I have had several client conversations recently about listening to and trusting our intuition – that wise, inner part of each of us that knows the best decision to make and the right path to take.
Many of us have lost the art of trusting our intuition to guide us in making good decisions quickly. If you’re anything like me, you might be spending a lot of time in your thinking mind, and not enough time listening to your wise, intuitive mind.
There is so much information available to us now that we often get overwhelmed and have trouble making decisions – even small decisions. We have lost the art of trusting our intuition to guide us in making good decisions quickly.
Intuition is a living force which serves as a communication bridge and a language for the deeper, wiser part of you. It provides a truer guidance towards good decisions than our mind can. It uses non-verbal, symbolic methods to communicate. Often we miss this communication – these very subtle promptings – because we are so wrapped up in our thinking mind and our busyness.
How would you rate your “Intuitive Intelligence” (InQ)? We are all familiar with IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and we hear a lot about EQ (Emotional Intelligence). In contrast to these, your InQ reflects your ability to go inward, respond with a variety of intuitive skills, to perceive connections and subtle realities, and to thrive in the unknown.
While IQ is associated with the brain and EQ with the emotions, InQ is distributed throughout your body. It includes the huge inner territory of your mind, emotions and body. When intuition operates, information flows not from the conscious mind, but from somewhere beyond that mind.
The well known psychologist Carl Jung listed intuiting as one of the four primary ways human beings process reality – in addition to sensing, thinking, and feeling. Intuiting and sensing are methods of direct perception; thought and feeling are somewhat less direct because they involve judgment and evaluation.
For most people, these four functions are not balanced. People tend to have a preference for one function over the other, and also to have one function that is underdeveloped. The majority of people are more easily in the thinking and feeling functions, neglecting their intuitive and sensing functions of perception.
Does this apply to you? Do you spend more time in your thinking, left-brain mind that in your intuitive, creative right-brain mind? If so, that can have implications for your productivity and the effectiveness of the decisions you are making.
The best thinking and decision making is holistic, using both the left and right brain functions. Each hemisphere of our brain has its own area of expertise. The left-brain is expert at verbal, linear, detailed processing. The right-brain excels at non-verbal, spatial, holistic and symbolic processing. You need to gain access to your whole brain – both the left and right hemispheres – in order to actualize your talents, access your fullest potential, and live from an authentic source.
We are all born with intuitive abilities, which can be improved with attention and practice. Your greatest intuitive abilities lie in your body, emotions, visions, silence and joy.
Exploring your intuition involves reconnecting with your internal, natural rhythm and your wise inner self. It means desiring a greater intimacy and connection with the physical world around us that is so full of clues and guidance. As you make time to listen to the soft voice of your intuition, it will welcome you with assistance, creativity and synchronicity.
As you take steps toward making better decisions with the guidance of your intuition, be on the lookout for your logical mind or inner analytical voice wanting to ‘put down’ or discard the information from your intuition.
Here are some steps you can take to make friends with your intuition, learn its language, and deepen your relationship with your wise inner self.
Let your intuition guide you in making faster, better decisions in your life and in your business. If you feel you’ve become too ‘linear’ and think too much before you act, try the following simple exercises to test and strengthen your intuition:
1. If you experience a gut feeling’ or a hunch this week, act on it as soon as possible and notice the results.
2. If you are eating out at a restaurant, have the intention that your eyes will fall on the perfect menu choice for you at first glance without having to read the whole menu. Order that item, and notice how satisfying it is.
3. When you are faced with a decision, give your self a 10 minute time limit to make that decision. This will force you to go with your hunch rather than endlessly weighing the pros and cons. Notice how your productivity goes up when you do this.
Complete the following sentences by spontaneously listing things that you already know to do. Rapidly list the first 5 to 10 activities, which come to your mind. Keep them simple and doable, and include both internal and external activities:
“Because my wiser self wants to prepare me for expanded awareness, I already know to . . . . . .
“Because I accept that my wiser self is guiding my intuitive development I already know to . . . . .
“Because I believe my intuition is prompting me, I already know to . . .
Review your lists, then highlight the one activity from the 1st list which appears most expansive to you, and one each from the 2nd and 3rd lists which attracts you the most right now. Choose a date, time and place to do those activities. Taking action will move your intuition from potential to power.
Trust your intuition: you already know what to do.
I invite you to post your comments below. I always love to hear from you!
Wishing you much success in following your inner wisdom!
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Here is a practical example of listening to the messages your intuition can give you.
I used to call this “trusting your gut”. Years ago, I was responsible for deciding who would receive training at government expense and would find myself referring people because I could find no logical reason not to. This was in violation to an inner feeling that told me it would not work out. As time went on, I came to realize that my “gut” was NEVER wrong. Later, as their supervisor I would often ask of my staff “what does your gut tell you”. This was seen as very unorthodox in a time and place where logic was/is all supreme, but it helped us avoid setting people up for failure.
Our intuition is like a muscle. It requires the decision to trust it and then exercise to strengthen it.
Thanks so much for this tip Lowell Ann. I agree that intuition is like a muscle – we need to give it a regular workout!
I agree … and this blog has come at a perfect time for over the past week this message has been coming up repeatedly for me. Thank you for sharing this Jan.
Keep trusting your wise inner wisdom Jamie to guide you on your path!