Being true to yourself sounds like a fabulous and easy thing to do. We all have feelings about what is good for us and not good for us. This is our intuition. Following and understanding our intuition and recognizing the messages can be confusing if we aren’t taught how to undo the training to NOT follow our intuition.
Intuition is a gift from God that we all have in varying ways, shapes and forms. Some of us were conditioned out of trusting that inner knowing from a young age by well-meaning parents, by traditional schooling or religion. The belief in oneself and a power greater than ourselves is something that all children are born knowing how to use. As babies we know how to cry when we need to be changed or fed. We instinctively know how to crawl and then pull ourselves up to walk. We recognize and reach out to our parents for love and for care. When someone is not kind to us we pull back instinctively.
As we grow older and our mind becomes more engaged we are taught to listen to what we are told versus what we already know.  This creates conflict and discomfort. We may know that what our parents are telling us to do is not really good for us. We may know that there is a family secret that is being not acknowledged. We may know that a nontraditional field of study is in our highest good yet be told to follow the family tradition. The fundamentals of our life and our safety depend on us conforming to what our family believes instead of what we feel.
This disconnect between our inner knowingness and what we are expected to do can create confusion and lack of trust in ourselves. We become conditioned to trust others vs ourselves. This feels uncomfortable and many people just shut down the connection to their inner voice to not feel the pain of going against what they know at their core is not right for them. People can attempt to soothe this disconnection with busyness, over eating, drugs and alcohol. We find things or habits to suppress the emptiness. We lose our connection to our souls.
Intuition is a link to our soul, to who we really are, our god self and our essence. By reopening this connection to our souls we reconnect with that power and wisdom deep inside ourselves. It allows us to have the clarity and trust to be who we truly are. By reconnecting with that inner voice we strengthen our bond with our soul and God allowing us to make more informed choices. We see our stumbling blocks with much more clarity. We understand the connections and patterns in the choices and decisions we have made.
The beautiful thing about Intuition is that we never lost it – we just forgot it. Like a muscle that has not been used it takes practice to warm it up and start trusting the guidance again. How do you start reconnecting with your inner voice?
- Get moving. I have found that moving meditation is the easiest way to connect to my inner knowing.  Take a walk and leave those headphones at home. Relax, wander and open your mind to possibilities. Yoga is also a wonderful way to connect to your body’s wisdom.
- Follow your heart. Hold something to your heart and feel your body’s reaction. Does it make you feel safe? Do you feel good or does it make your body withdraw? Try this exercise with something that you know is good for you and then with something that you know is not good for you to feel the difference. If you can’t hold what you are questioning then write it on a piece of paper and hold the paper to your heart. Relearn to trust your heart’s wisdom.
- Nurture yourself. Be aware of what you put into your body. We are all unique and need different types of food to support us. Experiment with what nourishes you and what depletes your energy. Drink at least 64 ounces of water per day and get adequate rest. When your body is operating optimally, it is easier to hear our inner voice.
- Ask and receive. Ask a question and then notice how the universe provides the answer. If we are aware and actively looking for messages we will find them. For example, I wanted to know what the best rate was to charge a non-typical client. I asked to be shown what was reasonable and fair to the client and to my business. I was driving and within a few seconds I drove past exit 33, a car with license plate 33 pulled in front of me, a truck with a huge 33 on it drove by and I saw a road sign with 33 in the phone number. The message was clear.
Reconnecting with our intuition is a joyous journey. Be gentle with yourself and enjoy the wonderful gift of rediscovering who you truly are at your core.
