Intuition is defined as the ability to attain knowledge or insights without rational thought. It’s a hunch, a feeling. It’s something that tells you when a loved one is in trouble or a friend is about to call, even though there are no environmental cues.
You can develop and enhance this inner knowledge using a series of finely tuned practices, including cultivating inner stillness, paying more attention to subtle cues, and gaining a deeper understanding of your inner self.
Understanding the Language of Intuition
Intuition can manifest in various ways:
- Inner Voice: The voice in your subconscious that tells you how things will play out.
- Gut Feeling: That feeling deep inside that tells you something is going to happen.
- Visualizations: A flash of insight in the form of a mental image.
- Emotional Urges: A strong inclination toward a specific action.
- Dreams: Subconscious messages revealed to you in dreams.
Intuitions are rarely clear. It’s not a detailed preconception like something from the movie Final Destination. It’s a feeling or a suggestion—you know that something is going to happen, but you’re not sure why and don’t know the specifics.
Understanding a psychic intuition could mean picking apart your feelings or dreams. For instance, a dream may present a jumble of images that appear more like discarded scenes from the editing room of a dystopian blockbuster.
But if you’re with someone in that dream and awake with negative feelings about them and a strong sense that something isn’t quite right, it could be an indication that they are in trouble and need help.
Cultivating Inner Stillness: Creating Space for Intuition
To tune into your psychic intuitive side, you need to tune out the mental chatter—all the thoughts, feelings, and general noise that occupies you throughout the day.
Try it now. Sit still in a quiet room, close your eyes, and try to clear your mind. It sounds easy, but as soon as your eyes close, you’ll start thinking about work, school, or family. You’ll remember that you need to fix the drains or paint the living room, and before you know it, you’ll have mentally mapped everything you need to do.
Those thoughts are useful when you’re engaging in those specific activities, but not right now.
Here are some tips for attaining pure mental clarity:
- Meditation and Mindfulness: Sit still and focus on your breathing. If distracting thoughts enter your mind, file them away. Picture moving those thoughts into a cupboard and shutting the door as you focus back on your breath.
- Deep Breathing: Taking long, deep breaths will reduce your heart rate, calm you down, and help you to center yourself.
- Spending Time in Nature: Not only is moderate exercise—such as walking, jogging, or cycling—great for your physical and mental health, but getting out in nature is a great way of staying in touch with your inner self.
- Journaling: Record your dreams, thoughts, and intuitions. Writing them down will help you to remember them and make sense of them, and you can also look back on them at a later date.
Paying Attention to Subtle Cues: Honing Your Sensory Awareness
Trust your gut. We’ve all heard the saying, but what does it really mean?
Well, it means you’re listening to those intuitive thoughts and feelings and not letting prejudices get in the way. For instance, you might have a bad feeling about someone when you first meet them, even though they seem friendly and nice.
The question is, do your feelings stem from prior prejudices about their relationships, work, and habits—maybe you’ve heard bad things from an acquaintance, don’t have much respect for people in their profession, or they just have the same name as someone you hate—or from a genuine intuition?
It works the other way, as well. You might instantly like them because they look like a beloved family member, have a nice accent, or are good-looking. Let’s be honest: most of us have been guilty of developing positive feelings or opinions about someone just because they’re attractive—first crush, first love, first relationship—or because we fall for their false charm.
The goal is not to learn more about them but to learn more about yourself and to understand where those feelings come from. The more in tune you are with your inner self, the more you can separate prejudices from genuine intuition.
Practicing Trust: Acting on Your Intuitive Guidance
It’s time to start trusting your gut.
Start small. Listen to those intuitions, act on them, and see where they take you. It’s not about quitting your job to focus on your hobby; it’s about following your intuition about minor decisions, whether that means buying a lottery ticket for an upcoming draw or choosing to book a vacation.
The more you follow your intuition and trust your gut, the stronger those feelings will be in the future and the more confident you will be when following them.
Discernment: Distinguishing Intuition from Ego and Fear
The problem with following intuition is that it presents as a gut feeling, but the same is true for fears, anxieties, and decisions driven by ego.
Imagine, for instance, that you’re invited to a party with people you don’t know. You suspect that it might be a good opportunity to make new friends and do some professional networking. But the voice in your head worries that you’ll make a fool of yourself, look out of place, and generally have a terrible time.
Is that voice your intuition or just your anxiety?
It’s not always easy to tell these feelings apart, but the difference is that fears and anxieties are loud and urgent, and ego is driven by hope and arrogance, while intuition is subtle, gentle, and persistent.
Tools and Techniques to Enhance Intuition
In addition to meditation, breathing, exercise, and mindfulness, there are some other tools that could help:
- Automatic Writing: Grab a pen and paper or open a document on your computer and write. Don’t pay attention to what you’re writing. Don’t even think about it. Just write and see what comes up. Automatic writing is often best when used in combination with meditation, as you’ll detach your conscious mind and let your subconscious do the work.
- Tarot Cards: Although they are limited in scope, tarot cards could prompt intuitive insights and help you learn more about your gut feelings.
Conclusion: Embracing Your Inner Wisdom
Developing intuition is a long-term project. It’s something that can take years or even a lifetime, but if you are patient and practice meditation, deep breathing, and inner reflection, you can quickly develop your skills and reach a point where you’re able to intuit things accurately.
There is profound wisdom and endless potential in all of us, but that potential won’t come out on its own. It takes time and work—so stick at it and keep fine-tuning your skills.
