Author: Hālau ʻĀha Hūi Lanakila

“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls.” ~ Howard Thurman

Intuition is…

the knowing/sensing of something beyond time, space, reason, the use of prior knowledge and the five senses. It is the gateway to your soul.

1. Permission

When you wake up in the morning, start your day by giving yourself permission to be intuitive. Remember, intuition is your natural state; therefore, you do not need to work at it, but rather allow it to express itself through you as You.

2. Feelings

Intuition expresses itself through feelings – the language of the soul. By paying attention to how you feel, you become aware of your deeper Self and its guidance. If what you are doing or considering feels good, gives you a sense of inner rightness, chances are you are in alignment with your soul. You may also suddenly feel nauseous or anxious which can be an indication that something is not right for you.

3. Energy

When you feel your energy expand then you are in alignment with your intuition. You may feel energy expand in all parts of your body or in a particular part of your body like your heart centre. If, on the other hand, you feel your energy contract, then your intuition is most likely telling you to ignore or bypass this situation. In other words, when your energy contracts, it is your intuition saying No!

4. Unique Expression

The more you listen to your intuition, the easier it becomes to recognize and act on it. This includes becoming aware of how intuition uniquely expresses itself through you. Does it come through dreams, writing, yoga? Is it a sensation in your body? If so, where? Is it in your head, heart, calves? What kind of sensation is it? Knowing this will help you trust your intuition more quickly in the future.

5. Trust

“Listen to your heart. Even though it’s on the left side, it’s always right.” ~ Unknown

To trust your feelings, insights and energy state is the beginning of trusting yourself. We are taught not to listen to ourselves and to put our attention on what others think. To turn this around, start by believing that you do indeed know what is best for you; you know in your heart what you really want and what no longer feeds your soul. The path of intuitive living is the path of trusting and believing in your Self.

6. Slowing Down, Silence & Self-Reflection

Intuition lies in the space between our discursive thoughts and the demands of our hectic lives. Making time for ourselves creates space to bring our attention back within where our intuition lies. Spend time daily in silence and self-reflection. Meditation, journaling, yoga and time in nature all contribute to connecting with the quiet voice within. This means making your Self a priority. If it helps, book You Time off in your calendar so that you become a priority in your life.

7. Deep Breathing

Part of slowing down is simply taking a few deep breaths. No matter where you are, you always have time to do this. Just one long, slow deep breath serves to relax and connect us to our body where our intuition speaks to us. Next time you have an important decision to make, stop and take a few deep breaths beforehand and see how this changes things.

8. Inquiry

Asking yourself questions opens you to your heart where your intuition lies. Once you have slowed down and taken a few breaths, try asking yourself the following question: What does my heart want? What is my intuition saying? What decision feels good/right? What decision would move me downstream? And then write down the answers that come to you. Blurt them out!

9. Blurting/Spontaneity

“Follow your instincts. That’s where true wisdom manifests itself.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

Your logical mind loves to censor all the wonderful intuitive insights you have. Your capacity to be spontaneous is important because it lessens the chance that your logical mind will stop you. If you have an intuitive insight, blurt it out before the logical sentinel blocks your natural expression.

10. Brevity

Intuition requires few words to make its point. It conveys a great deal of information in short time. It may simply say to you, Move!, or Turn left. It does not ramble on like our logical mind, offering explanations and reasoning. It simply offers you insight, which you can choose what to do with.

11. Language

Use first person language such as I, Me, My, Mine and sensory words like Feel and Sense to convey your intuition. For example: I feel, I sense, My intuition is telling me, My heart is saying…

12. Courage

“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” ~ Alan Alda

Honoring your intuition, honoring your true Self, takes great courage. It may not be easy in the short term to act on your intuition, but what price do you pay by not listening to it? Trust that nothing is revealed to you intuitively if it is not in your highest interest, even if that means making some tough choices (or easy choices) in your life. However your intuition guides you, it is always in service of your well-being.

13. Honesty

As much as it takes courage to act on your intuition, even before this, it can take courage to be honest with yourself and your situations. Acknowledging your intuition is about being real with yourself and what is true for you. It can be scary to be honest because of fears of loss, hurting others and change. But to deny your Self is the greatest denial of all. Therefore shine the light of truth into your heart and trust that your intuition is there only to serve you, even if it may appear otherwise to you and others.

14. Let Go, Allow Flow

Following your intuition requires courage because it calls you to let go of control to some degree, and trust the higher flow of life. Abraham Hicks says, Nothing that you want is upstream. Intuition guides you to let go of paddling upstream and allow life to carry you instead of forcing your way through life with your plans and agendas. Life knows what you want more than you do. When you surrender, you will soon discover the magic that Life has in store!

15. Uncertainty

When the mind is full, it is harder to receive the insights of your intuition. Attachments to plans and agendas, combined with the fear of the unknown and the need for familiarity, all present obstacles to opening to the new and unexpected. Your job is to create space for your intuition by clearing away the clutter of your mind and the distractions of your life. When you do, you say an inner Yes to Life!

16. Irrational Optimism

Intuition continuously guides you to play at higher and higher levels. And as you do, you will walk away from what you thought your life was towards a life that has yet to fully manifest. In the meantime, you learn to trust the unknown and become comfortable with not having all the details. It is here that irrational optimism is a useful mindset. You can view your life as being an empty shell of what it used to be, or you can see it as being prepared for new, with exciting arrivals that only Life can see.

17. Time Alone

As you courageously choose to venture down the path of intuition, and leave behind aspects of yourself and life that no longer fit, you will need time to be with yourself to help stay grounded in your transition and transformation. It may be tempting to distract yourself with busy activities, but your time alone will serve to integrate your new learning and provide further guidance to help you along your way. It will also support you to become comfortable without dependencies on other’s approval or guidance, which in many cases, won’t be useful at all.

18. Pay Attention

Watch what shows up in your life. Synchronicities, such as overhearing a conversation that provides insight, or the sudden appearance of new opportunities and resources; day dreams, like continuously thinking about a passion you’d love to explore; and night dreams in the form of guidance or messages. All demand a level of attentiveness and recognition that life is working to support you in mysterious ways. Pay attention and be open to receive.

19. Open to Receive

Your real job in life is not to say How, but rather Yes! Opening to receive can be challenging. It requires you to detach from your desires and trust that Life will help to orchestrate them. The more impatient or demanding you are, the more you limit the process of attracting what you desire. Take time to step away. Participating in activities that bring you joy, volunteering and serving others, all help you to focus on other things so that you can more easily remain open to the new and unexpected.

20.  3 A’s: Awareness, Assessment, Action

This cyclical process of hearing, evaluating and acting upon your intuition is something you will continue the rest of your life. All three steps are important and it is here that intuition works with logic – intuition provides the insight and logic oversees the practical details such as time, money and resources to make your ideas concrete and palatable for others.

21. Day-End Overview

When your day is over, take a moment to review all the decisions you made from your intuition and how they turned out. Similarly, ask yourself where you felt your intuition but didn’t act on it, and how that turned out. Doing this nightly self-reflection will help you see patterns in how your life unfolds when you do and do not honor your intuition and therefore your Self.

22. Play & Joy

Follow your passions and play regularly. Whether it is gardening, writing, camping or dancing, when you are enjoying yourself you move into alignment with your soul. Have you ever noticed that inspiration and fresh perspective come to you when you are relaxed and having fun? Remember, you don’t have to work at intuition. Play and allow it to come to you. Life is about enjoying yourself, and when you remember to play you remember your spirit and why you are here. You say Yes to yourself, and to Life as well!

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. You have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.” ~ Albert Einstein

Source:  The Healers Journal