HEALTH ISSUE | APRIL 2021
Coming Home to Our Intuitive Intelligence By Lori Anne Rising
Articles
I’ll never forget the moment I made that decision. It was done with the best of intentions, but it would take me more than 20 years to unravel the ripple effects I’d set in motion. I grew up in the 1980s in a household that was anything but progressive. Things like massage and chiropractic care were considered questionable at best, associated with either red-light districts or con artists. Anything that might have to do with guides, angels, quantum mechanics or intangible intelligence like intuition was called crazy and fake. Those who did things like meditate, become vegetarian, practice yoga, or follow non-western philosophies of any kind were written off as old hippies and freaks – people to dismiss and stay away from. My brother and I were part of the first generation of latch-key kids. We got ourselves up in the mornings, had whatever sugary cereal was in the cabinet, and walked to school by ourselves. In the afternoons, let ourselves in, watched cartoons, shot hoops in front of the house, or did some homework until our parents got home. Dad would watch whatever he wanted on TV while mom got dinner taken care of. Weekends, most often involved the guys taking off to go fishing or skiing, or out to the garage to work on a car while mom and I took care of chores. 14
We weren’t a family that talked much. Emotions were for bottling up. Dinner was for eating as quickly as possible and getting it over with. If we wanted something, we worked to earn the money to buy it. Little was said if we did things right, but mistakes were definitely noticed. Nothing was free or easy. Even the weather had its way with us. Doppler technology wasn’t in common usage yet, and since the Pacific Northwest is considered a rainforest, rain was about the only thing we could count on about nine months out of the year. I’ve heard that Portlanders have almost as many words for various kinds of “rain” as Eskimos do for snow. That wouldn’t surprise me. Even with today’s Doppler technology, the forecast barely stays ahead of the weather’s moodiness. Back then, like today, there are a few truisms we embrace: • Always wear layers. No matter what the weather is right now, it will change. • If it’s raining hard, just wait a minute or two for it to stop or let up. Then make a run for it. • The person with the umbrella is most likely an out-of-towner or new transplant. The rest of us gave up a long time ago.
