The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed: Hummingbird: Messages from My Ancestors by Diana Raab

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Content Warning: mention of suicide

                               Cancer, Quarantine,
                                     and Intuition

    Intuition doesn’t tell you what you want to hear; it tells you
    what you need to hear. 
                                                                                   ~ Sonia Choquette 

   I’ve  heard  that  children  are  born with  strong  intuitive
instincts and that at ages three  to five  a  child  is  fully  open
and   naturally   intuitive. World-renowned   psychic  Sonia
Choquette  says  in  her  book,  The Wise Child (1999), that
children  experience  spontaneous  intuitive  messages  more
readily than do adults,  and it’s important  that  parents listen
to  them.  In fact,  many in  spiritual circles believe that young
children  are  more  intuitive  and  open  to  the  otherworld
because  they  are  the most recent  arrivals to Earth. Having
intuition   helps   us   observe   and   detect   other   people’s
behavior  so  that  we  can  respond  accordingly and  appro-
priately.  Those  who  have  experienced  early-childhood
trauma tend to be even more intuitive because they need to
be  aware   of  everything  happening  in  the  world  around
them to stay safe.
   Unfortunately, many times children aren’t encouraged to
follow their intuition, and, over time, many lose this innate
sense. Encouraging the development of intuitive powers
means allowing the child a lot of time for imaginary and
solitary play. As an only child with very few after-school
activities, especially before the age of ten, I had plenty of
time to develop my intuitive powers. Intuition is also based
on our experiences—what we’ve inherited from our ances-
tors as well as the emotions we encounter now in various
situations. When we lose our intuitive instinct, rational
thought takes over.
   Intuition works more quickly than rational thought.
Decisions made with rational thinking usually take longer
because we need to evaluate various scenarios before mak-
ing a decision. Most often intuition and rationality work
together, but some individuals lean more in one direction
than another.
   I believe my grandmother and I survived the challenges
of our childhoods and dealing with mothers who didn’t
cherish us by relying on and honing our instincts. I also
believe that we all tend to trust our instincts more and
more as we age. I noticed this during the recent years of
uncertainty around the time of the coronavirus pandemic.
As a result of the mixed messages we received from
authorities and the universe-at-large about the disease, its
course of infection, and vaccination programs, we all had
more questions than answers. With scant concrete
knowledge, facts, and experiences to pull from, much of
our survival depended on our ability to tap into our inner
wisdom. This wisdom or instinct is like a hunch we get
about a person or a situation. It’s a gut feeling that is
sometimes called clairsentience—or “clear sensation,”
referring to an energy that is felt in our body in response to
our environment, whether it comes from people, situations,
places, or other realms. Children might have a difficult time
explaining this feeling. They might simply say they don’t
feel well; they have a tummy ache or backache. Or they
become tired or nervous. Personally, I just remember
having this deeper knowing when things felt a little weird
around me.
   When we focus on listening to our inner voice, we
become more empathetic and hypersensitive. I believe this
is what saved Grandma during her turbulent, wartime
childhood and being unwanted and then orphaned. It
wasn’t until I read her journal, which I will share excerpts
from later, that I realized how traumatized she was by her
difficult childhood. On a personal level, my inner voice is
what enabled me to survive life being born to a mother
who told her husband that she preferred a parakeet instead
of a child. All this has given me fodder for so many stories
to tell.
   Writing and telling our own stories and sharing with
others help us gain perspective on our experiences and
navigate our own journey. Stories also unite us and can
resonate at both personal and universal levels. That’s one
of the many reasons why people love reading and hearing
them.
   While I love my writing studio, it’s often inspiring to
write in different locations, whether it’s a local coffee shop,
bookstore, park, or faraway place. A few times, I have
ventured off to Maui for a personal writer’s retreat and had
magical experiences.

                                                ***

   During that trip in Maui, I spent a few full days alone
with the shaman. At the end of each day, that tall, robust,
and jovial woman full of positive energy hugged me good
bye and said, “Let’s meet again tomorrow to talk story.” I
believe the reason I love Hawaii so much is its people’s
wonderful energy and the importance of story in their
culture. There’s something heartwarming about connecting
and passing time together chitchatting and rekindling
memories. Ancient Hawaiians expressed themselves
through storytelling, which is known as the tradition of
mo‘olelo. This is basically the telling of stories transferred
orally from one generation to the next. Mo‘olelo is also an
opportunity for people to channel their ancestors.
According to Foor in Ancestral Medicine (2017), “We are
bonded with the ancestors as life to death, light to shadow.
The choice is not whether or not to be in relationship with
them, but whether or not these relationships will be
conscious or reciprocal” (p. 57).
   The process is similar to what I’ve been doing with
Grandma through the hummingbird as a messenger. There
are other ways as well in which the departed might visit us.
When I’ve discussed connecting with our ancestors in my
writing workshops, some of my students have said that, if
they pay attention, they get messages in all kinds of
forms—from butterflies, wild animals, rainbows, and found
feathers or coins to pictures, slogans, billboards, a certain
piece of music, a particular numerical sequence, or
electrical interferences such flashing lights or a cell phone
ringing.
   While I’ve experienced some of these occurrences during
the course of my life, for me, there’s something even more
powerful when a hummingbird visits. I feel a renewed sense
of hope and ability to see life’s larger picture. These
creatures also have a calming influence on me, telling me
that everything happens for a reason and that everything
will be okay.
   Having hope is so important, especially when dealing
with challenging times of all sorts, including tragedy,
illness, the possibility of death, or even living through a
pandemic. The stories of loved ones can help us when we
listen to them. My parents were both immigrants and had
so many stories to share, but also, much has been
transferred down to me by the ancestral line.



Reflections / Writing Prompts

Describe an experience in which you or another
child you knew was intuitive. You might also choose
to write about an intuitive child you know now.

Discuss a memorable experience during the coronavirus pandemic.

Discuss a time when you felt your intuition was
strong.

Have you ever connected with an ancestor? Describe
what happened.

Discuss a health challenge you or your loved ones
have experienced.

Describe an experience in which you or another
child you knew was intuitive. You might also choose
to write about an intuitive child you know now.

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