How to Listen to Your Intuition

Learning how to listen to our intuition can be a difficult process thanks to the lessons many of us have learned from overly rational societal or familial suggestion. From a young age we’re taught to “keep it together” and tuck all of our true emotions alway. But this inner-hiding has consequences when it comes to understanding and softening to our intuition.

I know how tempting it is to pretend like everything’s perfect in our lives and hide our shadows. This neglect of my intuitive mind worked for me until it didn’t. I kept going until the stress, tension and overwhelm in my life began to bubble to the surface — manifesting itself as anxiety, digestive issues, body pain and a long list of mystery symptoms.

In a chronic state of flight of fight, I had no awareness this was the real cause of all the imbalances my body and mind were experiencing.

How can I tell if my intuition is muffled?

Let’s do a memory exercise. When was the last time you had a gut feeling about something? Intuition can sometimes seem like some complex, fantastical thing that some people have and others don’t. In reality, intuition is just an instinctive, inner-knowing. It’s the part of humanity that can “feel the vibe” in a room or with a person and whether it would be positive to spend your energy with that space.

German psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer defines intuition as “a form of unconscious intelligence that is as needed as conscious intelligence.” When we ignore our unconscious intelligence and override this feeling, life can feel harder, heavy, or more of a struggle. Our bodies can respond negatively with stomach aches, intense anxiety, or an overriding feeling of being out of place.

How can I start learning to listen to my intuition?

Tapping into your intuition can be a big adjustment! Most of the time, it’s more of a whisper than a yell. Many of adults already struggle to pay attention to inner cues, so this can be frustrating. Here are some of my favorite ways to hone in:

• Commit to a daily mindfulness practice.
• Try listening to your gut (or heart) about little things before big decisions.
• Listen to a guided meditation. You can check out one of my recent podcasts here about how to trust yourself.
• Pay attention to how you feel both after making a choice and throughout your daily habits.
• Notice if a certain type of opportunity keeps knocking at your door (this can be your intuition attempting to get you to notice it!).

Listening to your intuition can help you feel more confident in decision-making and feel more at ease in social situations. Benefits like improved physical health and sleep cycles can also come from a stronger intuitive nature. The more you align with your intuitive mind the more peace you’ll find in your everyday life.

Learn More

Whether you are local to Grand Rapids and can join me at my East Town office The Healing Space or you are somewhere else in the world. Allow me to guide you in this experience of transformative healing.

All of my Breathwork sessions are combined with Reiki Energy Therapy, Crystals, a Holistic Health Consultation & recommendations in-between sessions with healing tools so you can continue empowering your own journey. Learn more about my in-person + virtual offerings HERE.