What do you think?
Rate this book
Intuition and the Mystical Life
What if your could live your life in partnership with divinity, using intuition as your guide? According to Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D., and Caroline Myss--such a life is possible. In fact, it has been the life that mystics have chosen throughout history, and only one thinning is required: the willingness to completely surrender to divine instruction. Now caroline Myss and Dr. Estes--two of the country's leading intuitive and bestselling authors--are together for the first time on audio with Intuition and the Mystical Life, where Listeners join them to explore: - The difference between instinct and intuition: when to use each of these powerful decision-making tools- Spiritual emergencies--using the power of prayer for empowerment during these initiations into the next level of divine awakening- New ways to face the challenges of life's cyclical transitions, and much more"Intuition and the Mystical Life is a special jewel of eloquent teachings by two of the world's most influential women today, who offer who offer listeners useful, down-to-earth advice for surrendering to the process of mystical transformations.
Audio Cassette
First published October 1, 2003
12 people are currently reading
688 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Myss
176 books1,051 followersCaroline Myss was born on December 2, 1952 in Chicago, and grew up with her parents, and two brothers, one elder and one younger, in the Melrose Park, Illinois neighbourhood near Chicago. Caroline was raised a Catholic, and attended the Mother Guerin High School, River Grove, Illinois, run by the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana in 1974, and started her career in journalism in Chicago.
In the course of her career, she interviewed Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D., the author of the famous book, On Death and Dying, which inspired her to pursue a Master's degree in theology from Mundelein College, Chicago, which she completed in 1979. She also claims to hold a Ph.D in "intuition and energy medicine", but the degree was granted by Greenwich University, a now-defunct correspondence school that was never accredited to deliver higher education awards by any recognized government accreditation authority.
She started giving medical intuitive readings in 1982 and co-founded a small New Age publishing company, Stillpoint Publishing in Walpole, New Hampshire, where she also worked as an editor in 1983, next she began consulting with holistic doctors, which in 1984, led to her extensive collaboration with Dr. Norman Shealy, an M.D. schooled at Harvard, and the founder of the American Holistic Medical Association, with whom she later co-authored, "Aids: Passageway to Transformation," in 1987, followed by "The Creation of Health: The Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Responses that Promote Health and Healing," in 1988. Deriving from her practice as a medical intuitive, she started writing books, in the field of energy medicine, and healing, all of which became New York Times Best Sellers.[18] Starting with Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing (1996), which overlapped seven Christian sacraments with seven Hindu chakras and the Kabbalah's Tree of Life to create a map of the human "energy anatomy"; this was followed by Why People Don't Heal and How They Can (1998), which explored the reasons people do not heal through her concept of "woundology." Her next book, Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential (2002) dealt with the issue of finding "Life Purpose," while describing Sacred Contracts as "a set of assignments that our soul had formed around before incarnation". She has since appeared on the The Oprah Winfrey Show numerous times.
By 2000, she discontinued doing private medical intuitive readings, and instead started teaching it, through her workshops, seminars, radio shows and guided tours. She tours internationally as a speaker on spirituality and mysticism, and lives in Oak Park, Illinois, near Chicago. In 2003, she started the Caroline Myss Educational Institute, with Wisdom University in San Francisco.
Her 2007 book, "Entering the Castle" draws upon the writings of Saint Teresa of Ávila, a 16th century Carmelite nun, who wrote her most important work, The Interior Castle, towards the end of her life.
In the course of her career, she interviewed Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D., the author of the famous book, On Death and Dying, which inspired her to pursue a Master's degree in theology from Mundelein College, Chicago, which she completed in 1979. She also claims to hold a Ph.D in "intuition and energy medicine", but the degree was granted by Greenwich University, a now-defunct correspondence school that was never accredited to deliver higher education awards by any recognized government accreditation authority.
She started giving medical intuitive readings in 1982 and co-founded a small New Age publishing company, Stillpoint Publishing in Walpole, New Hampshire, where she also worked as an editor in 1983, next she began consulting with holistic doctors, which in 1984, led to her extensive collaboration with Dr. Norman Shealy, an M.D. schooled at Harvard, and the founder of the American Holistic Medical Association, with whom she later co-authored, "Aids: Passageway to Transformation," in 1987, followed by "The Creation of Health: The Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Responses that Promote Health and Healing," in 1988. Deriving from her practice as a medical intuitive, she started writing books, in the field of energy medicine, and healing, all of which became New York Times Best Sellers.[18] Starting with Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing (1996), which overlapped seven Christian sacraments with seven Hindu chakras and the Kabbalah's Tree of Life to create a map of the human "energy anatomy"; this was followed by Why People Don't Heal and How They Can (1998), which explored the reasons people do not heal through her concept of "woundology." Her next book, Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential (2002) dealt with the issue of finding "Life Purpose," while describing Sacred Contracts as "a set of assignments that our soul had formed around before incarnation". She has since appeared on the The Oprah Winfrey Show numerous times.
By 2000, she discontinued doing private medical intuitive readings, and instead started teaching it, through her workshops, seminars, radio shows and guided tours. She tours internationally as a speaker on spirituality and mysticism, and lives in Oak Park, Illinois, near Chicago. In 2003, she started the Caroline Myss Educational Institute, with Wisdom University in San Francisco.
Her 2007 book, "Entering the Castle" draws upon the writings of Saint Teresa of Ávila, a 16th century Carmelite nun, who wrote her most important work, The Interior Castle, towards the end of her life.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 24, 2021
This had some pretty good stuff in it but it also confirmed to me that I like Dr. Estés more than Caroline Myss which is in line with my enjoyment of the things they've respectively written. Myss came across as a little aggressive and harsh in this one. But it's worth listening to for Estés' stories.
August 11, 2013
WOW. Wow, wow, wow. Talk about alchemy. This dynamic and powerful duo of conduits just killed. me. softly. I am rendered speechless (a real rarity!) after listening to this (audio recording of a) conversation between Clarissa Pinkola Estes and Carolyn Myss on the topic of leading one's life by intuition and instinct-- essentially, by Grace. This recording **most definitely** transcends words, thus the difficulty in writing a proper "review." Deep bows to both Estes- a genuine elder and absolutely gifted storyteller (my favorites are the final tale she tells (won't spoil the surprise!! ;) and then the personal anecdote of her bringing fairy tales and mythology to the children of Columbine, having spent 3 years in the community doing trauma work post-massacre)-- and Myss for her clarity, precision, no-nonsense attitude, passion, and FIERCE open heart... PHEW, such profound wisdom here. Some important insights on child rearing and the overall task of empowering and teaching personal responsibility to our youth. Frankly, we should be blasting this conversation on loudspeakers all over the world, replacing the "National Anthem" -- yes, its time-- we would have a totally different planet. Do yourself a favor and go listen to this NOW. Dim the lights (maybe even get that fireplace going if you live in the brrrrrrrrr coldest city in the country at the moment!), cozy in for the night, and be prepared to have your mind blown.
February 21, 2013
The title was misleading and not what I expected. I always appreciate the work of Estes; however, I do not agree with many of the sentiments made by Myss, hence the lower rating.
September 28, 2014
The most interesting part of this was when the two women were talking about their intuitive awakenings in their childhoods. The rest of this wasn't as enjoyable.
April 5, 2020
I’m not a prisoner of my past and only reflect on it if it makes a come back, Clarissa made me think about my childhood when she spoke about her’s.
It was like poof...pieces of the puzzle started to align.
It was like poof...pieces of the puzzle started to align.
October 12, 2025
One of my beloved homosexuals once texted our group chat saying did you see that meme like Had 3 pints no dinner going to go home listening to music in a way no music has ever been listened to before. I hadn’t seen the meme but I’ve never forgotten it. And I’m happy to report that I brought this exact spirit to this audiobook
April 17, 2019
Clarissa Pinkola Estes is really inspirational and soft and grounded. I loved all her "we in Jungian analysis or deep psychology call it..."
Myss ruined it imho, will carry on with Estes she is a post-trauma specialist and Jungean analyst and not some self proclaimed "intuitive reader" like Myss. You can really hear the difference in things they say.
Myss ruined it imho, will carry on with Estes she is a post-trauma specialist and Jungean analyst and not some self proclaimed "intuitive reader" like Myss. You can really hear the difference in things they say.
April 28, 2012
Not quite what I was expecting, but very straight talk on the actuality of following intuition. I love how these wise women call "bs" on certain new-agey magical money thinking.
July 29, 2018
I love listening to Clarissa Pinkola Estes, her lessons shared in soft tones, her humor, and the way she mispronounces words. I love it all. But I find Caroline Myss’ harsh edgy voice difficult...
June 5, 2025
2.5 stars.
I agree with other reviews that the title of the book is misleading. I feel very little was spoken about intuition (especially on the terms of Jungian psychology), with most of the conversation topics centring instead around spirituality & Christianity. I would have been fine with this for the most part if this was a topic ventured into solely by Clarissa, since she comes from interesting & unique stances whenever she speaks. Caroline, though…?
I felt an instant rigidity from Caroline, like she has very little openness in her mindset towards life - which is ironic to feel considering the topics of intuition & mystics generally ask for open-mindedness. Whenever she spoke, it always came from a place of “I know best and everyone else is an idiot for believing otherwise”. It might not have been so noticeable of an awkward tone if it weren’t for Clarissa’s much-needed interjections - every time, it was a wonderful respite from Caroline’s questionable takes. I don’t know, it feels like if I met Caroline Myss, I’d probably end up having some kind of maddening argument with her... her words just sort of evoked that inexplicable irritation in me.
To finish off on a lighter note, something I did enjoy about this audiobook was Clarissa’s story of the lonely girl who thought herself too homely to be loved. To be frank, it was a story that had absolutely nothing to do with the actual audiobook’s topic, but the message of it was nice to hear after spending an hour hearing Caroline yap on about how great her Catholic upbringing was🫠
I agree with other reviews that the title of the book is misleading. I feel very little was spoken about intuition (especially on the terms of Jungian psychology), with most of the conversation topics centring instead around spirituality & Christianity. I would have been fine with this for the most part if this was a topic ventured into solely by Clarissa, since she comes from interesting & unique stances whenever she speaks. Caroline, though…?
I felt an instant rigidity from Caroline, like she has very little openness in her mindset towards life - which is ironic to feel considering the topics of intuition & mystics generally ask for open-mindedness. Whenever she spoke, it always came from a place of “I know best and everyone else is an idiot for believing otherwise”. It might not have been so noticeable of an awkward tone if it weren’t for Clarissa’s much-needed interjections - every time, it was a wonderful respite from Caroline’s questionable takes. I don’t know, it feels like if I met Caroline Myss, I’d probably end up having some kind of maddening argument with her... her words just sort of evoked that inexplicable irritation in me.
To finish off on a lighter note, something I did enjoy about this audiobook was Clarissa’s story of the lonely girl who thought herself too homely to be loved. To be frank, it was a story that had absolutely nothing to do with the actual audiobook’s topic, but the message of it was nice to hear after spending an hour hearing Caroline yap on about how great her Catholic upbringing was🫠
September 16, 2024
I really loved the conversation between these beautiful, insightful and intelligent women.
Some of my insights while listening:
- Intuition is genuine self esteem. The ability to hold your ground when you’re frightened. To listen and engage that inner voice and know the authority of my inner voice is more authentic than the authority of your opinion as an outer voice
- self esteem is the overriding of the wiser self to the smaller self , that’s the intuitive ability
- your work in life is to listen and learn from your own Genius and go forward and unfold as a result of that
- heavy voltage intuition is asking “give me orders” not “can you give me a pretty sign”
- at some point prayers become “invocation”
- You are invoking the process of your transformation, to become intuitive, I want to become more energy than matter, I want to perceive life than sense it
- the first process of transformation is a deep cleaning so you can go into the depth of true surrender
- Saint Francis prayer: make me an instrument of thy peace, asking to be made a channel, let what is God flow through even as an imperfect being
- If you Called be an artist you’ll feel sick if you don’t create
Some of my insights while listening:
- Intuition is genuine self esteem. The ability to hold your ground when you’re frightened. To listen and engage that inner voice and know the authority of my inner voice is more authentic than the authority of your opinion as an outer voice
- self esteem is the overriding of the wiser self to the smaller self , that’s the intuitive ability
- your work in life is to listen and learn from your own Genius and go forward and unfold as a result of that
- heavy voltage intuition is asking “give me orders” not “can you give me a pretty sign”
- at some point prayers become “invocation”
- You are invoking the process of your transformation, to become intuitive, I want to become more energy than matter, I want to perceive life than sense it
- the first process of transformation is a deep cleaning so you can go into the depth of true surrender
- Saint Francis prayer: make me an instrument of thy peace, asking to be made a channel, let what is God flow through even as an imperfect being
- If you Called be an artist you’ll feel sick if you don’t create
February 7, 2024
Interesting and thought provoking, albeit brief, discussion between two wise women. Not all of their discussion topics were my cup of tea, but it was still worth the time to listen and ponder. The audiobook was well produced and the two women engaged in conversation drew me in and never lost my attention. This discussion of intuition and the mystical life may not fit inside today’s pop culture box, but I appreciated the depth and perspective both women brought to the topic.
March 14, 2021
I cannot accurately articulate what this conversation did to me. Immediately a favorite. Immediately grateful for having stumbled upon it. I will be thinking on their words for some time and will most likely listen to this over and over and over again.
March 2, 2022
Terrific short work that really brings to light the mystical life and calling. Listened to the audio version and absolutely LOVED the extras. It's done as a conversation by the authors. Both have voices that soothe the soul, without making you sleepy. It's a true gift. Totally enjoyed this work!
May 10, 2025
Like many pointed out Caroline comes off a bit upset in this book. Not sure why, but because of it her part of the interview felt a bit less relatable, but I still enjoyed every second of what Clarissa said. A book full of wisdom. The only bad part is that it's too short 😞.
January 25, 2019
I felt very called out by this conversation, but in a good way.
September 20, 2019
Found this incredibly empowering. A good reminder to trust myself.
November 15, 2019
Lovely discussion between two insightful women. "The mouse led to the cage" resonated with me. I will listen to this again.
December 10, 2020
Feels like 2 friends having a deep and meaningful conversation.
This is not the typical Clarissa Pinkola Estes storytelling type, but still captivating and worth of your time listening to. Enjoy.
This is not the typical Clarissa Pinkola Estes storytelling type, but still captivating and worth of your time listening to. Enjoy.
July 19, 2021
2'5/5
Este libro debe ganar bastante si eres católica y vives en los años 90
Tiene sus momentos, eso sí, muchas cosas interesantes sobre arquetipos y la intuición 👁️
Este libro debe ganar bastante si eres católica y vives en los años 90
Tiene sus momentos, eso sí, muchas cosas interesantes sobre arquetipos y la intuición 👁️
August 7, 2022
Wow 🙌🏼
August 25, 2023
Wow. What a fascinating and helpful conversation
April 25, 2024
Would love more
December 19, 2024
One of my favorite conversations to, listen to by two of my favorite leading lady doctors. I wish I was there to witness this conversation. These two women are so very inspirational.
April 2, 2014
develop self-esteem, intuition a choice and instinct reaction, finding and feeling as consciousness, nothing wasted everyone needed, the angel talent that accompanied you to earth, give orders vs sign, not ready for power of St Padre Pio, humility or power, stolen or hijacked by ego to nothing, ego as hungry mouse easily lured, servant vs ego, ego as cover for inferiority complex, black toes if too much spirituality through system, surrender to God, get involved to change bring soul to companies starving for same, instinct to pray, normalcy of teaching religion by nuns, love their values, responsibility and integrity, teach me to care and not care, a proper way to reveal God, too much choice and liberalism with children today, every soul needed for humanity.
August 26, 2007
a must for folks drawn to 'modern mysticism.' and these 2 very different powerhouse women temper one another nicely.
October 16, 2009
A very good conversation between two amazing ladies who dig into the background of those who feel touched by the mystic lifestyle.
March 8, 2011
Very interesting. The women share their experiences with the mystical. Their conversation encourages listeners to explore and affirm their own intuition, enhance it and trust it.
Read
February 20, 2013I bought the CD for my long drives to work. I have much to learn.:-)
March 22, 2022
I found this short audiobook to be disjointed and meandering. If you enjoy Estes’ work I would choose a different audiobook.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews