5 Ways to Strengthen Your Intuition
Intuition is getting quite a bit of attention these days, don’t ya think?
Your intuition lives inside of you so you are already intuitive. Intuition and instinct are as old as time. Somehow, through the hustle and bustle of modern life, the overstimulation of media, and listening to other people’s opinions, we lose touch with it.
Think of your intuition as a muscle. In order to build your confidence in your intuition and yourself, you have to understand that, like anything else, intuition is a muscle that needs to be strengthened through practice and repetition. As a naturally intuitive person, I’ve spent years practicing and trusting this gift.
However, it can be tricky to discern what are your fear based thoughts and what is your intuition speaking.
Think of intuition as your inner GPS system, an inner compass whose sole purpose is to give you moment-to-moment guidance from your heart (not your head).
5 Ways to Strengthen your Intuition
1) Silence Your Mind
Intuition is often described as a connection to your inner wisdom or higher self. Meditation provides a space for you to connect with this inner guidance system, allowing intuitive insights to arise naturally.
Mindfulness and meditation practices allow you to quiet the constant chatter in your mind and drop into your body, feeling whatever it is trying to tell you.
Are you holding tension in your jaw, is your hip tight, are you hiking your shoulders up to your ears without even realizing it? These are subtle cues that reside in the body but originate in the mind. Your body holds a pearl of wisdom your mind isn’t always aware of.
Try sitting in silence for five minutes and just focusing on your breathing. Focus on breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus on the rise and fall of your chest. You may choose to place one hand on your abdomen so you can feel where your breath is. Notice how this feels. Taking just a few moments to reduce the clutter in your mind will help you ‘hear’ your intuition better.
2) Learn to Trust
Start by acknowledging that you have intuition and recognizing its presence in your life. Validate your intuitive experiences by acknowledging times when your gut feelings or inner nudges have proven to be accurate.
Trust that your intuition will never lead you astray. It may feel uncomfortable to make big changes or be unable to provide a rationale for your decisions, but your intuition is like an inner GPS. It will always take you where you need to be.
For some people it will sound like a voice inside their head. Some will have more of a gut instinct and just have a sense of knowing what to do. Other people may experience their intuition by seeing an image or having a dream.
Trusting your intuition is a journey that takes time and practice. Be patient with yourself and persistent in your efforts to deepen your connection with your inner guidance.
3) Declutter / Social Media Detox
Dishes in the sink, laundry on the floor, and bills all over the kitchen counter are prime mental distractors. You can’t ‘hear’ your intuition when your life or space is messy.
One of the best ways to make space in your mind is to declutter your physical environment. Marie Kondo your house! If you haven’t read ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up,’ then go get it! Let go of unneeded things in your home, donate to charities, and clean out your closets. You will instantly feel refreshed.
Aside from physical clutter, we can also have mental clutter. We are overwhelmed with notifications, Facebook updates, email pings, and God-awful news on television. Try a social media detox or unfollow accounts that feel like a drain. Challenge yourself to avoid reaching for your phone first thing in the morning and spend that time with your thoughts instead. Skip a few days of watching the news and notice any changes in your mood.
4) Stop the Self-Doubt
Consider this your full permission to stop second-guessing, overthinking, and ruminating over things. Overthinking creates a mental block and pushes away your intuition. Your thinking mind takes over, and it isn’t easy to discern what you want. If you need to make a decision, big or small, take a moment to stop and pause.
Ask yourself a question to which you know the answer, such as “Is my middle name _____?”
Pay attention to how your body answers. Do you hear an audible ‘yes’ or ‘no’? Does your body lean forward or pull back? If you’re struggling with a bigger decision, ask your intuition for guidance, then sleep on it.
Let the answers come naturally; you can even ask for a sign from the Universe. You have the answers within you.
5) Start a Journaling Practice
If you’re new around here, get used to me telling you how ah-mazing a journaling practice can be.
For starters, journaling let’s you get outside of your head and into your intuition. When you write without overthinking or filtering your thoughts (free writing), you access the subconscious part of your mind where you may uncover hidden thoughts, emotions, and memories.
Journaling also lets you recognize patterns and recurring themes in your thoughts and feelings. Over time, you may notice common threads that point toward your intuition guiding you in particular directions.
Try to stick with a consistent practice until this habit becomes automatic and something you look forward to. I like to journal early morning with my hot cup of coffee before the rest of my family wakes up, but I know lots of people prefer to do a ‘brain dump’ at the end of the day.
All that matters is you find what’s best for you and stick with it!
