Studies show that our gut feeling is correct 95% of the time, so why do so many of us not often follow our instincts? Our brain teaches us to think and make decisions logically, while our emotions and heart can often battle to agree.
“praying woman” (CC BY 2.0) by Guppydas
Your gut feeling, also thought of as ‘intuition’ or ‘sixth sense’, is your subconscious linking with your conscious. Our subconscious mind knows a lot more than we think and is a crucial part of our body that filters out what we need to know and what we don’t need to know. It decides what is helpful to us and what is not. Animals operate on their instincts and senses, and until mankind developed, it was imperative to our survival.
“Meditation” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by luckey_sun
HOW TO LEARN TO TRUST YOURSELF
Trusting your gut instincts may sound easier than it is and most of us have to learn to just go with our feelings and see what happens. How often have you known who was calling before you picked up the phone? Have you ever had a ‘feeling’ about something or someone and been proven right? Most of us have had thoughts or feelings that have been accurate, and so trusting our instincts above logical thinking is usually the right thing to do. You can slowly learn to trust your intuition by testing yourself, like speaking up to a friend when you get a feeling about something, or writing down any unexpected fleeting thoughts that come to mind. Making a note of what you are picking up intuitively is important, so that you can refer back to it.
“Steve Jobs on Intuition” (CC BY 2.0) by Vintuitive
HOW TO TUNE IN
There are several ways to tune in to your intuition or gut feeling so that you can improve your awareness and use it to help you:
- MEDITATION: Meditation teaches us to empty our mind and connect with ourselves on a more spiritual level. Once we can link in with our subconscious mind, we enhance our intuition.
- PENDULUM: A pendulum is a weighted object on the end of a cord, such as a crystal. Using a dowsing pendulum assists us in connecting with our intuition to discover answers to our questions. Depending how the pendulum moves, we can get yes / no answers.
- DREAMS: Our dreams often represent thoughts and anxieties about current life, but they can also be a form of premonition. Have you ever had a dream that has come true? This is your subconscious working with your intuition to forewarn you of certain circumstances.
- ORACLE CARDS: Whether you choose to use the tarot cards, angel cards or other types of decks, oracle cards link with your intuition to give you guidance and answers to current situations and the future. Learn the basic meaning of the cards, then convey any additional thoughts and feelings you get with your intuition.
Everyone has the natural ability to use their intuition to their benefit by listening to their instincts. They are an inbuilt sense that we all have which help to guide us through life, forewarning and forearming us. Once we learn to trust our gut feeling, it will develop and get stronger, enabling us to call upon it whenever we need it.