How many times have I kicked myself for not trusting my gut? Too many time, for sure. Too many times I have talked myself out of "knowing what I know" because it looked foolish on paper. Too many times I've slapped my palm to my forehead and moaned, "I knew this would happen!" All I know is that I have within me a "sensing" ability that more aware of my surroundings than my brain. Not only is this "sense" aware of surroundings and all that inhabit them, but it has an innate knowledge of how I fit into, will be affected by, will interact with whatever lies ahead of me. That inner voice can help me navigate if I really listen. Call it a hunch or an instinct. Call it your inner voice or a gut reaction. It's intuition.
Intuition, I believe, is a mix of mindful awareness, hard-earned wisdom, insight, and God's voice within us. I don't know how it works. I'm not a philosopher, nor an existential physicist, nor a theologist or any type of spiritual guru. All I know is that I know.
Caroline Myss says that an intuitive person is one who has healthy self-esteem and can listen to, and trust, their inner voice without needing any outside validation. That sounds right on the mark. The overriding factor that keeps most of us from trusting our intuition is "How will this look to others? What will they think?" Old voices from childhood and our own self-doubt are what keep us from allowing our inner knowledge to be given a real voice. I find that prayer helps me with that. When I ask for God's guidance and the ability to hear what I need to hear, feel what I need to feel, and see what I need to see, I give myself permission to listen and trust. I allow myself to really be aware of what I feel in any given moment.
When intuition goes against everything we know to be true, it's easy to dismiss it altogether. We can temper our decisions with reasoning and cold, hard facts, but ignoring our intuition completely is nearly always a mistake. If we have a strong feeling about something, there is a reason for it. It pays to pay attention.
When intuition goes against everything we know to be true, it's easy to dismiss it altogether. We can temper our decisions with reasoning and cold, hard facts, but ignoring our intuition completely is nearly always a mistake. If we have a strong feeling about something, there is a reason for it. It pays to pay attention.
Just like speaking any other unfamiliar language, there are bound to be mixed messages when we first start tuning into our inner voices. Intuition, like any other gift we have, has to be used to be developed. It takes mindfulness and honest insight and faith. It takes peacefulness, sensitivity, and awareness. But mainly it take us believing in ourselves and trusting God's voice within us. It is His gift to us and it is with us always. Don't hide it away or ignore it any more than you'd ignore that big, awesome brain in your head. We know more than we think we know, if we'll only listen.
Listen to your gut, now
We all have spiritual DNA; wisdom and truth are part of our genetic structure even if we don't always access it. ~ Lama Surya Das
Man will have replicated his own intelligence not when he teaches a computer to reason but when he teaches a computer to have a nagging feeling in its circuits. ~ Robert Brault
Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain, but simply points the way. ~ Florence Scovel Shinn
Trust your hunches. They're usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level. ~ Joyce Brothers
The invisible intelligence that flows through everything in a purposeful fashion is also flowing through you. ~ Wayne Dyer
At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. ~ Unknown
Shut your eyes and see. ~ James Joyce
An integral being knows without knowing, sees without looking and accomplishes without doing. ~ Lao Tzu
You are a part of everything, and everything is a part of you. ~ Ryan Smith
There is a growing body of anecdotal evidence, combined with solid research efforts, that suggests intuition is a critical aspect of how we humans interact with our environment and how, ultimately, we make many of our decisions. ~ Ivy Estabrooke (Program Manager at the Office of Naval Research)
Listen to that hunch
It will tell you where to go
And what to have for lunch
Pay attention to your instincts
And to that voice inside
Think back and you'll remember
That it's never, ever lied
~ Amber Gin
No comments:
Post a Comment