Blog
On intuition, happiness & internal GPS systems
Did you know you have a mechanism inside you that gives you all the answers you need to be happy?
Really, truly happy?
And not just your own happiness, but the happiness and harmony of the whole world?
“The only really valuable thing is intuition”
Albert Einstein
It’s called by many names, you might have heard a few of them. Intuition. Inner guru. The goddess. Deep knowing. Inner being. Satguru. Gut instinct. That feeling in my belly.
It’s like an inbuilt GPS system that helps us to navigate the world. It shows up as a resonance in our body, a lightness in the air, a deep knowing, a synchronicity in the world, a sense of clarity and it speaks to us in our dreams.
Your intuition is there, whether you’re listening to it or not.
Are you?
Your intuition is your most powerful ally in this world. It will help you to live a life that is in accordance with your most deepest heartfelt desires.
Get to know your intuition. Make friends with her (or him). Allow her into your inner sanctum and to be your most intimate advisor.
After all, she probably knows your needs better than your thinking mind does.
In her powerful book ‘Women Who Run with the Wolves’, Clarissa Pinkola Estés says that when we’re not grounded in our instinctual self, we often believe that there is only one path open to us. But when we’re listening to our intuition we have at least four choices; the two opposites, the middle ground and the “taken under further contemplation.”
I’m a big fan of Brene Brown’s work, and I’m sure she would agree this last point. In her book ‘The Gifts of Imperfection’ she points out that while our intuition often tells us what we need to know and whispers ‘follow your instincts’, it sometimes shouts ‘you need to check this out; we don’t have enough information!’
And because we humans are often not very good with uncertainty, we start asking other people for their advice, and end up taking a path that isn’t our own. Brene uses her tendency for overly surveying other people as a red flag that she’s not in tune with her own intuition.
Intuition is not governed by ego or social expectations. It does not choose to play nice or to play safe.
Intuition is guided by our deepest heartfelt desires, and if we’ve been suppressing these, or the people around us are not supportive of them (or worse consider them shameful) it can be all too easy to shut off from our intuition.
We turn away, and we stop listening.
“Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul of the universal current of life,
where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know
everything, because it’s all written there.”
Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist
of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful.”
Alan Alda
But while our intuition can be neglected, it is never silenced. She is insistent. She wants to be heard. She starts speaking to us in whispers, and when we don’t listen she tries all kinds of tactics to get our attention.
That niggling feeling that something is not quite right.
The waking up at 3am feeling anxious.
The tightness in the throat.
The nausea in the belly.
The anger at the injustice of life.
The depression.
The first step in getting to know your intuition is to believe and to trust. Belief simply in the existence of your intuition, and trust that you have all the answers you need inside of you (or at the very least suspend judgement for a little while, and be open to the possibility).
Get to know your body. This is often how intuition speaks.
If you’re making a decision, imagine yourself having taken one path, and notice how that feels in your body. Then imagine the other path, and sense how that feels. This is going to be different for everyone, but for me, the choice that is most in line with my heartfelt desires feels light and spacious. The choice that is not feels heavy and contracted.
When I listen to these resonances in my body, I’m in direct communication with my intuition.
But sometimes I can’t tell the difference. One decision feels no different than the other. Then I interpret this in one of two ways; (1) that either choice would be fine, or (2) that I need more time to figure this one out.
And how to I differentiate between the two? I use my intuition. I feel into it.
We can hone our intuition simply by practicing. Each time you make a decision, pause for a moment and tune into your inner knowing. Start with small decisions, like shall I have rice or pasta for dinner? Feel what feels like the right decision to make.
Shall I take the highway or the scenic route home?
Shall I work a little longer tonight or go to a yoga class?
Shall I play some music or would silence feel better now?
Then try asking the bigger questions.
Shall I stay in this relationship and try to make it work or call it quits?
Shall I start my own business or stay on as an employee?
Is this really my soul purpose?
An important way to make room for our intuition is to drop out of the thinking mind. A regular meditation practice (even if it’s just 5 minutes a day) can be a beautiful way to cultivate this, and help us to access a place of stillness and calm. This is where our wisdom resides.
And with a quiet mind, we can hear the whispers of our intuition.
She no longer needs to roar.
Give it a go! Start small, and see where it takes you.
Leave me a comment below. Do you listen to your intuition? Do you follow it’s guidance? I’d love to hear all about it.
2 Comments
Submit a Comment
WANT MORE LIKE THIS IN YOUR INBOX?
Mental Health and COVID-19
With much of the world going into lock down as a result of COVID-19, one of the biggest global health risks we’re facing right now is mental illness. Loneliness, as a result of social distancing, and stress as a result of the financial implications of lock down and health fears, are very...
Ahiṁsā (non-violence)
Let's dive into the Yoga Sūtras together. Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras are an ancient yogic text, and a practical guide to self-understanding and enlightenment (as we saw in this article). They outline eight limbs for achieving the goal of yoga, including the yamas, niyamas, āsana, prāṇāyāma,...
Eight Limbs of Yoga
It is thought that Patañjali was an ancient sage who wrote down the vedic knowledge of the time into sūtras, so they could be handed down orally from teacher to student. These sūtras comprise of a series of experiments or practices that are designed to realise the teachings of Sāṅkhya, teachings...
I like the idea of the ‘four choices’. Often we think we have only two choices, it’s either this or that, will I won’t I, should I shouldn’t I. And the feeling, success will come if I get the decision right, and despair on the other! I need to do some more work on heartfelt desires to help feel into what is good for me.
Yes, four options takes the pressure off about ‘getting it right’ doesn’t it? Getting clear on your Heartfelt Desires is a great place to start and a beautiful way to support you to make decisions 🙂