Intuition is a tool that all of us have. Some people suggest that it’s a mystical power. Others would suggest that it’s merely our subconscious trying to tell us something. Regardless of the source, we all have that little voice that tries to tell us things from time to time.
As we get older, we often learn to ignore that little voice. We turn to logic, and focus on being practical. But we’ve experienced a lot over the years, and there is some part of our brain that has accumulated a tremendous amount of wisdom. Listening to that little voice can be a good thing.
Try these techniques to develop your intuition:
1. Meditate for a few minutes each day. One characteristic of intuition is that it has a soft voice most of the time. It can be challenging to notice it if our minds are busy with other things. Meditation is a great way to clear the mind and make room for our intuition to come shining through.
• A simple technique to clear your mind is to simply count your breaths and attempt to stay focused on your breathing. Avoid letting your mind wander.
2. Record your dreams. Our dreams can be full of useful information. Many psychologists believe that we work out our challenges in our sleep. It’s difficult for most of us to remember our dreams. Studies show that we average 5 dreams per night, and most of us are lucky to even remember one.
• After you get in bed, tell yourself that you want to remember your dreams in the morning. Keep thinking this to yourself until you fall asleep.
• Keep a notebook and pen near your bed. A voice recorder app on your phone can work well, too. As soon as you wake up, start writing. Dreams tend to fade from memory quickly.
• Review your dreams and see if there might be any information you can use in your life.
3. Follow your intuition. The surest way to shut down your intuition is to never follow it. Start using it in situations that have minor importance. It could be as simple as taking a walk and asking yourself which way you should turn at each intersection or fork in the road.
• Show your intuition that you’re listening and responding. You’ll be more likely to hear from it in the future.
4. Busy your mind. Many people find that their best ideas come while their mind is busy, but not too busy. Some examples commonly cited include, walking, driving down the highway, taking a shower, and listening to the rain. Think about the times you’ve had great ideas. Try to put yourself in similar situations more frequently.
5. Keep a journal. Take a few minutes each day to write in a journal. Sometimes, putting things down on paper opens a floodgate of ideas and inspiration. Study what you’ve written. You’re likely to find insights you haven’t considered.
• Keep your journals in a safe place, so you’ll feel more comfortable with being honest and thorough.
Being in touch with your intuition can help you identify and solve the challenges in your life that are causing stress. It also releases your imagination and creativity. Your intuition is a great resource, but it’s important to nurture it. Start with smaller things. When your intuition has proven it’s reliable, use it to make bigger decisions.
Intuition is a tether to the subconscious. It’s your ultimate source of wisdom and creative energy. Make life easier and richer by utilizing all of your resources.
How to Trust Your Intuition
Developing intuition starts by realizing you have it already. If you’ve ever had a hunch about something, that was intuition. Intuition is just your mind using more than what you are consciously aware of. But can you trust your intuition? How do you improve it?
Developing Intuition In Three Steps
1. Recognize it and encourage it.
2. Study it to make it more trustworthy.
3. Give it good information to work with.
Try to find areas in your own life where you naturally intuitively operate. What is something that you are just naturally good at without studying? What is an area where you trust your gut and it is almost always right? That is your intuition speaking, continue to listen and nurture it.
Of course, intuition can also be a warning device. When you get the sense “something isn’t right here” that is your intuition talking and you’d be smart to pay attention.
Have you ever considered purchasing a car and then you start seeing them all over? Looking for and recognizing a thing trains your mind to find more of it. The same process will happen if you watch for your intuition – you’ll start to see more of it.
Unfortunately, a strong hunch can be for irrelevant reasons too. If you were hit by a yellow taxi as a child, you might have “intuitive” hunches not to get into yellow taxis for the rest of your life. So even learning to recognize your intuition and encourage it may leave you wondering when to trust it.
Study Your Intuition
Start questioning your hunches. Study your strong feelings about that taxi, and you might say, “Oh, it’s just my fear of yellow taxis.” Get in the habit of paying attention to and studying your intuitive feelings.
Where does your intuition work best? If you’re always right about your intuitive stock picks, give a little credence to them. On the other hand, if your hunches about people are usually wrong, don’t follow them. Just pay attention more, and you’ll be developing intuition about your intuition.
Give Your Intuition Good Information
Your skill, knowledge, and experience determine the potential effectiveness of your intuition. Learn enough about a subject, before expecting good hunches about it, or before trusting the hunches. Work in the area you want more intuition in. When enough information is in your mind, it will go to work for you with or without your conscious participation, so feed it well.
Recognize your intuition and you’ll have hunches and ideas more often. Study it and you’ll learn when to trust it. Give it good information and you’ll be repaid with good hunches and ideas. This is the simple formula for developing intuition.
