Intuition. How to listen to your gut.

Ok, the whole listening to your gut thing, is it even a thing? It can sound like something that a Marvel hero would have because let’s be honest, if we had a superpower that allowed us to always make the right decisions, at work, financially, in relationships, with our health, whatever it was. It would pretty much be like winning lotto right? It sounds a little too good to be true, at best it has that far-fetched feeling.

Well, what if I told you that we do kinda have this superpower, you have the ability to be an expert in what it is that you need the most.

I remember working for one of my most memorable bosses. He taught me that understanding your intuition was imperative in the workplace. It was something that could not only set you apart but also give you the answers and stop you from failing or making mistakes. Over the years I have listened to this internal guidance (sometimes I’ve listened better than others!) and it has worked out for me. I won’t lie though, there have been a number of times where I’ve felt that it’s gone completely silent.

Honing my mindfulness practices has absolutely helped give me some insight in this space and it has become substantially less mystic and far more understandable.

So what do you do if you have lost the ability to tap into that internal navigation system, that inner compass? Here are the things that I do to strengthen and tune into, well, me!

Become aware of the mean chatter and unhelpful thought patterns that swirl in your mind!

We have roughly 20 - 80,000 thoughts a day - that is insane! With that number of thoughts going around you’d be forgiven for not paying too much attention to what the quality of them. Spoiler, they are often negative and usually the same!

If you really want to supercharge that intuition muscle, knowing how it is being drowned out is the first big step. Notice your thoughts, I mean really notice them. This is where my meditation practice has been a MVP! You can also walk it out, write it out to see what is going on in your mind.

Your body is your temple - in more ways than one!

Your body and mind are instrinctly linked but this is something that we often forget. We don’t notice the signals that our body will give us. I want you to start to think about your body being the temple of your intuition. With a bit of practice, you can tap into your innate wisdom that is often buried within your body. Think about all the tiny, involuntary sensations within your body. From clenching of the gut, the hairs on the back of your neck, the flutter in your stomach, the heat in your face (and many more!). Become an expert in you and noticing these sensations and what they are trying to tell you - then learn to interpret them. It takes time but so worth it!

Find your stillness

Ok, I’m going to level with you. You will need to find the space and the stillness to get back in touch with you. However this looks like for you. You’ll read things like ‘the top 10 ways to…’ or similar but there are no shortcuts here. You do need to learn how to be still enough to see what is going on with YOU. For me, that has been a meditation practice. Awareness Insight Meditation in particular.

Writing is absolutely another way but my experience has been that meditation will give you the biggest bang for buck, especially once you have a regular, consistent practice.

Get friendly with mother nature

There is no substitute for nature. We at our core react to being in nature and when you are in it, you will notice that the insane chatter that can drown out your compass will quiet down.

Whether it is walking in nature, sitting on a beach, going for a swim in a river or the sea, sitting in your garden! Find your way to connect with nature, and in turn with yourself.

Sleep, rest, nourish

Now getting in touch with your intuition does require you to be rested and nourished. Think about it. If your body is screaming for rest or food (hangry you will not be tapping into that intuition!) then you’ll find it extremely hard to notice what your intuition is trying to tell you.

Practiced regularly, consistently then you will get back in touch with yourself and therefor your intuition. Noticing the sensations in your body, the signals, you’ll start to notice things that were always there. I like to liken it to when you are going to buy a car, suddenly you see it everywhere, well that is the same for you intuition. Once you start to strengthen it, you notice it all the time. There is nothing woo-woo or mystical in it, it is simply noticing what is right or wrong for you.

I would love to hear from you and your experience with your intuition. Have you noticed it? Has it evaded you? Share your experiences in the comments.