Let’s start off with a question….
What is intuition?
Intuition is defined as the act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition. It’s basically a deep feeling of knowing or understanding that bypasses the mind. It’s an intrinsic, inner perception.
The word intuition is derived from the Latin word intueri, which is usually translated as “to look inside” or “to contemplate.”
What’s interesting about intuition is that it’s usually inexplicably accurate. You’ll often see statements like “The science is brand-new, but it’s not as if people didn’t have this intuition before…” (I literally just read that in this article.)
Uncle Al ftw
Strong intuitive feelings have come few and far between for me, until recently. I’ve had to consistently work towards developing my intuition, and I’ve come a long way as a result…
I recently realized that I made the subconscious decision to hone my intuition a few years ago. And it was while listening to the following freestyle…
(The unlikeliest of sources, right? Haha. You really never know where you’ll get deep insights from.)
At around 3:39 , Crooked I says “my intuition and inner vision is sharp…” I don’t know why, but that line immediately resonated with me. I remember thinking about how awesome it sounded and wrote it down in a Word document for safekeeping. I would later refer to this line countless times, as well as use it as my tagline on some social media sites.
By doing this, I subconsciously set the intent to develop my intuitive abilities. And in hindsight, I’m infinitely grateful that I did this. Because in honing my intuition I now fully trust and guide myself.
Honing your intuition is one of the most empowering things you can do. It adds a magical depth to life and ultimately puts you in the driver’s seat.
How to hone your intuition:
1. Become the master of your mind.
This allows you to transcend the ego. To stop doubting yourself. To let go of all that mental chatter that clouds your experience of the present moment. Overthinking creates unnecessary road blocks.
If you’re a slave to your overactive mind, you won’t be able to pick up on what your intuition is telling you.
An easy way to become the master of your mind is through what I call the “sky/clouds perspective.” You are the sky; and your thoughts are clouds. Simply watch the clouds pass by, without identifying with them. You’re the sky, clouds will come and go. This makes it easy to visualize and witness thoughts just passing by, without clinging to them.
Once you’re able to quiet the constant mental chatter, you’ll begin to hear the subtle whispers of intuition.
Action to take: Practice some form of meditation regularly. Don’t be intimidated. Meditation doesn’t have to be a long, difficult process. It can be as simple as setting a timer for 2 minutes and just sitting there, observing the thoughts that pop up in your head. Another simple technique is deep breathing and counting your breaths backwards from 10. Simple and effective.
For more information, check out this beginner’s guide to meditation.
2. Get in touch with your body.
Get in tune with your body. Experience through the body. Be aware of how your body feels in different situations. It’s called a “gut feeling” for a reason. Get familiar with your temple, your vehicle in this reality. As you build bodily awareness, you’re able to feel things that are inexplicable from the viewpoint of the mind.
Action to take: Regularly engage in exercise that requires bodily awareness. Bodyweight training, weight training, yoga, really any form of resistance training will hone your bodily awareness. Even simple stretching or mobility routines work well.
Note: I didn’t mention long distance running. Because you have to, in a sense, forget about your body in order to push further and further.
3. Pay attention to the signs.
Notice how you feel in various situations. Take note of the symbolism around you. Be aware of your dreams. Things like that. Signs appear differently for everyone. And they appear differently at different times. Keep an eye out for signs, as they come in many shapes and forms, and pay attention to what they’re pointing towards.
Action to take: Write things down. If you experience something that you feel as profound, write it down. If you don’t write things down, you’ll forget about it or you won’t remember it correctly. This is how to objectively remember signs as well as decipher them.
4. Notice synchronicity. (Piggybacking off of the last point)
Synchronicity is basically when two or more things occur that are meaningfully related. Those mysterious coincidences that invoke an oddly familiar feeling from deep within your being.
textual healing (courtesy of yours truly)
Remember, pay attention to the signs…
Blake: “Sir, that could all just be a coincidence.”
Commissioner Gordon: “You’re a detective now, son. You’re not allowed to believe in coincidence anymore.”
Action to take: Write down the synchronicities or coincidences that you experience. Keep a journal, or write them somewhere. You’ll notice more and more occur and see where they’re leading.
5. Be objective.
Be able to objectively assess the world around you. Being objective is seeing reality unfiltered. This allows you to more easily become aware of your intuition, and move in whatever direction it leads to. A crucial step in remaining objective is to be aware of cognitive biases.
Action to take: Check out this article on cognitive biases. Simply being aware of these things is transformative in and of itself.
6. Give yourself permission to be an authority.
We live in the information age. You can literally learn anything with the click of a mouse. You no longer need to be born privileged or have a glamorized piece of paper (aka a degree) to be an authority on something. Realize that you have the opportunity and ability to develop expertise in anything. Although it can be helpful at times, you don’t have to look to “authorities” to answer every question you have. Giving yourself permission to be an authority creates a profound sense of empowerment.
Action to take: Answer your own questions. Unless it’s a life or death situation, give yourself permission to find your own answers. Consistently doing this both increases your knowledge and your ability to act based on available information. And that’s extremely empowering.
7. Trust yourself.
Don’t doubt yourself! Trust your instincts. Trust your intuition and inner judgment. Don’t let your mind talk you out of what you deeply KNOW to be true.
This is crucial. Because if you doubt yourself, you’ll never accept (let alone follow) your intuition. You’ll be living on other people’s terms instead of your own. And that’s no fun.
So there you have it. 7 ways to hone your intuition.
Have fun on your journey.
Stay feelin’ good, feelin’ great.
-Stevie P!
