For more current thoughts on intuition, please see this blog post. It is from 2019. The video is from 2017, and the original blog post is from 2010.
Enjoy!
Intuition is a commonly tossed around term, but I think many people don’t have a full-grasp on what it is and what it isn’t. It’s also essential to the spiritual path. As you walk deeper and deeper into the path, you find that rational reasoning is extraordinarily limited. You also find that your greater awareness is operating outside the tiny circumscribed area that is the purview of rationality. This is where intuition comes in to guide you to your deepest truths.
What Intuition Is Not
It is not the devil whispering in your ear or some other kind of fearful nonsense. When intuition is the most clear in you, there should be no fear at all coming with the message. Typically, any fear about something is generated by the rational mind in its inability to engage and integrate the intuitive message. By integrate, let’s try this example.
You are walking down the street. You get a sudden urging to turn to go into a BMW car shop to look at cars. Your rational mind jumps in saying that you don’t have money to buy a car much less to buy a BMW. You don’t need a new car anyway. Yours runs fine. You’ll look stupid going into a car shop just to window-shop.
Keeping the Radio Clear of Chatter
The above example is an instance of the mental noise that quickly over-runs an intuition. Your mind is too small to accept a slightly out-of-the-box suggestion. It’s too caught up in reasoning to trust the guidance, so it blocks it out, stops it from integrating into you, and then transforming into the action of going into the store. I’ve found that following these simple little intuitions gives me a deeper sense of being on track with my life, and pretty soon, other things and opportunities begin to pop up.
The intuition typically comes of its own will without any thought. Thought usually is a problem as it blocks out intuitions. Hence, meditation and any other healthful practice to clear your mind are really key to getting clear intuitions.
Having Faith in Your Intuitions
In many ways, intuitions are you direct communications from your spirit, your guides, God, the universe, or whatever energy/inspiration source seems to be present in your life. Subsequently, you need to cultivate a sense of faith to allow them to come freely to you. Too much doubt (typically driven by fear) will stop you from receiving well or stop you from acting on the intuition. Acting upon an intuition is essential because it helps you to realize, manifest, and embody the spiritual communication. The further you go on the path, the more intuition becomes the golden chain link of sanity that helps pull you through the ups and downs of the path.
But I’m So Confused
It takes years of practice for many people to get the clarity they need to hear their intuitions clearly. If you haven’t practiced trusting your intuitions, start small. Do it with what food you feel you should eat or where to go with a friend tonight to hang out. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. Usually, intuitions are small things anyway that build up to big things over time. In many respects a big intuition is called a revelation, and too many of those things completely shake up and change your life anyway. You don’t need that yet if you’re still working through a lot of confusion. You simply need to start carving out a little space of trust so that intuitions can start to grow unimpeded. Pretty soon you’ll start to see a little clearer and feel a little closer to where you want to be.
2 Comments
Hello Jim! Thanks for being here. Don't know where I'd be without this blog.
As for intuition, I keep having this issue; I can't stop wondering, is the "intuition" I have really an intuition or perhaps just whims that when compounded in the long run may end up getting me in troubles? Bc sometimes no matter how good or right something feels it looks like a whim, or seems pointless.. like walking into a BMW shop for instance.. I don't feel that I can trust myself on such matters, and this is mainly bc I keep being so afraid of blame (by my parents mainly)… a situation where by I think I was following intuition in my life, but I end up in a situation that will lead to a "look what you caused!" situation. I feel like I am going to end up ruining something or destroying something like (don't laugh) my "future" or something. And this isn't even my concern, I'm just scared how my parents would feel & react were that to happen.
And how about intuitions that lead you into (immediate) mildly annoying or frustrating situations? Or leads to some loss of money or time etc… I am wondering is that also OK? Does it work like that as well?
The idea of intuition is something I find very wonderful, but for the reasons above, I have kept away from exploring or learning more about it bc as I said, I keep feeling that I can't trust myself. This happens even with the prayer of seeking guidance (from my religious tradition), its more or less based on intuition too but… the same fears.. I wonder is what I am feeling led to truly guidance received or this is just me messing up or trying to get my way and justify it with "Oh, I prayed and all.."??
I don't even know if this is the right place for this but I had the intuition to type out my questions and concerns, LOL.
Thank you in anticipation of your answer!
Hi Aisha,
Thanks for the comment. I'm glad my blog post can help.
Questioning intuition is an important part of self-inquiry. There are lots of feelings and ideas that can get mixed up with intuition.
So the first thing to do is to learn to do self-inquiry and inner work. Knowing yourself will help you to deal with your fears and to be clearer on what is intuition.
I recommend reading this newer blog post about intuition.
What Is Intuition? Part 2