How to Make the Most of Your Intuition

How to Make the Most of Your Intuition

Everyone has intuition but not everyone knows how to use it. Even fewer know how to develop it. Just like a muscle, intellect, or talent, exercising intuition will make it stronger and more effective.

Many may wonder how to do you exercise intuition? Isn’t it something that just happens naturally when you are in a situation? Not necessarily. Some guides teach you how to access intuition but how to decode it for its best use.

The Science of Intuition

There is science behind mysterious intuition. Carl Jung, a well-known transpersonal psychologist, stated that intuition is unconscious knowledge that is connected to automatic brain and body knowledge. In other words, our brains and body unconsciously know things that produce themselves as intuition to message warning and direction for us to act in a survival state.

Intuition resides in the unconscious mind while we live in the conscious mind. This is why intuition seems to come out of nowhere. Author Penney Peirce states that intuition arises from the unconscious and comes through our five senses to help us understand it.

She also refers to “the higher self” as a global understanding of time and space so it generates these spiritual experiences involving intuition. It is the part of humans that generates purpose and awareness. This is why all senses seem to blend in these experiences and you seem to have direct knowledge.

What Are Exercises that Develop Intuition?

There are several activities you can do to increase your intuition and tap into the unconscious part of your brain where intuition lives.

1. Practice meditation and mindfulness. This will help you become more focused and self-aware. There is a special form of mediation that works well for developing intuition called light meditation.

In this meditation, sit comfortably in a chair with your hands resting on your thighs and imagine a light prick in the middle of your brain. Allow it to grow throughout your entire brain.

Shift the allow a second light prick to start at your spine’s base in front of your tailbone. Allow it to expand and fill your pelvis. Now, allow the light to flow down into the earth at your feet. It merges with the earth’s energy and you will feel it rising through your feel and flowing upward through your body.

Pay attention to your thoughts, feelings, and awareness as this happens.

You can do other types of mediations such as tapping into your solar plexus or using mediations that make the most of yes and no answers. Another meditation is to imagine you are walking down a path. Notice what is along the path, the weather, and what are the options in a decision you must make.

After a while on the path, you will come to a split in the road that matches the number of options before you. Stop and understand which path is associated with each option. Breath in and out and take a path in your mind. Notice how it feels and if it feels right. Explore it.

When you have explored that path, go back to the junction and take another one. Do this until you have explored each path.

Bring yourself out of meditation and think about your feelings as you traveled down each path. You can use that to determine which option is right for you.

2. Enjoy creative activities. Creative activities include things like art, music, and crafts. These activities open up your subconscious as well as the right side of your brain. They also promote mindfulness and intention.
3. Writing. This can be writing poetry or other creative writing and journal writing. However, it also includes a letter-writing exercise suggested by intuition expert Stephanie Dorwrick. She said to write a detailed letter and finish it with a question like “what do I value most? What am I most grateful for? or what action do I need to take?”
4. Include NLP and hypnosis into your exercises. Use a reputable therapist to communicate with the unconscious mind. This can be done with finger signals for communication.

Pendulums, often associated with hypnosis, can be used for NLP training. A pendulum is simply a weighted object on a cord or chain. You can set up yes and no responses with it before asking questions. It will swing to reveal what your inner spirit is trying to tell you through your body. It isn’t the most reliable method of tapping into your intuition, but some swear by it.

5. Understand signs and symbols. Sometimes intuition reveals itself in signs and symbols. This happens the most in dreams but can happen while we are awake as well. Some people will see something and instinctively understand it to be a sign to answer a question or guide them in a direction.

Symbols have been used for thousands of years to convey meanings. For instance, the lotus plant relates to growth while the butterfly symbolizes transformation. The lion is associated with royalty, wisdom, protection and the fig tree refers to enlightening. Roses correlate with love and life while sapphire stones indicate the heavens and truth.

To practice your intuition using symbols, Peirce advises developing a connection with a personal symbol. Look for it and even collect images of it. It can be anything but must be something that positively represents you. You may need to meditate to discover your symbol.

Once you begin to connect to your symbol, notice when it appears. This is especially true if you are facing a decision. This is a good way to practice noticing signs and symbols. Your awareness of other subtle signs will grow as you practice this technique.

Dreams

Pay attention to symbols in your dreams. Dreams can give you special insights and knowledge as well as premonitions. Have you ever had a problem that seemingly had no solution but woke up to a solution the next morning?

Dreams are important to brain development and involve both the conscious and the subconscious mind. Since we are asleep, dreams use parts of our brain in messaging that we fight off during the day in our conscious state. Dreams can show us how we feel about situations.

For Jung, he said dreams as a way to balance our psyche. He explored the symbols, archetypes, and innate patterns of response to the human experience.

Dream symbols have several layers of meanings and what they mean largely depends on the person dreaming. These symbols are incredibly personalized and sometimes depend on the current situation the person is in. The dreamer needs to work through what the different symbols mean to them in association with what is going on in their lives at the moment.

Dreams as Premonitions

Dreams can certainly contain signals relating to future events. Jung believes our bodies carry this knowledge and it’s showcased in dreams. He has had clients where dreams, even ones that seemed to be out of place, were indicators of a future event. While science can’t confirm a connection, there are plenty of stories that indicate this can happen.

One of the most famous Bible stories was the dreams of Joseph. He had dreams he would rule over his brothers and parents, which led to his brothers selling him into slavery. Joseph eventually rose to power under the Pharoh’s command and was the one in charge of food distribution during the famine. His brothers ended up coming to Egypt to ask for food as the famine struck the land.

The key thing a person can do regarding dreams is to write them down right after you wake up. You will forget them later, so it needs to be done right away. It is best to keep a journal near your bed. Be sure to write down images and symbols, even if they seem unimportant or you don’t understand them. Pay attention to your physical senses during the dream as they will help you interpret it.

6. Listen to your body. This is key to developing intuition. How do you feel around a particular person or place? Are there times and places where you feel at peace? Pay attention to things you seem to know without knowing how you know them. Many people try to find validation for what their gut tells them but that only leads to frustration.

Pay attention to body reflexes in a situation. Also, pay attention to those fleeting thoughts that seemingly come out of nowhere. Listen to your inner voice. Too many people dismiss them as foolish but, in reality, that inner voice may be trying to direct you or keep you from danger.

Letting go of fears about trusting our instincts, as well as letting go of expectations, will do wonders for you to develop better intuition. You can replace fear with positive messages and that will help you as you go through the process of growing intuition.