Intuition and uncertainty are like oil and water.
You can shake them up and it would appear that they blend quite nicely. But, given a short amount of time the two will separate again. This is the process we undergo when we do not trust and follow our intuition.
Uncertainty is the biggest obstacle of all to developing our intuition.
I can’t tell you how many emails I receive from readers with the same concerns: How to recognize their intuitive guidance and how to trust it? Unfortunately, there is no easy fix.
To recognize your intuition when it speaks you have to commit to practice and to daily meditation.
You simply can’t skimp on the basics. By practice I mean do exercises that strengthen your intuition, and by meditation I mean – meditate – daily. Meditation is important simply because it helps you begin focusing on your thoughts. You can find numerous exercises to practice developing intuition and to learn to meditate in my ebook, “The Intuition Primer,” which you can download directly from here for free.
Intuition comes through in one of two basic ways in the beginning. It will either be a thought that stands out, or apart from your other thoughts, or it will be a feeling you get.
The thought will catch you by surprise in that it’s an idea that appears fully formed in your mind. It isn’t generated in a linear fashion. When this intuitive thought stands out you will HEAR IT more loudly, over and above your other thoughts. It may make you cock your head and look up momentarily. You may even bring your hand to your chin for a moment while you contemplate this insight. The whole point of it “standing apart” from your other thoughts is to make you stop and take notice of it because it’s important.
When you get intuitive guidance directly as a thought heard in the mind pay attention. The idea contained in this thought is direct knowledge about the decision you are trying to make.
For example, say you’ve just had a job interview and you’re thinking about what it might be like to work for the company. While on the subway ride home you read through the human resources package you were given and think about how you like the benefits they offer, and that the location is good, and that you also like the hours and salary range you discussed. In the midst of this thought process another thought that you didn’t generate appears in your mind: There’s something off about that manager.
You stop. Where did that come from you think? You weren’t even thinking about the manager who interviewed you, but he did make you feel kind of uncomfortable you recall. You decide the manager seemed pleasant enough and that it was just interview jitters and ignore this strange notion that seemed to pop out of nowhere. You accept the job. A month later you hate it! The manager turns out to be horror show.
If your intuitive guidance comes through as a feeling it could present itself to you as uncertainty, nervousness, hesitancy, disgust, repulsion, or even agitation. The point of the feeling is the same as the intuitive thought. It is trying to get you stop and focus on the information that’s “encoded” within the feeling. If you’re contemplating taking a job and you feel hesitant, or somewhat “put-off” by something you need to decode the feeling and find out what it’s trying to tell you. It’s the same as in the earlier example only in this case you need to discover exactly what the reason is behind the feeling.
Lets say you’re at the interview with the manager and during the interview you start to lose your train of thought because this feeling comes over you. Something about the manager’s face and his voice agitates you. You get a strong feeling that he’s putting on an act and that underneath he doesn’t know what he’s doing. You push the feeling aside and try to focus on the interview again. Later on while on the subway you’re reading the human resources brochure but your reaction to the manager keeps resurfacing. Again, you ignore it and accept the job with the same outcome as before. The manager turns out to be the nephew of the president of the company and doesn’t know his ass from his elbow – and consequently working for him is a nightmare.
What could you have done differently?
In both cases the answer is the same. When you got home you should have gone into a meditation where you asked for more information regarding the intuitive hunch your received. The best way is to place your hands along your abdomen once you’re totally relaxed and ask: How would I feel if I accepted this job?
Wait. Breathe. Focus.
What feelings are you aware of?
Do you feel turned off to the job?
Do get an “icky” vibe?
Notice if you’re cringing.
Are you feeling stressed?
Or, do you feel light, buoyant, happy and excited?
Your feelings never lie. Only the thinking mind rationalizes and therefore “lies.” When we “rationalize” that it’s just interview jitters, or think our reaction to the person is really nothing etc., we are lying to ourselves.
(Three years ago I took a job that I knew intuitively I was going to hate. I walked into the interview with the manager and regional sales manager and didn’t like their tone or the way they looked at me. I felt very strongly that I wasn’t going to get along with them, but I needed the money at the time so I told myself to buck up and take it. I quit four months later!)
How do we develop trust in our intuition?
The only way to develop trust is by either remembering times when you’ve ignored your intuition and recalling how the intuitive insight manifested, or to jump in with both feet and commit to following your intuition from the get-go.
I’ll be honest though, most people don’t jump in from the beginning. Most of us have to get burned a few times before we realize that “sneaking suspicion” we ignored was our intuition – and realize that next time we should listen to it.
One more thing you could do is share your concerns with someone who is very intuitive that you trust. Let them tune into the situation and tell you what feeling they’re getting about it. If it matches what you’re feeling than that will help you build trust in your intuition. Sometimes we just need to know that what we’re feeling is real to get us over the edge of distrusting our intuition. I know many intuitives who check with other intuitives to validate their feelings when making a major decision.
Learning to work with intuition is a bit like allowing yourself to fall backwards and trusting that there is someone back there who is going to catch you. Once you’ve practiced this enough you won’t hesitate to let go and fall – and it’s the same with intuition.
What obstacles have you encountered when working with your intuition? Have you found it confusing to differentiate between the voice of your ego and that of your intuition? What do you plan to do to overcome this stumbling block?
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P.S. Don’t hesitate to take a copy of my free ebook, “The Intuition Primer” with you when you go.
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Hello,
I just recently started meditation classes and I aim to be able to gain mindfulness through it. I read this post and I was pleasantly surprised of the connection between mindfulness and intuition. However one major difference is that mindfulness aims to be aware of the feelings less of the emotion and judgment, intuition relies more on the feelings. I wonder though if they can marry at some point. Can someone who practices mindfulness be able to trust their intuition? I’d like to know what you think. Thanks!
Salinya
Hi Salinya,
It’s so nice hearing from you.
When we are mindful we are fully present and aware of our feelings, emotions and judgments alike. The practice of mindfulness teaches us to not become entangled and react when we become aware of them though. You allow yourself to observe and inquire as to why you may be feeling as you do, but you don’t get all worked up. When you practice mindfulness you also heighten your ability to hear or feel your intuition too, so yes, I do think you can marry the two! You will notice that your intuition does not evoke an emotional response – that’s how you’ll know it as an intuitive flash or feeling rather than one of your thought that you’re observing. I hope this helps. If not let me know.
Wait, Breathe, Focus 3 word that jumped out at me. Breath seems to be so important in connecting with intuition and spirit. I am finding that meditation each day and learning to connect with my guides is opening up my world and bringing great clarity. Just this morning I got during my meditation what The art of Change is and how I connect Abundance with Creativity- so exciting- look at the ball you were instrumental in getting to roll
Looking forward to talking again soon
love
Suzie
Suzie,
That’s wonderful how all your projects are coming together with clarity. I’m so excited to have been the one to pitch out the first ball!
Yes, I’m looking forward to it too!
Angela, it is wonderful to read your writing after talking to you on the phone earlier and it was just so nice to do that. I can so relate to those feelings and we try to brush them aside – in fact, I would have an incident like you describe – say have a strange worry about someone – and then later on, on the happiest days of all things, I remember that I was worried about something even if I forget the detail – because there is no real memory of it probably (just like dreams that disappear so quickly). It is just that feeling/intuition deep inside that we feel and I do eventually remember that I had warned myself to be on the fence about this person or that thing …. ! And I do try to honor the feelings and listen to my guts. Thank you for articulating it all so well.
Hi Farnoosh,
I enjoyed speaking with you last night as well – finally!
Yes, our intuition is that soft still whisper, or nagging suspicion that we have.
When we listen to our gut feeling we will always be directed to the right path.
Hi Angela, thanks for this — what came up for me as I read it was that, in moments when I think I’m uncertain, it’s usually because I’m refusing to listen to what I’m actually wanting. It’s just like moments when I think I’m having writer’s block and am “out of ideas” — in fact, I’m just rejecting the ideas that are present. Letting go of that self-rejection can be so liberating.
Hi Chris,
Yes, I do that too. When we thing we “should” do something rather than do the thing we want we usually end up making a mistake.
Letting go of self-rejection is a huge. Thanks so much for coming by and commenting.
Hey Angela,
I like your suggestion to “wait.” We’re in such a hurry these days we’ve forgotten to listen to ourselves. Everyone’s in a rush to go nowhere. Why not savor our lives? Great film making the rounds in the schools, “Race To Nowhere.” That says it all.
Can we turn off the giant speeding treadmill everyone’s trying to stay on?
Thx, Giulietta
Hi Giulietta,
Ah, yes – to wait. Yes, why are we always so hasty to make decisions? It’s as if we are continually racing against the clock in our culture, isn’t it? If we wait and take our time to tune into our intuition we’ll hear the right answers. Yes, let’s turn off the giant speeding treadmill!
I have gotten out of my routine. Back today to my daily meds. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hi,
I know how that can be! It sneaks up on you and before you know it your routine is out the window!
You’re single handedly teaching your readers how to “learn intuition” 🙂
I’m getting better with decoding it, but still not 100% yet. I love that piece of advice to go into mediation after receiving an intuitive message and listen for a response.
Also love how you say “feelings never lie” it’s phenomenal how true that statement is, and yet many of us still listen to the rationalization instead.
Brilliant post! You are a phenomenal Intuition Teacher
Hi Aileen,
Yes, that’s what I want to do!
Our feelings don’t lie that’s why we need to listen to our body’s intelligence. Only the rational mind “lies.” When we “rationalize” something it’s mostly lies from the ego to get us to go against our intuition.
Thank you Aileen!! I really appreciate your lovely compliment.
I love this post. A lot of times it’s not until later that I realize I had an inkling about a future event. The last time it happened, I was saying good bye to my niece after a wonderful meal. As soon as they left I thought, “I bet Jessie is pregnant.” I thought well, I’m going to wait to say anything. Sure enough a few weeks later, she told everyone…only she hadn’t known that night at our house! My intuition told me something she hadn’t even known. Very cool!!
Hey Betsy,
That’s it – exactly as you’ve explained it! Very cool indeed!
Now, if you can give yourself the directive to become more aware of these hunches – you’ll have this happen more often and for other things that can be of more use to you. In other words you’ll start to get hunches about whether or not to do certain things in your life, etc.
I’m claircognizant (or so I am told). I find it hard sometimes to discern its voice. I would disregard it because of doubt. It happens when I’m personally invested in the outcome. It’s much easier for me to use my intuitive abilities for others than for decisions I need to make myself.
Certainly, lots of practice help. I enjoy playing games and using my intuitive abilities to guess what’s been truly happening and what’s going to happen next.
Hi Evelyn,
Claircognizant is a “knowing” of something beyond a doubt. You have a wonderful gift!
It’s very normal to not hear, or ignore our intuition when we’re really vested in the outcome.
That’s why it’s good to have another intuitive look into the matter for you, or why you’re more confident using your abilities for someone else. I go to someone else when I’m not feeling certain about something and it really helps!
Most professionals go to other professionals to back up their own intuitive decisions for that very reason. Our judgement is most clouded when it comes to listening to our own intuition.
Hi Angela,
I’m constantly practicing and developing a more acute intuition. It takes consistency. The ego voice wants to be loud so I have to be really quiet to listen to the real voice.
Thanks for the reminder. Loving blessings!
Angela,
I especially like this: “How would I feel if I accepted this job?” Now I know feelings is closely connected to our intuition.
For me, I have experienced many times, a conflict between my intuition and my super ego. I have tried sitting quietly, (a light meditation I suppose), and just let my thoughts flow. When I let my feelings decide what I want to do, I feel I am happier.
Other times, I have tried to delay the decision making, letting everything sink in. After that, whatever feels right, will most likely be my decision.
I felt I have more peace of mind when I follow my intuition.
In NLP, we call it making ecological decisions. Decisions which we are not discounting ourselves, or spreading ourselves too thin.
I have tried following my logic thinking before, but many times, it will come back and criticize me differently, even after I listened to him.
Thank you for this blog. Now I found a valuable resource where I can learn more about my intuition.
Hi Joseph,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the article!
Following your intuition takes practice for sure!
Ecological decisions? I don’t know much about NLP. Very interesting. Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Hi Angela,
Ecological decisions are holistic decisions that gets you to where you want without spreading yourself too thin.
I guess in intuition language, they are decisions that will leave you feeling at ease, at peace with yourself.
Joseph,
That’s it exactly. When you listen to your intuition you feel at peace about your decisions. They “fit.”
Angela,
With me my intuition is always my quiet voice and my ego is the louder one. Is it different for everyone.
Also this is my 3rd week of meditating. I’m real excited about this. Next month I will add five more minutes. Eventually I want to be at 20 minutes twice a day.
I also ask the questions more in my journal vs meditation. Do you think the results are the same or is one better than the other?
Tess,
That’s the way it is for most people the intuitive voice is a whisper and the ego’s voice is a loud! When we “hear” the intuitive voice it’s most likely comes as out of the blue – as in the examples here since we haven’t produced the intuitive thought, or it’s a sneaking suspicion that we can’t shake.
Great news about your meditation practice! I think asking the questions in your journal is fine! If you’re relaxed when you journal you’re probably accessing a very deep state similar to meditation where the answers can bubble up. I journal regularly and have all sorts of intuitive insights arise when I do.
Often I am faced with choices and both seem equally attractive. Point being one doesn’t have a better feel than the other. I find that usually the first idea is the best. Even though logicaly the second looks like the lesser choice. For example something as simple as choosing the right rout to go into NYC. I had to go to 3rd ave so it seemed righ to take the FDR downtown rather than go cross town. When I was crossing the bridge the lane to west side was moving better than the one to the east, so I took the west side. It turned out to be a disaster. If I had stayed with my original plan I would not have been 40 minutes late.
Hi Roe,
I hate when that happens. In this case you have a basis for now knowing to stick with your first response – especially when making decisions about the traffic getting into NYC! LOL.
thank you for the post Angela
i still need to work a lot on my intuition and certainly your posts are helping 🙂
Hi Farouk,
I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
I hope it helps you to start listening to your intuition.
I’m glad you’re finding it helpful!
Hi Angela,
I fully agree with you that recognizing our intuition comes from practice. In my divination practice, I usually divine daily for a few reasons. Firstly, I like to be aware of the events that I will face during the day. Secondly and more importantly, I divine because I need to keep on practicing. Without sufficient practice, I would not have the experience to get an accurate feel of events through my intuition. It is like exercising. If I want to become fit and healthy, I have to do so consistently. Apart from my daily divinations, I divine as and when the need arises. As a result, I am like a squirrel who builds up its store of nuts for the winter. Similarly, I have a rich source of records of my divinations to draw from.
From experience, my intuition is something that feels right or as you say a thought that stands out. More importantly, it is something that is most comfortable and in harmony with my time and circumstances. Yesterday, I challenged a close friend of mine to fight a battle in medieval Japan online. Because we have known each other for over 15 years, we know each other very well. And although I had won my previous 2 encounters, it was simply because I had more experience then. Now that he was getting better and better since we discuss tactics and so on, I was not so sure of winning.
So to stack the odds in my favour, I did a divination on what I had to do to beat him. The Yijing gave me a very simple answer; Shock! As I mulled over how to apply the answer to my situation, it dawned on me that I would have to use troops that he was totally unfamiliar with. So I decided to include rockets in my army. I also chose a random map that we had never played before and we were both shocked to discover that there was a river in the centre of the map with 2 crossings.
As the battle commenced, we lined up our positions. Then, I moved my rocket troops forward and really gave him a nasty surprise with their attack and power. From the movement of his troops after that, I could see he was uncertain and unsettled by my rockets. In the end, it was just a matter of exploiting the mistakes he made and defeating him which I did.
The lesson to learn from this is that without practice and familiarity with my intuition and the Yijing, I would not have been able to make the right choice about how to approach a problem. It was also because I knew my friend well that I knew what would shock him and what would not. Although I was nervous during the battle, I knew he would be too cautious to take the initiative to attack me, this gave me the opening I needed to apply the shock that gave me my victory.
I have read that in ancient China. Generals would lay out their plans for battle and then do divinations to see if it was sufficient to beat the enemy. If so, they would proceed, if not they would think of alternatives. Since fear comes from uncertainty and confidences arises because of certainty, being able to choose the right course of action with intuition is truly important. And the only way to do so is to be aware of what intuition is like and to practice, practice, practice.
Now that my friend has seen the power of rockets, he is likely to use them in our next battle against me. What strategy will I adopt then? I honestly don’t know. But what I do know is that I will use my intuition to guide me along the path that feels right.
Thank you for sharing this lovely article! 🙂
Irving the Vizier
Hi Irving,
Wow! What a great game you have. It seems so life like!
I’m glad you found your winning strategy by divination. Very cool!
Yes, it’s likely your friend will use rockets next so you’ll have to outsmart him again next time!
Thanks so much for your fascinating comment.
Hi Angela,
I loved reading your post about intuition. It’s so easy to second guess our intuition with rational thoughts that go against it.
It’s as if there is a battle between the mind and intuition going on inside. But like you said, your feelings don’t lie. They are what they are.
Hi Justin,
That’s it exactly: a battle between the rational mind and your intuition. I’m glad you found this easy to follow.
Thanks so much for visiting and commenting.
This is a wonderful, comprehensive blueprint for using intuition! I agree that looking at times when we ignored those little thoughts and feelings really helps build trust. A couple years ago, we bought a new reclining sofa and love seat. We had trouble finding what we wanted, and after a long day of shopping, we finally found something that was okay. After that, we went to dinner, and I felt very unsettled the whole time. It was just a vague sense of unease and low mood. When my husband asked me what was going on, I said I wasn’t feeling good about our purchase. He respects my intuition, so he said, “We can cancel the purchase.” But I went on to RATIONALIZE why we should just go through with it. Well, of course, we don’t like the sofa and love seat at all. And it has already started breaking down.
This is just one example of what’s happened when I ignored my intuition. But I call it “The Sofa Reminder,” and I call on it whenever I start to doubt my intuition. 😉
Hi Ande,
I love the “sofa reminder!” It’s a perfect example that you’ll always remember which will help you listen to your intuition in the future!
Thank you for sharing that here with us. It’s a great lesson.
I love the way you explained this, especially the “feeling” aspect and the further meditation afterward. I once had a job offer that EVERYONE was telling me to take, even though I was waiting for a call back from my old company and this new company felt 100% wrong for me. I took it anyway thinking,”If everyone thinks so maybe I am just being close minded.” Wrong! Nightmare! The call for the old job came in three days after I started. I felt I had to turn it down. Again, wrong choice. I am still living with the consequences of this decision and they have been huge for my family. So I will try out your suggestions above for coping better with the current decisions, thank you!
Hi Julie,
Oh no! What a story. I can relate totally. Good thing you can now use this experience as a bench mark for what your intuition sounds/feels like for the next. When we make a mistake like this we tend to remember it forever.
Icky vibes always get me thinking.
I find that when my spider sense tingles, but I can’t yet explain it, something is off. Usually, I unconsciously picked up on something, well before I consciously could pinpoint it.
Hi J.D.
Yeah it’s those “icky” ones we can’t quite figure out that later come back to bite us don’t you think?
I had an “icky” vibe from a locksmith once – and he later ripped me off!
I can relate totally to what you’re saying about your “spider sense.” Great term by the way! Thanks so much for chatting with us here today!
Hi Angela,
Very useful post. You’re right about the random thoughts being the ones to pay attention to – I learned the hard way about that myself many years ago. I met a good-looking guy at a wedding, and at some point he made a comment that made me think “Oh, this boy isn’t nice.” But he seemed okay otherwise, so we started dating.
Later it turned out that he was a bit emotionally damaged by his mother, and had a secret mean streak, not to mention being insanely messy. Oddly, my CATS knew before I did. They couldn’t stand to be around him, and would completely freak out if I left them alone with him! We broke up after just a few months, and I never forgot that little lesson (although like most people, it needed repeating a few more times). But now when my intuition speaks, I tend to listen, and the more bizarre the suggestion, the more I trust it!
HI Anna,
This was a terrific example of not listening to your intuition! Isn’t it funny how our animals know before we do? Thanks so much for coming over to visit with me!
Hi Angela,
For me continuing to gain self-awareness and clearly understanding my personal mission and vision for life has been very helpful in trusting my feelings about a decision or issue I’m dealing with. I think this is a part of connecting to our intuition. We need trust in ourselves and faith that our decision is in line with our personal values, vision, and mission for life. When we base decisions on this it makes them so much easier.
Hi Joe,
You’re so right Joe. When we are clear about our values and our personal mission our intuition becomes even stronger. Our intuition becomes our guide to carrying out this mission. Thank you so much for coming by to share your insights with us.
What a wonderful mental tutorial!
Great information. I have learned to trust my intuition more and more, but it is SOOO difficult. It involves turning off the intellectual mind and logical thinking and just going with my gut. This is so hard in a society that completely encourages left brain thinking. However, I am getting better at it and more confident.
Then, there are those times when I am sure of the intuition, and it turns out to be wrong. I was looking for a place to move. In meditation, I saw the image of a deer around this issue. I later saw house for rent on Deerfield Avenue. I thought “Aha!” The location was perfect, the size, the yard…everything.
The owner wouldn’t even show this house to me despite me saying I would pay $50 more than they were asking per month, and that I would rent it without seeing the inside. (He lived hours away.)
Everything worked out just fine, and I did find another house which is perfect, but it is on Walking Horse Lane. Huh? Experiences like this make me doubt intuition. What is that all about?
Sounds like trying to use your intuition without trust is like trying to pray without having faith.
Quite informative as always.
Thanks!
Whoops. I am sorry I said Ange instead of “Angela”. 🙂 It is just that I think of you as Ange 😀
I swear this post spoke to me. Ange, do you also read minds? 🙂 Oh, yes you do.
I like to think I am intuitive, and my Mom always joked about it – saying that my procrastination almost always resulted in the best outcome. But of late, even though I am not less intuitive, I’ve found myself hesitating about responding to it. And then feel very stupid to realize that I should have. It is crazy. I am putting it down to the various mishaps that have happened to me in the past two weeks – so my reactions were probably colored by the way I was feeling.
Reading this post really made me feel a lot better, and more focused. Thank you very much.
Hi Vidya,
LOL – good one Vidya!
I’m sure you’re more intuitive than you give yourself credit for! I’m glad this post helped you. It’s my pleasure!
I would really like to develop my intuition further. This article is a great guide with helpful suggestions. Thank you!
Hi Galen,
I’m so happy to hear you say that! I’m glad you found the article helpful. I aim to please and teach!
Hi Angela,
Very true what you have written.
In my own experience I’ve found that my mind and intuition often cause uncertainty. My head says one thing and my heart says something else.
I’ve also found that feelings can be misleading especially when you are trying to make a decision in your own best interests but considering whether it might hurt the feelings of another.
Stress is a definite indicator of something amiss and body language is a clear signal that we often do not see with our naked eye.
Hi Andre,
That’s the classic problem when your mind says one thing and your heart says another. Your mind/ego vs. the heart/intuition is the single most common reason for ignoring our intuition. If you’re worried about hurting the feelings of others than it sounds like there is a limiting belief in there somewhere that needs to be addressed. Body language is always truth!
This comment rather resonates with what I am going through at the moment. Its a long story so will put it in a nutshell. I have been drawn to a guy for a long time now. I met him in early 2008, just 3 months before i went overseas, and feelings were mutual i think but nothing came out of it as i left to go overseas and never told him as such – i did email later and explain etc..anyway i came back last year and found that he is with someone-still-is. I have this strong urge to tell him now that i still have feelings for him but do not want to due to him being with someone else. I could have told him last year once i was back but just did not feel right but now its come to a point that i should – am just to chicken to do so!
What should I do in this case?
Hi Mia,
I can’t tell you “what” to do but I can direct you as to how to receive intuitive guidance.
Thanks so much for visiting and commenting.
Hi Mia,
If you’re a meditator I would meditate upon calling him and ask for divine guidance.
If you’re not a meditator I would ask for a dream to give you the guidance.
Ask each night for a dream to receive direction and you will.
I hope this helps you.
All my best,