7 Ways to Better Listen to Your Intuition

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7 Ways to Better Listen to Your Intuition

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Have you ever been in a situation where your “gut feeling” told you one thing, but your rational mind said another? If you went with your brain rather than your intuition, there’s a good chance you ended up regretting your decision. Your intuition is the subconscious leader that many people fail to give proper respect to. But learning to listen to this internal compass could help you make better decisions and live a more fulfilling life.

“I define intuition as the subtle knowing without ever having any idea why you know it,” explains Sophy Burnham, bestselling author of The Art of Intuition, to The Huffington Post. “It’s different from thinking, it’s different from logic or analysis … It’s a knowing without knowing.”

It’s unconscious reasoning, the guidance that compels you to turn left when all signs may be pointing right. It’s often the whisper inside that can lead you to the best results possible, if you will just learn to let go and give it a chance.

Intuition is commonly associated with New Age mysticism or a metaphysical way of thinking, but it doesn’t have to be so. Our intuition was here long before anyone even gave a word to it, and it will be here long after other fad words expire.

“There is a growing body of anecdotal evidence, combined with solid research efforts, that suggests intuition is a critical aspect of how we humans interact with our environment and how, ultimately, we make many of our decisions,” said Ivy Estabrooke of the Office of Naval Research, who is investigating the power of intuition which has helped troops make important and quick decisions during combat.

Whether it’s deciding which job to take, which direction to turn when you’re lost, or how to handle a conflict in your family, intuition sometimes knows better than the rational mind. The problem is that many of us have buried that little voice so deeply within, we have a hard time hearing or feeling where it is guiding us.

The good news is that your intuition is still there, you merely have to learn to hear it again.

To better listen to your intuition, try:

1. Meditation: Spend time in silence, simply listening.
2. Commune with nature: Aim to get at least sometime outside every single day.
3. Creativity: Tap into your internal artist by drawing, writing, painting, or making music.
4. Learn to listen: In general, listen to friends, families, silence, and yourself.
5. Be body conscious: Learn to appreciate the little signs and signals from your body, when it tells you it’s tired, joyful, in need of love, or getting sick.
6. Let go: Warm up to the idea that you don’t have to control everything. Life is going to happen whether you overthink it or not. Relax.
7. Stay positive: A 2013 study in the journal Psychological Science found that being in a good mood boosted participant’s abilities to make intuitive calls in a word game. So smile!

Working on becoming more intuitive requires you to adopt healthier habits and a healthier mindset. These are things that are good for your mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing, no matter your end goal. And if cultivated regularly, they could lend themselves to better decision making and more happiness overall.

[Chip]

Now were talking!
Great post, huge follower of these basic concepts. Nothing "new age" about this when you spend enough time in nature.
God I wish more people would go camp out or hike or at least visit a park!
With that said intuition comes with time. Praying for it or asking some God to give it to you won't work. It comes from experience. It is earned by perseverance and respect of the natural laws that exist outside of Man.
In my humble opinion

[Guish]

I agree with Chip. The following PDF gives some more details.

http://http://spiritswisdom.com/wp-content/uploads/Six-Easy-Ways-to-Strengthen-Your-Natural-Intuition.pdf

[wnlight]

A Testimonial: Intuition actually has helped me a lot in my life, whether that was in taking an exam in college, or in deciding which technical path to take at work. (I was in IT before retiring.) I learned to use dowsing tools ten years ago, carrying a pendulum wherever I went. Now I am learning to do without the pendulum - with my Spirit connection. Whenever I refuse to take the intuited "left turn" and, instead, take the well-thought-out path, I usually end up regretting the decision.

[Sidney]

I have to say, these are things that I have KNOWN for a long time, but what has taken the longest time was not just to listen and KNOW, but to BELIEVE/TRUST. My intuition regularly speaks to me loud and clear, and I do listen, BUT, I have always had this little other voice screaming self doubt. It is not until I learned to really trust 100% (99% is not enough), that things begin to really settle in to let me know I am on the right path. I hope this made some kind of sense, it is kind of hard to put into words really. But knowing and believing are two different things. After seeing your own gut in action and after the fact knowing that you did trust, then it will become the more natural thing to do without having to over analyze things.
Failure is also a very good teacher.