losing your own sense of selfare becoming enmeshed.
It's about cleardifferentiation.
Then we have ethical clarity.
Clarity this is the ability tonavigate moral ambiguities and
consistently align your actionswith your professional values
and ethical guidelines.
Y'all without clarity, webecome reactive, we become
inefficient or y'all we couldeven harm unintentionally.
(04:12):
Okay, so that's clarity.
Now let's take a gander atintuition.
This is often misunderstood assome mystical force, but in a
professional context, intuitionis far more grounded.
It's the sum of youraccumulated knowledge,
(04:33):
experience and patternrecognition processed at the
subconscious level, informedhunches.
It's that gut feeling orimmediate insight you get about
client dynamic, a teaminteraction or a potential risk.
It's not a magical prediction,but rather your brain rapidly
(04:58):
recognizing patterns.
It's seen before, often belowthe conscious awareness.
I believe in the counselingfield and my PhD is in
counseling.
That's where I'm speaking from.
Our field is very much art andscience and I think this
intuition is part of our art, ifyou will.
I tell my students that oftenand it's that gut sense you know
(05:22):
, and really it's that patternrecognition.
I think that makes good sense.
This intuition is it's speed ofinsight.
While logical reasoning issequential, intuition can offer
instantaneous understanding,allowing you to respond
(05:43):
effectively in fast-paced oremotionally charged situations.
And y'all.
It's beyond the data.
Sometimes the explicit datadoesn't tell the whole story.
Intuition helps you pick up onsubtle clues body language, tone
of voice, unspoken anxietiesthat inform a more holistic
(06:05):
understanding.
However, intuition is a musclethat needs training and
refinement.
It's crucial to distinguishgenuine, informed intuition from
personal biases, anxieties orprojections.
This is where clarity andself-awareness come in.
So how do we cultivate thispowerful duo of clarity and
(06:29):
intuition?
The answer lies in intentionalself-care practices holistic,
sustainable, intentionalself-care practices,
particularly those that connectus more deeply to our bodies and
minds.
For helping professionals anyprofessional, any human your
(06:51):
primary instrument is you and,just like any instrument, you
need regular tuning andmaintenance.
None of us want to go to asurgeon with a dull scalpel and
no one wants to go to atherapist who is not regularly
experiencing tuning andmaintenance.
This is where practices likemindfulness, movement and
(07:17):
somatic awareness becomeinvaluable.
These aren't just nice to haves.
They are fundamental tools forprofessional resilience and
effectiveness.
So let's dive in a bit onmindfulness for cognitive and
empathic clarity.
The practice Simply payingattention to the present moment
(07:42):
without judgment.
Attention to the present momentwithout judgment.
This can be through focusedbreathing, a body scan or
mindful observation of yourenvironment.
The benefit mindfulness helpsto quiet the mental chatter,
reduce rumination and createspace between a stimulus and
(08:04):
your reaction.
This mental spaciousness y'allit's critical for cognitive
clarity because it allows you tosee problems more objectively,
y'all.
It also enhances empathicclarity by helping you observe
your own emotional responseswithout getting swept away by
(08:27):
them, and this allows you to bepresent for others without
losing yourself.
And then let's take a hot minuteto explore movement and somatic
awareness.
This includes elements of yoga,but for intuition and stress
(08:47):
reduction, okay.
So the practice here isengaging in physical movement
that connects you to your body.
This could be walking,stretching, dancing love me some
of that or structured practiceslike yoga.
Yoga, for example, is afantastic practice that combines
(09:07):
physical postures, breathingexercises you've got to breathe
through some of those moves andmeditation.
So the benefit here is that ourbodies hold stress, tension and
even unprocessed emotions.
Practices that involve movementand somatic awareness help turn
(09:32):
into bodily sensations.
This helps release thisaccumulated tension.
So the movement, the somaticawareness, you feel it in your
bodily sensations and throughthis you're releasing
accumulated tension.
(09:52):
The physical release can leadto mental spaciousness, opening
up some bandwidth for yourself.
The deep breathing and focusedmovement found in yoga can calm
the nervous system.
It helps to reduce the fight orflight response that often
clouds judgment.
(10:13):
Lots of research behind thisand by regularly checking in
with your body, you become moreattuned to those subtle gut
feelings, the informed hunchesthat are the essence of
intuition.
It helps you recognize thesubtle signals your body sends
(10:34):
when a boundary is being crossedor when a situation just feels
off.
You know, I mean, had I learnedto tune into that stuff early
in life, I would have savedmyself some heartache.
It is worth going through thepractice of somatic awareness.
(10:54):
I mean it's going to increaseyour quality of life.
Also, let's explore journalingfor self-clarity.
So here's what the practicelooks like.
You're regularly writing downyour thoughts, feelings,
observations.
This can be free form or youcan use prompts.
You know what you prefer.
(11:15):
I prefer my clients actuallywrite things out kinesthetically
.
I think there's somethingmind-hand connection there.
But if you're absolutelyagainst, that typing works as
well.
The benefit here is thatjournaling allows you to
externalize your internaldialogue right, and this makes
(11:35):
your thought pattern morevisible.
This process fostersself-clarity by helping you
identify biases, understand youremotional triggers and clarify
your own needs and values.
It's also a powerful way toprocess complex client
interactions and gain deeperinsights that might lead to
(12:00):
intuitive breakthroughs.
Lead to intuitive breakthroughs, I always.
I mean if I'm a supervisor fora newly licensed counselor, or
if I'm supervising my studentsstill in grad school, or if I'm
just working on my ownself-awareness.
I believe if something istriggered within us by a client,
(12:21):
that is a beautiful opportunityfor growth and awareness and
that only happens by sittingdown and doing some journaling
and really getting to the bottomof that.
See, integrating thesepractices into your life is not
about adding more to youralready overflowing plate.
(12:42):
It's about investing in thefoundation that holds your plate
steady.
Even five to ten minutes a dayof mindful breathing, few
stretches or a quick journalentry can make a profound
difference.
You're worth the time andeffort.
Think of it this way A clearlens sees more accurately right.
(13:06):
I'm always, especially since myhusband's had his brain tumors
and it's impacted his eyesightand he's got a special pair of
glasses.
I'm always looking up at himand seeing how dirty those
glasses are and taking them offto clear those lens so he can
see more accurately.
A well-tuned instrumentproduces a harmonious sound.
(13:30):
When you invest in your ownmental, emotional and physical
well-being through intentional,holistic, sustainable self-care,
also known as wellness, youpolish your inner compass,
you're sharpening your clarityand refining your intuition.
(13:51):
This not only benefits youpersonally, but exponentially
enhances your capacity to serveothers with presence, wisdom and
resilience.
And we want that others withpresence, wisdom and resilience
and we want that, don't we wantto bring our best self to our
counseling room, to our surgeryroom, to our classroom, to
(14:13):
whatever place that we arepracticing our trade.
Okay, subscribe to my emaillist to get the weekly podcast
email, which includes a bonusPDF of the weekly activity that
I create for you.
All you have to do is hop overto my website,
(14:36):
wwwjuliemerrimanphdcom.
I also have a counseling page.
If you're interested in anycounseling, I also have a
counseling page.
If you're interested in anycounseling, you can hop on my
calendar.
I offer a free 15-minuteconsultation.
See if we're a good fit, and Ialso have my book for sale on
that website.
Okay, so there's my quicklittle commercial.
(14:59):
So the activity I have plannedfor you today, my friends, is
called my Inner Compass,cultivating Clarity and
Intuition.
Man, I wish I had had access tothis podcast when I was in my
20s and 30s.
I mean, I was fumbling aroundReally.
(15:20):
You know, when I think back, oh, I had my life.
It was not a straight arrow.
Anything I ever did did therewas nothing straight.
My daddy always told me I didthings the hard way, which
probably was true.
But you know, I graduated highschool a year early.
I graduated my junior year.
I just I hated, I just did notenjoy high school which is crazy
(15:40):
, because got in college and Ihave never left college since
the 80s.
I'm either teaching or astudent, so it's interesting.
But anyway, I graduated a yearearly.
Went um was not in a goodrelationship situation, um, and
I'm not going to bore y'all withall that right now but ended up
going to um, a hair school.
(16:02):
I was a hairdresser.
I worked as a hairdresser as Iworked my way through college,
loved it.
My grandmother was ahairdresser.
I'm a very creative person, hada great time with that, but I
stumbled and stammered in myearly years.
I was a young mom, didn't starton my college journey until
(16:23):
about the time I was 25, I guess, and I really didn't feel like
life started.
Now, the best thing thathappened to me were my two boys.
I love and adore my childrenand they're a gift from God, and
where I'm rambling here, I'mtalking about this inner compass
to create clarity and intuition.
I was roaming around withoutclarity and intuition, intuition
(16:48):
.
I was roaming around withoutclarity and intuition, and I
really feel like that hit for mewhen I met my husband and I
think my boys would tell youthis too Our life really started
, felt like life began, andKelly tells me this too I truly
believe we're soulmates, buttogether and I think that's a
really important thing aboutrelationships you're better
together.
Together, you help make eachother better, and I believe
(17:10):
that's true for both of us.
But in this I was, you know,through a lot of mistakes.
I've been able to find my innercompass and cultivate that
clarity and intuition, and Iwant this for y'all.
I want this for any client Iwork with, I want this for my
students, I want this for anyclient I work with, I want this
for my students, I want this forthis audience.
So I've created this activityfor you.
(17:31):
That's a lot of introduction,huh, thanks for hanging in there
.
So by reflecting on currentchallenges and committing to
specific self-care practicesholistic, sustainable you will
enhance your professionalclarity and intuition and
personal.
You can't just do it for yourprofessional, especially as a
(17:52):
counselor.
We are the person of thecounselor, so if you're doing it
for your personal, you're doingit for your professional and
vice versa.
So step one here is initialreflection and I just invite you
and I know maybe not right thisminute, but download the PDF,
but find a quiet space where youcan focus without interruption,
(18:14):
allow yourself to notice anyparticular concepts that
resonate strongly with yourcurrent professional practice
and these are concepts thatwe've talked about in this
podcast thus far and I inviteyou to jot down a couple of
initial thoughts or feelingsthat come up regarding clarity,
(18:35):
intuition or self-care in yourwork.
Don't overthink it, just jot itdown.
Next, identify fuzzy areas andintuition blocks.
So part A of this is claritychallenges.
Think about your currentprofessional role or your
(18:56):
current role.
Identify a couple of areaswhere you often experience a
lack of clarity.
This could be cognitivedifficulty of making decisions
or feeling overwhelmed byinformation.
It could be professional,unclear boundaries, unclear
scope of practice, empathicdifficulty separating your
(19:17):
emotions from a client's orcolleague's feelings Well,
difficulty separating youremotions from the clients or
colleagues.
And maybe you're feelingemotionally drained.
Or maybe it's ethical,navigating complex ethical
dilemmas.
Briefly describe the fuzzy area.
(19:40):
Then part B we're going to kickinto intuition obstacles and I
invite you to reflect on timeswhen maybe you felt your
intuition might have been tryingto tell you something.
Oh honey, I can think of some,but you either missed it,
dismissed it or found it clouded.
So often, y'all, we have beentrained since childhood not to
(20:05):
trust our emotions or intuition.
Our loving parents they did notdo it to mess with us, they, we
parent the best we can but sooften we might have had a
feeling about I don't knowsomething, let's say a weird
aunt or uncle or something, andand they would dismiss it.
Or or you had a.
(20:25):
You know you were, yourfeelings were hurt and I said oh
, you're fine, brush that off.
I mean, so often we've beentrained not to trust our
intuition, so no wonder there'stimes we find it clouded.
So what I invite you to do hereis to think about what the
circumstances, what were thecircumstances where this clouded
(20:48):
intuition might have come up.
What do you think might haveblocked or distorted your
intuition in that moment?
Could be stress, fatigue,external pressure, overthinking
Anyone else.
Have a gold star in thatOverthinking emotional
reactivity.
Briefly, describe a couple ofinstances or common patterns
(21:15):
that you have noticed aboutyourself.
Then step three you're going tointegrate self-care for clarity
and intuition.
So part A here is personalizedself-care practice.
Read my book big proponent ofself-care, review self-care
(21:39):
categories, and the categoriesare mindfulness, movement, which
would be somatic awareness,including yoga, and then there's
journaling.
So those are the threecategories we're looking at.
Choose one that you feel wouldbe most beneficial for enhancing
your clarity and intuitionright now, and then engage in
(22:05):
the chosen practice.
Mindfulness practice, okay.
So choose the one.
I want you to engage in thatpractice for about five to seven
minutes, and then I want you tomove on, and that would be
(22:29):
mindfulness.
Okay, I hang with me, I willget this out, oh my heavens.
So to engage in the chosenpractice, we're gonna do it for
five to seven minutes and thisis what it's going to look like.
If you chose mindfulnesspractice focus, breathing, a
body scan or a mindfulobservation you could do
(22:52):
movement somatic awareness bydoing some gentle stretches when
you wake up in the morningcat-cow, child's pose, mountain
pose, just something reallysimple.
Focus on your body, sensationsand breathing.
Or maybe you're going to choosejournaling and you're going to
(23:12):
just free ride about one of yourfuzzy areas or intuition
obstacles from the step above.
So for five to seven minutes,do one of those three things and
I'll get it out.
You're going to do yourmindfulness practice, you're
going to or you're going to do amovement somatic awareness or
(23:36):
you're going to do journaling.
So mindfulness, let's saybreathing, mindful breathing,
movement, somatic awareness,some yoga or journaling where
you're free, writing about afuzzy area of intuition.
After the practice, write downwhat you observed or felt.
Did you notice any shifts inyour clarity or emotional state?
(24:00):
Once you've done that your fiveto seven moments of practice
and reflected on that, move toPart B, where you're connecting
to clarity and intuition.
How do you foresee this chosenpractice helping you
specifically with the claritychallenge you identified in Step
(24:22):
2A above, in step 2a above?
How do you foresee this chosenpractice helping you
specifically with the intuitionobstacle you identified above in
step 2b?
Because I promise consistentpractice will help you with this
clarity and intuition,accepting, understanding,
(24:43):
trusting your intuition.
There's a good book I read backin grad school and that's back
in the 90s Women who Run WithWolves.
Is that it?
That's really all about how wehave clouded our intuition over
the years.
Good book If you haven't readit, I really encourage you to
grab it.
Okay, then we go to step four,and that's commitment and action
(25:07):
.
Choose one of the self-carepractices you engaged with above
, or maybe one that you justknow that you like to go to Go
there.
Commit to incorporating thispractice into your week, even if
for just five to ten minutes aday or every other day.
You know it's not overwhelming.
You have five minutes ofscrolling on your phone that you
(25:31):
could set that down and chooseto take care of yourself instead
.
Set a realistic, actionablegoal for the next seven days.
For instance, I will practicefive minutes of mindful
breathing before starting myworkday, or I will practice five
minutes of mindful breathingbefore starting my work day, or
I will do 10 minutes of generalyoga stretches three times a
(25:54):
week, or I will journal forseven minutes on Tuesday and
Thursday evenings.
I mean, you can do this.
Write down your specificcommitment.
If we write it down, we're morelikely to do it.
Identify one potential barrierto this commitment and one
strategy to overcome it.
Okay, now I know I kind ofjumbled that up, but I do
(26:18):
apologize.
But if you subscribe to myemail list, you'll get a PDF
where you can read through thatand practice this all by
yourself.
Then I want you to please do thereflection questions.
What was the most surprisinginsight you gained from engaging
in your self-care practice withthe intention of enhancing
(26:40):
clarity and intuition?
Right, this is very intentional.
How might consistent engagementin these practices transform
your professional resilience,and what support do you need to
maintain your commitment tothese practices?
All right, so that's theactivity for today.
(27:04):
That's all for this episode ofSoul Joy.
Thanks for being thecompassionate, dedicated
professional you are.
Remember you're not.
Your well-being is not a luxury, it's a necessity.
Until next time, take care ofyou.
Hey y'all, I'm Dr Julie Merriman and welcome to
Soul Joy.
Today we're moving to the thirdeye chakra and exploring two
vital qualities clarity andintuition.
And we'll discover howcultivating these internal
assets is deeply rooted in ourcommitment to embracing
(00:21):
self-care practices.
Because, my friend, this is avery necessary component of
holistic, sustainable self-carepractices.
Because, my friend, this is avery necessary component of
holistic, sustainable self-care.
All right, all right, all right, welcome, welcome.
Thank you so much for taking afew minutes to hang out with me
(00:41):
today.
So last week I talked a littlebit about a bulldozer being in
the front yard and constructionworkers in my bathroom, and
that's much the same thing thisweek.
But I am excited to have these,uh, the projects completed.
So, yeah, you put up a littlebit right to get what you want.
(01:02):
So let's see what.
What else is going on this week.
It is summer here in Texas.
Well, not just in Texas, it'ssummer, and here in Texas it's
pretty hot, and this year myhusband and I we planted a
gorgeous garden and I tell youwe have got tomatoes and okra
(01:23):
and squash beans.
I I mean, we've got all kindsof treasures coming in from the
garden.
So I'm really enjoying hangingout with the dogs in the morning
and watering the garden andpicking the garden and just all
those mother earth kinds ofthings.
It's kind of fun.
So that's what's going on atthe merriman household this week
.
So, okay, professional helpers,this podcast is dedicated to
(01:44):
preventing and overcoming theoccupational hazards of the
career we chose specificallyburnout, compassion, fatigue and
vicarious trauma.
But, as I say every week, thispodcast is for everyone.
If you are having a humanexperience, this podcast is for
you.
In our demanding fields,whatever it might be, we're
(02:10):
constantly bombarded withinformation, emotions, critical
decisions.
It's easy to feel overwhelmed,to lose our footing or to second
guess our instincts.
But imagine operating from aplace of quiet confidence, where
your thoughts are clear.
Your professional intuitionacts as a reliable compass.
(02:32):
Wow, that's what we're aimingfor today.
Let's start with clarity.
Okay, that's one that I thinkwell, personally, I've struggled
with in the past.
I think it's an importantcomponent to work with and y'all
, for us helping professionals,clarity isn't just about clear
(02:53):
thinking, it's multifaceted.
Okay, we're looking atcognitive clarity, the ability
to process complex information,identify core issues and make
sound decisions, even underpressure.
It's cutting through the noiseto see the signal.
Professional clarity that is,understanding your role, your
(03:18):
scope of practice and yourboundaries with precision and
your boundaries with precision.
This prevents overreach,burnout and ethical dilemmas.
Next we have empathic claritythe capacity to deeply
understand and connect withothers' experiences without
(03:49):
losing your own sense of selfare becoming enmeshed.
It's about cleardifferentiation.
Then we have ethical clarity.
Clarity this is the ability tonavigate moral ambiguities and
consistently align your actionswith your professional values
and ethical guidelines.
Y'all without clarity, webecome reactive, we become
inefficient or y'all we couldeven harm unintentionally.
(04:12):
Okay, so that's clarity.
Now let's take a gander atintuition.
This is often misunderstood assome mystical force, but in a
professional context, intuitionis far more grounded.
It's the sum of youraccumulated knowledge,
(04:33):
experience and patternrecognition processed at the
subconscious level, informedhunches.
It's that gut feeling orimmediate insight you get about
client dynamic, a teaminteraction or a potential risk.
It's not a magical prediction,but rather your brain rapidly
(04:58):
recognizing patterns.
It's seen before, often belowthe conscious awareness.
I believe in the counselingfield and my PhD is in
counseling.
That's where I'm speaking from.
Our field is very much art andscience and I think this
intuition is part of our art, ifyou will.
I tell my students that oftenand it's that gut sense you know
(05:22):
, and really it's that patternrecognition.
I think that makes good sense.
This intuition is it's speed ofinsight.
While logical reasoning issequential, intuition can offer
instantaneous understanding,allowing you to respond
(05:43):
effectively in fast-paced oremotionally charged situations.
And y'all.
It's beyond the data.
Sometimes the explicit datadoesn't tell the whole story.
Intuition helps you pick up onsubtle clues body language, tone
of voice, unspoken anxietiesthat inform a more holistic
(06:05):
understanding.
However, intuition is a musclethat needs training and
refinement.
It's crucial to distinguishgenuine, informed intuition from
personal biases, anxieties orprojections.
This is where clarity andself-awareness come in.
So how do we cultivate thispowerful duo of clarity and
(06:29):
intuition?
The answer lies in intentionalself-care practices holistic,
sustainable, intentionalself-care practices,
particularly those that connectus more deeply to our bodies and
minds.
For helping professionals anyprofessional, any human your
(06:51):
primary instrument is you and,just like any instrument, you
need regular tuning andmaintenance.
None of us want to go to asurgeon with a dull scalpel and
no one wants to go to atherapist who is not regularly
experiencing tuning andmaintenance.
This is where practices likemindfulness, movement and
(07:17):
somatic awareness becomeinvaluable.
These aren't just nice to haves.
They are fundamental tools forprofessional resilience and
effectiveness.
So let's dive in a bit onmindfulness for cognitive and
empathic clarity.
The practice Simply payingattention to the present moment
(07:42):
without judgment.
Attention to the present momentwithout judgment.
This can be through focusedbreathing, a body scan or
mindful observation of yourenvironment.
The benefit mindfulness helpsto quiet the mental chatter,
reduce rumination and createspace between a stimulus and
(08:04):
your reaction.
This mental spaciousness y'allit's critical for cognitive
clarity because it allows you tosee problems more objectively,
y'all.
It also enhances empathicclarity by helping you observe
your own emotional responseswithout getting swept away by
(08:27):
them, and this allows you to bepresent for others without
losing yourself.
And then let's take a hot minuteto explore movement and somatic
awareness.
This includes elements of yoga,but for intuition and stress
(08:47):
reduction, okay.
So the practice here isengaging in physical movement
that connects you to your body.
This could be walking,stretching, dancing love me some
of that or structured practiceslike yoga.
Yoga, for example, is afantastic practice that combines
(09:07):
physical postures, breathingexercises you've got to breathe
through some of those moves andmeditation.
So the benefit here is that ourbodies hold stress, tension and
even unprocessed emotions.
Practices that involve movementand somatic awareness help turn
(09:32):
into bodily sensations.
This helps release thisaccumulated tension.
So the movement, the somaticawareness, you feel it in your
bodily sensations and throughthis you're releasing
accumulated tension.
(09:52):
The physical release can leadto mental spaciousness, opening
up some bandwidth for yourself.
The deep breathing and focusedmovement found in yoga can calm
the nervous system.
It helps to reduce the fight orflight response that often
clouds judgment.
(10:13):
Lots of research behind thisand by regularly checking in
with your body, you become moreattuned to those subtle gut
feelings, the informed hunchesthat are the essence of
intuition.
It helps you recognize thesubtle signals your body sends
(10:34):
when a boundary is being crossedor when a situation just feels
off.
You know, I mean, had I learnedto tune into that stuff early
in life, I would have savedmyself some heartache.
It is worth going through thepractice of somatic awareness.
(10:54):
I mean it's going to increaseyour quality of life.
Also, let's explore journalingfor self-clarity.
So here's what the practicelooks like.
You're regularly writing downyour thoughts, feelings,
observations.
This can be free form or youcan use prompts.
You know what you prefer.
(11:15):
I prefer my clients actuallywrite things out kinesthetically
.
I think there's somethingmind-hand connection there.
But if you're absolutelyagainst, that typing works as
well.
The benefit here is thatjournaling allows you to
externalize your internaldialogue right, and this makes
(11:35):
your thought pattern morevisible.
This process fostersself-clarity by helping you
identify biases, understand youremotional triggers and clarify
your own needs and values.
It's also a powerful way toprocess complex client
interactions and gain deeperinsights that might lead to
(12:00):
intuitive breakthroughs.
Lead to intuitive breakthroughs, I always.
I mean if I'm a supervisor fora newly licensed counselor, or
if I'm supervising my studentsstill in grad school, or if I'm
just working on my ownself-awareness.
I believe if something istriggered within us by a client,
(12:21):
that is a beautiful opportunityfor growth and awareness and
that only happens by sittingdown and doing some journaling
and really getting to the bottomof that.
See, integrating thesepractices into your life is not
about adding more to youralready overflowing plate.
(12:42):
It's about investing in thefoundation that holds your plate
steady.
Even five to ten minutes a dayof mindful breathing, few
stretches or a quick journalentry can make a profound
difference.
You're worth the time andeffort.
Think of it this way A clearlens sees more accurately right.
(13:06):
I'm always, especially since myhusband's had his brain tumors
and it's impacted his eyesightand he's got a special pair of
glasses.
I'm always looking up at himand seeing how dirty those
glasses are and taking them offto clear those lens so he can
see more accurately.
A well-tuned instrumentproduces a harmonious sound.
(13:30):
When you invest in your ownmental, emotional and physical
well-being through intentional,holistic, sustainable self-care,
also known as wellness, youpolish your inner compass,
you're sharpening your clarityand refining your intuition.
(13:51):
This not only benefits youpersonally, but exponentially
enhances your capacity to serveothers with presence, wisdom and
resilience.
And we want that others withpresence, wisdom and resilience
and we want that, don't we wantto bring our best self to our
counseling room, to our surgeryroom, to our classroom, to
(14:13):
whatever place that we arepracticing our trade.
Okay, subscribe to my emaillist to get the weekly podcast
email, which includes a bonusPDF of the weekly activity that
I create for you.
All you have to do is hop overto my website,
(14:36):
wwwjuliemerrimanphdcom.
I also have a counseling page.
If you're interested in anycounseling, I also have a
counseling page.
If you're interested in anycounseling, you can hop on my
calendar.
I offer a free 15-minuteconsultation.
See if we're a good fit, and Ialso have my book for sale on
that website.
Okay, so there's my quicklittle commercial.
(14:59):
So the activity I have plannedfor you today, my friends, is
called my Inner Compass,cultivating Clarity and
Intuition.
Man, I wish I had had access tothis podcast when I was in my
20s and 30s.
I mean, I was fumbling aroundReally.
(15:20):
You know, when I think back, oh, I had my life.
It was not a straight arrow.
Anything I ever did did therewas nothing straight.
My daddy always told me I didthings the hard way, which
probably was true.
But you know, I graduated highschool a year early.
I graduated my junior year.
I just I hated, I just did notenjoy high school which is crazy
(15:40):
, because got in college and Ihave never left college since
the 80s.
I'm either teaching or astudent, so it's interesting.
But anyway, I graduated a yearearly.
Went um was not in a goodrelationship situation, um, and
I'm not going to bore y'all withall that right now but ended up
going to um, a hair school.
(16:02):
I was a hairdresser.
I worked as a hairdresser as Iworked my way through college,
loved it.
My grandmother was ahairdresser.
I'm a very creative person, hada great time with that, but I
stumbled and stammered in myearly years.
I was a young mom, didn't starton my college journey until
(16:23):
about the time I was 25, I guess, and I really didn't feel like
life started.
Now, the best thing thathappened to me were my two boys.
I love and adore my childrenand they're a gift from God, and
where I'm rambling here, I'mtalking about this inner compass
to create clarity and intuition.
I was roaming around withoutclarity and intuition, intuition
(16:48):
.
I was roaming around withoutclarity and intuition, and I
really feel like that hit for mewhen I met my husband and I
think my boys would tell youthis too Our life really started
, felt like life began, andKelly tells me this too I truly
believe we're soulmates, buttogether and I think that's a
really important thing aboutrelationships you're better
together.
Together, you help make eachother better, and I believe
(17:10):
that's true for both of us.
But in this I was, you know,through a lot of mistakes.
I've been able to find my innercompass and cultivate that
clarity and intuition, and Iwant this for y'all.
I want this for any client Iwork with, I want this for my
students, I want this for anyclient I work with, I want this
for my students, I want this forthis audience.
So I've created this activityfor you.
(17:31):
That's a lot of introduction,huh, thanks for hanging in there
.
So by reflecting on currentchallenges and committing to
specific self-care practicesholistic, sustainable you will
enhance your professionalclarity and intuition and
personal.
You can't just do it for yourprofessional, especially as a
(17:52):
counselor.
We are the person of thecounselor, so if you're doing it
for your personal, you're doingit for your professional and
vice versa.
So step one here is initialreflection and I just invite you
and I know maybe not right thisminute, but download the PDF,
but find a quiet space where youcan focus without interruption,
(18:14):
allow yourself to notice anyparticular concepts that
resonate strongly with yourcurrent professional practice
and these are concepts thatwe've talked about in this
podcast thus far and I inviteyou to jot down a couple of
initial thoughts or feelingsthat come up regarding clarity,
(18:35):
intuition or self-care in yourwork.
Don't overthink it, just jot itdown.
Next, identify fuzzy areas andintuition blocks.
So part A of this is claritychallenges.
Think about your currentprofessional role or your
(18:56):
current role.
Identify a couple of areaswhere you often experience a
lack of clarity.
This could be cognitivedifficulty of making decisions
or feeling overwhelmed byinformation.
It could be professional,unclear boundaries, unclear
scope of practice, empathicdifficulty separating your
(19:17):
emotions from a client's orcolleague's feelings Well,
difficulty separating youremotions from the clients or
colleagues.
And maybe you're feelingemotionally drained.
Or maybe it's ethical,navigating complex ethical
dilemmas.
Briefly describe the fuzzy area.
(19:40):
Then part B we're going to kickinto intuition obstacles and I
invite you to reflect on timeswhen maybe you felt your
intuition might have been tryingto tell you something.
Oh honey, I can think of some,but you either missed it,
dismissed it or found it clouded.
So often, y'all, we have beentrained since childhood not to
(20:05):
trust our emotions or intuition.
Our loving parents they did notdo it to mess with us, they, we
parent the best we can but sooften we might have had a
feeling about I don't knowsomething, let's say a weird
aunt or uncle or something, andand they would dismiss it.
Or or you had a.
(20:25):
You know you were, yourfeelings were hurt and I said oh
, you're fine, brush that off.
I mean, so often we've beentrained not to trust our
intuition, so no wonder there'stimes we find it clouded.
So what I invite you to do hereis to think about what the
circumstances, what were thecircumstances where this clouded
(20:48):
intuition might have come up.
What do you think might haveblocked or distorted your
intuition in that moment?
Could be stress, fatigue,external pressure, overthinking
Anyone else.
Have a gold star in thatOverthinking emotional
reactivity.
Briefly, describe a couple ofinstances or common patterns
(21:15):
that you have noticed aboutyourself.
Then step three you're going tointegrate self-care for clarity
and intuition.
So part A here is personalizedself-care practice.
Read my book big proponent ofself-care, review self-care
(21:39):
categories, and the categoriesare mindfulness, movement, which
would be somatic awareness,including yoga, and then there's
journaling.
So those are the threecategories we're looking at.
Choose one that you feel wouldbe most beneficial for enhancing
your clarity and intuitionright now, and then engage in
(22:05):
the chosen practice.
Mindfulness practice, okay.
So choose the one.
I want you to engage in thatpractice for about five to seven
minutes, and then I want you tomove on, and that would be
(22:29):
mindfulness.
Okay, I hang with me, I willget this out, oh my heavens.
So to engage in the chosenpractice, we're gonna do it for
five to seven minutes and thisis what it's going to look like.
If you chose mindfulnesspractice focus, breathing, a
body scan or a mindfulobservation you could do
(22:52):
movement somatic awareness bydoing some gentle stretches when
you wake up in the morningcat-cow, child's pose, mountain
pose, just something reallysimple.
Focus on your body, sensationsand breathing.
Or maybe you're going to choosejournaling and you're going to
(23:12):
just free ride about one of yourfuzzy areas or intuition
obstacles from the step above.
So for five to seven minutes,do one of those three things and
I'll get it out.
You're going to do yourmindfulness practice, you're
going to or you're going to do amovement somatic awareness or
(23:36):
you're going to do journaling.
So mindfulness, let's saybreathing, mindful breathing,
movement, somatic awareness,some yoga or journaling where
you're free, writing about afuzzy area of intuition.
After the practice, write downwhat you observed or felt.
Did you notice any shifts inyour clarity or emotional state?
(24:00):
Once you've done that your fiveto seven moments of practice
and reflected on that, move toPart B, where you're connecting
to clarity and intuition.
How do you foresee this chosenpractice helping you
specifically with the claritychallenge you identified in Step
(24:22):
2A above, in step 2a above?
How do you foresee this chosenpractice helping you
specifically with the intuitionobstacle you identified above in
step 2b?
Because I promise consistentpractice will help you with this
clarity and intuition,accepting, understanding,
(24:43):
trusting your intuition.
There's a good book I read backin grad school and that's back
in the 90s Women who Run WithWolves.
Is that it?
That's really all about how wehave clouded our intuition over
the years.
Good book If you haven't readit, I really encourage you to
grab it.
Okay, then we go to step four,and that's commitment and action
(25:07):
.
Choose one of the self-carepractices you engaged with above
, or maybe one that you justknow that you like to go to Go
there.
Commit to incorporating thispractice into your week, even if
for just five to ten minutes aday or every other day.
You know it's not overwhelming.
You have five minutes ofscrolling on your phone that you
(25:31):
could set that down and chooseto take care of yourself instead
.
Set a realistic, actionablegoal for the next seven days.
For instance, I will practicefive minutes of mindful
breathing before starting myworkday, or I will practice five
minutes of mindful breathingbefore starting my work day, or
I will do 10 minutes of generalyoga stretches three times a
(25:54):
week, or I will journal forseven minutes on Tuesday and
Thursday evenings.
I mean, you can do this.
Write down your specificcommitment.
If we write it down, we're morelikely to do it.
Identify one potential barrierto this commitment and one
strategy to overcome it.
Okay, now I know I kind ofjumbled that up, but I do
(26:18):
apologize.
But if you subscribe to myemail list, you'll get a PDF
where you can read through thatand practice this all by
yourself.
Then I want you to please do thereflection questions.
What was the most surprisinginsight you gained from engaging
in your self-care practice withthe intention of enhancing
(26:40):
clarity and intuition?
Right, this is very intentional.
How might consistent engagementin these practices transform
your professional resilience,and what support do you need to
maintain your commitment tothese practices?
All right, so that's theactivity for today.
(27:04):
That's all for this episode ofSoul Joy.
Thanks for being thecompassionate, dedicated
professional you are.
Remember you're not.
Your well-being is not a luxury, it's a necessity.
Until next time, take care ofyou.
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