Intuition vs. Non-Intuitive Thoughts

We all have intuition that knows the truth and can guide us through life.  It’s our inner guidance system. It always knows the truth and we can tap into it to help solve our problems and make decisions.  When I work with people and coach them on learning to listen to their intuition, there are two main reasons that they do not follow their intuition.

1. They don’t know how to distinguish intuition from all the noise and thoughts that are not intuition.

2. They can hear the voice of intuition but want the answer to be different than what their guidance tells them. 

There is usually some fear, anxiety, trauma triggers or thoughts that are blocking them from hearing the voice of their intuition OR they are mistaking the fear, anxiety, trauma triggers and thoughts as the voice of their intuition. 

If you want to start developing your intuition so you can trust yourself, there are several steps you can take.

First, learn what’s NOT intuition, because this can be noisy and confusing:

Not intuition:

Impulsive, knee-jerk reactions

Stress response/fight or flight reactions

Thoughts, beliefs, or assumptions based on past fears or traumas

Racing, anxious thoughts

Ego

Analyzing, trying to figure it out

Judgment, doubt, worry

Fear, anxiety, guilt, or depression

Shoulds

 Non-intuitive thoughts are fearful, agitated, and come from the lower survival part of the brain. 

Intuition:

Calm clarity

Short and to the point

Sense of knowing and understanding

Subtle

Still

Feels peaceful

 Intuition is calm and peaceful and comes from the higher parts of the brain.

 Learning to tap into your intuition is a skill that takes practice. Learning the skill of self-regulation will help you calm your body and brain and allow you to get into the state of calm that is required to hear your intuition.

The lower survival parts of our brain can be triggered when we are stressed or feeling uncertain.  This activates our stress response system, or our “fight or flight.”  When our stress response is activated, we are “dysregulated” and we lose access to the higher parts of our brain, which require calm to function at their best.  We need to be in this state of calm to hear our intuition.

If you are dysregulated, it will be harder to distinguish intuition from the thoughts and anxious fears that are running wild inside your mind.

Learning How to Self-Regulate:

Find out what’s calming for you.  It can be different for everyone, but the following activities can be a good way to start.

Walking

Doodling/drawing

Being in nature

Being in water

Walking side-by-side with a calm “regulated” person.

Rhythmic activities, or anything that would sooth a baby.

Music

Rocking chair

Dancing

If you’d like to learn more about the stress response and self-regulation, you can find detailed information in my book, Creating Calm.

How to Tap Into Your Intuition When you want to know the answer:

Once you have learned how to calm your brain and body, the next steps are to:

1. Get quiet

2. Ask your intuition the question you want it to answer

3. The answer will come as a calm and quiet feeling or sense.

 What happens when we ignore our intuition or “go against our gut?”

Most people do recognize their calm inner voice of intuition.  Often, we ignore it because we don’t like the answer it is giving us, and this can make us feel confusion. The voice of fear and anxiety can be so much louder than the voice of intuition, so we often default to the noisy, non-intuitive thoughts.

When we look back at regrets or “mistakes” that we have made, there was usually some part of us that knew we were going against our intuition.  In fact, when I ask people about life issues or situations that they regret, they usually say that their gut told them something was off, but they ignored it.

Download your copy of 4 Ways to Live a More Intuitive Life.