The Power of Intuition
By Tara Crawford Roth
Intuition, what is it? Einstein called intuition the highest form of knowing. The word intuition means "in to you" in Latin. It's been called the sixth sense, an inner knowing or divine guidance. My experience is that it is a resource to help us live our lives.
Intuition exists in all of us but too few of us embrace it and allow it to become an active part of our lives. Perhaps we were told as children that it is just our imagination. We discount the thoughts, flashes, or hunches we have deciding we are imagining this, it can’t be real, this is silly, or my personal favorite, it is just a coincidence.
Let’s take a moment to define our terms. Imagination is defined as something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses. Intuition is defined as immediate perception without using the senses. When we look at these together we see what they have in common is perception. Imagination and intuition are like two sides of a coin and not mutually exclusive.
Conrad Hilton tells a story of successfully buying the Hilton Hotel chain after having a dream to up his bid a mere $20,000. The inventor of Post It notes was working on a hunch, a visual he ‘saw’ on a way to replace paper clips.
Why we are surprised to know something when it seems to appear out of nowhere without any rational or logical basis? Much of our communication is nonverbal. It is estimated that 93% of what we are really saying comes through nonverbal clues such as facial expressions, body language, gestures, posture, eye contact, or spatial distance. We process these clues faster than we can register the information consciously and that influences our communication. In “Blink” a book by Malcolm Gladwell he discuss this phenomena of receiving information unconsciously and how it informs our mind in a millisecond, a blink, allowing for example, art experts to recognize a forged piece of art without understanding how they know it is a phony or for counselors to accurately predict the potential longevity of a marriage by watching a 10 second video clip of the couple.
We are naturally intuitive all the time whether we notice it or not. I think about Mary and suddenly the phone rings and Mary is on the line. I get a flash to drive home on a different route and by doing that I avoid a major accident. I turn down a job offer that just feels wrong only to find out that the company is having financial problems. Anyone who has been married for a long time has had the experience of knowing what your spouse is going to say next before they say it. How many of you have had an experience like this?
Our intuition is innate, it exist inside of every one of us. What we need to do is tune in and listen. It is like a radio station that is playing but we have learned to only hear the static. Just like the tuners in the radio we need to dial in the station so we can hear it more clearly. It is the same focus a parent uses on a crowded playground that lets them tune in the voice of their child over the static of all the other children.
So how do we do that? It starts with the decision to pay more attention in the first place. Many articles and books have been written about the power of our intention. Whatever we focus on becomes more visible in our lives. This is true whether we focus on positive or negative thoughts or events. Wherever we put our minds and attention on become the things we see and experience. It shapes our reality. Let’s try something: quickly close your eyes and try not to think about pink elephants, go! How was that? If you are like the rest of us you found yourself drawn back to thought of pink elephants. The point is that whatever we set our intent or focus on is what we see or hear in our minds.
So what has this to do with developing your intuition? When you set your intention and decide that you want to be more in touch with your intuitive voice you will begin to develop a relationship with it.
Intuition can be experienced in a myriad of ways. Your intuition may speak to you through hearing actual words, seeing a clear picture, or a deep inner knowing. Some people experience intuition as a feeling, others a physical gut reaction, others will see images or have a dream or hear an actual message. We want to become familiar with how our intuition communicates with us.
Here are 5 ways to access your intuition:
1. Be quiet. Practice taking time out every day to experience silence. Calm your mind with meditation or deep breathing. Release your need to think, analyze, and know everything. The best information comes from the deep recesses of your soul.
2. Be open. Open to the gift of intuition and accept that it is trying to communicate with you. Open to new possibilities and receiving information from all around you- signs are everywhere. Literally.
3. Play, be creative. There are many ways to be creative, painting, writing, dancing, singing, designing a website, etc. Creativity is anything that gets you into that "flow," where time seems to fly by. Creativity goes hand-in-hand with intuitive guidance.
4. Ask questions. When you ask yourself questions, you open yourself to the potential of additional insight and clarity. Ask a question and take a moment to trust yourself and the process. In coaching we maintain that people are creative and whole; the answers we need lie within. Our job is to allow the answers to surface.
5. Journal When you write, you tap into thoughts, feelings, ideas and direction that you are not consciously aware of. Writing allows information to come forth and is an easy way to gain insight from your inner self.
Most importantly, have fun. You can practice playing your intuition in small ways, for instance the next time the phone rings tries to sense who is calling. No cheating by using caller ID! Or ask yourself the time and get a sense of it without needing to check your watch. In traffic, try and predict what the cars around you will do next. To see another persons intuition at work simply stare at the back of their neck and see how long it takes before they turn around.
Intuition is a like a muscle that needs to be exercised. In the beginning of any exercise plan it takes a little time to build up strength. The more you practice it, the stronger it becomes. It is worth the effort as intuition can be a great ally. It is always there for you, it gives the absolute best advice, and all you have to do is listen. Like any good friendship, all it takes to nurture it is a little time and attention. If you decide to be close and intimate with your intuition, I promise that your life will transform into something magical.
Tara Crawford Roth
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