Why must recognizing intuition be so confusing?
Examples of intuition and how to recognize it.
Intuition is a broad term
The term “intuition” is loosely used to describe a variety of brain functions and their corresponding experiences which is why everyone has such difficulty recognizing it.
The main purposes of intuition are: Read More
Take this short test and find out.
This Intuition Quiz is an excerpt from my book, “The Intuition Principle – How to Attract the Life You Dream Of.
After answering these twenty question you will know what your intuition quotient is.
You are probably much more intuitive than you give yourself credit for:
1. Do you ever know who is on the phone before you answer it?
2. Do you sometimes get a “knowing” sense about things before they happen?
3. Have you heard talking, or your name being called, just before you fall asleep or wake up?
4. Do you find that you know what people are going to say and can finish their sentences?
5. Have you ever had butterflies in your stomach for no reason and then heard about something happening and they subsided?
6. Are you kind of lucky? Do things have a way of working out for you in your life? Read More
The number of people interested in developing intuition is growing. People are becoming aware that it is a very practical skill to have. Developing intuition doesn’t have to lead to a career as a professional intuitive.
It is a useful skill that can enhance your success. In fact, there are studies that have shown that many of the world’s leading CEOs admit to relying on their intuition at some point to make decisions. Read More
It’s the 1990s and I’m in a middle management position.
I have all the perks of an executive but, I’m miserable.
I think about writing constantly. I take writing courses and belong to several writer’s groups. Read More
about 
Are you, or is someone you know too focused on other people’s business?
Do you know someone who’s always pushing their unsolicited advice on everyone?
Or, a person who must always brag about what they did for others, or how they know better than anyone else? Read More
This is an excellent question that has no doubt, crossed the minds’ of many.
There are times when I have to demonstrate before a group of people when even I hear myself praying, ‘Intuition don’t fail me now!’ Read More
Not too long ago I had my first bone density test.
I wasn’t worried. I take vitamins and exercise, so I thought nothing of it.
When my gynecologist’s office called and wanted to schedule a consultation after the test, I was annoyed. Why did I have go to her office? Why couldn’t she just give me the results over the phone?
The reason she wanted me to come in was to tell me that my bone density test was showing early signs of osteopenia, a precursor of full blown osteoporosis. I was shocked! How could this happen to me? I’m too young, I thought.
“It’s a normal part of the aging process,” my doctor said matter-of-factly while scribbling something on a prescription pad.
Huh? What’s she talking about, I heard myself thinking….aging process? Me?
My doctor told me not to worry about it too much. She said I should step up my resistance exercise, take a calcium pill everyday, and take the bone building medicine she was about to prescribe.
I left the office feeling very deflated. Is this how age sneaks up you, I thought? One day you feel young and there’s a bounce in your step, and then the next thing you know your bones are Swiss cheese, and then you’re waiting for a hip replacement? Hearing I was “old,” when in fact I’d just barely passed my mid-forties had stunned me. Then, to be told to just accept it, completely undermined my confidence and made me feel weak and vulnerable.
I guess she knows what she’s talking about, I thought as I pulled into the drug store parking lot feeling quite defeated. I walked in, prescription in hand, and headed to the back of the store to drop it off with the pharmacist.
As I approached the counter, I heard, “STOP!” I froze and looked around to see who had said this. As far as I could tell there was no one calling me from within the store.
I was about a foot from the counter and the pharmacy assistant watched me impatiently as I just stood there.
“Can I help you,” she said trying to coax me into taking the extra step to the counter.
“I uh, uh – no,” I said, and spun around and walked out of the drugstore.
In that split second when I’d heard, “STOP,” and looked around I’d realized it was my intuition telling me – not to fill the prescription.
I left the store, and when I got home not only did I read any and all information pertaining to bone loss drugs but, I also began a huge Internet search for the things that could cause bone loss in women. After about a week of research I felt that I knew what had been happening to my body.
A week later, I was in my regular physician’s office insisting on a battery of tests. The doctor tried to tell me that I should have filled my gynecologist’s prescription and that my theories were unsubstantiated, but I stood my ground. I basically said, rather uncharacteristically for me, “Do it, or I’m changing doctors.”
A week later the doctor’s nurse called with the results of the tests I’d insisted upon. It turns out I was dangerously deficient in Vitamin D, which after researching the symptoms I’d been sure was part of my problem. I was given a prescription of 50,000 units of Vitamin D to be taken weekly for three months. I also had raised levels of a certain marker indicating I had a gluten intolerance, just as I’d suspected. Luckily, I didn’t have a full blown case of Celiac disease, which is a gluten intolerance so severe that it can be fatal.
What had been happening to me was that in the course of eating what I thought was a very healthy diet packed with whole grains, my intestines had become so inflamed from the gluten that they weren’t able to absorb the nutrition in the food I’d been eating. I became Vitamin D deficient. Without Vitamin D your body doesn’t absorb calcium well. With little to no calcium being absorbed into my bloodstream, my body began to draw on my bones to get the required amount needed to sustain me, and that caused my bone loss.
It took over a year for my Vitamin D levels to rise enough to go off the prescription. During that time I stopped eating all gluten products and began taking a high dosage of calcium citrate, which is the most easily absorbed form of calcium, along with Vitamin K, which is needed to absorb calcium. I continue to take a high dosage of Vitamin D each day on my own to keep my levels high.
When I went back for another bone density test earlier this year – the bone loss had stopped. I was elated! It hadn’t gotten better, but it hadn’t gotten worse either.
All this because I’d listened to my intuition. Intuition can take many forms, and comes to each of us differently at different times. In this case, I literally heard it.
By the way, after reading about the horrible side effects of those bone loss drugs I’m so glad I didn’t fill that prescription. Even if the chances were slim that I just might get necrosis of the jawbone, or thighbones that snap like twigs when I walked, I wasn’t too inclined to take that chance.
So, listen to your intuitive voice – it could save your health. In my case it saved my bones, and maybe even my jaw and my thigh bones too.
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Synchronicity abounds when you follow your intuition
Some years back I read a book that made a huge impression on me. It was about a young woman who let her intuition lead her in every decision she made. (Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of it or the author.) This young woman followed her inner promptings which resulted in a series of serendipitous events; she went back to school, then moved out of state, met her perfect soul mate, and ended up working for the Edgar Cayce Foundation in Virginia Beach – her dream job. I remember thinking as I read, Why doesn’t my life flow like that?
Looking back now, I know exactly why my life never flowed like hers. This young woman let her gut guide her – I never did. I was too scared of making a mistake, instead I played it safe and dismissed the many urgent promptings of my intuition.
Physician heal thy self
A year ago I decided that I needed to start practicing what I preached. Here I was an intuitive easily able to dispense advice for others, but when it came to myself not able to trust my own intuition. I decided I would allow my intuition to lead in my decisions from that point forward. And, when I did start to base my decisions on my gut and not my rational mind – my life began to improve immediately.
At the time I was also miserable in my job. Soon after a great job appeared for me, and after checking in with my gut I jumped ship leaving the old place behind. As soon as I returned from new hire training business started heating up and my finances improved. And, all it took was giving that intuitive voice the respect it deserved.
Intuition is easy to overlook
Intuition is very subtle, which is exactly what makes it so easy to miss and overlook. It can come as a feeling in the gut – one that tells you that something is right or wrong, or it can come as a warning and a feeling of dread. Just as frequently, it’s quiet like a whisper, or the flitting of a butterfly that touches down ever so lightly in our consciousness before disappearing.
With intuition, until you start paying attention you may not be aware of these flashes. Although once you begin to notice them it’s a bit like buying a new car you start seeing that model everywhere. When you put yourself on alert to be aware of these stirrings the same thing happens; the frequency of your intuitive insights increase. After that once you begin using your intuition to make decisions, it takes no time at all to see serendipitous events begin to appear in your life.
The serendipitous events are proof positive that you’re hearing and following your intuition. When we receive this direct knowledge we’ve tapped into the source that keeps the planets in their orbit, and the earth spinning on its axis. This infinite intelligence doesn’t make mistakes. By plugging into it and using these intuitive insights our lives flow and all the details come together seamlessly.
Most people don’t recognize or trust their intuition
The biggest hurdles most people face in putting intuition to use are in recognizing the voice of intuition and differentiating it from their own thoughts, and trusting what they get. Intuitive thoughts stream through the mind more rapidly than our own thoughts. Not only that, but when they do appear they’re usually complete ideas. In many cases they feel as if they were downloaded whole into the brain. As far as trust goes, only jumping in with both feet and following hunches enough times to know that it’s real will build that trust.
Here are 5 easy tips to help you hone your intuition and put it to work for you:
1. Create the intention to begin noticing your intuition. Tell yourself that you want to become aware of your intuitive insights and that you will become aware of them.
2. Keep a small notebook with you at all times where you can jot down any thoughts that appear to have been downloaded whole into your mind without you generating them.
3. Give yourself many opportunities to practice. Before answering the phone ask yourself who it might be. When meeting with friends see if you get any impressions about what they will be wearing. For 25 tips to hone your intuition read this post.
4. Make it a habit to meditate every day. Meditation is the most powerful way to boost your intuition. If you don’t know how to meditate read my post.
5. When you’re faced with a decision close your eyes and clear your mind. Ask yourself what you should do – then stop thinking. See what comes to mind no matter how silly it might be. It could be an image, a word, or a thought. Examine this closely. It’s usually your answer.
Work on incorporating these tips into your life and I guarantee you’ll see a huge rise in your intuitive insights and the number of seemingly miraculous coincidences that occur in you life.
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A lot of people say they’re not intuitive.
That’s not true. Everyone is intuitive.
It’s just a matter of your desire to develop your intuition – and then priming the pump with practice.
How many times have you heard: Follow your gut instincts! Using your intuition helps you find answers, solve problems, receive guidance and become more creative. It’s an extremely practical skill to have. I rarely hear anyone saying: Ignore your gut instincts!
At one time I lived about 100 miles from a previous boyfriend. We’d get together on the weekends. When it was my turn to visit him I had my choice of two major highways I could take. As I approached the point where the two split off I’d ask myself which highway had the least traffic, and then take that one. I can’t tell you how many times I later heard on the traffic report while still driving – that the other highway had a huge back up due to one thing or another.
Here are 25 easy, fast, and fun ways to pump up the volume on your intuition:
1. Create an intention to remember your dreams, and record them. Before going to bed go over a problem you’re having in your mind and ask for guidance. Be patient. It may take a few nights to either remember a dream if you’re not in the habit, or to get the answer.
2. Meditate. Everyone says this, why? Meditation helps quiet the mind. You want to slow down the mind chatter to expand the quiet spaces between thoughts. The longer the quiet is between thoughts the more easily intuitive guidance can get through and be heard. (For a guide to meditation read this post.)
3. Go for quiet walks in nature. Quiet reflection in nature helps create the same longer quiet space between thoughts as meditation. Did you get idea about the best way to deal with a situation in you life?
4. Start guessing who’s on the telephone. Pause for a second before answering, and don’t look at the caller I.D. Ask yourself who it is. See what pops into your mind.
5. Try to envision what a friend will be wearing before you meet them. Take a moment before leaving the house, or getting out of the car and ask what they’re wearing. What comes to mind?
6. Ask a friend to concentrate on one interesting object in their home – see if you can visualize it. You can do this while on the phone with a friend, or by picking a specific time when you’re both concentrating on this task. Give your friend your impressions.
7. Take a relaxing bath, or shower, and ask your intuition to give you the solution to a problem you’ve been pondering. Let your mind wander. What ideas bubble up?
8. Think of a challenge you’re dealing with - then close your eyes and see yourself plucking a thick book off a shelf in a library. Open it to any page. What is written on the page? Is it your answer?
9. You need a yes or no answer. Tell yourself that some time in the next 48 hours you’ll know the answer to be yes if you find a penny. Did you find a penny?
10. When driving in your car with the radio playing see if you can guess the next song the DJ plays.
11. Tune in to your feelings when faced with decisions. Notice if you’re feeling excited, energized, or drawn toward doing one thing over another. Feelings of fear, dread and procrastination are signals not to proceed with something.
12. When at the grocery store, or bank – stop for a moment and ask yourself which line will move the fastest. Then get on that line. Were you right?
13. If you have a bird feeder – ask yourself which bird you’ll see first this morning at the feeder.
14. When meeting someone for the first time become aware of your “first impressions.” As you get to know them determine if you were right.
1 5. Try some inspired writing. Go somewhere quiet and meditate for a short time. Then ask for guidance concerning a problem you’re trying to sort out. Pick up a pen and start writing. Try not to “think” too much about what’s being written. You may feel funny at first, but after warming up you may find yourself writing and writing. Was this the guidance you needed?
16. Before you get to a busy intersection try to see if you know if the light will be red or green.
17. Prior to meeting friends at a restaurant test yourself to see if you know what your friends will order for dinner.
18. When going to the grocery store, busy coffee shop or deli you frequent ask yourself who you’ll see there today. Who pops into your mind?
19. Focus on any past successes with intuition. Remember how it felt when it came through. Knowing how it works for you will enable you to identify it in the future.
20. Ask a friend to concentrate on someone they know – whom you don’t. Try to see what impressions you pick up. Share with your friend. Did you see what they looked like? Did you get gut feelings about their personality, or emotional state? Were you right?
21. Take a deck of regular playing cards. Turn them over face down. Hold one in your hand. Do you get an impression as to whether it’s a black card or a red card. Take it further – what suit is it? What number is on the card? Did you have any hits?
22. Before leaving your house see if you get an impression about the traffic. Are certain roads snarled? Has there been an accident? A lane closure. Then turn on the traffic report to see how accurate you were.
23. Is anyone you know having a baby? See what your intuition says the sex of the baby will be. You may have to wait 9 months to see if you’re right!
24. When going to some one’s home for the first time – see if you get an impression about whether they have pets. Are they dog people, cat lovers, both? No pets?
25. Try this exercise with acquaintances. Have everyone exchange keys rings. See if you get an impression about what their house looks like. The kind of car they drive. Or anything else that comes to mind that is triggered by one of the keys. Do you see a safety deposit box? Their office building? A hand carved antique box with love letters inside?
You don’t have try all of these. Just pick the ones that appeal to you. You may be quite amazed by your results. But, don’t worry if you’re wrong – only Carnac the Magnificent was right all the time! Fear and “stage fright” shut off your intuition. Intuition is the opposite of rational thought. The two cannot occupy the mind at the same time. It’s spontaneous, playful and random and operates independently of the intellect. So, give some of these exercises a try and have fun. Once you get over the fear of being wrong your intuition will soar and roar loud enough to be heard!
Are you beginning to “feel” the difference between thoughts that arise from the intellect and those that result from intuition? What are the differences?
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The other day I was responding to comments from my interview with Hulbert Lee on his blog, From Bottom Up and I got a very interesting question from blogger, Farnoosh Brock creator of Prolific Living. Farnoosh asked if there was a difference between intuition and premonitions? She’d had a few experiences and wasn’t sure what to classify them as.
The term intuition is used very loosely these days. Most people using it don’t realize that when they use the word intuition they’re using it to cover both intuitive and psychic experiences, or abilities.
In the last few years I’ve noticed that many psychics began calling themselves intuitives – me included. I’d always felt people judged me when I used the word psychic to define my abilities, so I decided to soften it by saying I was an intuitive. After all every one’s intuitive, right? It seemed to be more readily accepted and respectable than saying I was a psychic. The word psychic always brought to mind some storefront with a cheesy neon sign and fortune teller inside just waiting to tell you there was a curse on you.
The only problem in calling myself an intuitive rather than a psychic is that they are two very different things. If you’re psychic than you’re definitely intuitive, but being intuitve doesn’t mean you’re also psychic. Just as being psychic doesn’t guarantee you’ll also have mediumistic abilities.
Here’s how you can tell the difference.
1. There are three very different forms of communication that are beyond the five senses. They all fall under the realm of Extra-Sensory Perception and they are; intuition, psychic perceptions (also called psychism) and mediumship.
2. Intuition comes from within. It’s your own wisdom, or higher self speaking to you and guiding you and protecting you from harm. If you have a gut feeling, or strong emotion like dread or fear, or sense that something is going to happen to someone, or something bad is going to happen to you it’s called a premonition, or presentiment, and it falls under the category of Intuition. I wrote an in depth post about how to recognize your intuition speaking to you. Click here to read it.
3. Psychic information comes from outside of you. It can come from another person, such as in mind to mind communication, called telepathy. It can come from reading the energy of another person – their aura. It can come from projecting the mind to other locations to gain information at a distance which is called Remote Viewing.
There are three main forms of psychic communication; clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience.
There’s also other “clairs” such as smelling things or tasting things that are not physically present as well but not as common as the other clairs.
Clairvoyance is the ability to see things that are not physically present mostly with the third eye, or mind’s eye, but there are times when things can be seen with the eyes open but only by the psychic. Clairvoyance is also called Remote Viewing.
This is what happened to Farnoosh. She has seen events exactly as they were going to happen, “I have foreseen a car accident exactly as it happened 8 days later and running into an old ex who lived in a far away state the day before I ran into him.” If you SEE the event as picture in your mind before it occurs than you’re having a clairvoyant vision. This is precognition, also called future sight, or knowledge of the future.
Clairaudience is information that is heard mostly within the mind. Sometimes it does come as a physical voice, but cannot be heard by anyone other than the psychic. For example last Saturday I was sitting at my kitchen counter reading an email when I heard this: “Hulbert is going to interview you.” It came into my mind from outside of me as a voice speaking in my head. It stood out from my normal mind chatter. A few hours later an email from Hulbert arrived asking if he could interview me.
Clairsentience is the ability to feel the emotion or state of mind of others or the pains they have in their body and is very common with psychics and mediums. Many healers experience this when they are working with their patients as well.
3. Mediumship communication comes from outside of you also, but instead of coming from another person it comes from a discarnate personality – meaning someone who has died and no longer has a body. Mediumship also uses all the clairs to communicate with spirits.
Betsy Henry, blogger and creator of How To Be A Zen Mama said the evening that her grandmother passed away, “I had an experience that my grandmother sat on my bed the night she died. I could feel her weight on the bed and her presence.” This was a mediumistic communication Betsy’s grandmother communicated using clairsentience wherein Betsy was aware of her presence.
This is just a quick over view and not meant to be the complete guide to extra-sensory perception. I hope you find it helpful and that it makes this clearer to you.
If you have any questions about experiences you’ve had please share them in the comments and I’ll be happy to clarify them.
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Hi, I'm Angela Artemis. Welcome to Powered by Intuition where you'll learn how to "speak intuition" and reach your highest potential by developing your intuition to create success, boost business & make the right career moves. Read my About page to learn more
