“Intuition comes in several forms:
– a sudden flash of insight, visual or auditory
– a predictive dream
– a spinal shiver of recognition as something is occurring or told to you
– a sense of knowing something already
– a sense of deja-vu
– a snapshot image of a future scene or event
– knowledge, perspective or understanding divined from tools which respond to the subconscious mind”

~Sylvia Clare

Dear Universe,

The other day I was having coffee with my best friend.  We got to talking about dozens of different things all in the course of a few minutes—it’s what we do—when she said this to me.

“You need to write about intuition.”

I told her that I had already, several times!

“Well, it’s been a while and I need a reminder about how to tune in and listen to my intuition.”

Since this was the first time anyone had directly asked me to write about a topic, I want to honor her request.

I will start with a story I haven’t written about before.

When I was in college I went to Paris to visit my roommate who was studying abroad there.  Since she was living with a French family, she had booked me a room at a nearby hotel.

One evening I set off to walk to this family’s apartment, where I would be eating dinner.  Since I had only been there once, and I have zero sense of direction, I wasn’t surprised when I found myself lost.

I stopped to ask for directions.  Back then my French was a little better than it is now and I succeeded in getting them.  As I walked, it got darker and the neighborhood got more residential and quieter.

That’s when I heard footsteps behind me.

Now there was nothing sinister about this—I was walking in major city, after all.  But a little alarm went off in me.  My intuition told me not to turn around, but to cross the street.  So I did.

The person behind me crossed the street too.

My gut told me to walk a little faster.  So I did.

The person behind me walked a little faster too.

My intuition told me to cross the street again.  So I did.

The person behind me crossed the street too.

By now I recognized where I was and that I was only another block away from the apartment.  So when the voice in my head told me to run, I did.

I ran as fast as I could.  I ran as if I wasn’t wearing too-high, black high-heeled boots.  I ran as if my life depended on it because in that moment it felt like it did.

The person behind me had started running too.

I arrived at the door of the apartment complex and prayed to be buzzed in fast enough.  I was.  I slammed the glass door behind me with barely a second to spare.  The man who had been chasing me tried to get in, but the door had already closed.  We locked eyes for a moment, he yelled some French obscenities at me, and then he took off.

I was so grateful I had followed my instinct.

Now I tell this story, not to scare anyone (though it scares me now just writing it), but because I think we do know how to tune into our intuition.  In moments of fear, we can hear it loud and clear.  We’ve probably all had an experience we can remember when our intuition led us to safety or warned us about something.

In those moments, we can tell the difference between our gut and our ego and we usually have no problem with following the voice, even if it doesn’t make much rational sense.

We don’t stop to question or debate about the message.  We don’t put it aside to think about it later or ignore it completely.  When our intuition shouts at us, we usually know it and most times we honor it.

There’s something we need to realize, though.  Our soul is constantly sending us messages.

Where things get fuzzy are the times when our intuition is merely whispering at us.  It’s then that we’re not sure. We second guess our gut, sometimes telling the voice to be quiet.  We push the thoughts down because we don’t want to hear it, can’t face it at that time or aren’t ready for the guidance, but inevitably they pop up again and again, until the whisper has turned into a shout.

We also need to recognize that our intuition doesn’t just speak when we are in danger.

Sometimes the whispers or the shouts are telling us to go for the job, take the leap of faith with a relationship or just talk to the person next to us in the middle of a crowd (all of which have also happened to me).  It’s not until later, after the divine connections have been made, that we realize that the “coincidence” was really something much more than that—maybe “fated” or simply “meant to be.”

The thing we each need to work on is this: Whenever your intuition speaks, listen closely.  The whispers are just as important as the shouts. (Tweet that!)

We often ignore our intuition until it demands to be heard.  But the more we push away or quiet the voice, the harder it gets to hear.

The only way to start to tell the difference between our minds and our intuition—and we can—is to start to pay attention more and take note.

How you want to do this is entirely up to you, but I’d start with a five minute meditation in the morning to clear your head.  In that space of quiet, listen to what you hear.  Then all throughout your day, whenever it suits you, write down your thoughts so you can look back at them later.

When you do, ask which thoughts are valid.  Are some just your everyday worries and fears that pop up all the time?  Dismiss those.  Are there other messages that offer reassurance, divine instructions or a direction for you to take?  Listen to that voice more.

If you want an answer to a question, ask.  Then pay attention and look closely.  Sometimes the answer is a song on the radio, a billboard with a slogan or the bumper sticker on the car in front of you.  If there is a message you need to hear, it will come at you from all sorts of directions until you realize it was what your voice was saying all along!

In paying closer attention, you’ll start to get better at distinguishing between your gut and your mind.

If you’re afraid of making a decision, and aren’t sure if it’s intuition-based, don’t be.  You’ll know you’re honoring your intuition because the choices you make will put your mind and heart at ease. Your soul will be smiling and you’ll feel that within you.

Treat the process like listening to a radio.  You just have to adjust to the right frequency, the one without all the static, and when you tune in, you’ll know.

Your soul is trying to speak to you.  Your gut wants to guide you.  Your intuition wants to lead the way and keep you on your divine path.  You think it only speaks to you when you hear it shouting, but it’s whispering all the time.

What is your intuition telling you?

Thank you for the whispers and the shouts.  I am always grateful when a message comes to me.

Much Gratitude,

A