Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod

Episode 577: Learning to Trust Your Intuition with Marissa DiSimone
Date: March 12, 2025
Guest: Marissa DiSimone ("The Soul Sorceress")

Overview:

This episode is a deep dive into accessing and trusting your intuition. Hal Elrod, host and author of The Miracle Morning, interviews Marissa DiSimone, known as The Soul Sorceress, about her journey from being a skeptical stay-at-home mom to becoming an intuitive guide and medium. They explore practical techniques for listening to and acting on your inner wisdom, how to discern intuition from mental chatter, and why everyone can develop this ability. The conversation is candid, balancing the mystical with the practical, and is packed with actionable exercises and memorable insights.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Hal’s Introduction & Skepticism (00:02–04:28)

• Hal sets the stage by describing how he came across Marissa, sharing his own skepticism and recent personal experience with her intuitive readings.
• He highlights the value of intuition: "Is it useful for me?" (03:38)
• Introduces Marissa’s background—from mom to medium to teacher—and previews the episode’s core message: anyone can learn to trust their intuition.

2. Grounding Exercise for Intuitive Openness (05:00–08:56)

• Marissa leads Hal (and listeners) through a guided grounding and visualization exercise to prepare for intuitive work.
• Notable Quote:
  Marissa (05:16):
  "I love starting all conversations in this way. Cause I think it brings us a little deeper instead of on the surface."
• The practice involves breathing, visualization of white light, and an invocation to connect with inner wisdom and supportive spiritual energies.
• Hal (08:56): “Amen. Beautiful. Thank you.”

3. Defining and Demystifying Intuition (09:02–16:08)

• Hal asks Marissa, “Who are you? And what is this path that you've walked that enables you to help people discover the profound power of their intuition?” (10:12)
• Marissa shares her “accidental” awakening—starting with vivid spiritual encounters after her neighbor’s passing.
• Stories include channeling messages for strangers and getting validations she “couldn’t deny.”
• Marissa (11:52):
  "I started hearing messages for people, like on the street. And I would go up to them and give them messages… It was like, I can't deny that this is real."
• She demystifies intuition as an inherent human capability, not a rare gift.

4. The Spiritual Backstory—Reconciling Faith and Intuition (16:08–19:52)

• Marissa’s religious journey from structured churches to Self-Realization Fellowship and eventual disenchantment when her favorite youth group was ended.
• This background influenced her quest for a deeper, more personal spiritual connection.
• Marissa (17:37):
  "...I really did shut off my belief system for quite a few years because it felt like, if it's not this way, then I can't do it."
• Hal relates by sharing his idea of "God paradigms," where God can be seen through multiple lenses (18:44).
• Marissa stresses that creativity, especially writing, is one of the best avenues to tap into intuition.

5. Defining Intuition—What Is It, Really? (22:01–22:33)

• Hal challenges the standard definition of intuition (“the ability to understand something immediately without conscious reasoning”) and shares his perspective of it as “channeling or downloading.”
• Sets up the next, practical parts of the discussion:
  • How to access intuition
  • How to trust it
  • How to act on it

6. Practical Technique: The Rocking Chair Exercise (22:33–30:04)

• Marissa introduces a somatic exercise for distinguishing intuitive yes/no signals—literally rocking your body forward and back (or side-to-side).
• Marissa (24:13):
  “When we lean forward, that's when we're in our trust...”
• Hal experiences a clear “yes” when rocking forward.
• Guidance: Start with low-stakes questions to calibrate and build trust, then follow your intuitive cues even if the rationale isn’t apparent.
• Marissa (29:13):
  "The gentle pull is exactly what our intuition is. It's always like a little whisper, a little pull. It's not going to be this big, big, huge tilt forward. It's just this little whisper."
• Following through (acting on intuition) is essential—“It’s God’s way of testing us.”

7. How to Act on Intuition, Reinforce, and Discern (30:04–33:53)

• Hal relates acting on intuition to life-changing events: “I look at my life, and for me, it was just my intuition and God…” (30:04)
• Both agree: quieting the mind and taking action on small intuitive nudges builds trust.
• Marissa offers the distinction between intuitive voice (soft, calm) and mind voice (loud, anxious), echoing one of her mentors:
• Marissa (32:23):
  “Our intuition is going to be a little bit softer voice, a little bit more of a whisper, while our mind is a little bit louder and a lot.”

8. Journaling as a Tool for Intuition (32:59–33:53)

• Hal describes journaling as a method to accept wisdom outside his own conscious thinking, essentially having a “conversation” with God or higher guidance.
• He then distills the process: get quiet, listen, journal, act, and reinforce.

9. Marissa's Work: Helping Others Access Intuition (33:53–37:42)

• Marissa shares ways she helps clients:
  • 1:1 intuitive readings (in-person & Zoom)
  • Group programs (primarily for women, but expanding)
  • Monthly free group readings via Zoom (you can join passively or actively)
  • Weekly free writing group (Monday channeling/journaling sessions)
  • 12-week online course (with the rocking exercise and more)
  • Upcoming mastermind group and evolving offerings guided by intuition
• Marissa (34:15):
  "What I love is that we have the access to go to so many different points... sometimes it's really future based and sometimes it's really past life based..."

10. Takeaways and Final Thoughts (37:42–38:39)

• Best places to find Marissa: thesoulsourceress.com and @thesoulsourceress on Instagram.
• Hal’s parting advice:
  “Get out of your head and get into your spirit and tune into your intuition… periods of peaceful, purposeful silence.” (37:55)
• Marissa echoes the importance of silence, presence, and trust.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Hal (09:06):
  "Intuition… is a very, like, not black and white concept… Is that my intuition? Is that my subconscious? Are they one and the same? Is that God? Is that my fear?"
• Marissa (14:52):
  "I'm actually not special in any way. I just have tapped in and learned to trust it. And we all have access to it."
• Marissa (29:13):
  "Our intuition is… a little whisper, a little pull. It's not going to be this big, big, huge tilt forward."
• Hal (33:51):
  "I journal to myself. For me, I imagine it's from God. And it starts out, hallelujah, you really are living in excessive stress right now. It's like someone, like, I'm talking to a therapist or whatever, going, hal, here's what's going on. Here's what you're doing, here's why it's happening. And there's something that allows me… I'm out of my own head…"

Important Timestamps

• Grounding Exercise: 05:16–08:56
• Marissa’s Intuitive Awakening Story: 10:16–13:54
• Rocking Chair Intuition Exercise: 22:33–30:04
• Intuitive Voice vs. Mind Voice: 32:23–32:39
• How Marissa Works with Clients: 33:53–37:42

Actionable Takeaways

• Try the Rocking Chair Exercise:
  Practice tuning into “yes” and “no” signals with your body—start small.
• Use Journaling for Intuitive Insights:
  Set aside quiet time, write stream-of-consciousness, and see what emerges.
• Discern Voices:
  Learn to recognize the soft, calm whisper of intuition vs. the loud, insistent mental chatter.
• Act and Reinforce:
  Build trust by following through on intuitive nudges, especially in low-risk scenarios.

Stay Connected

• Marissa DiSimone
  thesoulsourceress.com
  Instagram: @thesoulsourceress

• Hal Elrod
  halelrod.com
  Podcast: Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod

This episode encourages listeners to explore, trust, and act on their inner wisdom—demystifying intuition while offering grounded, easy-to-try tools for daily life.