How to Develop Your Intuition
Life can be overwhelming! Each year, society seems more and more to revolve around technology, screens, and stress. It’s far too easy to get caught up comparing ourselves to the perfectly curated lives and images we see on social media and television. Negative cycles of anxiety, fear, and stress are fueled by the never-ending 24-hour news cycle. It’s no wonder we find ourselves caught in negative cycles of anxiety, fear, and stress.
Thankfully, everyone is born with an ability to access a tool that can help us overcome today’s modern emotional and menal struggle. A tool that can help guide us through life and stay on the right path. It is our one true superpower, an ancient wisdom buried within each of us; it’s our intuition!
The definition of intuition is, “the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.” In other words, it is knowing something without knowing why or how you know it --- you just know. Intuition bridges the gap between our conscious and unconscious minds. For example, have you ever had an unexplainable feeling in your gut that instinctively told you when something you were doing was right or wrong? That was your intuition speaking. Imagine what your life would be like if you were able to access that inner guidance system whenever you needed it. That sounds amazing, right? Who wouldn’t want more of that?
Listening to and trusting that little voice is a marvelous thing on its own but working to develop that little voice can make it even more powerful. We all have the sacred ability to grow and strengthen our intuition. The more we use it, the more it can expand and evolve. Think of your intuition as a muscle that needs exercise and nourishment to flourish. Let’s look at five ways to get in tune with and develop your intuition.
Meditate: Unless you have been living under a rock for the past several years, you know that you should be meditating. We hear about it everywhere. We all know that we should meditate more. Meditation helps us to tune into and grow our intuition. For most people, intuition has a very soft voice. If our minds are busy with the stresses of daily life, it can be very hard to hear that little voice. Meditation is a great way to clear the mind, quiet the constant inner dialogue, and make room for our intuition to come through. For a supported meditation, try Reiki help you listen and tune in to your inner spirit. Click here to schedule a hands-on or distance session with one of our certified Practitioners. Also, join our Founder, Rhonda Kuykendall-Jabari, for a guided meditation on Zoom every Wednesday from 1:00 to 1:30 PM Pacific. These sessions are sponsored by the Black Visions of Wellness program at UMMA Community Clinic. They are free and open to the public. Check our Events tab for details.
Dreams: During our waking hours, our cognitive brain is in control. It uses logic and reasoning to override our subconscious mind. However, during sleep, that conscious mind rests, allowing our inner subconscious to shine through. We can learn a lot about overcoming issues or problems by listening to this inner consciousness. Keep a dream journal. Keep a notebook and pen right next to your bed and immediately upon waking, try to record everything you remember about your dreams. Dreams begin to fade from memory immediately upon waking, so grab your dream journal before you do anything else. Like most things, this takes practice. Over time, you will get better at interpreting and recording your dreams. You will begin to see patterns and occasions where your inner consciousness is trying to help you solve problems or guide you in the right direction. Before going to bed, visualize yourself remembering your dreams. Picture yourself waking up and recording these dreams in your journal. Hold this thought in your head as you fall asleep. This will help imprint the practice in your mind and make it easier the next morning.
More nature: Spending time in nature, away from technology, is one of the best ways to quiet the mind. Nature is a great way for us to get in tune with our ancestral self and our celestial intuition. This is where we come from. Our ancestors relied on their intuition for everything from finding food, to avoiding predators, to finding the right path in life. Any time we immerse ourselves in nature’s beauty, we have an opportunity to dip our toe in another world, a world where intuition rules.
Get creative: Do something creative! Paint, draw, build, sketch --- anything that elevates your creative mind. When we are young, our inner voice is loud and not hesitant to shine through. As we get older, that inner voice is pushed down with responsibilities and the stresses of life. Tapping into this creative part of our brain can help re-ignite those pathways and amplify intuition.
Think less, feel more: Our cognitive brain thinks, our intuition feels. Our minds are always reasoning, questioning, and thinking their way through the day. After so many years of this, we don’t even realize it’s happening. If people could hear all the questions being asked by our cognitive brain all day, they would think us crazy. Try to slow down and “feel” more. Feelings that are grounded in the body are also grounded in truth. These feelings will never lie. Learn to listen to them more. Pay attention to those little signals that our body gives us like the heart beating faster, a knot in the pit of the stomach, feeling hot, cold, or a tingling sensation. You know the situation – like when you meet someone and immediately something is off about them; you can just feel it. Maybe they are lying to you or treating someone poorly. Your physical body can feel that and alert you. If you pay more attention to these physical cues, you can avoid many uncomfortable, painful, or awkward situations. This is your intuition speaking, and it’s trying to guide you in the right direction.