By: Kathy Best June 11, 2019
We live in a fear-based, obsessive, compulsive culture that tries to control every aspect of life. We’re terrified of uncertainty, so we’re constantly attempting to anticipate everything and anything that could go wrong and doing everything we can think of to guard against inevitable disaster.
We are taught not to trust our own thoughts, feelings, or wisdom, so we seek guidance and answers outside ourselves. Who do you turn to when you have a big question or an important decision to make? If you’re like most people you probably ask a parent, sibling, significant other, best friend, or co-worker for their opinion, suggestions, or advice. If we don’t like the answers we get from our friends and family we may turn to Google, find a book, or seek expert advice.
In almost every important decision we make the external opinions we receive are valued far more than our own personal feelings; and we often neglect to consult the most significant authority of all – our own intuition.
This mode of living is exhausting and can literally make you sick. You can read some of the latest scientific data about fear based living and its effect on health in Dr, Lissa Rankin’s book The Fear Cure: Cultivating Courage As Medicine For The Body, Mind & Soul
The good news is that living in fear is not necessary to protect yourself from uncertainty, tragedy, or any other life challenges; because you have intuition which is a much more powerful, dependable, peaceful compass that can guide you flawlessly. Your subconscious mind is the source of your unique genius a.k.a., your intuition. It will unfailingly provide you with the knowledge and wisdom you need to move forward in the right direction. This is true for everyone, not just those who regard themselves as psychic or highly intuitive.
Here are two common examples of your intuition or subconscious mind at work:
How many times have you thought repeatedly about someone when out of the blue they call, text, or message you?
Have you ever felt like someone is watching you and you turn around to find someone staring at you?
Your intuition is like a muscle you can develop and strengthen just like courage, intelligence, comprehension, memory, optimism, and critical thinking. Intuition can become your best friend, you greatest ally, and your most valuable skill to create lasting success and become the grandest possible version of yourself.
Here are 24 ways to develop your trustworthy inner voice to make wiser, more inspired decisions and find answers to your most important questions.
1. Strengthen your Intuition through Meditation.
To access your intuition you need to be able to hear it. We all have a lot of chaos going on in our heads most of the time. In a society that values multitasking it can be quite difficult to turn your mind off long enough to listen for intuitive nudges. Your intuition tends to speak quietly. In order to hear and interpret the messages it is sending you, you need to practice clearing your mind and spending time in silence. A quiet room with the lights out and some peaceful music can help you cultivate that connection. You can also strengthen your connection through guided meditation. Just 10 minutes a day without distractions can have very powerful results. Regular meditation will help quiet and clear your mind and enable you to recognize the subtle thoughts, words, images, emotions, and physical sensations your intuition uses to communicate with you.
2. Recognize when and how your intuition communicates.
To leverage your intuition you need to be able to recognize when and how it speaks to you. Your intuition will never be loud or fearful. You may get a lot of loud fearful thoughts in your head when you are initially attempting to cultivate your intuition, but those thoughts are your ego trying to distract you and sabotage you from reaching your goals. Your ego likes to run the show and it convinces you it is protecting you when in actuality it is holding you back, keeping you stuck, and making you unhappy.
Your intuition will be subtle, patient, supportive, and non-judgmental. You may get flashes of insight, images, feelings, words, ideas, sounds, or smells. At first these messages may be too fast to recognize or interpret, but the more time you spend cultivating your connection to intuition, the more clarity and trust you will gain. Many people can get to the point where they can ask questions and get immediate, understandable responses. Your intuition will use the senses that you use most to connect and communicate with you. If you are a visual person you may only get images. If you are a person that comprehends information better through listening you may get words, music, or other sounds. People that use their feelings as a source of information may receive physical sensations, gut feelings, a taste, or aroma when their intuition is communicating. Regardless which of your five senses you rely on most, you can develop all of the various modes of communication for a richer, more understandable experience.
3. Start becoming aware of everything your five senses can tell you.
Pay attention to the small details you usually dismiss each day. The details that seem so mundane and unimportant can help you increase your sensitivity to your intuition.
4. Curb your resistance or disbelief.
Make every effort not to dismiss yourself when you get an intuitive hunch. Replace your go to thoughts like “You’re crazy!” or “This is ridiculous!” and replace them with – “What if this works?” or “What’s the harm in testing this?” Too often, we let our intellectual mind argue against our intuition instead of trust it. You could easily rationalize yourself out of intuitive guidance that could save your life.
5. Have fun and make it a game.
Think of everyday items, various colors, or situations. Create the image in your mind and watch as your imagination guides you through different scenarios. Notice how long it takes for your intuition to offer guidance or suggestions. Write down details in a journal. Notice if certain answers or suggestions come faster than others. What do they have in common? If you aren’t feeling any guidance or suggestions come through, you may be blocking the flow with your intellect. Try not to analyze or rationalize your way to guidance and answers.
Here is a simple example of an intuitive game: Think of a color. Now walk through your home, take a walk, or take a drive and notice how often you are guided to notice that same color.
Here is another game you can try: Ask your intuition to play a song in your mind that is significant for you. Wait and listen for music or lyrics or an actual song to begin playing in your mind. Once you recognize it ask your intuition why that song is important for you right now and wait a few seconds or minutes for an answer. You may already know the importance of the song before you even ask the question.
Try making an affirmative statement when you wake in the morning, like – “Today I will be safely guided to my highest good” or “I will have a happy, productive day today” and sit with that statement for a minute. Feel that statement in your body as if it is the undeniable truth you are about to experience. Imagine how good you will feel and hold that feeling in your heart for 20-30 seconds. Now go about your day and see what unfolds. Try to recall that statement throughout the day and bring up those feelings as often as you are able. (If for some reason you cannot imagine how it would feel to experience your statement try recalling an event, person, or animal that brings feelings of love and joy to your heart and focus on those feelings.) Watch and pay attention to your intuition as it guides you toward that experience during your day.
6. Pay attention to your dreams.
We are trained to use the intellectual part of our mind for just about everything we do and see, but it often overrides the creative right-brain and the subconscious mind, which are the source of your intuition. During sleep, your intellectual mind rests and your subconscious mind takes over. It’s a good idea to keep a notebook and pen next to your bed to write down any insights, ideas, or dreams that you can recall when you wake. These can often be very powerful, valuable resources of guidance and wisdom.
7. Get creative.
If you aren’t someone who thinks they are creative, like any other skill creativity can be developed and expanded. There has never been a better time or a better reason to start now. Participating in creative endeavors, like drawing, coloring, painting, creative writing, scrapbooking, or free-flow journaling, quiets the intellectual mind allowing your intuition to come through loud and clear.
8. Work with oracle cards.
Working with oracle cards allows you to practice using your intuition, your imagination, and helps you develop trust in your own inner wisdom and guidance. Try using one or several oracle card decks, like Doreen Virtue’s Goddess Guidance oracle cards or Guardian Angel Tarot oracle cards. Colette Baron-Reid also offers some very profound oracle decks like her Wisdom of the Hidden Reams oracle deck and her Spirit Animal oracle deck. If you already use oracle decks and want something that challenges your intuitive power try The Akashic Tarot oracle deck by Sandra Ann Taylor and Sharon Anne Klinger or Colette Baron-Reid’s Wisdom of the Oracle deck. If you prefer electronic media three of my favorite oracle apps are Colette Baron-Reid’s Wisdom of the Oracle, Soul Wisdom by Sundara Fawn, and Kelly T. Smith’s Intuitive Life Coaching oracle app.
9. Test your hunches.
Start testing your gut instincts daily. Don’t go betting thousands of dollars on a horse or the lottery, but do test your inner compass about the weather, people you meet or how things are going to unfold in personal or professional situations. Are you getting a sense it’s going to rain tomorrow even though the weather forecast says it won’t? Do you get a nudge to grab an umbrella before you head out even though the sky is clear? Do you just know your best friend’s new guy is bad news? Do you have a feeling your new co-worker just isn’t going to work out? Write down your hunches and revisit them later. See how often you were right. The more you practice this the better your results will be.
10. Pay attention to your body compass.
Your intuition often communicates through your body. The more you cultivate conscious awareness, the more perceptive you become. Pay attention to uncomfortable physical feelings when you are trying to make an important decision. Note if you feel heavy or nauseous. Do you feel light or excited when you think about another option or choice? Do you get headaches or an upset stomach when you think about doing something different or spending time with someone? Does your job or career choice leave you feeling exhausted and burnt out all of the time? It might just be the result of stress reactions triggered by false fear, or it could be your intuition speaking loud and clear.
11. Escape from your daily routine.
Take some time off and get away. It doesn’t have to be far, but any change in scenery can be beneficial. Slow down, rest, relax, or read a good book. Go on a retreat, take a vacation, or just spend a day somewhere new with nothing planned. When you’re constantly busy it’s difficult to notice, or listen to, the quiet voice of intuition. Clear an hour of your schedule each day and see what your intuition has to say.
12. Spend time in nature.
Take some time every day if possible to just be outdoors. If you have to take your phone with you because you feel naked without it, at least turn the volume off while you’re outside. Being in the natural world, away from technology and other mindless temptations, can open up your physical connection to the earth’s healing magnetic energy fields and help you find the inspiration, insight, and answers that protect your body and mind from the effects of our toxic environments.
13. Learn from the past.
Recall a negative experience from your past. Think back to your thoughts, feelings, and emotions before this event occurred. Did you get any gut feelings or brief insight that urged you to make a different choice or steer clear of a situation altogether? Maybe you had a dream or someone said something that made alarm bells go off in your mind. If you experienced any of these did you pay attention to that feeling, dream, or insight, or did you convince yourself you were just being silly? Try to remember exactly how you felt and as many details as possible. The more you tune in to those warnings or premonitions the more likely you are to trust them next time.
14. Feel, don’t think.
Many of us are very left-brained, analytical personality types. We let our minds chatter away about everything and nothing at all. Our minds are always thinking, remembering, judging, and arguing from the time we wake in the morning until the time we go to sleep at night. Intuition does not think, remember, judge, or argue, it feels. It may issue warnings and supply helpful information from previous negative experiences to raise awareness, but it does this through feelings and emotions, not analytical thoughts. If you’re not sure whether it’s your fearful mind or your reliable intuition, see if you can distinguish whether you’re thinking or feeling. If you are still not sure, notice if the communication is urgent and fearful or soft and composed.
15. Move your body.
Any rhythmic, steady movement takes your focus and attention away from your mind and into the present moment. This is also when inspiration and intuition become easily accessible. So dance, run, hop, walk the dog, chop broccoli, play the guitar or piano, try tai chi, or qui gong. Physical movement distracts your intellect and makes space for your intuition to reach out.
16. Clarify and align with your values.
What matters to you? What is truly important at the end of the day? How do you want to be remembered? What do you want your life to say about you? Practice being authentic and true to yourself and what you value. Your mind may steer you away from your integrity, desiring fame, recognition, superficial experiences and fast money, but your intuition never will. Notice how you feel when you’re betraying your values and you’ll recognize when you are not following your intuition. Identify how you feel when you behave in alignment with your values. Now you’ll sense your intuition more easily.
17. Practice sensing and feeling people emotionally.
Make a game or a challenge out of sensing and feeling information about people without asking them any questions. Observe body language, tone of voice, and the energy they project or give off before you talk to them or find out anything about them from other people. The more you practice and pay attention, the more you’ll begin to pick up and know about others without any verbal interaction. You’ll discover you know things you couldn’t possibly know with your intellectual mind.
18. Read books about how to develop your intuition.
The Psychic Pathway and Trust Your Vibes by Sonia Choquette, Shakti Gawain’s Developing Intuition, or Doreen Virtue’s Hearing Your Angels, Practical Intuition by Laura Day, Penney Pierce’s The Intuitive Way or Psychic Intelligence by Terry and Linda Jamison are all excellent sources of advice, guidance, and practices to develop your intuition.
19. Ask questions often.
No question is too big or too small for your intuition. The more you ask the more easily your will receive. This is not a passive or one-sided experience. Ask specific questions and expect clear, specific answers. Get clear about the information you need. The more precise your questions are, the more accurate and understandable your answers will be.
20. Write your questions and your answers down.
Intuitive guidance and communication is very subtle. It usually fades quickly from your conscious mind. Writing insights, inspiration, and any other messages, feelings, or experiences down assures that you can revisit the information at any time to recall exactly what you received. If you make this a regular practice, 5 -10 minutes a day, you will be pleasantly amazed at the clarity that comes through.
21. Dedicate time each day to hearing your intuition
In the busy-ness of everyday life it’s easy to forget to tune in to your intuition. Start today by spending at least 10 minutes consciously giving your intuition your undivided attention. Make this a daily habit and do it more often if you have important decisions to make. Take the time to sit by yourself, turn your attention inward and wait for your intuition to offer gentle guidance or wisdom. Invite your intuition to be an active participant in your life. Your most valuable wisdom will come when you are open to receiving it and willing to accept it.
22. Take action quickly.
Life supports those that take action and so does your intuition. When you receive information that requires you to act upon it, do so rapidly, without fail. (If you ever receive guidance to do something that may cause bodily injury to yourself or others, this is not your intuition! Do Not follow any guidance that tells you to harm yourself or anyone else!) When you act on your intuitive guidance you widen the channels between your subconscious and your conscious mind making your intuition stronger and easier to hear and understand. You will also discover that life starts becoming easier, more enjoyable, more meaningful, and more synchronistic.
23. Trust yourself.
Whether you want to make wiser decisions, solve problems easier, create winning situations in your life, achieve your goals faster, or just want to develop a better relationship with yourself, the more faith you demonstrate in your intuition the greater the results you will experience. In order to trust your intuition you have to trust yourself. The more trust you place in yourself the more confidence and courage you will develop and the easier your life will flow in every area.
24. Live in the Now.
When your attention is constantly focused on the heartache and regrets of the past or stuck in worry and fear about the future you block your ability to connect to your intuition. The gift of intuition works best when your mind is focused on now – the present moment. When you practice focusing your attention on what is right in front of you. What you need to do right now – what is going on in your life at this very moment you allow your intuition to expand your awareness of the importance and connectedness of every choice you make in each moment. From the thoughts that start your day and the food you nourish your body with, to the way you interact with others and the intention you put in your daily activities. Every moment has your energetic imprint which creates a ripple effect not just in the present moment and the people you interact with, but on your future as well.
When depression or anxiety creeps into your thoughts, contemplate this quote from the Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu: “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”
Now, this moment, is the space where intuition exists and where it can help you create safety, ease, joy, resilience, confidence, and harmony in every aspect of your life. The past is history. The future is a mystery. Now is a gift – that’s why it’s called the present.
Intuition is not some mystical, magical ability that only a few chosen people can access. It is your God given gift that every person is born with and every person can access whenever they choose. Like any other gift or skill it requires patience, practice, and persistence, but the benefits and rewards that come from using your intuition regularly are priceless.
If you don’t feel comfortable developing your intuition on your own find someone who can help you access and work with your intuition. I have been using intuition for over 15 years and I would love to help you open up your intuitive channel to support your goals and improve every area of your life.
