How to strengthen your intuition when you have cancer

In Soul
May 28, 2025
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A tingle, an urge, a nudge — that’s your intuition knocking at the door.

Oftentimes, we shrug it off as a passing feeling. Maybe it was hunger, lack of sleep, nervousness, or just plain woo-woo.

When you’ve got a disease like cancer, there are a hundred millions things to be done and decisions to be made. There are healthcare experts providing a ton of information and other people at the ready with their advice.

Let’s face it, the internal and external chatter is incessant. And so, learning how to strengthen your intuition can be a super helpful superpower. 

You understand that it’s more than just your run-of-the-mill feelings. Rather, it’s leading you towards your greater good.

What highly intuitive people do differently

Have you noticed there are some people who just seem to know? Their mantra seems to be “when you know, you know.” 

Entrepreneurs like Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, and your friendly neighborhood Spiderman have all mentioned they use their intuition to make decisions. 

But how do they “know”?

If you want the down low on how to strengthen your intuition, then it’s best to take a cue from highly intuitive people. Here are three things they do differently.

1. They listen to their inner voice

Intuition is often referred to as an “inner voice,” but it might not manifest itself as a voice at all. It could also be a feeling, an emotion, or perhaps just a hunch.

The thing is, we’re all naturally intuitive, but many of us aren’t taught how to hone in on it. And if we haven’t learned how to develop that skill, it’s really difficult to tell what’s just a feeling and what’s intuition.

In a 2016 TEDx Talk about trusting your gut, David Vobora, founder of Adaptive Training Foundation, asks if our intuition is such a powerful biological tool, why do so many of us rationalize it away? “It’s because of fear,” he explains.

Highly intuitive people understand the very nature of the intuitive meaning. They take the time and listen to their inner voice instead of shrugging it away.

2. They practice mindfulness

Many of us are taught to be logical when looking for answers. The problem is that our minds are often cluttered with thoughts and voices, and it makes it difficult to know which one is our intuition.

People who’re in sync with their intuition practice mindfulness. They’ve cultivated the ability to maintain a moment-to-moment awareness of their thoughts, feelings, sensations in their bodies, and surrounding environment.

3. They don’t attach themselves to negative emotions

Anger, fear, resentment, frustration, and anxiety are natural feelings to have. However, these strong, negative emotions can cloud our thoughts, judgment, and yes, even intuition. 

Remember a moment when you were seeing red — like, truly livid. Were you able to compose your thoughts and emotions in the heat of the moment? Most likely not.

That’s why resilience is a handy dandy tool that highly intuitive people have. They’re realistic enough to know that negative emotions and situations will happen (it’s life after all), but they also know that manage them.

3 tips on how to strengthen your intuition

Science confirms we do have a “second brain” — our gut intuition. “The gut has massive value, if you’ll listen,” says David, who’s also a retired NFL linebacker. 

While medical practitioners are equipped with the knowledge that helps with mapping out a logical cancer plan, they don’t live in their patients’ bodies. There are a number of cancer patients and survivors (David isn’t one, by the way) who talk about how their intuition has helped them through their cancer journey.

“I think what’s most important is that we have to remember that it’s our body and, no matter what they’re telling us to do, it’s got to feel right for us,” says Hilaire Lockwood, a thyroid cancer survivor, in an interview with Cancer Wellness.

So what can you do to hone in on your body’s cues? Sonia Choquette, intuition expert, may just have the answers for you.

In one of her YouTube videos, she shares three ways on how to strengthen your intuition.

1. Slow down

Intuition is consistent, according to Sonia. She explains, “it’s calm and there’s not a lot of words connected to it. In fact, there’s often no words connected to it because intuition is not thinking. It’s feeling.”

So she suggests to slow your roll and be aware of what’s going on around you and within you. This is one way to practice mindfulness.

Plenty of research has shown the benefits of mindfulness. This includes increased emotional regulation, fighting inflammation, lower levels of anxiety and stress, and improved cognitive performance.

While you’re slowing down, look into taking a few minutes to meditate. (You can check out one guided by Sonia below.) This will really help you be more open and receptive to live a connected and intuitive life.

2. Drop into your body

Here’s one thing to remember: intuitive vibes aren’t emotions. It’s vibrational information you feel, according to Sonia.

“When you do feel an intuition, it’s very quiet, it’s very consistent, and it’s calm,” she explains. “It doesn’t jump around. It doesn’t say one thing one second and another thing another second.”

That’s why intuition doesn’t happen in your brain. On the contrary, you feel it in your body — in your throat, chest, and your gut.

And so, if you can just slow down and drop into your body, have a listen to what vibrational information you’re receiving. If you want, have a conversation with it.

3. “My heart says…”

Now this is a Sonia special, and it’s called “My Heart Says.” Here’s how you can do it:

As you come into listening mode with your intuition, say, “my heart says …” and let your intuition verbalize what your heart says. Don’t think, just feel the vibes.

My heart says … 

  • … do this.
  • … go there.
  • … let go.

“Intuition is very clear,” says Sonia. “All those very clear feelings, energetic feelings … When you voice them, when you acknowledge them, when it’s real intuition, something interesting happens — you relax.”

Your body becomes congruent and it feels authentically right.

More than just a statistic

Intuition is something that has spoken to me. Over the years, there were many ways that I used to hone in on it.

Meditation was one. It wasn’t so much to help clear my mental mess, but I’d do it to see if I could move energy around my body.

One day, I meditated and a question popped in my head. It asked, “do you really want to be with him?”, referring to this guy I was dating at the time.

Immediately, an answer came back: “No.”

It was the first time (but not the last) where I had this kind of Q&A’s with my intuition. It helped me when I was in limbo on whether I should do brachytherapy as part of my cancer treatment plan.

After chemo and radiation, the last segment of the plan was to do brachytherapy. Everything in my body was screaming “no,” but with all the doctors telling me that I should, I had a hard time telling apart if it was my intuition talking to me or if it was just my fear.

I knew that feeling, but I wanted to be sure. So I prayed incessantly about it and the stronger that feeling grew. 

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A woman feeling worthy and smelling flowers

4 ways to start feeling worthy post-cancer treatments

In Soul
June 1, 2025

You’re a little down in the dumps. The world feels a little sh*t. And this “I could potentially die” disease called cancer doesn’t help flip the frown upside down.

So what would it take to start feeling worthy?

Maybe a “you got this!” Or a “you are enough.” Or a big ol’ bear hug to reassure you that someone’s got your back.

While these are wonderful neurochemical boosts, how long will it last until you’re blue da ba dee da ba di?

Well, it’s time to crank up the good vibes. Here’s how you can go from self-loathing to feeling worthy, plus insights from clinical psychologist Dr. Adia Gooden.

Cultivating Unconditional Self-Worth | Adia Gooden | TEDxDePaulUniversity

What is self-worth?

There’s a sense of being good enough when it comes to self-worth. Not for anyone else, but yourself. It’s the understanding and acknowledgment that you, yourself, are a good person who is worthy of love and belonging.

It’s not to be confused with self-esteem, though. “Self-worth is distinct from self-esteem,” explains clinical psychologist Dr. Adia Gooden in her TED Talk. She explains self-esteem relies on external factors, like your abilities and accomplishments.

So what does it mean to feel worthy? It’s more about the internal evaluation of yourself. As Dr. Gooden puts it, “unconditional self-worth is the sense that you deserve to be alive, to be loved and cared for, to take up space.”

Why is self-worth important?

Seeing yourself as worthy helps with your mental health and wellbeing. As a result, you’re more than likely to build resilience.

Now, it’s important to note that people who have a high sense of self-worth don’t necessarily have an easier life than those who don’t. It’s just that they’ve cultivated the skill to hold themselves responsible for their feelings, thoughts, and actions.

They understand that victimhood isn’t the “in” place to be seen. And they know that when sh*t hits the fan, feeling sorry for themselves is like waiting for rain in a drought — useless and disappointing.

Why do you feel unworthy?

The sense of hopelessness and insignificance goes hand-in-hand with the feeling of worthlessness. There’s a disconnect between the self and their authenticity.

There are a number of different factors that cause this unworthiness. It could stem from:

  • External validations, like from advertisements or social media
  • Negative childhood experiences, like neglect, abuse, or maltreatment
  • Attributing negative events to your own actions or characteristics
  • Not listening to your intuition, leading to regret and remorse
  • Trouble coping with stress

In fact, not feeling worthy is a common symptom of depression. Dr. Gooden believes that low self-worth is a root cause of mental illness. She explains it’s “tied to our accomplishments and possessions, and as soon as we fail or lose approval, we experience low self-worth.”

With depression as a leading cause of disability around the world and with nearly 50 million Americans are experiencing mental illness, it’s no wonder people like Dr. Gooden are leading the way to break the negative thought patterns and live more freely.

How to start feeling worthy

It’ll take more than just looking up “feeling worthy quotes” on Google to boost up your sense of worthiness. Unconditional self-worth could just the ultimate antidote.

So if you’re asking yourself, “how do I make myself feel worthy?”, here are four ways Dr. Gooden advises to do so.

1. Forgive yourself

There’s power in forgiveness. And research shows it’s linked to:

  • Lower levels of anxiety and depression
  • Fewer health symptoms
  • Lower mortality rates

Acceptance of past mistakes releases you from the blame and shame game, allowing you to move forward.

Dr. Gooden’s Tip: Reflect on your past mistakes, acknowledge the pain you experienced, and learn from the situation. Then say “I forgive you” in an honest and kind way.

2. Practice self-acceptance

What makes a person worthy of love? They accept themselves as they are.

No doubt it’s difficult with all the subliminal and in-your-face directives to change our bodies, clothes, jobs, and even our personalities in order to be acceptable in society. It sends the message that we’re not okay as we are.

And when you’re experiencing the aftermath of chemo and radiation, seeing these types of messages may not exactly be the best for your mental health.

Dr. Gooden’s Tip: Let go of the thoughts you have about how you think you should feel, look, and be different. Instead, focus on the things you like about yourself and acknowledge that you’re worthy just the way you are.

3. Be there for yourself

During challenging times, we’re always able to be there for others. However, more often than not, we don’t make the effort to be there for ourselves.

Being present for yourself and being the cheerleader for your own agendas is a huge part of self-worth.

There’s a reason why you put your oxygen mask on before helping others. Because a half-empty cup cannot hydrate more than yourself.

Dr. Gooden’s Tip: When you experience something painful, acknowledge how you’re feeling and offer yourself comfort as you would do for others. Place your hand on your heart and say something kind and soothing to yourself.

4. Connect to supportive people

It can be easy to be isolated with our own thoughts and feelings, especially when we’re in the darkness of cancer. And this often piles onto the feelings of unworthiness. 

That’s why social connections is placed highly as part of our nature as human beings. It’s been shown that being part of a tribe can…

  • Lower anxiety and depression
  • Help regulate emotions
  • Boost self-esteem and empathy
  • Improve our overall wellbeing

After all, it takes a village, right? Not only to raise a human, but also to support you in your times of need.

Dr. Gooden’s Tip: Opening yourself up to people may leave you with the sense of vulnerability. However, connections, especially with supportive people, helps you get in touch with your humanity and sense of self-worth.

More than just a statistic

I took a beating when I had cancer. Not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. And feeling worthy was at the bottom of my list.

There were so many times when I broke down, unable to remember why I was fighting for my life. The love I had for myself was dripping out like a leak from a broken bucket.

That’s where my tribe came in. And being surrounded by that kind of love and support helped me get over the dips and the humps of my cancer journey. 

There was my mom who did what she knew best — provide nourishment through sage advice and homemade food. My dad who sat there and listened … just listened. My friends who told rarely brought up the subject about cancer because they knew life was more than just focusing on the problem. My stepkids who became my food police, ensuring I was eating as healthy as possible. And my husband who saw me for me and held the space for me to be as emotional as I needed to be.

I found a way to be there for me. And when I couldn’t, I found the people who could.

And with that, I’m sending you all the good vibes you need to start feeling worthy. It’s as Dr. Gooden says: “When you’re grounded in your worthiness…this puts you in a space energetically to receive all of the wonderful things you are wanting in your life.”

A woman looking at the purple sky, embracing the intuitive meaning

Intuitive meaning: What it is & how it can support your cancer experience

In Soul
May 30, 2025

Some call it “psychic.” Others call it “claircognizance.” But when it comes down to it, they’re all just another name for being intuitive.

What is the “intuitive” meaning, though? And how can it help your cancer journey?

For me, personally, being intuitive enabled me to truly listen to my body. It would often give me huge nudges during my cancer experience, helping me make the best decisions for my overall well-being.

As a cancer patient or survivor, your intuition can be your superpower. You just need to learn to trust it.

Intuitive meaning: Understanding your sixth sense

The word “intuition” derives from the Latin word intuitio, meaning the act of contemplating. But what does it mean to be intuitive? 

As per Merriam-Webster, the definition is:

Possessing or given to intuition or insight. 

Intuition is an innate quality that we all possess, but not all of us tap into. And being intuitive is having the sense of something beyond logic or learned responses. 

“Intuition is not about predicting the future,” says Sonia Choquette, a six-sensory consultant. “It’s about empowering you to make the most informed, creative, authentic, and well-grounded decisions, in the moment, to create the future that you really want.”

And while it all seems a little woo-woo, there’s science behind intuition.

“Scientists believe intuition operates through the entire right side of our brain, the brain’s hippocampus, and through our gut,” explains psychiatrist Dr. Judith Orloff MD in a Forbes article. This hemisphere controls attention, memory, reasoning, and problem solving. Those who are right-brained tend to be more creative, emotional, and intuitive.

In this sense, women have the upper hand — their corpus collosum (the connective white matter that connects the brain’s left hemisphere with the right) is thicker. Therefore, their brains are able to access each hemisphere faster, which then integrates emotions and intuition with the more logical left side of the brain.

What are the benefits of being an intuitive person?

People who are intuitive aren’t the only ones who can reap the benefits of intuition. You, as a cancer patient or survivor, can, too. Here are a few (but not all) the upsides of tapping into your gut feeling.

  • Your stress subsides. Having the intuitive sense helps you become more mindful. There are numerous studies with findings that show it helps reduce anxiety, depression, and somatic distress, to name a few.
  • Your creativity enhances. You’ll often find that highly creative people are guided by their gut feeling. When you’re in sync with your inner guide, your are more open to new ideas, motivation, and inspiration.
  • There’s a shift in your perspective. As an intuitive person, you’re able to pick up on the energy around you. You’re able to pick up information that others can’t. This enables you to shift from seeing problems to tapping into solutions, helping you to make better decisions.
  • You build stronger relationships. As your stress reduces, your creativity enhances, and your perception of things are more positive, your vibration also elevates. It helps you be more empathetic, which then makes you more understanding and less likely to react.
  • There’s more joy and content. When you’re able to make decisions that positively influences your mind, body, and spirit, you’re able to prioritize you. And as we all know, self-love equals to feeling worthy and happiness.

So when you learn to trust your instincts, beautiful things happen.

How to become more intuitive

“The reason many people are not tuned into their intuition is because [they] are armored,” says the self-proclaimed “Queen of Intuition,” Sonia Choquette in a video on her YouTube channel.

“[Their] inner self is very protective and defended because you don’t feel safe — you don’t feel safe in your body, you don’t feel safe in your environment, you don’t feel safe in the world.”

This makes it difficult to “be” in the part of your body that signals to you how you feel. So if you want to learn how to strengthen your intuition, here are a few expert insights from Sonia that can help you.

You can also watch her video here:

How to Get Your Intuition ACTIVATED | Sonia Choquette

1. Get in touch with yourself

“The majority of people feel like, in some way, ‘I don’t belong’,” Sonia explains. “Our feeling of belonging is predicated on the sense that we have to agree or see or experience the world like other people.”

That’s so far from the truth. Your unique contributions is your two cents into the greater good of the world.

So one way to step into your intuition is to be self-aware and work on your self-love.

2. Cultivate mindfulness

Take a minute to pause. Notice your surroundings — what you see, what you smell, what emotions come up, and so on and so forth.

This is mindfulness.

It’s about being fully present, aware of where you are and what you’re doing. And it’s not something you have to conjure up, but learn how to tap into it.

There are several ways you can cultivate a mindfulness practice, like meditation and breathwork. These techniques help bring about physical relaxation and peace of mind.

3. Look at your value system

What are your values? Defining them will help you live with direction and purpose.

“What allows you to feel good about yourself is to be able to say, ‘I’m living in harmony with the things that I value, that matter to me, that are important, that give me a sense of who I am’,” Sonia explains.

Moreover, whatever is going on in your life, your values can act as your guiding compass and show you the way forward.

So identify your values in order to better understand your sense of self.

4. Say “no” to pressure

By knowing your values, you’ll have the courage to say “no” when people push you to do things you don’t want to do.

“It’s when we get caught off guard that we are most likely inclined to abandon ourselves, to keep the peace, to be agreeable,” says Sonia. “And that is the disconnect from your inner guidance system.”

According to Queen of Intuition, if you’re clear about what works for you, the pusher will respect you. She suggests standing your ground by using statements like, “I don’t want to disappoint you, but I still have to do what works for me.”

5. Believe in your intuition

If you get a pushback from standing up for your values, then it’s likely you’ll get a ding! from your intuition indicating you’re in the wrong situation.

Ask yourself if you’re compromising your integrity, living in your head, feeling like you don’t belong. If you’re nodding “yes” to these situations, then you may just have to get in touch with your body, align with your values, and live as the authentically you.

“It feels good and empowering to respect what feels right for you inside,” says Sonia. “And that’s the basis of intuition.”

More than just a statistic

Intuition was like Waze for my body. It helped navigate me around the traffic and find detours so that I could get to my destination of “cancer-free” as safely as possible.