Combining over a decade of research-driven experience, her highly sensitive intuitive empathic mediumship abilities, and collaborative approach, Bonnie Casamassima founded Intuitive By Nature to support people in connecting more fully with their innate intuitive abilities to nurture their wellbeing, productivity, and intentional quality of life.
Her support focuses on primary research, one-on-one intuitive readings, and research-rooted speaking engagements. She is a researcher and former Professor holding a Master of Fine Arts degree within Design focusing on Biophilia (healing science of nature) & Environmental Psychology, a Bachelor of Science degree in Design and two 250+hour holistic intuition training certifications.
She lives in Knoxville, TN with her partner and his two incredible kids, 3 chickens, 1 dog, and 1 turtle. She enjoys traveling, pottery on the wheel, dancing to live-music while wearing costumes, and a good belly laugh.
💝 Key Takeaways
- Bonnie shares her personal experience from research professor to highly sensitive intuitive empathic medium.
- Details on the research project Bonnie undertook on connecting with intuition and some of the most interesting findings that emerged from her interviews with over 50 people.
- How intuition differs from other forms of knowing and decision-making.
- An example of how intuition has played a role in Bonnie’s own life and work.
- Ways to tap into and develop our intuition.
- How can a community can play a role in supporting us on our journey of connecting with our intuition.
🔗 Where You Can Find Bonnie
Website: http://www.intuitivebynature.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intuitive_by_nature/
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/bonnie.casamassima
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnie-casamassima-4ab31714/
Podcast: https://www.intuitivebynature.com/podcast
🌹 Rose’s Resources
- The HSP Business School
- Work With Me
- [FREE] HSP Archetype Quiz
- [FREE] Facebook Community for HSP Entrepreneurs
- Ask me a question for an upcoming solo episode
📖 (Imperfect) Transcript
We use Descript to provide this transcript which isn’t always perfect but wonderful all the same. (affiliate link 😃)
Rose: Hey, it’s Rose and welcome to another episode of the Sensitive CEO Show. And in this week’s episode, it’s my absolute pleasure to introduce you to Bonnie Casamassima. Bonnie is a founder of Intuitive by Nature, which supports people in connecting more fully with their innate, intuitive abilities to nurture their wellbeing, productivity, and intentional quality of life.
Welcome, Bonnie. It’s wonderful to talk with you
Bonnie: today. Oh, thank you so much for having me. It’s so wonderful to be on. And hello to all of those listening. I
Rose: would love for you to share a bit about your background and your experience from being a research professor to highly sensitive, intuitive, empathic, medium.
Bonnie: Oh my goodness. Absolutely. it’s been quite the journey, I’ll say that. Yeah. And I guess in a nutshell, you know, I’d spent the last, you know, 10 years or before waking up to my intuitive abilities as a researcher and professor. I worked both in the corporate world. And then, toward the end, working as a professor working predominantly with graduate students on their own research work.
So very analytical. I think I even sent out a spreadsheet to people asking them what grad school I should go back when, just to paint the picture. and long story short, started meditating one day for stress reduction and it felt right deep in my body. So I kept showing up to that feeling and, you know, paying forward, you know, a lot of life events happened and a lot of healing and inner work and all of that as well.
one day during meditation started receiving really clear visuals in my mind’s eye. And, it scared the crap outta me. At first, I was very startled by it. but yet still, even though my analytical mind was really scared, I felt so calm and loved, deep in my body, deep in my bones. So in a nutshell, I started just.
To keep trusting that feeling and followed it through the breadcrumbs. And about seven years or so in, which is where we are now, I’m honored to have blended those two worlds and, done a research project on intuitive connection. So it’s been quite the journey, but it’s been wonderful to really embody all those layers.
Rose: . Amazing. Thank you for sharing that. And I know the topic of our conversation today is all about your research project, so can you share a little bit about that with the audience please Bonnie?
Bonnie: Yeah, absolutely. and to kind of jump right in, I wanna give a huge shout out to a woman that helped me with the data analysis.
So, Celeste Sample was phenomenal with helping me with the data analysis. and so I just wanna like, give a huge shout out and credit to her as well, even though I’m honored to be having this conversation. So in a nutshell, it interviewed 50 people from all over the world on their connection journey as they tuned into their intuition, their intuitive abilities, their ability to see, you know, smell, taste information beyond what we often let ourselves connect with, with it, it’s.
Used a framework just to keep it super high level, and a framework called grounded theory, which really it seeks first to ask people their lived experiences, you know? What was it like for you when you started receiving visuals? What was it like for you when you connected to people that maybe that had transitioned?
Beyond physical bodies, right? What was it like for you to tune in to this deep inner wisdom for your business planning or your decision making? And at first, just ask these open-ended questions and then identifies. Looking at all 50 of those conversations, did any patterns emerge? Were there any similarities or differences?
And then from that, you know, how could we take that information to maybe support other people on their journey, connecting with their own intuition? So that’s a nutshell of it. I’m happy to dive deeper in any areas. Yeah.
Rose: Gosh. I’d love to ask, so the 50 people you said they were from different countries. Can you share some of the countries and maybe some of their backgrounds as well, if, if you knew that information?
Bonnie: Yeah, absolutely. So it’s all anonymized, so obviously I can’t share any, like, personal information. but what I will share is it was everybody was over at least 18, so they were all adults and it was all voluntary.
And we had people. From all walks of life. So we had, you know, doctors, therapists, CPAs, nurses, people that were practicing mediums or psychics. We had people that were coaches. we had a, someone who was a prison warden, right? Like all walks of life. Sharing in this information. It was really such an honor and powerful to see, you know, how were people really tuning into their intuition in their everyday lives and what did that look like for them?
So it was, predominantly United States, but we also had those from the uk. Had a number from Australia, as well as, one from Canada as well. So kind of all over. And then one. From India as well. So all over.
Rose: What were some common themes that came from the findings?
Bonnie: Oh my goodness. quite a lot.
What really stood out was, the why, why people shared, they connected with their intuition and, and for the most part, those that we had interviewed. Or I conducted all the interviews and then Celeste really helped with her brilliant work with helping with the data analysis and then helping to take it into human terms, right?
some of the key. Ahas were why people share. They connected with their intuition and you know, we had some people share, you know, it helps with their decision making process. They use it for another sense in where are they wanting to go in their next step for business, for example, or to feel more connected to their ancestors who had transitioned.
So there were a lot of reasons people shared that they connected, but what was really fascinating is those that had fostered a very intentional relationship with their intuition, it they. Reported being calmer, less stressed, more in tune with their inner wisdom, happier, more at ease. Life just seemed to flow better and these patterns kept emerging over and over and over.
While the journey to get there maybe had a lot of. Struggle or you know, feeling of, should I share this with the world as people are really tuned in? They described it as a superpower. I think much less, much like those that identify as highly sensitive impacts, right? . Think we maybe were told are lives like, oh, you’re too sensitive.
Why are you taking that as such a big deal? And when we really get to tune into ourselves and do that in our work, We can identify that as a superpower. It’s such an incredible way to connect. So that’s one of the biggest, ahas is really that the why. I’m happy to share a little bit more, but I wanna kind of pause there and not talk for too long.
Oh no, I’d love you to she more. Yeah, absolutely. Another thing we found that was very fascinating is that intuition came in a very wide range of ways for people. So it came and connected with them through all senses. So sometimes people would, for example, they would smell roses in a room where there were no roses.
And in certain situations, you know, the people that are the person that we interviewed in this scenario, she knew that it was her mother connecting with her and she felt an overwhelming sensation of love. She felt almost tingles in her body. And so that information connected with her most through smell.
another person would share, you know, they would see things in their mind’s eye. Such as, you know, when I’m doing an intuitive reading, that’s how the visuals come through for me. And it can almost feel like a dream. but you’re awake when those images are coming through. Other people shared, it came through for them as a gut feeling like, I can’t explain why.
I just know I’m really drawn to this person. So they followed that gut feeling and they ended up getting married and stayed married for 40 years. You know, other people would taste certain tastes and other people would hear, you know, things like voices, but the. So it comes through all senses and I, I think that’s something that’s really powerful for people to hear and acknowledge that it doesn’t mean that the only way to connect with your intuition or information beyond what many of us let ourselves connect with, with our five senses.
It’s not just, oh, I see Earthbound spirits walking around. Right. It’s so much more than that. It can be that, and that absolutely was something that came through. but it’s so much more and to really trust what resonates for you and your body and to should you choose, you can really embody that as a superpower and that interconnectivity of it.
It’s really beautiful.
Rose: Did you find that people had more than one sense that was more common or, like can someone smell things but also have gut feelings?
Bonnie: Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. That was a big pattern that we saw is a lot of, stacking or overlapping. So maybe they would feel gut feeling and then they would also, you know, have a smell or hear a sound.
One thing that’s really, Important here is that people shared over and over and over again that it felt very grounded, very loving, very rooted in their bodies. It doesn’t mean that that’s the only way that it came through body sensations, but. it’s really important to have that discernment, to make sure you’re really grounded and in that presence, but absolutely, I can share, you know, for my personal example, like I experienced things through visuals in my mind’s eye, but also through body sensations.
It’s called clain. So maybe you get goosebumps or hair standing on the back of your head, right? Or back of your neck. Maybe your head too, if you’ve got shorter hair, but on the back of your neck. yeah. So absolutely to answer your question, very much a, a range of ways and, as people tuned in and continued that self trust with how that information came through for them.
And again, you know, some people would share. You know, I use this as a tune in for my business planning. You know, I really tune in, you know, what clients am I aligned to support, all the way to, you know, I’m really missing my ancestors that have passed away. I wanna connect with them more fully. You know, like in everything in between.
as people share that they developed that intentional relationship. More and more fully. It’s almost as if more and more of those senses turned on for them. So maybe it started as body sensations and the more they tuned in, you know, they would start to hear, you know, someone say their name or they would see visuals in their mind’s eye or also in their dreams.
People would have a lot of vivid dreams where, the dreams then came true in waking life. So it’s really incredible. It’s incredible what we’re so connected to.
Rose: Yeah, it’s amazing, isn’t it? And it’s something that I’m so fascinated in as well, which I think a lot of HSPs are, and especially em HSPs.
Absolutely. How could people develop it, if so, for someone like. Myself. I, so I sense things, but I also, I’ve had smell, definitely the gut feeling. Not so much the visuals. The dreams are huge. Yeah. But how, how could I or someone listening who has similar experiences really develop their intuition.
Bonnie: What a great question.
Absolutely. What we saw over and over and over in the research were two things. One was really honoring your self-trust, which can be quite the journey when many of us have been told that the answer is outside of us, our whole lives. You know, from parent to child or teacher to students, to really.
Especially as highly sensitives, right? Really tune in and keep fostering that self-trust. one of the ways people shared they did that. Was through getting things that, getting things in visual 3D reality for them. So if they had a gut feeling that turned out to be true, they would write that down as a bullet point and they would keep a running list of all these times, or they had a dream that.
was a premonition dream. You know, it came true the next day or a few weeks or six years later, you know, each time just go back and reflect, you know, when were those moments where I had that intuitive, knowing that intuitive connection and get it down in a space that you can see regularly, it helped to embody that self-trust.
The second key theme that came through was the power of being in community with others, talking about these incredible abilities with it. A community, I think was, I know was the top thing that came through as being witnessed, being able to share these experiences and while each person’s experiences are different.
Being able to have that space held for them to know that this is something that they felt deep in their bones, deep in their heart, and to be witnessed in community sharing similar experiences was really powerful for that embodiment.
Rose: Any specific type of community? I mean, I, I think I know what you’re gonna say, but if someone’s not quite sure how to find the right community to be in, what would you suggest?
Bonnie: Trust your gut. Right? I always say, you know, but ones that are specifically talking about intuition, you know, it’s specifically talking about, you know, I’ve had these experiences or I’ve had really vivid dreams. Like dream circles are something that can be really powerful. those that are leading intuition mentorships, right?
Where you’re really like coming together to talk about that and embody that. what we did see very often in the research is while there were experiences that were very powerful for people, like this is an undeniable experience. I just saw, you know, my grandfather walking around, those were a little less common.
Versus people just like trusting this series of subtle nudges throughout their, you know, a few years of really, like, I can’t explain why, but meditation feels right, right. I’ll go back to my story. I can’t explain why, but it feels really calm and grounding in my body and my bones. So I’m just gonna keep showing up and keep trusting that nudge.
And then, you know, boom, one day visuals. Hard to come in. it’s really a series of trusting those nudges and really honoring yourself and that self-trust in the process and, and sharing it in various safe spaces. . I feel like those spaces are becoming more and more available. maybe it’s just the world that I live in, so that’s, that’s what I’m around.
But, The fire in my belly is, let’s talk about this and use it in our everyday modern lives. certainly cultures from around the world have done this for millennia, somewhere along the way. most often a few hundred years ago. We have been taught to, to shut these down. and I, I feel the more we’re able to really share our experiences that the more we get to create that space for others to share.
We are far from alone. Very far from alone.
Rose: I don’t know if it’s the world that I live in too, but I’ve noticed so many more communities popping up and so many more like-minded people being attracted to each other. And I don’t know if it’s because there seems to be a lot of awakening happening in the world right now, or if we attract it because that’s where our, our beings are going.
Our soul’s going in that direction. It’s beautiful.
Bonnie: Yeah. Absolutely. And another thing with that, you know, one, we have the technology. I know we were talking about this before we started recording, you know, we we’re in completely different parts of the world and we get to have this lovely conversation.
Right now because of the power of Zoom, and you can find those communities even if they’re not, you know, in a 30 mile radius or meter radius, you know, from, from your home. it’s really, it’s incredible, I think. And, and, I will share my personal experience. I was so scared to say, Hey, by the way, world, I know I was a research professor for years and worked in corporate America, and but life plot twist.
I’m also an intuitive medium, and. But it still felt right, right? . So I, my heart was pulling me in that direction, and as soon as I did that, I had people from all walks of my life, you know, from the corporate side, from the academia side, from childhood, reaching out and saying like, thank you so much for sharing.
I’ve had these experiences too. Could we grab a cup of coffee? Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. So the more that we let ourselves be ourselves, it creates space for others. To do the same.
Rose: That’s so beautiful. I absolutely love that. And I was, I was reading in your bio, it might have been on your website, that you are also trained as a shaman. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Bonnie: I, I will, I have a really hard time like saying, like identifying like I am a sham and I feel like I am a, a learner of life. And I’ve been so honored to be in circles where these deeply sacred traditions have been shared and, what it has looked like so far.
And I think it’s a lifelong, multiple lifetime, probably a journey. Is to really tune in. it was a specific training called Moon Rise, and it’s currently in person and it was in Atlanta, Georgia. And it was phenomenal. So talking about community, you know, there’s a group of about 20 of us that were drawn to this.
the teacher has trained in Africa and has been like guided to bring this information to everyday, modern life while holding that deeply sacred information and honoring that. so it was a year. I mean, I like to say a year, you know, that was kinda like the kickoff was the year of intense, learnings and going over different Modalities and understanding how we’re really honoring the interconnectivity of all that’s living.
You know, really tuning into our connection with nature. How are we honoring that and thanking that in the process. and included Shamonic journeying, right? So we’re going into deeply meditative states to really tune in to information that maybe our conscious mind isn’t. Giving us the surrendering to connect with, right?
That’s not really where the spreadsheets live in our deep subconscious. and it wa it was such an honor to be in that and to be able to, really embody that. It included a lot of work around connecting with our ancestors. And when you think about it, you know, we have, you know, probably 600, 700 ancestors.
In our lineage no matter where we are. And I know for me, I, you know, I, I knew my grandparents and that was kind of where that stopped. But when you really think about the interconnectivity and the wisdom that’s eve in our bones, and we look at things within science, like epigenetic memories where we can have traumas as well as joys from, you know, 17 generations back that are coming through in our body in this.
Lifetime. . it’s hard to put it into words and I hope I captured it. I feel like I, it is such a deep honor to connect with that and to really, I. Walk away from that year knowing that this is really like the initiation. . And it’s, you know, I was an honored to be a mentor for this group that came through this year.
And, it’s an, it’s a lifelong, lifelong journey, but really tuning into our interconnectivity and acknowledging that not only are we connected from our ancestors and to honor that, but our connection with nature like, It’s all interconnected and it what made it feel like for us to honor that as deeply sacred and tune into it more fully.
Rose: Oh, thank you so much for sharing that, Bonnie. That’s, that, that just sounds amazing and, and what you were saying before that, Things have been buried for the last, you know, couple of hundred years ago, is that there’s so many of these trainings and, opportunities for us to get back to our true selves, our authentic selves and, and what nature has intended for us and everything.
And I also love that you shared. The people talk about the trauma in our, from our ancestors that are in our bodies. But you said the joy as well. I’ve not heard that before, and I just really wanted to point that out. That’s just beautiful.
Bonnie: Oh, absolutely. We have so much wisdom and, and, and us and honoring our ancestors and it was, I will share over my, you know, growing up in United States and, you know, I was, very nervous.
About that work. You know, like, what if I’m calling in the bad stuff? You know, this, these are the things. And I, and, and through this, reframing, it’s really this deep compassion, you know, and even Brene Brown talks about what might it feel like if we looked at the world where. We know that everybody is showing up with the best they can with the tools that they have at the time.
And to really honor the incredible struggles that our ancestors went through, the joys that they went through, the deep experiences, and to acknowledge that that’s, that is a big part of us. So how can we really honor, honor that? that’s really the, the first piece of it is really honoring our lineage and how can we support even more growth.
Moving forward. . . Absolutely.
Rose: Yeah. Oh gosh, so much goodness in this conversation today, Bonnie, it’s so wonderful of you to share everything. We’re always up for time. It always goes so quickly. but I have one final question that I want to ask, that I ask all of my guests. When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
Bonnie: What a great question. I’m gonna tune into that one for a second. I try to get really still, I try to go and if possible, get in nature. And for me, that might be a, just walking in the backyard without my shoes on. Take a few deep breaths deep into my heart and in my heart space, and even in my belly.
And just let myself get really still and. In that I’m able to, to get re-grounded pretty quickly with it. Yeah. . What a great question. Thank you.
Rose: And thank you for all of your wonderful…. did you have one more thing?
Bonnie: I did, I did wanna share one other thing, for everyone listening that.
Time and time again in the research people share that they feel strongly that we are all deeply connected with our intuition. And to really honor yourself and trust yourself in the process. You know, nurture what needs to be nurtured. Give love, you know, Make sure that you’re healing yourself in that process, but to really acknowledge that, we have this deep wisdom that we’re connected to and what might that feel like to really honor that and celebrate the heck out of it in our everyday lives.
So I just wanted to share that final piece.
Rose: Oh, thank you. That’s a wonderful, wonderful thought to leave us with. Thank you, Bonnie. And where can people find you if they want to know more?
Bonnie: Yeah, absolutely. The best way to find me would be on my website, so intuitive by nature.com. I’m also on Instagram at that same handle, so reach out.
I even have on my website, we obviously can do readings. I occasionally will host a mentorship sharing the research. but I even have a button where we could just have a coffee chat if you wanna talk about this more, to acknowledge that we are far from alone and, let’s keep coming together in community.
Rose: Lovely. And I’ll pop all those links in the show notes. Thank you again, Bonnie.
Bonnie: Oh, such a joy to be here. Thank you so much, Rose.