in·tu·i·tion
int(y)o͞oˈiSH(ə)n/
noun
- the ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.
- a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.
– Google search, Aug 2 2016
According to Google, intuition is defined as the ability to understand something without the need for conscious reasoning. In 
layman’s terms, it means the ability to just know something without knowing how you know it. The beauty of intuition is that it is something that lives within each of us. The challenge with intuition is we don’t always know how to find it.
See, we all have the capacity to connect with our intuition. But in today’s day and age, there is so much background “noise” in our lives – things like emails, and text messages, and 24-hour news cycles, and smart phones that always ping – that it can drown out the gentle murmurs of our intuition. But just because we can’t hear it doesn’t mean our intuition isn’t there. It’s there, I promise.
Connecting with your intuition in today’s modern world takes a degree of intentionality. It can be done easily, if we consciously choose to do it. To help you learn to be intentional, I’m sharing some very concrete steps I do to turn the volume down on life’s background noise and magnify the soft voice of my intuition.
Intuition. As I age, gain more life experience, and grow my self-awareness,
the more I learn to listen to it…. to trust it… to follow it.
Things I Do to Connect With My Intuition
- Breathe – I find this to be especially helpful if I’m making a decision or have to respond to someone in the moment. I literally stop whatever it is I’m doing and take a big, deep breath. I fill my lungs with as much air as possible, sipping it in through my nose. I hold it for a second or two, then I release it slowly, out my nose. I usually close my eyes while I do this. Taking breaths like this two or three times in a row helps my brain slow down and process what I’m feeling, which allows me to get clear on how I want to respond.
- Find some solitude – It can be hard to find my intuition in a room full of people or sitting across the table from friends. I start to think about their opinions, wonder what they would do, or even ask them for some guidance. Those steps are okay as I gather information and assess a situation. But when it comes time to make a decision or figure out what I want, being alone can help. It allows me to sink into my own body and listen to my intuition. Meditating, taking a shower, going for a walk, exercising by myself, sitting outside in nature, and even going for a drive are all solitary practices that help me connect with my intuition.
- Take a break – This one is helpful when there is a clear “problem” I’m trying to solve for. Sometimes when I’m stuck and not sure what to do, I find that walking away can help. Whether it’s just getting up to get a cup of coffee, or going for a long walk outside, or even walking away from a situation for a day or two, giving myself a break from the “problem” helps me create space for the solution to come to me. It is usually during those breaks that my unconscious voice starts talking. Once that voice starts giving me guidance, I know I can return to the “problem” and start to solve it. For me, this tactic works especially well for work-related challenges.
- Check in with my body – I can literally feel my intuition in my body. I know what it feels like when I’m following my intuition, and I know what it feels like when I’m not. When I’m following my intuition, I feel more grounded. My chest feels calm and I feel a sense of relief throughout my body. When I’m not following my intuition, or when I’m going against it, I feel tense. My shoulders crunch up to my ears, my chest feels constricted, and I feel agitated. Learning these signs that my body gives off has helped me learn to slow down in life and take the time to check in with my intuition. Usually when I feel signs that I’m not following my intuition, I go immediately to one of the other tactics like breathing or taking a break.
- Take my time – A lot of times we feel pressure to make a decision immediately. We don’t like the anxiety that comes with being in limbo, so we hustle through the decision-making process as fast as we can. We may not always like the results but hey, at least we got to avoid the anxiety, right?
Or, how about another way to do this… how about learning to be okay with the anxiety that might come with being in limbo? How about learning to say, “I’m not sure yet. I will need to think about it.” So many of the things we do in life are done to avoid discomfort. An approach that helps me is to tolerate some discomfort while giving my intuition an opportunity to make itself known.
Example
See right now, even as I write this blog, I’m using some of these tricks. I stared at my computer screen for a full five minutes, stuck on how to wrap this up… not sure what to write for the conclusion. So what did I do? I got up to take a shower. Rather than struggling through the process and forcing myself to finish, I got up and took a break. This break allowed my brain time to process on a deeper level, and my intuition showed up! After I took my shower, I was clear on what I wanted my closing thoughts to be…
You’re Not Alone
Life is cyclical in nature, filled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, and millions of moment in-between. It’s important to understand that you are not alone in this journey. Even if you are by yourself, your intuition is always there with you… waiting patiently for you to listen to its guidance and follow its path forward. Hopefully the tactics I talked about in this blog will help you find it.
Looking to unlock and unleash your innate feminine power? Check out The Muse Process, my new book that teaches women how to shift their mindsets – both on a collective unconscious level and the conscious level – to reignite their state of power and visibility for success and fulfillment at work and at home. Learn more at www.drbarbaracox.com.
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