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Throughout, the intuitive voice was constantly counselling and leading me into fresh, receptive markets and resolving the various problems and difficulties that always occur in any business in a highly creative and unusual fashion. To give an example. Lots of people who had bought my product while on holiday wanted me to send it to friends and relatives especially for Christmas or birthdays. I soon found that the cost of sending heavy glass jars of marmalade cost more than the marmalade itself. While my customers didn?t seem to mind, the need for heavy packaging with the resultant waste did bear on my conservationist soul. I needed a lighter and stronger jar.

 

There was no business information service on the island and at that time information on manufacturing supplies were not as easy to come by as now. Scratching my head as to how I could find a manufacturer without having to make a trip over to the mainland, my intuition one morning broke in with, ?Go out for a walk.?

 

Now I loved walking in the Islands, the views are magnificent but on that particular day there was a storm blowing with sleeting rain, not the most inviting day. But my ?voice? was most insistent, go to Porthcressa beach. Now that beach would be the one most exposed, but obedient to my benevolent command, and I had long realised how magnificently benevolent it was, I put on my wet weather gear and trudged over to Porthcressa. I had to admit the fury of the sea was breathtaking as it crashed on the shoreline, and as I started to walk up its length I could see that it wasn?t totally deserted. Right at the far end, was a huddled figure with what looked like a tarpaulin round them. They were so heavily wrapped up it was difficult to see if they were a man or woman.

 

When I got closer I could see it was an older woman in her late fifties. I plonked myself down and started a conversation. She was a constant visitor to the islands, she told me. She only came in the winter as she had a business to run in the summer. She loved the Islands so much those even on days like this she didn?t want to waste a moment indoors. I nodded sympathetically and then asked in response to an internal prod. ?What business are you in then??  ?Oh,? she said. ?I grow herbs and package them and sell them to stores., I am doing very well. What do you do?? Then I told her about my marmalade product and that I was looking for light, plastic jars to send by mail, she rummaged in her bag and produced a clear plastic pot. ?Is this the kind of thing you are looking for,? she said. ?They make them in various sizes?. ?Yes,? I said. ?That?s perfect, just what I want.? ?Well, here is the address, mention me if you want; I am a good customer of theirs. They are a very good firm. Very prompt delivery?.

 

After she had refused my offer of a cup of tea and a warm by my fire, I walked back to my flat high as a kite, but also partly bemused. How could one even begin to explain, that I would know in some part of my mind there would be a woman with a plastic pot in her bag that would meet my need. It defied everything that I had been taught except of course for my readings in eastern mysticism.  Oh, what a headache it was going to be to even think of testing it for scientific evaluation. Back came the response. ?You won?t need to hire a computer terminal, running this business on intuition will be a greater demonstration of awakening one?s intuition and the validity of following it than any controlled trial will ever be. There is nothing like a real quality product to make people, listen, respect and want to replicate what you do. Especially if you make a lot of money as well? Well, the marmalade business certainly did that, my standard of living rose sharply and I was able to support my research for many years to come.