Intuition
From Path2 Coaching
In 1995, my intuition was right when it told me to enroll in art school, and I was too scared to listen and instead chose finance. In 1999, my intuition was right when it told me to go to graduate school for education, and my guilt and stubbornness overruled it and I entered the investment industry. In 2001, my intuition was right when it told me to end a relationship, but I was too comfortable and ignored it, leading to a costly and painful failure. In 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2015, 2017, and 2018…all those critical moments, my intuition was right, right, right, right, (ad infinitum), and my hubris, stubbornness, and fear kept going against it.
Why? Because I didn’t know how to properly listen to my intuition. It wasn’t until I learned an effective process to make space for my intuition to be expressed that I could listen to it and follow it.
Intuition is our natural compass that navigates us down the path which fulfills our best interests. The internal wisdom of our intuition emanates from our essence; we intuitively know when something is congruent with our inner self and when it is not. Our intuition also knows whether the situation is something we desire or whether it’s something we feel obligated to do.
But on a daily basis, the wise voice of our intuition is drowned out by the chatter of our minds and the ravings of our hearts. Our hearts and minds are too loud and too compelling – and we identify both as “us” – that we cannot hear the measured insight of our intuition.
If we imagine the voices of our mind, our heart, and our intuition as dials on a soundboard, the volume dial for our mind and heart would go to 11 (like Spinal Tap), but our intuition’s dial only goes to 10. One way to effectively “turn down” the volume on our heart and mind to hear our intuition, is to allow our heart and mind fully express themselves. Once this occurs, the volume fades, which allows our intuition to be heard.
This progression of turning down the volume often happens unintentionally, albeit slowly. When we are faced with a large decision, we might think it through analytically and discuss it with other. Solicit perspectives, challenge assumptions, and explore the “what if” scenarios. Perhaps sometime later, when we are not analyzing the situation, we will process our emotions around the situation, “I feel X. I fear Y. I’m excited…I’m worried… etc.” Then sometime after that, maybe when we least expect it, we will have a feeling – a gut feeling or a hunch – about what our decision should be. The revelation or clarity that arrives at the end is the result of allowing our mind and heart to fully express themselves, leaving air and quiet for our intuition to finally be heard.
We can replicate this progression intentionally and in a shorter period of time through a “check-in.”
First, we begin by asking our mind what it thinks about the situation. We particularly focus on whether the potential decision or situation supports one of our desires. Are we headed in the direction we ultimately want? We allow our mind to express our thoughts on the matter, with our resistance, judgement, or the temptation to debate its logic. The goal is to simply listen openly to whatever rationalization it offers, noticing the volume decreasing as we analyze every reason and outcome. Once our mind has reached its conclusion on the situation at hand, we then shift our focus to our heart.
We ask our heart how it feels about the situation. Again, we particularly focus on whether the potential decision or situation supports one of our desires. Are we headed in the direction we ultimately want? We listen honestly and openly to our feelings without judgment or attachment. Maybe our feelings are complicated and tangled, contradictory, or embarrassing. Our goal is not to reconcile our feelings, makes sense of them, or connect them to our thoughts. We want the ravings of our heart to come out like a torrent and fade like the sound of a passing storm, dropping in volume and energy, leaving space and stillness for our intuition.
Finally, once the mind and heart had their say, we turn our attention to our intuition with the same question: whether the potential decision or situation supports one of our desires. Are we headed in the direction we ultimately want? Unlike our mind and heart, our intuition is succinct and clear. The answer we are looking for will not be enrobed in reasons or feelings; it will be short and crisp. Additionally, our intuition might resonate throughout our body and create sensations in our breathing, our guy, our facial muscles, our shoulders, and our extremities.
In 2021, my intuition has been lighting up like a giant neon sign telling me “do this,” and “go here,” and after a lifetime of ignoring and outsmarting my intuition, I’ve learned to “check-in” for the answers I seek.
I’ve also learned to not be attached to certain plans of “how” to move ahead; my intuition usually knows the better path. I will still get what I desire, but I might be surprised on how I get there.