A Beginners’ Guide to Understanding Intuition
It’s not all in your head.
By Robin Arnett, LCSW
What is Intuition?
Intuition is a natural, guiding intelligence that speaks to us through out bodies. Our intuition is an inherent gift and connection to “Source” that every one of us possess from our birth. It grows and develops as we live our lives and gain experience, but our intuition is always a part of who we are.
Your intuition is personal and specific to you. Intuition is subjective, but that doesn’t make it any less valid. You are the only one that can determine what is right for you or wrong for you. Each person is a unique being, with their own preferences, experiences, and divine path.
The thing about intuition is that our feelings are also, in their own way, facts about the way that you experience something or someone. In scientific terms, your feelings are qualitative data. The way that we feel about something is information that should inform the decisions that we make. If a person makes you feel icky, there is likely something to that. If you enjoy something and it makes you happy, that information is relevant, too.
Intuitive thinking can be described as automatic, fast, and subconscious. On the other hand, analytic thinking is thought of as being slow, logical, facts-based, conscious, and deliberate. Relying on your intuition doesn’t mean that analytic thinking gets thrown out the window. In fact, both types of thinking can take place at the same time. Valuing intuition simply means accessing an additional source of information - one that holds great wisdom and possibility, if you can learn to trust it.
Where Does Intuition Come From?
Intuition comes from a multitude of sources, and the answer depends on who you ask. The scientific perspective sees intuition as being based on previous experiences. In fact, certain parts of the brain are linked to intuitive thinking, particularly those parts that register positive and negative experiences, and the parts that connect the two hemispheres of the brain.
Beyond the brain science, intuition is also associated with guidance from spiritual helpers and our collective consciousness. Whatever you believe, it is worthwhile to consider all perspectives.
Following Your Bliss
Joseph Campbell was a scholar of mythology who influenced countless writers and creators, most notably George Lucas, the creative force behind Star Wars. In his study of mythology, Dr. Campbell found a stunning number of similarities across geography, culture, and time. One of the themes that he identified was the concept of “following your bliss.” To follow your bliss essentially means allowing what feels good and right to guide you. Characters throughout mythology experienced the guidance of beneficent, invisible hands when they allowed their bliss to guide them. The idea of following your bliss is another way to think of following your intuition, and has roots in our ancient, collective story.
Sensing into Energy
We are constantly tuning into the energy of our environment and the beings in our orbit. According to quantum physics, we are all part of a vast, invisible field of energy. Every human being, along with every material thing in the Universe, broadcasts a distinct energy pattern. An intuitive feeling often comes from sensing into the energy of a situation or person. You may not know how to explain it, but you just “know” that someone is safe or a little “off,” or that something is about to happen.
Connecting to a Higher Consciousness
There are innumerable viewpoints on how to define God, the Universe, or whatever name you choose to give the greater energy that connects us to one another and to something higher than ourselves. Carl Jung developed the concept of the “collective unconcious,” which is the idea that we are all connected through a set of shared, innate knowledge that expresses itself through symbols and archetypes. However you think of it, intuition is innately connected to the benevolent, loving lifeforce of which we are all a part.
How Does Intuition Communicate?
Intuition Through the Body
Intuition has many different ways of communicating, but its primary conduit is the body. Intuition is commonly referred to as a “gut feeling,” and there is an important reason for that. When something feels wrong for us, or right for us, we often get a strong feeling either way in our belly. Intuition communicates through the nervous system, which is connected to the gut through the vagus nerve. Our nervous system is highly attuned to both our internal and external experiences.
You can feel that something is wrong for you when you get an icky feeling in your gut, or when your nervous system puts you on high alert. In contrast, “rightness” can be felt as a feeling of grounded, peaceful calm. Keep in mind that our emotions are communicated to us through body sensation, so the physical experience of intuition is also emotional.
Mental Clarity and “Pings”
Intuition can also communicate through mental clarity and through external signs. Mentally, intuitive knowledge can feel like a “light bulb moment,” where something clicks and you experience sudden, immediate clarity. Intuition can also come through as “pings,” which are little moments of clarity or inspiration. Pings are often experienced as external signs that have a deep feeling of significance. Pings will often show up over and over, so don’t worry too much about readings into every little thing and getting steered off track. The messages that you need will come through if you are listening.
Can Intuition Be Trusted?
Most of us have experienced the internal conflict that can occur between our intuitive knowing and our “logic” brain. The analytical brain can make us doubt our intuitive guidance if it conflicts with what “should” or “should not” make sense. The logic brain often needs concrete proof, and that is just fine, because we can provide that proof through practice, and build that internal trust.
If you’ve ever made a decision based on intuition, you can probably think back to see that this decision had positive results. In fact, there is ample scientific evidence to support the efficacy of intuitive decision making. Don’t take my word for granted though - take some time to think back about some big decisions that you made, and whether they were based on a gut feeling or what looked like the right answer “on paper.” How did they turn out? Think about the opposite, too. Are there decisions you’ve made where you went against your intuition because your gut feeling didn’t “make sense”?
Practice Builds Trust
You can also test your intuitive decision making abilities almost immediately by making smaller decisions using intuition. Think of a concrete, fairly insignificant decision that you need to make in the next 24 hours. This could be something like what kind of workout you’d like to do, what book to read or show to watch after work, or what route to take to an outing. Intuition isn’t just for use in major decisions; connecting with intuition is a way of life. Once you’ve made your small intuitive decision, take stock of how it went. If it has positive results (and I’m guessing it probably will) keep practicing with small decisions, and then build up to bigger ones once that trust has been established. It’s ok to need proof to support trust, but you’ll need to be willing to experiment with something new to begin.
How Can You Connect with Intuition?
Connecting with intuition is a practice, and it starts with simply setting an intention to connect, and trusting what comes through. Intuition is available to all of us if we allow it in, and that relationship grows the more you nurture it. Learn more about connecting with intuition in the blogs linked below, and start to embrace this powerful internal wisdom.
