The Spiritual Importance of Expanding Your Horizons

Whether it’s traveling to a new place, trying a different spiritual practice, or simply listening to a new perspective, expanding your horizons opens the doorway to connection and growth, two things our souls crave. As humans, we tend to value stability, but transformation happens when we stretch ourselves, when we say yes to new experiences that invite us to see the world and ourselves differently. These moments are not just for personal growth; they’re invitations from Spirit to evolve.

Every time we try something new, we shake loose of old patterns and make space for fresh insight. We begin to notice the interconnectedness of things, realizing that our personal journey is part of a much larger tapestry. This shift in awareness deepens our intuition and strengthens our ability to trust in the unseen—an essential component of spiritual development. When we expand our horizons, we also expand our capacity for compassion, resilience, and inner peace.

Another spiritual benefit of expanding your horizons is that it helps quiet the ego. When we challenge ourselves to move beyond what’s familiar, we loosen the grip of fear and control. In that space of vulnerability and surrender, Spirit can speak more clearly. Whether it’s through synchronicities, inner nudges, or dreams, the guidance we receive during these moments often points us toward our highest path. It’s a reminder that the divine doesn’t dwell in certainty—it lives in curiosity, exploration, and openness.

Ultimately, saying yes to new experiences is a spiritual practice in itself. It reminds us that we’re not meant to stay stagnant; we are meant to grow, to explore, and to evolve. The more we embrace expansion, the more we become aligned with our soul’s true purpose: to learn, love, and awaken to the infinite possibilities that life—and spirit—have to offer.

The Benefits of Gratitude As a Spiritual Practice

A spiritual practice is anything that helps us feel connected – to ourselves, to others, or to something bigger than us – to give us perspective and peace. But these practices don’t need to be elaborate or take a ton of time. In the fall, our thoughts turn towards gratitude because of the Thanksgiving holiday, but gratitude can be something we value and incorporate simply into our spiritual practice all year long.

Here are some of the benefits to cultivating gratitude as a spiritual practice. It:

-asks us to pause and reflect, developing a mindful approach,

-shifts our focus from what we lack to what we’ve gained, giving us more peace,

-brings us perspective beyond what’s happening right in front of us,

-deepens our connection to something bigger than us, whether it’s to community, a sense of purpose, or to the divine,

-fosters compassion as we recognize how interconnected we all are,

-invites us to see obstacles as opportunities to find meaning, changing challenges into lessons learned,

-elevates our mood and energy, bringing more joy,

-promotes acceptance and a feeling of being supported by others and the universe, and

-helps us develop a mindset of abundance and attract more positive experience into our lives.

Aside from the spiritual benefits, practicing gratitude also has emotional, mental, and physical health benefits, according to Mas Health, as seen in the visual below.

Embracing a practice of gratitude has many benefits and can greatly enhance your health. Try it for yourself and see!

$10 Psychic Reading Solstice Special

Sometimes you may only need to ask a quick question of a psychic, so this first weekend of summer only (June 21-23, 2024), I’m offering a special discount: one question for $10. Here’s how to take advantage of this offer:

  1. Email me your question at jennaferfm@gmail.com. One question per client, please. If it’s about your pet, please include a photo of your pet as well as his/her age. If it’s about you, let me know your zodiac sign.
  2. Pay for your session via the pay links here.

After I receive your question and your payment, I’ll get back to you with the answer within 24 hours.

It’s that simple. Happy summer!

Intuition Truths & Tall Tales

When it comes to intuition, there’s lots of info floating around. But which are the truths and which are the tall tales? Test your know-how by reading the following statements and deciding if they are truth or fiction. Then read the answer to find out if you were right!

Test your knowledge about intuition. Image by Memed_Nurrohmad

Statement #1: Intuition is something only professional psychics have.

Tall Tale

Intuition is an innate ability that everyone has. It’s referred to in lots of different ways, such as

*a sixth sense,

*a knowing or premonition,

*ESP (extra sensory perception),

*a gut feeling, and

*a sense of interconnectedness. 

Whatever it’s called, it’s something every person is born wired to access. 

That’s not to say that everyone is interested in understanding or developing intuition, nor that everyone who discovers their intuition needs to develop it to the point where they can become professional psychics. And some people find accessing intuition easier than others. But you don’t have to be a professional psychic to have intuition.

Statement #2: Intuition comes from whatever source you believe in.

True.

Intuition isn’t from a singular source in a dogmatic way. Whether you believe it comes from your angels, higher self, God, the Universe, spirit guides, your ancestors, or something else – you’re right. 

One of the most important parts of developing your intuition is knowing what your source is, because when you have a strong sense of trust with your source, tapping into your intuition is easier.

Statement #3: Intuition is a sense meant to guide us.

True.

Sometimes inspirational, sometimes instinctual, intuition is an awareness that’s meant to guide and help, rather than to test us. It may sometimes feel like intuition can test your patience, but it’s not set up to be a test. 

We use our intellect and experience a lot to navigate life, and intuition is not meant to replace either of those navigational helps – merely to enhance them. With intellect and intuition guiding us, we can steer clear of lots of road bumps on life’s path.

Statement #4: Intuition is a sense that only comes through in one way, and if you miss it – tough.

Tall Tale.

Intuitive messages come through a variety of ways and methods, including through

*our senses,

*our learning styles,

*signs,

*dreams,

*synchronicities,

*and more.

And if you don’t get messages the first time, they come through again – and stronger. The fact that intuitive messages repeat is one of the best things about intuition, because – let’s face it – we can be forgetful and frankly, sometimes we are more likely to pay attention to messages because they repeat. It’s easy to forget something that pops into your mind once, but if it keeps popping in, you’re more likely to pay attention to it. And intuition counts on that for us easily distracted humans.

Statement #5: Intuition is impossible to master.

Tall Tale.

Intuition is like a muscle – with practice and use, it gets stronger. Because our intuition is tailored to our senses and how we learn, it’s highly personalized, making it easier to master individually. It can be elusive at first, but once you learn how to tune in, anyone can master intuition to better navigate their lives and feel more empowered. 

Developing intuition it’s like developing a muscle – the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Image by Schäferle

Holiday Success Tips for Sensitives

The holidays are often emotionally charged (with happiness and excitement, sadness and loneliness, and everything in between), and emotionally charged times can be draining for highly sensitive people. To enjoy these festive times and stay in balance, here are a handful of tips to help.

Photo by Jill Wellington

Tip #1: Do Energetic Holiday Prep. 

Holiday preparations aren’t just about cooking, decorating and shopping for gifts. Before the season starts, and especially before going into potentially draining situations (such as holiday shopping, work parties, and family get togethers), try these tips:

Make sure your energy is at full capacity so you’re better equipped to deal with emotions or stress. Fill up your energy ahead of time by getting plenty of sleep, drinking water, eating good foods, taking time for yourself, etc.

Keep a positive attitude. Where your attention goes, energy flows, so make sure you keep a positive outlook and attitude. Look forward to connecting with those you care about and celebrating the season.

Plan to limit the time you spend. Give yourself an “out”, letting the host/hostess know ahead of time you need to leave at a certain time to make another appointment, etc.

Diffuse essential oils that relax or enliven you. Create a spritz bottle combining several drops of an essential oil of your choice (citrus for lifting your spirits, myrrh or patchouli for grounding and calming)  in spring or distilled water. Spray before going into the situation or during as needed (and as is socially acceptable). 

Tip #2: Limit Your Energy Intake

You can limit some of the energy you take in during this emotionally charged time of year to help you have healthy boundaries and avoid getting drained with these tricks.

Wear a hat or scarf. Covering your head and/or neck helps limit the amount of energy you take in, not to mention adding a festive feel to holiday outings through your accessories. 

Stand with your back against a wall at parties, in stores, and more to restrict the energy input. When you only have to deal with energy coming at you at 180 degrees rather than 360 degrees, it can prevent you from feeling overwhelmed.

Return to sender. If you feel unwanted emotions coming from people this holiday season, take a second to send it back. Just say “return to sender” and picture the energy as a boomerang going back to its owner to handle. Don’t worry if you don’t know who it’s from–just return it. No receipt required!

Tip #3: Shift Your Energy 

When you find your energy getting bogged down by holiday stresses, try these easy ways to shift your energy in the moment to lighten your load and recharge your batteries:

Take a break from festivities as needed. Sometimes even the shortest break from overwhelming energy will quickly uncloud your brain and recharge your batteries. Pardon yourself from a gathering to get something from your car, take a short walk, or even use the restroom for a quick break.

Try some deep breaths. Often in high-energy situations, highly sensitive people find themselves breathing shallowly. Taking 3-5 deep breaths helps oxygenate your body, clear your mind, and center your energy.

Take along some tools. Pocketing or wearing items that are intended to ground or protect you can serve as a great touchstone for shifting energy. Whether it’s a protective charm, lucky coin, or grounding gemstone, taking along something you can see or touch will quickly shift your energy from bogged down to flying high.

What solutions have you found that work for you?

Blue Moon Magic

A blue moon gives us the rare occurrence of two full moons in the same month. Aside from being a lovely sight in the sky (that technically doesn’t really appear blue), it holds some metaphysical properties, such as heightening intuition, symbolizing change/transformation, and increasing awareness.

If you’re looking to utilize these metaphysical properties by doing some intention-setting, rituals, and/or magic during the blue moon, here are some ideas:

Focus on long-term planning. Because blue moons occur so rarely, some people make goals or intentions focusing on the time between their occurrences. But whatever time period you utilize, the energy of these moons can help you hone in & focus on things you’d like to achieve or accomplish on a long-term basis.

Do a magic spell: Using a paper clip or pin, carve shallow, horizontal dividing lines into a tall, red pillar candle – each line representing a smaller facet of the long-term goal you’re working towards accomplishing. Carve a symbol for each smaller facet in its section, and dress the candle with a conjuring oil. Before or while you work towards each facet, light the candle until it burns down to the next section.

Look inward. Because of the heightened awareness surrounding blue moons, it’s a good time to be self-aware and pay attention to beliefs, patterns, or habits that aren’t working for you anymore.

Set intentions: Do an inventory of your life by journaling anything that feels like it’s limiting you. Write any feelings, fears, or inspiration that comes in for each limit. Bringing these things to light is often the first step towards shifting or changing them.

A blue moon is the second full moon in a month. Photo courtesy of space.com.

Release what doesn’t work. Because of its powerful energy, blue moons present optimal times for magnifying your efforts to let go of anyone or anything that doesn’t serve you any longer.

Do a ritual: On a piece of paper, write down a habit, belief, relationship, endeavor, or thought pattern that’s no longer serving you. Bury it in your yard or burn it in a fire-safe container.

Embrace self care & healing practices. Taking care of your body, mind, and spirit is a wonderful way to spend your energy during a blue moon. Take some downtime, treat yourself to a spa or energy healing service, or listen to relaxing music.

Set intentions: Sign up for an energy healing treatment, such as Reiki or crystal healing. Prior to the treatment, set your intention for what ailment, pain, or wound you’d like to heal. Follow up your session by searching for and playing a healing frequency of 369 Hz on YouTube.

These are just some ideas to get you started or use as a springboards for other ideas. The possible ways to harness the energy and metaphysical properties of a blue moon are many. Whatever you choose to do, I hope you make the most of this blue moon energy!

What Are Spirit Guides?

If you’re like me, “spirit guides” may not be a term you heard much – or at all – growing up. My foray into the spiritual realm was mostly through a curiosity about and study of religion, and I’ve never heard that term used in religious circles. It wasn’t until I was outside of religion that I heard the term, from a mentor and friend.

Everyone has spirit guides, and they come in a variety of types to help us on our journey.

Whatever your knowledge level with spirit guides is, you have them. Everyone does, in fact. And before you get nervous that what I just stated means you’re being haunted, that’s not what I mean. Spirit guides are not ghosts, wandering around shaking chains like Jacob Marley in “A Christmas Carol”. They are benevolent helpers in spirit. (Ok, so technically, Jacob Marley did try to help Ebenezer Scrooge, but I still say he falls way more in the ghost-haunting category than the spirit guide category.)

By definition, spirit guides are discarnate spirits that act as protectors or as helpers to living incarnate individuals. 

And, like I said, all humans have spirit guides, whether we’re aware of them or not. Prior to being born, we set some main objectives or goals for our lives, and we contract with spirit guides to help us accomplish them. 

And while spirit guides have personalities and opinions of their own, they respect our right to choose more than anything and realize we all learn things in our own time, so they don’t try to force their opinions on us.   (Further evidence that Jacob Marley was a ghost vs a spirit guide: he definitely intimidated Scrooge rather than encouraging him.) 

Here are some things spirit guides do:

*help us 

*guide us towards our goals

*work with us 

*stay with us most of our lives

*communicate in a variety of ways

And here are some things spirit guides don’t do:

*judge us

*impose their wills on us

*force us 

*rotate often

*test us

In contrast, most religious deities I was introduced to test and impose their wills on us, so I find this non-judgmental approach comforting. In my experience, spirit guides definitely encourage and even urge us to go in directions that will be in our highest good. But they don’t force, because we are here to make our own decisions and learn in our own ways. And while our spirit guides may get exasperated with us from time to time (I picture a lot of heavy sighs, shaking heads, and rolling eyes from my guides), they respect our own sovereignty and right to choose over everything else.

Spirit guides are helpers, available to give us perspective and guidance to grow and learn to become the people we ultimately want to be.

Want to learn more about spirit guides? Take my self-paced Connect to Your Spirit Guides online class in the comfort of your home.

Interview with Mystic Mag

Learn more about the services I offer in this interview with Mystic Mag from June 2021 by Sarah Kirton

Jennafer Martin is an Utah-based, skilled intuitive psychic, coach, Reiki master, and ordained non-denominational minister. She gives MysticMag some insight into her work as a psychic healer for both animals and humans.

What can one expect from a session with Jennafer?

I generally take a moment up front to introduce myself and explain my process, especially to people who have never had a psychic session before. I also check in with the client to see what they are hoping to get out of the session. Then I connect with the energy of their animal for a pet psychic reading (in person or through a photo), the energy of their situation(s) through tarot and oracle cards for a psychic session, or the energy of their Akashic records for a past life session. I interpret the energy and deliver the messages, usually in a fairly pragmatic and positive way, and sometimes with a touch of humor, depending on the message (and how appropriate humor would be). It’s important to me that people come away from sessions with me feeling clear and having actionable takeaways so they feel empowered. But a session with me is more of a conversation than anything. I may ask questions or check in on some of the information I receive to make sure it is resonating or to clarify things that are coming through. And I give clients a chance to ask questions to clarify any message points, should they need to. 

When should one consider a pet psychic reading?

Pet psychic readings are a great way to gain insights into your pets’ feelings and thoughts to help you better connect to and care for them. So if you’re feeling confused about your dog’s behavior, curious about what your cat thinks of the new pet in the house, or concerned about your horse’s health, a pet psychic reading can help. These sessions can also give you insights into a rescued pet’s past as well as better approach end-of-life care for senior, ill or injured animals. 

Is psychic communication with animals the same as with humans? 

In many ways, yes. Messages for both come through intuition, and I receive and share them. It’s fun to hold and pet animals, though, and that’s not appropriate for human clients. 😉

When did you first discover you had spiritual & psychic abilities?

I remember feeling in tune with animals and my surroundings most of my life, but two experiences when I was 14 years old helped me discover I may “see” things that others didn’t. The first was an impression that my best friend might have been ill. Although I didn’t have a name for it, I tried talking to our friends and even looked up books in the school library to understand and get advice on how to handle my impression that she wasn’t eating. Shortly afterwards she was hospitalized due to complications from anorexia nervosa. 

The second was an impression that my pet hamster was upset. It was a week or so after I received her as a birthday gift, and I wasn’t sure how to help so I called the pet store for advice. The clerk gave me suggestions for making her more comfortable in transitioning to a new environment, and I followed them to the T, but it wasn’t until a few days later when I awoke to find she’d given birth to thirteen babies, that I felt her mood change. Then I realized she wasn’t upset – she was incredibly uncomfortable. (And I would have be, too, if I had been gestating all those babies!) 

Can one learn to communicate with animals?

Definitely! Everyone has intuition, so everyone can learn how to hone it to receive messages from animals. I teach several classes on animal communication as well as doing energy work with animals, and I do private coaching sessions to help people hone their skills. 

Can animals tap into our psychic self on their own accord?

Absolutely. Animals can send messages psychically, sometimes through a feeling or a mental picture in our minds. So the next time you get a feeling that your dog wants to go outside before he scratches at the back door, you may be getting a psychic message from your pet! 

Tell us a little about energy healing.

Everyone gets worn out, injured or ill, and energy healing is a natural, non-invasive method to channel good energy through a body and help it repair. When a practitioner shares an energy healing method, it allows your body to boost its natural healing abilities to increase relaxation, reduce inflammation and more. Common forms of energy healing include Reiki, theta healing, quantum touch, amongst numerous others. 

The Truth About Sensitives

While everyone is capable of empathy–if you stub your toe, then you can can empathize with someone who stubs theirs–not everyone is an empath, or highly sensitive person (HSP). People with these natures can empathize even when they haven’t experienced what you have. Read on to sort through the truth and the myths behind empaths. 

People choose to be highly sensitive. False. People are born highly sensitive. It’s usually inherited from a parent, and it’s the way they are wired. 

Highly sensitive people make up 20% of the population. True. One in five people are highly sensitive worldwide. So although they aren’t the majority of the population, they aren’t as rare as they often feel. 

Sensitive people are overly emotional and fragile. False. While HSPs can be sentimental, being sensitive as a nature is more about having a nervous system that’s dialed up and takes in sensory input at a deeper/stronger level than others. And sensitives can be some of the strongest people around. 

People can turn off/get over their sensitive natures. False. Highly sensitive people can’t control the way their systems react, although they can definitely manage it so it’s less overwhelming.

Highly sensitive people are great listeners. True. HSPs offer you their full attention, listening with empathy and compassion.

listening
Empaths are great listeners. Photo by Anna Vander Stel on Unsplash

Sensitives are shy introverts. False. While empaths sometimes pause to assess the energy in new situations, they are not shy. And while they need regular alone time to decompress, many are extraverts. 

Highly sensitive people are healers. True. Because they naturally feel others’ emotions, HSPs are natural healers. Sometimes by profession (counselors, nurses, etc.) and sometimes by being the one everyone goes to for advice. 

If you’re an empath looking to better manage this unique nature, schedule a reading with me or sign up for the Solutions for Sensitives class series on Reiki Awakening Academy

Trust Your Intuition: 3 Ways to Double Check Messages

Everyone has intuition, and intuitive messages come through our senses first. For example, we hear something, get a feeling, a thought pops into our heads, etc. But what do you do if you think you got an intuitive message, but you’re not really sure? Double check it! Here’s three ways.

1. Double check with a friend. Whether you have intuitive friends or those whose judgment you trust, checking your intuitive hits with a friend is a great way to get validation. There’s nothing that says you can’t make interpreting intuitive messages a group activity.

2. Double check with signs and synchronicities. If you think you got an intuitive message, ask the source of your intuition to send signs or synchronicities to confirm the message. The same source that gives you messages inside of your body can punctuate them by giving you signs and synchronicities outside of your body. Ask for them and then watch throughout your day. If things people say, or things you read or see come forth with similar messages, you’ll get confirmation on your original impression(s).

It’s not bad or weak to ask for signs. The universe is happy to provide them, so ask away.

synch

3. Double check through divination tools. Divination tools are great sources of intuitive messages. Feel free to pull a tarot card, use a pendulum, draw a rune, or any favorite kind of divination tool to both confirm intuitive messages and give you more information or context for them.

Watch Jennafer’s video about this.

Want to learn more about trusting your intuition? Join Jennafer’s free class, 5 Tips to Trust Your Intuition