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Getting to know your intuition

If we all lived in a ravaged country where war lords terrorized the area daily or we were pioneers surviving the wilds with just our wits, then our intuition and awareness would be off the charts because our daily lives would depend on those survival skills.

In our overly busy and technologically inundating world, where others take care of our safety, we’ve lost touch with the early warning radar of our Inner Warrior. For some of us, the system often sits unused in a far corner of our mind.

When intuition is left mostly offline, so is our ability to use a relaxed alertness that immediately identifies danger, analyzes it, and decides what action is appropriate. People in a fast-paced society can rarely distinguish danger from all the background noise. In addition, worry and anxiety, wishful thinking and projection, fatigue and denial all get in the way of a clear intuitive reading.

If you’re not familiar with your intuition, it’s time to get back in touch. No more treating it like a red headed stepchild. Initiate a conversation, a relationship, a partnership with your subconscious mind’s intuitive power. Get to know it. For example, do you know how your intuition presents itself or if it comes in more than one way? Do any of these ring a bell? —

  • Is it like a flash of lightning or sudden “out of the blue” insight, or is it more like a small light bulb turning on as an answer shines through into your mind?
  • Is it like password that opens the way to a needed answer, or is it like an important puzzle piece snapping into place to create a big picture you never saw before?
  • Is it like a surging flow of water carrying an answer into your conscious mind, or is it like a cascade of dominoes bringing an insight in an epiphany of understanding?

As I wrote in my last post, intuition has many ways to communicate, but rarely in words. Here’s a more complete list of how intuition can get our attention in self defense:

From the senses:

  • Tingly sensations
  • Stomachache or headache
  • Hair standing up
  • A sensation similar to when you know someone is watching you
  • Chills up and down your spine
  • Ears or nose feel funny
  • Sense of pressure or repulsion from a person or situation

Beyond the five senses:

  • A weird vibe or suspicion
  • An urgent, imperative feeling
  • Feeling icky, uncomfortable, or especially wary
  • A sudden insight or clarity about danger
  • A little voice
  • A “gut feeling”
  • An abrupt change in your frame of mind, perhaps wanting to back pedal for no apparent reason
  • A puzzling curiosity about something or someone without knowing why (“I wonder about that guy”).

Now that you know your intuition a little better, try these intuition-muscle building exercises:

First impressions
Start paying attention to them. Tune into your initial “gut” reactions or feelings to situations, choices, and relationships. Enough focus will help you discover the pattern of thoughts, feelings, or sensations that lead to accuracy.

Nagging thoughts
Free yourself up enough to address nagging doubts, hesitancy, foot dragging, discomfort, and uncertainty. Don’t push them aside; don’t dwell on them. Simply allow yourself to ask if these clues reveal a need to pay attention or do they indicate your worry button is stuck in the On position.

Reoccurring symbols or metaphors
Explore what these might mean. Start seeing them as messengers, pointers or indicators trying to lead you to a better understanding. Don’t obsess over them, however. Worry eats away at intuition.

SIMILAR ARTICLES ON THIS SUBJECT:

For more information, I highly recommend these books to increase you understanding of intuition:

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Thank you for visiting and learning about self defense.
If you think others can benefit, please pass it on!

Lori Hoeck

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach July 7, 2009, 11:44 am

    “Tune into your initial “gut” reactions or feelings to situations, choices, and relationships. ” – excellent advice. I’ve been teaching my kids that as well.

  • janice July 7, 2009, 12:50 pm

    You make me feel good about myself, Lori. I’ve always had sound intuition and instincts and experience many of the sensations you’ve listed above. It’s nice to have someone underline their value.

    Working online has strengthened my ability to build up jigsaws of folks’ online presence as it emerges through their posts, style, comments, interactions, replies, silences and choices, but too much time in front of a computer is dulling my real life instincts, making me feel disconnected from my body and all the genetic wisdom we have as humans.

  • Lori Hoeck July 8, 2009, 2:42 pm

    Hi Barbara Ling,
    Glad to hear you’ve been teaching them savvy, street smart ways! I wish more parents realized how easy it is to boost our kids’ safety.

    Hi Janice,
    Isn’t it odd that historically women’s intuition has been downplayed, but a guy’s ability to fly by the seat of his pants, a football player’s knack for being in the right place at the right time, or a banker’s apparent Midas touch in business deals are all respectable.

    I know nature helps build up our natural instincts, but even if you lived in a futuristic and high-tech world torn apart by war where life was lived mainly from a computer, I bet you would probably still be able to access your intuition. What do you think?

  • Vered - MomGrind July 9, 2009, 11:42 am

    You know how I feel about relying on one’s intuition. 🙂 Thank you for dragging me out of my (logical) comfort zone!

  • Lori Hoeck July 9, 2009, 1:05 pm

    Hi Vered,
    Glad to hear it! 🙂
    If you still have difficulty trusting and relying on your intuition, start slowly, like getting to know a friend. Build the trust up at your own speed.

  • janice July 9, 2009, 8:34 pm

    I suspect you’re right; I think my intuition would adapt but still be very strong. My grandma read teacups and my grandad was a hypnotist. That may have something to do with it!

  • Lori Hoeck July 9, 2009, 9:20 pm

    Hi Janice,
    Now that must have been a fun combination in a marriage!

  • Davina July 12, 2009, 11:28 am

    I love your suggestions as to how the intuition shows up. For me I receive spontaneous information through sensations similar to a flash of lightning, a light bulb, a puzzle piece and a domino. I couldn’t agree more about how we turn off in this technologically busy world. Spending time outside is imperative to reawakening our senses.

  • Lori Hoeck July 12, 2009, 1:01 pm

    Hi Davina,
    I receive information in number of ways, too, and I try to push the envelope in making intuition more accessible as well as spontaneous. Still working on it!