Trust Your Intuition
This past year I made a significant transition in my life. I
moved - across country. As I considered the many decisions I had
to make, I frequently listened to my intuition and checked in
with my feelings to guide me.
Everyone has latent intuition, and it is available to anyone
willing to hear it - but the busyness, noise, and clutter in our
lives often keep us from listening to our own inner voice.
Picture two faculties in yourself -- an intuitive mind, and a
logical mind. If you strengthen your intuitive mind, you can use
both minds in tandem. We are well trained to listen to our
logical mind and follow its advice. Yet, few of us have received
guidance of how to tap into the innate wisdom of our intuitive
mind. Intuition is a powerful kind of knowledge that many people
overlook.
Intuition is a clear knowing, an insight. It is knowledge gained
without factual, rational or logical information. Listening to
the voice of your intuition is a way to access the power of your
subconscious wisdom.
We are presented with an overwhelming amount of information on a
daily basis. Our intuition can be a clear guide to what to say
yes to, and what to say no to. Intuition can be a reality check
for you, something you can trust to lead you to the truth even
when outside appearances appear to say the opposite.
If you haven't relied on your intuition before, now is a good
time to start. Find ways to listen to your inner voice and
connect to your intuition on a regular basis.
Plan daily periods of 'creative silence' to allow your intuition
to emerge. It's often very subtle and quiet when you first try
to listen or tune in to it, so you need to disengage from all
the noise and busyness of your daily life, even if only for a
few moments.
Trusting your intuition can shorten the time it takes to make
decisions, and can lead you to the best decisions for you.
Start trusting your intuition on smaller issues in order to
develop your wisdom faculty to guide you in making the larger
life decisions. Then, when the bigger decision come along,
you'll be able to trust your intuition to guide you to the
perfect next right thing to do.
INTUITIVE PROBLEM SOLVING Try this exercise to discover small
ways to start to trust the voice of your intuition. The sound of
your inner voice is very subtle and can get lost in the midst of
the noise of everyday living. Start with a very simple, basic
problem or question. The problem could be a perspective, an
issue, a decision, understanding a person, or a next step.
Start by writing the problem down as simply as possible, because
the intuitive mind speaks very basically. The act of writing it
down really commits it. Then, ask a question; for example,
'Should I leave my job?'
Get very relaxed mentally and physically and center yourself.
You can center yourself by using a focusing word or phrase, such
as 'serenity' or 'peace, be still', by stating an affirmation,
or by focusing on an object, such as a flower or candle.
Become receptive -- use breathing and relaxation to release any
tension from your body and thoughts from your mind. This allows
the logical mind to recede and the intuitive mind to come
forward. And at that point, allow yourself to elicit imagery
from your deeper, wise self -- an image, symbol, metaphor, or
picture. This is what the intuitive mind usually sends to you.
The images are most often metaphoric or symbolic, so you can
then interpret the image for what it might mean for you. If you
don't get an immediate interpretation, let it incubate for a few
days.
You may get a 'gut feel' of the best choice for you, or you may
have a sense of one path being open and wide, the other dark and
narrow. This is your intuition using imagery to help you make
the choice.
Pay attention to your intuition and your feelings, and they will
guide you to making the right choices about what's important to
you.
FINAL THOUGHT "Every moment is a moment of creation, and each
moment of creation contains infinite possibilities. I can do
things the way I've always done them, or I can look at all the
different alternatives, and try something new and different and
potentially more rewarding. Every moment presents a new
opportunity and a new decision." ~ Shakti Gawain, 'Creative
Visualization'