#3: Cultivating Your Intuition with Candice Thomas

Dina Cataldo: Hi. How are you doing today, Candice?

Candice Thomas: I am doing great, Dina. Thank you so much for having me on. I'm super excited.

Dina Cataldo: I'm really appreciative that you're here with me today because when we connected on Impacting Millions, which is the group that we're both a part of right now, I was fascinated by you. I went to your website and I saw that not only do you have a incredibly practical side, but you also have a woo woo side to you.

Candice Thomas: Yes.

Dina Cataldo: Alright. Yeah. And it's interesting to me because I'm a very practical person. I am all about what I can see. I like to get to the point. But over the years, I have seen a really big impact in my life on getting in touch with some of what might be woo woo in some circles.

Candice Thomas: Right.

Dina Cataldo: So the first thing that popped to me when I saw your website was that you were a supervisor and a financial analyst in the federal government.

Candice Thomas: Yes. I worked in the federal government for 15 years total.

Dina Cataldo: And then at some point while you were working for the federal government, you came into touch with, or reconnected with an intuitive side. Can you explain a little bit about how that came about?

Candice Thomas: Yes. And I find it so interesting that you said, “Came into touch” with my intuitive side 'cause I feel like I got the sledgehammer of intuition. It wasn't like nice, gentle, beautiful experience for me. So when I was working for the federal government, I actually started out as an accountant. And I was ten years into my federal career when my intuitive gifts really developed and awakened. And what was happening in that environment was people in my agency were working so hard. Our accounting services had centralized to a state to New Mexico. And that meant that people were pretty much told from all across the United States where people were working for this agency you either move to New Mexico or you're fired. And it was a very stressful, high tense situation. It had to be done because we needed to be more efficient with taxpayer dollars and taxpayer money.

Candice Thomas: But of course, when you're doing something like that and really changing a whole system, there are gonna be mistakes, there are gonna be gaps, things that are overlooked. So you already have people who are super upset with the circumstances. And then, because there were gaps in some of the systems that we created, our bosses bosses bosses were being called to carpet by Congress. They're getting asked by Senate what's going on with your accounting here. And then those people are coming back to us and saying, “What's happening? Work harder.” Yet, we were understaffed and it was crazy. It was a high tense, high stress environment. And I naively thought, “Hey, I'm gonna apply for this job and then I'm gonna feel better about my life and different things going on.” So I applied for it and I got promoted. I was about 27 years old.

Candice Thomas: I got promoted to a GS13. I don't know if anyone's family with government agencies. But that's pretty young. It's pretty young to be promoted at that high level. Like a couple grades up from a GS13 is when you start getting appointed by Congress.

Dina Cataldo: Wow.

Candice Thomas: When that happened, and I started getting sick at work … I started feeling very tired. I started feeling very heavy, overwhelmed, really like there was sand filling my body from head to toe so heavy. And it would only happen when I was at work. And so when I say getting sick, I would literally feel nausea, and then I'd have to throw up. And then when I got home from work, I'd be fine. During that time, even though typically government employees get weekends off, we were working most weekends. But on days when I didn't have to go to the office, I'm totally fine. And so I didn't know what was happening to me other than this is a really stressful environment. And something popped in my mind that said, “Instead of seeing a doctor, go see a psychic.” It was the first time I'd ever been to psychics. And there were two of them at the same time. And they told me, “Oh, what's happening is you're psychic yourself and you're absorbing everyone's energy.”

Dina Cataldo: Wow.

Candice Thomas: Which is called being empathic. And I see a lot of people using that word. So being empathic means that you just feel, you pick up on the feelings that other people have around you. So here in this high stress, it was so intense on an emotional level for people. And then physically with the work. And then everything else added onto it, I was taking all of that into my body and it was affecting me. So one of the things that the psychics had told me … And I thought they were crazy at the time. Like I didn't really believe it 'cause I'd been taught psychic is you see dead people. Like the Sixth Sense. And I never did. Or you know everything. And I never did. Though I did have this incredible knack for understanding exactly what a person needed. And I could solve problems. I had a knack for I could see the big picture and then I could understand how to get a person from point A to point B, which is why I worked really hard and was able to get promoted the way that I did because I really did stand out.

Candice Thomas: And that was because of my intuition, though I didn't know what it was at the time. I just thought I was brilliant, which kind of true.

Dina Cataldo: Maybe you are.

Candice Thomas: Kind of true. But not the whole truth. It was definitely this intuitive ability. So I studied meditation. And I started taking classes and workshops. And then I really did start having these experiences and came to the realization, “Oh, holy crap, I am psychic.” And I was really resistant to the terms intuitive, psychic. Like I was so resistant because I already felt like a weirdo. Been a weirdo all my life. This is like one more weird thing, and I fought it. It was like, “I'm just gonna do everything else.” So while working at my federal job, I studied hypnosis, I studied regular coaching, I studied all sorts of stuff …

Dina Cataldo: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay. I'm gonna have to stop you here.

Candice Thomas: Yes.

Dina Cataldo: So let's back up a little bit. So you go to a psychic and it just kind of popped into your head to go there. Was there a reason that that just kind of popped up? Do you remember?

Candice Thomas: It just popped in my head. And I'd gotten … Very specifically, I will never forget the day because I had gotten super sick and I was home from work and watching television and there were these ladies called the Psychic Twins, Terry and Linda Jamison. And they were on a talk show. And just something in my was like, “Yeah, I need to ask them what's going on with my life” because emotionally, didn't want to be an accountant. I hated my job. I loved the people. They were hardworking, but I hated the work. I felt like it was toxic. I didn't know what I wanted to do with myself. And it was making me ill. And so one of the reasons why I sought them out is, oh, maybe they can tell me what I should do as a career. So that's a really good question.

Dina Cataldo: Oh. Okay. So then when they told you you were an empath and you were absorbing some of this toxicity that was happening at work, your first reaction was to resist, right?

Candice Thomas: That I could take. But I didn't take the part where they said, “Because you're psychic.” I didn't like the connection between empathy as a form of psychic or intuitive ability. That part I was like, uh, uh, wrong. I don't understand what you're talking about.

Dina Cataldo: So maybe that could … Can you explain like a definition of being psychic?

Candice Thomas: Yeah. So you'll hear me, and I use it interchangeably, but that's like … That's just because the word psychic triggers people.

Dina Cataldo: Yeah.

Candice Thomas: And so I will tend to use the word intuitive. So my definition of intuitive is you know something, you've received information for no logical reason other than you're intuitive. So it's the people when you walk into a room and you meet someone, you're like, “Oh, this person is not in my highest and best.” And how did you know that? Just a feeling that you had. It's information. Just a knowing that you had. Maybe it was an image that popped into your awareness, a thought that popped across your mind and spoke to you in some kind of a way. That's intuitive intuition.

Candice Thomas: Psychic uses your intuition. I feel like psychic ability, and when I talk about intuition, I mean with intention. So to me, psychic ability is more you're with intention going to get information. You're trying to get an understanding rather than being passive and receiving. Because a lot of times, I hear from people where they say, “Candice, yeah. You won't believe me. This weird thing happened where out of the blue, something came to me and I just knew to say yes to this deal and made thousands of dollars” or “I knew not to say yes to this guy even though it seemed like it was great. And then it turns out he was a total scam artist.” And then they say … They'll follow up with that. They'll follow up with, “How do I do that on purpose 'cause it seems to pop in at random?”

Dina Cataldo: Right.

Candice Thomas: And I would say the randomness is more intuitive reactionary. But really, using it with intention I feel is more psychic, even though that's a trigger word for a lot of people.

Dina Cataldo: Yeah. I mean, most times, at least with me personally, you say the word psychic and I automatically start questioning things. Like are you psychic, really? You know. [crosstalk 00:10:52].

Candice Thomas: You think of all the 900 numbers and all that stuff that goes with it.

Dina Cataldo: Like how much money do you want from me?

Candice Thomas: Exactly.

Dina Cataldo: But when you say intuitive, to me, that's more accessible because I think … Personally, I think we all have some intuitive ability, like that feeling, that sixth sense. Is that kind of how you would define that?

Candice Thomas: Yeah. Absolutely. We all have this ability to connect in with this … To me, it's just information. There's all this information inside of us, all around us, information that we can connect to and specific … Like specifically tailor information just for us that can guide us in the direction that we want to go. Absolutely.

Dina Cataldo: And I'm excited today because we're going to talk a little bit about how you can teach us to cultivate that intuition. But first, I want to wrap around to how you got into meditation. Because that's another … At least the people that I'm around … I'm around a lot of lawyers. And you say the word meditation around them and they kind of look at you sideways.

Candice Thomas: Yeah.

Dina Cataldo: So how did you get into meditation? What prompted you to kind of go in that direction?

Candice Thomas: The psychics that talked to me were so accurate about so many things. Like they knew the name of my cat. And I wasn't on Facebook. It wasn't like I was telling people the names of my cats. They knew the names of dead relatives. They got all this information. They were so accurate. So even though I was really resistant to what they were telling me about myself, I had to pay attention and take notice. So when they say, “Thou shalt get thee to meditation and learn it,” I was like okay, great. And I did something slightly different. I just went and looked at a … They wanted me to do more Buddhist meditation, which is fine. And that's something I would say to anyone who's interested in meditation. For me, I had tried to, at that time, dabbled a little bit into meditations. But I found them way too hard. Couldn't quiet my mind. Didn't understand what that meant. I can't sit still for very long. And so I found a metaphysical shop called Crystal Dove here in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And they had a Saturday night singing bowl meditation. So there were these huge, gigantic crystal bowls that they would play.

Candice Thomas: And I loved it. I loved it from the first time I went in there because the actual sound of the crystal bowls, the vibrations, shook my whole body. And it stopped me from thinking. Not for long periods of time. But that was one of the few times where when the person playing the bowls, my mind would just kind of go blank for a second. And then the more I did it, it would get blank a little longer. And then this moment came where one day I was at my job and someone was talking to me, and I was hearing them. There was nothing else happening in my mind, and I went, “Oh wow, this is interesting.” All the chatter had just stopped. There was no narrator. There was no other stuff. I could just hear this other person.

Dina Cataldo: Wow. Totally present to what that person was saying.

Candice Thomas: Absolutely. And now I didn't stick with that. I love those types of meditations. But I'm so finicky … Different meditations resonate to me at different times. So now I'm into chanting types of meditations. But God bless YouTube. If anyone's really trying to meditate, there are so many different styles, so many different ways if you're not feeling transcendental or you're not feeling chanting. There's no excuse. Just Google different types of mediations and you will find one that you resonate with.

Dina Cataldo: And I find that the first thing that people will tell me when I talk about meditation, especially around someone who is more linear thinking like a lawyer or someone who has an intense job, right … Or even not that … I think that the first thing I hear is, “I can't get myself to quiet my mind.”

Candice Thomas: Right.

Dina Cataldo: “I don't do that because I can't stop thinking.” And one thing that I encourage anyone who's listening to this who doesn't meditate understands is that you do not have to shut your mind down. It's … For me what has helped is just sitting still, and that takes time. Like you just start at five minutes or three minutes and you work your way up. And I watch my thoughts.

Candice Thomas: Yes.

Dina Cataldo: So they don't stop. Our brains … They can't stop. They were made to work like they do. And to just watch them and just say, “Huh, that's interesting. That's interesting my mind came up with that thought.”

Candice Thomas: That is goals. That is so true. If you can get to a place where you're not judging the thoughts, or participating, just watching them, and then that helps go into a deeper meditative state. That's awesome.

Dina Cataldo: Yeah. So I know that that can be a reach for people who aren't in that world. But I can say that when I started doing it consistently, and I've only started doing it consistently relatively recently, I have noticed a big difference in my attitude, my outlook, just everything.

Candice Thomas: Yes.

Dina Cataldo: So have you noticed a change in how you are in the world?

Candice Thomas: Yeah. It sounds cheesy. You're gonna hear me say this a lot. So many things changed my life. But it really did. At the time when I was in my accounting job and trying to … I didn't like where I was. I felt trapped even though I was making a lot of money, more money than my parents combined, had a nice car, got myself a house, I did all the things I was supposed to do. And every time I got unhappy or I could feel the burden of I feel like I'm a hamster in a wheel like I'm trapped, people would say, “You should just be grateful.” Especially as an African-American, our gold standard in my family, half of my family, they were middle class. Ad the other half, they lived in poverty. And so the mantra from both sides of my family was, “You want to get a job.” And if you got a job with health benefits, Oh my God, Dina, gold standard. Like that's what we aspire to.

Dina Cataldo: Oh, you get holidays? What?

Candice Thomas: Exactly. Like weekends off? Huh? What? Like that is like being a celebrity. That's A list celebrity talk right there. I remember when I went to go visit my mom in her poor neighborhood and I had a Saturn, it was like a three thousand dollar car, but the way that certain people looked at me like oh my God, you're a girl and you have your own car? It was just a Saturn. And it wasn't even like a fancy one. It was one of those low end ones. But the way I was treated, it was like I was driving a Maybach or something.

Dina Cataldo: Wow.

Candice Thomas: Like a Tesla by today's equivalence. And that still has stuck with me, just people's views and perceptions of how we set these low bars for ourselves, just a job with benefits and that's the life. No one understood when I said I felt like I'm trapped and I'm stuck. And meditation really just helped me not only quiet those voices in my own mind, but it's almost like sometimes the voices in our minds are not our own. Like we're hearing other people from our past. The shoulds and the woulds. Like you should do this and you would be happy. That's the chatter. That's the stuff. And all that stuff went away and I could finally hear, and listen to, and start trusting, this is what I want to do. This is what matters to me. Whereas before, I was always in this loop of what everybody else thought and what life should be like as opposed to deciding what I wanted my life to be like, if that makes sense.

Dina Cataldo: Oh yes. Oh my God, yes. I'm just nodding my head the whole time I'm listening to you. So this is a transformation. I mean, we're talking about meditation, which can seem fairly simple. You know. But what you're describing is a transformation.

Candice Thomas: Yes.

Dina Cataldo: And a lot of times, the people around us like our friends and people who mean well and care about us don't understand what we're going through. Did you feel any pushback from the people around you when you were discovering this side of you?

Candice Thomas: I kind of got pushback ahead of time. So I went into this really negative place where I was really mad at the world and felt betrayed by the world because I had been this good little girl, got the straight A's or near straight A's, got the full ride scholarship, got the great job, and yet I'm still miserable. And so I went … I turned into a miss complainer. And my friends were pretty much like, “Yeah, we don't want to be around you.” Because I had really great friends, but it just became a whole big deal where I was that toxic, people say energy vampires. And it wasn't that I was trying to do it on purpose, but I was one of those toxic, gross people. And at the same time, I was a people pleaser. So I was there and tried to be there for my friends, but I was super resentful about it because I always felt like, “I'm always the one who has to do everything for everyone else. And when I need someone, they just ghost me and disappear.” And I didn't understand how I was creating that reality or contributing to it. And then when I was trying to figure out my path and saying this doesn't feel right to me, they didn't get it because it just sounded like more complainer.

Candice Thomas: It's what I always did. When I really did the meditation and started to move through and get clear, my questions changed. And I started hanging around more woo woo people and people who kind of got it and who did meditation. And I didn't fit in with them either. Because my accounting background, I grew up in a very practical world, I have an analytical mind … Some of the things that they would say and tell me and how they described spirit and what intuition was and about destiny and what you could have and achieve, it just didn't sit right or ring true. And I question everything. So I would question and I would say, “I'm trying to do this. How do we get there? How do we do that?” And it would be like a deer in the headlights look that they would give me. And I would hear all these weird platitudes. But I'm like, “That doesn't mean anything. How is this really helping people?”

Candice Thomas: And even when I … I'd say I experienced that the most when I broke down and I said, “Okay, yeah. I'm psychic, super intuitive. Let's do it.” So by day, accountant. By night, I'm giving readings to people. And I'm still in my twenties. And people are asking me intense questions like, “Should I leave my husband?” And I'm like, “I don't know.” It was really crazy to me that people were coming to me with issues like, “Am I gonna be successful? Am I gonna write this book? Am I gonna get married?” And I would tune in, and I could get downloads of information. And I was highly accurate. So very much in the way that when my first reading experience that I had, I was really good at understanding what was going on in a persons' life. They didn't have to tell me anything. And then they would ask questions and I would say, “Oh yeah, this is what I'm seeing or feeling for you.”

Dina Cataldo: Okay. We got to stop because I don't know what a reading is.

Candice Thomas: So a reading is a person would come … I could do both. So I'm a psychic medium. I am officially a psychic medium. And I'll switch back to the word intuitive. But I'll explain what that means. So what I was taught that psychic mediumship was, was you do two things. You either connect with a person who has died and you give information describing evidential mediumship. So I would describe the person that was in spirit in the spirit world to a living client. And then the client would validate what I was saying. And then I would relay messages from the other side to the client. That's what people consider mediumship, which is very powerful because many of my clients would actually feel, it wasn't just about hearing words, they woulds start feeling their loved ones connecting with them. I had so many clients tell me that.

Candice Thomas: The other thing that I could do, the psychic part of psychic mediumship, which to me is still mediumship, is I could get downloads of information for people. So more predictive, which is what people think psychic ability is. And it kind of is, but it's not the whole thing. Meaning so people would ask me a question like, “Can I get married?” And I call it tuning in. And I would ask a question … “Am I gonna get married?” I ask the question to spirit. When I say spirit, I mean the highest healing, the highest and the best. What I came to realize, side note, is who I was talking to was actually my clients. Like the spirit of my clients, which I'll talk about a little later.

Dina Cataldo: Oh that's fascinating.

Candice Thomas: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Like people are always like spirit guides and angels, all of that … Sure. I believe it all. It's great. It's wonderful. But you, more than anyone else, know the path to take. And so I would do these readings for folks. So they would say, “Should I leave [inaudible 00:23:50].” And that's like a weird question. And I would tune into something and then I would get an answer. How I received information is through a feeling. I feel things and I know things. And then that translates into images and sounds. Which I'll talk a little bit about later. And the way that I receive information, it's why I never thought that I was intuitive because I'm not seeing things. I just feel them. And then I knew. There's just a knowing. I don't know how I know. It seems almost like I make it up. But then people would be like, “Oh my God, that's so right.”

Candice Thomas: So I'm doing these readings that are mostly predictive in nature and some mediumship with talking to people who crossed over in the spirit world, which is super powerful. And I hated it. Hated every minute. Not the mediumship part with the dead folks. But telling people what they could or could not have because I could literally feel people giving me their power. And because I was so accurate and things that they knew, if they said, “Am I gonna publish this book” and I didn't see it or I didn't get any information and I said, “Well, I'm not getting anything,” they're devastated. And it didn't feel right to me.

Candice Thomas: So this is where I kind of … When you're talking about were there differences or people kind of didn't get it, as I was moving through I would talk to other psychics and other mediums and go, “I don't like this. This doesn't make sense.” And they would say, “Hey, your job is just to give the information. And you can't help if people don't like what you're saying and yada yada.” And no disrespect by the way to anyone who can do predictive readings, it just wasn't for me. And then I had this experience where I was talking with a client and her question to me was, “Am I gonna marry my boyfriend?” And I saw yes and I saw no. And then I freaked out because this woman has paid me money. And I'm about to say, “Well, maybe. Maybe you will. Maybe you won't. What evs.” And has I went deeper into the energy and understanding of why I was getting those answers, what popped into my mind was most likely not based on where her energy … And by energy, I mean her mindset, her decisions, the choices that she had made up so far up to this point.

Candice Thomas: But then I very clearly saw, “Oh, but she could get the result that she wanted if she worked on the mindset, took the different actions.” It wasn't anything crazy like trick you man or he's gonna madly fall in love with you or a spell word. It was all about you take responsibility for your happiness. That was a game changer. And it changed everything in how I worked.

Dina Cataldo: Yes.

Candice Thomas: So it was like I switched to, “What if that was true of everyone? What if I let go of a destiny for everything?” And so when clients after that point came to me and said, “Hey Candice, am I gonna be successful in my business,” I switched the question to, “Well, do you want to be?” And my client would be like, “What do you mean?” “Do you want to be successful in your business?” And if they said, “Well, yeah” … ‘Cause a lot of people don't own what they want. They don't feel like it's okay to say, “Yeah, I want to be a multi billionaire, I want to strive, I want to be seen.” Like a lot of people have shame about what they truly desire, especially business owners for some weird reason.

Dina Cataldo: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Candice Thomas: And so then I would say, “Okay, great.” So then I would ask the question, how did they get to this place? How did they do this instead of if they could have it … And every time I would get downloads of information with specific, clear steps of how they could there. So what that turned into as I attracted an entrepreneur who was a medical esthetician, not a woo woo person, I would've labeled them almost like, with affection, a muggle. Like a total muggle. Not into woo woo intuitive stuff. And she came to me. So by the time an entrepreneur would get to me, you know it's like rock bottom crisis. If you're seeing a psychic for business advice, [crosstalk 00:27:34] …

Dina Cataldo: I think that's what most people would think. Like, “Hm, that's not usually where you think logically you go.”

Candice Thomas: Right. It's not good by the time they get to me. And so when she met with me, sure enough, she's about to shut down her business. She's so frustrated. She feels passionate like she's called to do the work, which I see that … I meet a lot of entrepreneurs who no matter what the industry is, they do, it's a calling. ‘Cause why else would we put ourselves through these hardships if you didn't have to? You just can't. There's something within you that rises up. And I feel like that's your spirit. That's your soul that says, “I have to do this.” And yet, it was not successful. And so we just … What I'm telling you, did the process of how successful do you want to be? And then alright, here's the steps to get you there. And so working with me, she was my first ever entrepreneur, she got her business super stabilized where she wasn't gonna have to shut down. And she was super impressed. And then the weird thing that started happening is she got intuitive.

Candice Thomas: This is what I didn't understand when I first started years ago. And it's beautiful now 'cause now I get it and I can help people is it wasn't for me to keep doing … I started off more the predictive route of, “Hey, here's the how.” But as I worked with her, she was getting the how. And it was like that showed me everybody is intuitive. It's not just special to certain types of people. Everyone is already getting their information and we would meet and I would say, “This is the information I'm getting, the very next step to take.” And she would be like, “Oh yeah. That had popped into my head three weeks ago.” And I'm like, “Well, why didn't you do it.” And she was like, “I don't know. I don't know.” And I started noticing not just with her, but this pattern. And what was cool was after we worked together, and this is something I'm very proud of is when clients work with me, they graduate. They don't have to see me forever and ever or work with me for years. Like she left 'cause she got what she needed and then explored more of her intuition and really learned what she was doing. And then went from almost shutting down her business to being featured in Vogue magazine on E News, Marie Claire.

Candice Thomas: Like all these things. Getting celebrity clients. Getting invited … It was the real deal. And she expanded to New York from Albuquerque and other states. And so she referred me to all of her entrepreneur friends, like high end people and that was the real start of my business. And with them, same thing. All these people … Again, she didn't know at the time woo woo people. They had a mild interest in spirituality. They have to have some interest in spirituality to work with me. And I called myself intuitive coach rather than psychic to really put their minds at each. And it was the same thing. When I would work with these people, there was always a path to success. And that was different. But for most of them it meant better reach, more clients, more money. Not because they're greedy, but because they really felt called to show up in the world and do great things for people.

Candice Thomas: And every time I'm meeting with a client and I would say, “Hey, this is the guidance that I'm getting,” they would go, “Wow, that's what I knew to do. I had a dream about that. That popped into my mind. I was just talking about that yesterday.” Why did you do it? “I don't know.” And so then my focus became very clearly I need to teach people here's how to understand your intuition. Because we get all these signals. We get all this information and people are getting confused about well what's my intuition versus my subconscious limiting beliefs or my imagination is another way to say it. How do I know what my real intuitive voice … And then there are all these articles about you just got to trust your gut. And I'm an analytical person. And not everybody gets a gut feeling. And so saying stuff like that, you have these people trying really hard to feel something. And it might not present that way to them. That might not be the loudest way that their intuition speaks.

Dina Cataldo: Yeah.

Candice Thomas: And then that's very passive. You're still reactionary. You're responding to something instead of actively engaging intuition to get what you want. And so I became very passionate about showing people how to do that upfront so you're not reacting to a problem, you're creating your path and minimizing all the stuff that could tank or sabotage your business.

Dina Cataldo: Talking about this now, are you ready to get into the nitty gritty on how everybody can get more connected with their intuitive side?

Candice Thomas: Absolutely. I live for this. This is so cool. I live for the woo woo. And I like to think of myself as a person who has results based woo woo. So as I … And I'm just saying this because I know it might be triggering some of the things I'm talking about. And people are like what? But my clients have done things, and I'm not exaggerating even a little bit, where they go from making no money in their side gig to doubling their income that they made in their day job to the point where they left that day job and then pursued their passion full time.

Dina Cataldo: Those are some results.

Candice Thomas: Yeah. In a very short amount of time. I think that was about seven weeks that one. And then it is shutting down your business and now you've expanded and now you're on E News and all these fricking magazines. Those are true, in the world, real life stories with people who … I work with so many people who are not woo woo. And to me, that's not a derogatory term. I love it. But meaning people who aren't psychics, who aren't mediums, I work with regular … I don't mean regular like bad. But you know what I mean. Like they're people very grounded in the world. I work with a lot of high end clients. I work with a lot of creatives as well. So screen writers and producers as well.

Candice Thomas: And one thing that they all have in common, so for your listeners as we go through these steps, and I want to clarify what intuition is, when we use it for ourselves, when we actively use our intuition, so I believe that everyone came to Earth with a purpose. Something that you came to experience and you told your human … So this is the soul part of you. You told your human, “Hey, I want to experience this is this lifetime.” And that's what people say, “Well, what's my purpose?” Whether it's a life purpose or a soul purpose. And the easiest answer to what's my life purpose or soul purpose is what's the thing that you really want to do? The thing that you've always thought about, the thing that you've always wanted to achieve? That's what you're meant to achieve. It's just that simple.

Candice Thomas: And so that being said, you did not come here to fail. You have the blueprint. You have the GPS. You have the map to create or experience whatever it is that you want to desire in the fastest way possible, the easiest route possible. And there are some hiccups along the way, which I'll talk about a little later because just because you're super intuitive and follow your intuition doesn't mean that you're not gonna have hardships. Some have to go through a hardship to get the foundation that you need or get the learning that you need to create the reality or the experience that you want to create. So intuition is the language of the soul. Intuition is the way that your soul can tell you, “Hey, there's a shortcut to getting a million dollars over here.” So break away from what everyone else is doing, and just go do this.

Candice Thomas: Intuition is the fast lane. And if you ignore your intuition, you still have a chance of getting there. So you're never off path. You will still get there probably if you don't die first, that can happen. But if you ignore your intuition, you're just doing it slow. So you're always moving in the direction of what you want to experience. Intuition is the fast lane. And what people get tripped up about with intuition is everybody is already getting intuitive guidance all the fricking time. But because of what intuition is like, people don't believe that it's intuition because it doesn't make sense. You can receive intuitive guidance regardless of if you've had trauma, if you are angry, if you are grieving, if you haven't cleared all of your subconscious limiting beliefs. It doesn't matter. Your intuition is a direct pipeline from your soul to your human. And the way that that translates in your human body is different for every person.

Candice Thomas: So just to go a little bit into what do I mean when I say it translates … A lot of people, especially if you're really in your head, one of the easiest ways to understand your intuition is to pay attention to your physical body. So not like an esoteric woo woo feeling. Literally what's going on in your physical body. And you have to be present for that, which is what you're saying meditation really helps a person get present. And what I mean by this is your intuition works with your experiences. And this is so great.

Candice Thomas: So let's say that … As I have, and I'm sure every other business owner has, if you made a bad investment and lost thousands of dollars. There is probably a physical feeling that you had the minute that you agreed to do that investment, the minute that you agreed to work with that coach who was worthless or … That's a judgment, but I don't care. It's how it feels, right? Or the minute you bought that program that was total garbage nonsense. There was a physical feeling that you received in the minute when you purchased that item, bought that product, bought that service …

Dina Cataldo: Or the moment that you decided to go on a date with that guy.

Candice Thomas: Exactly. The minute that you saw the guy's name, that you heard it, there was a physical feeling that showed up somewhere in your body. It might not have felt like a gut feeling. Most people tell me, “I got this weird sensation and it's different.” So my one friend, when something great is about to happen and she's gonna come into money, her palm itches. If my palm itches, I've got poison ivy, right? It doesn't make any sense. It's completely different. So for me, I do get a weird tugging sensation. It feels like there's a piece of string in my stomach and someone's tugging on it when I'm with a person who is toxic to me. So they might seem really nice and sweet on the surface. But if there's something not right there, I get a very distinct … It feels like there's a string in my stomach and someone's trying to pull on it.

Dina Cataldo: Oh my God. I've totally been there with this. And I've told my friends this. There are two people in my life who are two of my best friends. And the moment I saw them, before I talked to them, had an interaction with them, anything, I got a warm feeling over me. And I was just instantly comfortable.

Candice Thomas: Yes. And so that will repeat every time you meet a person who's in the highest and the best for you like that. You're always gonna get that feeling. Like that's the great thing about intuition. It's consistent. So for people who feel like every horrible thing happens to me, well, pay attention. That's great. ‘Cause if bad stuff is happening to you, your intuition is training your human what signals to look out for. And again, it's fleeting. This is the thing too, people look for an impactful, deep gut reaction. Might not be a gut reaction. Might be a feeling on the back of your neck. I get back of my neck. So if I get afraid with things, I will feel it on the back of my neck some tingles. And that means this is a really good opportunity, it's just outside of your comfort zone versus if I feel fear and it's in the pit of my stomach and I feel that string, that means danger. But I only know that because I've been paying attention to what's happening in my body right at the time.

Candice Thomas: The more that you pay attention to what's happening on your physical body, the more nuanced you will received. So it might be uncomfortable because the person in front of you is a liar. It might be uncomfortable because this is the love of your life, you're just afraid 'cause of your subconscious limiting beliefs. So this is where you don't even … When people say, “Oh, you have to like get vibrationally aligned if you're following the law of attraction,” I kind of don't believe that anymore because your intuition can bring you the resources, the situations, and the people that you need, and will tell you in the moment.

Dina Cataldo: Them's fighting words. ‘Cause I know those law of attraction people … They're gonna hear that and flip their lid.

Candice Thomas: Bring it on. Explain to me … But it's true. If it was true that you had to be vibrationally aligned in order to get stuff, that wouldn't even … How did I become an entrepreneur? I was not vibrationally aligned with anything. I just kind of fell into it and was successful very fast. And I know for a fact I was not vibrationally aligned. I was still a people pleaser. I was still trying to do things that I didn't want. And yet, super successful. How did that happen? You know? Like it just doesn't make sense. Or how do jerks become multi millionaires when they're totally closed off from who they are? I think there's this gap … And there's also this implication that when bad things happen, it's because you're not aligned when sometimes that stressful job that I was at with the government agency, I wasn't … It wasn't because I was not vibrationally aligned that those things were happening. I learned so much from my staff and the things that they went through, I got a lifetime of experience in about four or five years when I was working for my government agency that it would've taken me 20 years to get if I had lived through those experiences on my own because I was dealing with people who had real problems with family, with spouses, custody, divorces, sicknesses, illnesses.

Candice Thomas: All that stuff went on and I had to witness it and engage with people who were going through real crisis. All at the same time and they hated each other and hated me, so I also got to see how human perception worked and how changing your mindset really did affect your results. Four year hardcore training as opposed to having to do that in my own personal life. And that's where I feel like people hear, “Oh, I'm not vibrationally aligned, I have to think positive” and then you're even more hard on yourself. Like Oh my God, I'm doing it wrong. And then that just puts you … It puts more stress.

Dina Cataldo: Oh yeah.

Candice Thomas: Yeah. So bring it on the people that don't agree with my assessment on vibrationally aligned. That's okay. Most of the clients I work with are also not vibrationally aligned when they get to me. But yet, they still got to me. So how does that happen. If you're not vibrationally aligned, how did they attract in the person that can help them move to the next level? It's too … Our responses for why things happen, positive and negative, it just … It's too simplistic. And I feel like it really can put people in a terrible space of feeling like they're not good enough, they're not ready, they have to do all this work, and it's like that's not true. Everybody is good enough right now to start achieving and getting what you want. Probably what most people need is just the right type of coach, the right type of support to help them get to the next level.

Dina Cataldo: Yes. Okay. So the first thing for people to understand to get in touch with the intuitive side of themselves we've talked about is get in your body. Understand those one off feelings, two off feelings that just kind of trigger your brain. Is that kind of how you would describe that?

Candice Thomas: Yeah. And you might even … This is gonna sound corny and nerdy, but no excuses. We all have smart phones. No one's gonna see what you're doing. But it's to create a literal intuitive dictionary. Because in the beginning, you might have an experience with someone and you're going, “Wow, I feel a weird sensation here on my arm. Don't know what that's about.” And then you find out later, “Oh, this person was lying to me.” Well, capture that. Like I talk to this person and then this is the sensation that I felt. And then when you understand the meaning later, every time a liar comes across your presence, you're always gonna get that same feeling on your arm. So to create a dictionary of intuitive understanding …. Like understand the language of your own intuition. And this is where the gut feeling thing comes up because feeling is one of the primary ways that people get information in the physical body. But sometimes you might see an image in your mind. So a smiley face might pop up into your mind. You might not get a feeling at all when you're talking with someone.

Candice Thomas: And that seems pretty self explanatory. If you're talking to someone and you see a smiley face in your head, it's probably good. But maybe it's not. Maybe you're one of those weird people where it's the opposite because a smiley face was associated with a traumatic event. Some things might be clear. Other things won't be. But it's to build the language right now and start noticing what are you aware of in the moment when you're interacting with people. Second thing … So first thing I would say is build in a practice that helps you be more mindful and allows you to be present. Whether that's meditation, yoga, and I like … I'm a big advocate of if you don't know how to meditate, or you're feeling super stressed and can't find the time, meditate on the toilet. So in those few moments or seconds when you're on the toilet or at the [inaudible 00:44:33] or whatever, you're committed. Probably no one's talking to you.

Dina Cataldo: Let's hope. I mean, it happens.

Candice Thomas: It happens. For the most part, especially if you have kids. Like good luck. But still, when you're committed and on the toilet, use that time to just take some deep breaths. That's it. Just breathe and feel what's going on in your body, your emotions, that's a great mindfulness technique and can get you started. So second step is build your language, your intuitive language and start noticing how that information is presenting for you. And third thing is believe it. And this one's gonna repeat. Believe it. So where people get tripped up on intuition is you will very clearly get more guidance than you think. Emotional signs of stuff when I'm talking about feelings … If someone's talking to you and you find yourself getting irritated, that's usually a sign that someone is crossing a boundary. Even if they seem sweet and they seem nice, and it might not be personal … It could be the thing that they are asking you to do or get involved in is gonna be a time suck, not gonna be a good fit … And so it's to believe it. So believe the information that you do understand that you do understand the first time.

Candice Thomas: So the problem … It's not a problem. But where people get messed up with intuition … Intuition is normally not emotional. It isn't. But your emotions are hardwired to your human. Your human mind, which is the home of your subconscious limiting beliefs, which want to keep you stuck, which want to keep you broke, which want to keep you without love because it's trying to protect you. So it's the fear part of our ego. Or the painful part of our ego. So what happens is you get a moment of irritation or annoyance and you're like, I don't want to deal with this person. And then [inaudible 00:46:19] in you that understands, 'cause the subconscious limiting beliefs, you better believe, understand your intuition. So that part of you goes, oh, but that person's so nice. We need to just give them a chance. And then blah, blah, blah because it understands when you get involved with this person, it's gonna cost you a whole lot of money, a whole lot of time, and you're gonna end up broke and in the same space.

Dina Cataldo: Oh my gosh. This has happened to me. I know when I'm annoyed with a couple people, they could be super nice. But I feel annoyed. And then afterwards I kind of review like why am I feeling that way? And then I realize it's because something was gonna happen that was not gonna be good for me. A time suck or something like that.

Candice Thomas: Right. And you recognize it. But so many people go, oh, I'm being mean. I just need to give the person a chance and [inaudible 00:47:08].

Candice Thomas: So in those moments where you do need to make a snap decision, you will understand what your intuition is saying. You will have understood the language. Does that make sense?

Dina Cataldo: Oh my gosh. So I have a parking genie … That's what I call her anyway. And so whenever I want a parking spot, I just kind of say, “Parking genie engage.” I'm just super silly about it. But no joke, I nine times out of ten find a premo parking spot and my friends are just … They have no idea how I do it. And now I can realize it's my intuition.

Candice Thomas: It totally is. It's your connection with spirit. And then you've linked up with your soul in the universe who wants to give you the experience that you're looking for.

Dina Cataldo: Sweet.

Candice Thomas: So now you can just create a business genie. Like, “Hey, alright. I need some” … I'm being totally serious. Now that you have built up that understanding like, “Alright, great. So business genie” or your client genie that brings you more clients or more leads or whatever. Or like the win this case genie.

Dina Cataldo: I am doing this. This sounds awesome.

Candice Thomas: But very seriously. Okay. Great. It's like, “Alright. Show me what I need to do. What kind of information do I need here? What do I talk about?” And probably a person like you, this is what happens to people with … It's called claircognizance where you just know. This knowing just comes out of you. And you're like whoa. Or you find yourself saying things to a person and they burst into tears. Like oh my god, I needed to hear that. And you're like, “I just was talking. I don't even know where that came from.” That's spirit. That's the power of spirit and your intuition moving through you to reach someone else, which is also how we get intuitive guidance. Like if you're really not getting it, your intuition can affect other people. Like the energy of your spirit because it wants you to succeed will start tagging your friends and family to … Or put you in the right place at the right time when you see that commercial or you hear that radio show that motivates you to move to the next thing. And if we just paid attention to it and believed it rather than questioning is this really for me, is this the right answer, why would spirit be talking to me personally …

Candice Thomas: If we could just let go of the questions and just do what our intuition guides us to do, we would up level very quickly.

Dina Cataldo: Oh. That is so powerful, especially for us practical folk who think too much and tend to overanalyze everything that happens around us and to us. That is super powerful to understand that, “Hey, just let it go. You don't need to understand everything. Just go with it.”

Candice Thomas: And even if you did understand everything, you still wouldn't do it. That's why … And by the way, when I'm talking about … You say, “okay, what's the very next step to take” … And this is … I'm gonna explain it and it's gonna seem silly, but it's true though. It's just an example of let's say you are wanting to get more clients and more leads in your business. You've been doing all this work and you do the exercise of visualizing all these clients signing up with you and everyone's happy and you're hearing all the accolades and the thank yous, and then you ask spirit “What's the very next step for me to take?” You might get an image of the local mall that pops in your mind. What most people will do is go, “Uh, my intuition's broken. It's not working. I'm not focused. What's going on with the mall? What's the mall mean? I don't understand.” And then you get no other information.

Candice Thomas: Whereas if you had just gone to the local mall, you don't know who you would've run into that might've turned into your ideal client or been the connection for you to get ideal clients. You have no idea. So I might have seen you and might have triggered something. You might've gotten a download of inspiration. That was the message. Spirit gives it to you step by step, especially if you're not really understanding or feeling your intuition. It's like I just got to give you a little bit at a time that you will understand. And then the more that you just start trusting and following your intuition, the more that you will get more information. But in the beginning, it really is is very short, very to the point, no emotions attached to it, which is why, again, people just think they're not paying attention, they disregard it, they don't trust it. And they feel like it's broken when it's like, “No, silly human. You're just not understanding how easy it is and that's enough information. You act on the information that you receive. You don't wait for all the pieces to drop in.” The longer that you wait, the less of an intuitive hit it becomes.

Candice Thomas: ‘Cause intuition moves in the now. So if you wait two weeks to go to the mall, by the time you act on that information, whatever you would've received, it might be gone by the time you get there.

Dina Cataldo: Wow. This is mind blowing.

Candice Thomas: I know. I love it. It's so easy. It's so easy. It happens to everyone right now. Everyone is already intuitive, but who teaches you this stuff? Right? Who teaches you [crosstalk 00:57:57] … Right.

Dina Cataldo: So okay. So get in your body. Create those mindfulness practices like meditation or maybe creating like an intuitive dictionary on your phone and kind of recording some of those strange tingles, some things that you notice, but don't really understand the meaning of and can kind of put together the pieces later as you continue to experience those kinds of feelings … You talked about believing in what your intuition is telling you and not just ignoring it. Like you actually have to believe, “Hey, this is working. Listen to it.” And then get clear when you have those feelings that you recognize as some kind of intuitive feeling, something that's your body or your spirit is trying to tell you. Then start asking the right questions. So you said to ask what you're feeling, what's the next step for me to take now, what's going to happen if I say yes to this and think about how you're gonna feel now, six months from now, a year from now.

Dina Cataldo: Did you have anything you wanted to add to what you've taught us so far about intuition and how to get in touch with your intuition?

Candice Thomas: I just … Again, what's popping in my mind to say is everyone is doing this. Everyone is already getting the information. And what … If you have to treat it like an experiment, that might be easier than treating it like the truth. So just experiment. If I just did what popped into my head, what's gonna happen, and not wait for evidence. So people who are waiting for … Well, I'm just gonna wait for my intuition to be right before I trust it. It's never gonna be super accurate for you. It's never gonna get to the point where it's super clear if you're waiting for it to be accurate before you can trust it. You trust it first, and then it gets accurate. So it feels a little bit cart before the horse. And it can help if you're talking with other people who are kind of experimenting and playing around with it at the same time. There are so many different groups on Facebook now if you really have an interest in this where it's a no brainer. There's no excuse if this has peaked your curiosity. If you want to try it out, you can do it. It's easy. You just have to …

Candice Thomas: People usually look for a one night stand experience with intuition. Like the tall, dark, handsome stranger [inaudible 01:00:25] like it's beautiful, it's romantic. I'm finding most people's intuitive experiences are super unsexy. It's the long term committed relationship after the love … Not that it's died, right? Like there's this point where it's not romantic anymore. But that person's always there for you. You guys know all of your [inaudible 01:00:43] inside and out. Like that's what using your intuition looks like. It's very subtle. It's not as super dramatic as … It can be though. Right? There are moments where it's super powerful, you're super dialed in, but the more that you listen to your intuition, the less energy that it takes for it to tell you something. So then it starts feeling unsexy. You're like, I used to get this super overwhelming sensation. And now it's just kind of like it brushed past, but you know exactly what it means. Your spirit doesn't have to use as much energy to get you to understand stuff, which is great. Because then you can point it towards manifesting exactly what you want. So it's just to believe that you're already doing it, recognize that it's gonna be unsexy, find a support group or find other people that will keep you engaged, and taking the time and committing to learning your intuitive language, how your intuition is speaking to you.