What is intuition?

Along with the five main senses of your physical body, you also have internal, intuitive senses of your soul.  When we talk about intuition, we’re referring to using these intuitive senses to gain answers and insight. We’ll take a look at these senses shortly.

Intuition gives you the ability to know something, without even having to think about it, find evidence or have any prior knowledge.

You are born intuitive, it’s a natural part of who you are and is always there whether you are aware of it or not! It’s a great gift that needs to be noticed – at the centre of your being, you have all the answers you seek.

Compared to the other senses however, intuition is far more subtle but offers powerful guidance in life, hence the term “follow your intuition” –> it leads you to your highest potential and purpose💖

The 8 clairs of intuition

So what intuitive senses do you have and how do you know you’re using them?

Well, intuitively you can:

✨ Know (claircognizance) information about a person, place or event as a clear fact. You have no idea where it came from or how you could have possibly known that, you “just know.”  This also shows up when you know something is going to happen, without knowing why.

 

✨ See (clairvoyance) an image in your minds eye or third eye. An image or moving scene can also appear behind closed eyes like it’s being projected. You may see with your physical eyes, like shadows out the corner of your eye as you go about your day. You may have vivid dreams or see repeated signs and symbols.

 

✨ Hear (clairaudience) words, sentences, sounds, songs, or your name being called – not spoken out loud by you or others around you (words/sentences sound like your voice in your head though.) You may get a pop, buzz or high-pitched ringing in your ear for a few seconds (disclaimer: there can be medical reasons for this such as tinnitus, so please check with a doctor to rule that out first.)

 

✨ Smell (clairalience) you will pick up a scent of something – that’s not around you physically, like cut grass, when it’s the middle of winter and your hibernating in your house, for example! Or cigarette smoke, the scent of perfume, they stay just long enough for you to notice, then they’re gone.

 

✨ Taste (clairgustance) you will get the taste of something – flavour, sensations, texture, but you’re not physically eating it at the time.

 

✨ Feel Energy (clairsentience) you feel the emotion or pain of others. You will feel the high or low energy (good or bad vibes) of a person or place. That “gut feeling” you get when something does or doesn’t feel right –> when it’s right it feels light, uplifting, heartfelt – as apposed to the sinking, heaviness in your stomach when it’s absolutely not!

 

✨ Feel Emotionally (clairempathy) you feel the emotions or physical pain of others as though they are your own. You feel emotions in advance or feel the emotions of other people when they’re nowhere near you and you’re not communicating with them. You may sense the emotions of a loved one who’s in another country for example.

 

✨ Touch (clairtangency or psychometry) you pick up information when you touch a specific piece of jewellery, clothing or even a person. With clairtangency information is only received when it’s triggered by something you hold for example, the physical act of holding someone’s hand or an object belonging to someone triggers an image or feeling to come to you via the other clair senses.

Collectively these clair senses are also known as our sixth sense and are a natural part of who we are. We are all born with them and each use them to some degree. It’s just a matter of how developed they are in an individual –> are they lying dormant, being used to their full potential or somewhere in between?

 

Which of these intuitive messages have you picked up on?

Ever had that “gut feeling” about something?  That sinking feeling in your stomach when something’s not right? 

How many of these have you had?

• Thinking of someone, then they call you.
• Having a bad feeling about someone or something.
• Randomly going in a different direction than usual.
• Sensing a loved one or friend is in danger or hurt.
• That feeling of Deja vu.
• Saying the same thing at the same time as someone else.
• Had a feeling that something amazing was going to happen and it did!
• Decided to change career when it made no “logical” sense to do so, but it was totally the right thing to do!

There you go, you’re using your intuition without realising it!

In fact the reason you’re reading this article today, is because your intuition led you here! 

It’s just a matter of raising your awareness and understanding on how intuition speaks to you through your body, then fine tuning it!

The more you use it, the stronger and clearer it gets and the better off you’ll be. Hurrah!

Now those intuitive nudges might not always make sense at the time, but in hindsight they can be the moments you look back on and say “And that’s where it all changed!”

Intuition vs Human mind

• Intuition is heart based, soul led. It’s quick, effortless and outside of our conscious awareness. It comes with truth, clarity and authenticity.
• The human thinking mind is slower in it’s processes, it’s analytical, deliberate, conscious thought. It can come with confusion, judgement or even fear.

 

Intuition is like a loyal friend that gently supports and encourages you in the right direction, always has your back and wants you to live your best life as the very best version of you.

Mind is your cautious protector that wants to double check it’s absolutely safe to do so first, so shouts “hold up a minute, you can’t do that…let’s think about this “ – but in doing so you can end up feeling stuck or stagnant in life, going nowhere fast.

You see mind loves to look for familiarity and draws on past experiences no matter how irrelevant they are now, in order to keep you safe. One blip in the road, mind will remember and not want to face the same again…and so the cycle continues.

Intuition on the other hand considers the whole picture, the limitless possibilities, it can help you see any given situation in a manner that the thinking mind just cannot comprehend. It’s so quick that it doesn’t even register on a conscious level.

Intuition is the first thing that comes to you before your mind can even start trying to rationalise or find logic!

We are highly conditioned from a young age to use our thinking mind, without realising the depth of knowledge we already hold deep within us. The busyness of our minds and lives along with the habits that influence us can easily overpower our intuitive senses, drowning out those subtle whispers of our soul.

The thing is, it’s soul’s guidance through your intuition that leads you exactly where you need to be –> to your purpose in life, that feeling of fulfilment, of living the life you dream.

Your intuition is capable of showing you how you can expand far beyond your current reality, but that means leaving the limitations of your mind behind.

It can be hard or scary even to trust your intuition when mind is throwing all the things that could go wrong at you, but do you really want to stay in the same circumstance or situation you’re in now? —> everything you’ve ever wanted could be on the other side of mind’s fear!

It’s worth going for it, isn’t it?

Once you’re willing to live from a place of love not fear, mind can no longer dim that beautiful light of yours and you’re able to see just how far you can spread your wings and fly.

How intuition affects decision making

Making decisions intuitively is naturally trusting your gut feeling, or inner voice, but it can be a little hard to tap into if you’re not yet accustomed or attuned to the signals your own body gives you. It’s subtle, easy to miss, can even be passed off as something else or misinterpreted.

However, intuition is like a muscle – if you work on it and use it regularly, it will soon strengthen and you will find your decision making ability becomes much better, faster and efficient.

 Following your intuition, going with your gut feelings and making choices from the heart can lead to great success in all areas of your life.

Often, we notice when we haven’t listened to our intuition!

Have you ever done something that you kind of thought was a bad idea… but did it anyway, then afterwards were like “Man, I knew I shouldn’t have done that” – That was your intuition waving a red flag from the start! 

Or maybe you’ve had it the other way – held back or missed out from doing something you really wanted out of fear or lack of confidence and afterwards thought “Damn, I should have just gone for it.” – You were guided to it, but your cautious protector (mind) stalled you and talked you out of it!

Yep, I think we’ve all been there!

So, if you’re done feeling like things are a struggle, like you’re hitting up against a brick wall, or something is just off, it may be time to start working closer with your intuition.

The amazing thing is, even if you have no idea what your purpose in life is, your intuition is still guiding you there. Right now you may know more of what you don’t want than what you do and that’s OK! That’s valuable information. It’s a journey of discovery and inner awareness.

Once you start following your intuition – when you act upon that guidance, you have the power to change your life.

You will find clarity to know who you are, what direction you want to go in and the choices to make. You will notice shifts in your work and relationships and be able to feel into what’s right for you as you become more self aware. You will step into your true authentic power. 

So feel into these questions now:

• When does the most authentic side of you come out?
• What lights you up?
• What makes you feel good?
• What drains you?
• What seems to suck the life right out of you?

 

You see intuition is great at letting you know what is or isn’t working for you. Anything that drains you for example, is your intuition saying this is not right for you. 

Have you noticed the difference in your energy when you’re doing something you love –> and end up spending endless hours on it without even realising vs something you don’t enjoy and have little to no motivation for?

That’s your intuition talking!

And yes some things you just have to do, but more often you have choices –> and you are shown the best choice for you! Choices that are in alignment with who you are on the inside and the life you want to live.

So it’s clear there are many great benefits to using your intuition, but how do you do that if you haven’t done it before, or don’t exactly know what that means or what it looks like?

Let’s see what steps you can take to tune into your intuition.

How to tap into and strengthen your intuition

Quieten that mind of yours my lovely – even for a moment, in whatever way works for you, whether that’s walks in nature, yoga, your morning run, gardening, cleaning, relaxing in the bath or meditation. I can highly recommend the meditation app I use called Insight Timer.

This allows you to hold space for your intuition to speak to you through your body, in which ever way that may be.

1. Start small
When you’re first starting out trusting your intuition, practice using your “gut feeling” to make everyday, simple decisions rather than those big life altering ones! You can work your way up to them later!  It can be something like deciding what you want to eat for dinner tonight, what book to read next or which way to go on your next walk.

2. Give yourself permission to slow down
Intuition is harder to pick up on when you’re busy rushing here, there and everywhere, so start when you are much less distracted. Raise your awareness and presence in the moment.

A great way to do this even when out on a walk is to use your physical senses and see just how much you can see, hear, feel – notice as much details as possible, how much can you hear near you and far in the background, what sensations are you experiencing, what emotions are coming up? Really pay attention and expand those senses. 

3. Go within
Make a habit of asking yourself  how you’re feeling and where you’re feeling it in your body. Observe. Feel. Listen.

Find your moment of quiet and turn your focus inwards, then sit with something you need guidance on. Ask yourself questions, such as “how do I feel about…(insert situation/decision here)” and see what’s the first thing that comes up for you, maybe a word, feeling, idea, emotion.

Take note – if it’s symbolic, it may also need deciphering!

If you feel you’re not receiving anything or you’re unsure – don’t worry. Try again another time and keep practicing. You may even find the answer to your question comes to you later on when you’re least expecting it! That can happen. Surprise!

4. Follow your hunches 
Take note when you get a flash of inspiration, an idea out of nowhere, an ah-ha moment, an unexplained feeling, the need to stay away from someone, a sudden urge to go another way, or to say “stuff it – today’s a duvet day.”  Follow through and take action on those hunches and more will come. Keep track so you can start to recognise all the ways intuition is shown to you. 

5. Write in a journal
Writing can be a great way to access your intuition, the key is to put pen to paper and just start without thinking about what you’re going to write! Be open and allow any thoughts and feelings around a situation/person/experience to flow out onto the page.

You can even use a prompt such as “What do I need to know today?” then note down the first thing that comes to you.

It’s fine if the first sentence or two is just random waffle to get you started, the very act of writing something triggers intuitive guidance to rise within you. As you write you may even notice a slight change in the vocabulary or style than you usually use, or referencing “you” rather than “I” as your inner wisdom comes out.

6. Find you natural element charge
Where do you feel drawn to in nature, the beach, lakes, streams, fields, forests or mountains? This is your natural element charge. This resonates with you deeply and re-charges and heals your whole body. These nature wonderlands are great places to access your intuition, to mull over any problems or decisions you’re facing and gain intuitive clarity.

If you are drawn to water as your element charge, you may well find great waves of inspiration and ideas come to you in the bath or shower! 

7. Get creative
Now this is not about being an artistic genius here! (though if you are – fantastic, I’d love to see sometime) it’s just an opportunity to move away from the analytical mind and into some free flowing, spontaneous creativity. We can all do that in one way or another.

Find what it is you love to do, whether that’s a specific style of art, a colouring book, photography, writing short stories, poems, dancing, acting, music or singing, have some kind of expressive outlet that you enjoy.

Or try some new ones, you may find a new passion. Creativity and imagination can really help you connect more to your intuitive side.

8. Some fun sensing games

Two truths, one lie. Play with family or friend and have them come up with two true facts about themselves and one that is a lie.

Shut your eyes (if that helps you tune in) and as they say the first sentence (could be either true or false) see if you notice anything happen in your body as they speak, do any sensations or thoughts come up? Do the same as they say the other two, then tell them which one was the lie based on what you felt!

From a pack of cards, take three or four different cards, look at them and select one that you’re going to find, shuffle, then place face down on a table. “Guess” which card you think it is.

You can even do this super simply when out and about – what price a jumper will be in a store, how many petals there are on a flower, what colour the next car round the corner will be.