Intuition and the multi-cat household

I had written a new post, but deleted it somehow without realizing it and it didn't get saved anywhere so I am going to try to remember, try to piece it together. I haven't had any caffeine yet but want to put something here since it's been a few days.

The original post was about intuition, that if you go along this path, if you study these things, your intuition will improve. It can't help it. Intention is important as well in these matters. I was speaking to someone last night who was asking me if he thought my "improvements" were from "higher sources" or "lower" ones. And I'm not even going to address that here for the time being...

But let me tell a story...

So this summer I started to study the Tarot and really fell in love with it. I began to read many books and do little card spreads for myself and friends and then on Halloween night I read Tarot for patrons at a bar, hour after hour, into the wee hours. It was intense. My third-eye hurt after the end of that night. I'm not sure if that was the turning point. I think the turning point was even a couple of months later, but I do know that working with Tarot helped my Astrology and that the two systems correspond and have nice conversations with each other. Working with Tarot (as well as having a regular meditation practice) made a difference. It was nothing I could force and I kind of forgot about it.

The other night though I was on the phone with my sister. She had two cats and then added two more to her cat family. Of course any cat person knows an adjustment period will follow. On the spot, I did a few quick three-card spreads for each cat and then emailed her my results or further questions. I was right-on with what I was saying. I guess the special thing here was that she could tell me right away if I was on track whereas with clients at the bar that night, some of them just sat with arms folded across chest and I couldn't figure it out. Some of them were tough. It wasn't until later that I found out the feedback had been so good.

Anyway, so I was telling my sister things about the new cats, their pasts, how they got to her... whatever the cards and my intuition and Spirit would have me know.

And then there came a moment when I did a little spread for Violet one of the original cats (and I did three cards again, but not in order i.e. not past/present/future, but I like to do three for a wholistic reading and then figure out if a timeline is involved or not). And I got a feeling. A strong sad feeling in my body, my heart. At first I just saw it as mine, my feeling. I mean, I can often feel sad all of a sudden for seemingly no reason. No big deal.

Then I realized, recognized that the feeling wasn't mine. It was Violet's. I was picking up on her energy. The feeling didn't belong to me. And once I realized that, the feeling pretty much dissapated (after I went deeper into it). It was as though I were watching this happen....

It happened again, a night or so later.. a different situation, without the Tarot, but picking up on someone's emotional state after receiving an email. It was a mood of crisis and there was, late at night, in bed, tossing and turning, feeling this strong crisis feeling. And then I remembered: wait a minute! THIS isn't MINE!

I am sharing all this because it was new to me and exciting and interesting. I have always been an empath but these events seemed to represent a new.... clarification. A new line being drawn. Others in my life have told me that I pick up feelings from my environment, but it never seemed so clear to me before...