The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself. — Alan Alda
Not long ago I wrote a post questioning which is smarter, the head or the heart. The head is our logical mind and also our not-so-helpful monkey mind. The heart is our intuition.
Messages that we get from our mind are usually logical and can apply to many people. These messages follow a logical path.
Messages that we get from our intuition are almost the opposite. They are sometimes faint and subtle and other times hit us right between the eyes. They’re usually not logical or linear but appear as a concept, a thought, a feeling.
They are only meant for us and can’t be applied to anyone else. And sometimes they seem to make no sense at all.
My experience is that messages from my mind tend to be about what I should do.
Messages from my intuition are about what is best for my true self, what will lead me closer to my dreams.
My First Big Intuitive Experience
As a left-brained, logical thinker most of my life (I’ve been a CPA for the past 23 years), I’ve leaned toward following my head and, as a result, have repeated many negative patterns over and over again.
It wasn’t until I slowed down and quieted my mind that I even realized that there was a pure voice inside me that had been trying to whisper its messages to me. Unfortunately, I ignored them for my ‘should’s.’
The first time I felt like I finally started to listen to my intuition was when I was about 28 years old (better late than never). I had been on the fast track to making partner in a big public accounting firm in Boston and had planned out my suburban life for the next twenty years.
And then I started to question everything.
[Me] Is this really what I wanted to do with the rest of my life? [Intuition] No.
[Me] If not this, then what? [Intuition] I don’t know. But you know that can’t keep doing what you’re doing.
[Me] Well what the hell am I supposed to do? [Intuition] Aahhh! Now we’re getting somewhere! You just realized that you’ve spent your whole life doing what you think you’re supposed to do – what others expect of you. What do YOU want to do?
[Me] I’ve never really thought about it. I’ve been getting these messages from you in the form of quotes and images from Outside magazine. I’ve been cutting them out and keeping them in a folder and reading them over and over and I have no idea why. [Intuition] What do you think they mean?
[Me] Go find myself. [Intuition] Exactly.
[Me] I’m still lost. [Intuition] Go west and do something with horses.
[Me] WHAT???? [Intuition] You heard me. Go west and do something with horses.
[Me] Where west and do what with horses??? [Intuition] You go figure it out.
And I did.
You can read more about that journey of following my intuition in my guest post over at Advanced Riskology.
Intuitive Advice From a Friend
Over the years I’ve learned to leave the answers to life’s big questions (and many of the little ones) to my intuition. It always has the right answers for me when I choose to listen.
I could go on about all I’ve learned about following my intuition but my good friend, Angela Artemis, does a much, much better job. Her blog, Powered By Intuition, focuses on every aspect of our intuition. You can spend some time digging through her archives to find what you’re looking for (which would be an awfully fun and enlightening thing to do) and you can get a copy of her amazing new book, The Intuition Principle: How to Attract the Life You Dream Of
I just finished reading The Intuition Principle and learned so much about how to stay in touch with my intuition every day and how to utilize the messages that I receive (among many other gems).
She includes a variety of very helpful exercises and guided meditations to help you focus on receiving the messages and answers you’re looking for.
I’ve been feeling stuck for years in two particular areas of my life. I’ve applied everything I’ve learned to these issues and they wouldn’t budge. Then I used Angela’s guided meditations, which are very simple, and had some huge Aha! moments. It was like the sky opened and the answers dropped into my lap. Just like that. Really.
Since finishing the book, I find myself going back through it and finding new nuggets to apply to my life (that’s my intuition guiding me again). I highly, highly recommend this book.
My Interview With Angela
To help all of us better understand some principles of intuition, I have interviewed Angela to get her expert answers on the topic. She’s an amazing woman!
What is, “The Intuition Principle?”
“The Intuition Principle is a concept that within you exists an innate technology, your intuition, capable of both guiding you to and attracting to you the life and happiness you’ve always dreamed of.” P. 10 “The Intuition Principle.”
By listening to your intuition you are guided to follow the right path in your life. The right path in life is the one you are most passionate about and excited about following. It is the path that best utilizes your gifts and abilities and feels effortless to you. Being on the right path leads to opportunities that open doors to your success. The joyous feeling you get from doing something that your soul craves is the mechanism that attracts more opportunity into your life along this path. “The Intuition Principle” is a guidebook for learning to navigate your life by intuition directly to the most joyous path for your life.
How does “the world come to you” when you are living intuitively?
When you follow your intuition you make wiser decisions according to who you really are at your core and what is truly right for you, rather than decisions based on what others think you should do or what society dictates. Listening to your intuition puts you in touch with the “authentic” you.
For example, when you feel an aversion to doing something but, you do it anyway, the aversion you feel is your inner guidance trying to communicate to you to examine your choice. When you follow your intuition and do the things that make you feel joyous, motivated and excited, you live an “intuitively inspired life.” You feel “inspired” to do the things you do – and it is that joy and inspiration that brings “the world to you.” When you are inspired and exude joy others will be drawn to your energy as will more opportunity for greater success in every area of your life. When you are “intuitively inspired” you become a dynamic and magnetic force in your own life!
How can I tell the between the voice of intuition and voice of the ego?
Intuition makes you “feel good” about doing something. You will feel excited and experience a sense of “certainty” about it. When a thought comes from the ego, often you’ll feel as if you “should do” it. You’ll be aware of your rational mind recounting the reasons why you ought to do it. Intuition is more of a feeling while the ego is a rationalization that comes from the intellect.
How does fear affect intuition?
Fear constricts the flow of intuition. When you’re fearful about moving forward with something in your life, your doubts will overtake your mind. All you will hear are the reasons “why not.” If you are in a dire situation where you are afraid for your safety or your future and filled with fears, this too will block you from hearing your intuition. Essentially, anytime we allow fear to hijack our emotions, we – our mind – becomes overtaken by fearful thoughts. The thoughts are so strong and emotionally charged that we can think of little else. The quiet little whisper of our intuition is going to be drowned out by our fearful thoughts.
The thing to do is find a way to calm the mind. Repeat affirmations or a mantra. Meditate. Go for a long walk or relax in a hot bath. Do whatever it takes to break the spell that fear has on your mind. When you do, you will hear your intuition again.
What advice would you give to someone who struggles to hear their inner guidance?
Learn to relax. Let go of the outcome. Don’t worry about being wrong. Intuition thrives in a relaxed peaceful state of mind. One other thing you can do is to learn to meditate and practice every day. Meditation relaxes the mind and allows your thoughts to slow down. When your mind is not crammed full of one thought after another, your intuition will easily stand out.
Practice by asking for guidance when you are meditating. Ask and then sit quietly and listen. Do not expect to hear a “booming voice” like I did. It is your own voice that you hear in your mind. Trust whatever comes. It could come as a “thought” or a picture in the mind or as a “gut feeling.” After you do this a while you will begin to truly trust this voice and know it as your intuitive wisdom. Practice is key.
Angela Artemis, an intuition coach, is on a mission to teach readers around the world to “speak intuition” so that they unlock all the brilliant potential that resides within and start successfully living the life of their dreams now – not later. She blogs at www.PoweredbyIntuition.com and is the author of The Intuition Principle: How to Attract the Life You Dream Of
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The Mindful Living Guide
Great post! sometimes i have great ideas from some “strange voice” in my head. Thanks
Hello Paige
Thank you for your interesting answer.
I agree with you when you say :. ***I personally prioritize the feedback I receive from my gut because it’s so easy to decipher (feels bad, don’t do it; feels at ease, do it).***I do too. The point is that it is very simple but very efficient.
A lot of us have been educated and trained to live from the neck up, without knowing the existence of our bodies. We have been taught to think and act and move along .
What if we only sit down in order to “feel” before any important action ?
It is obvious -and even rational !- that our body cells are packed up with data and we continuously and unconsciously get a lot of information from life events. If you think of what is understood through conscious (therefore limited) perception of body language, for example, you get an idea of what is perceived unconsciously.
And the fact is we only have to be a little quiet, ask any precise question related to any situation in order to get consistent messages from our guts.
The chapter in Angela’s book about our “purpose” is probably the most important one. I think we all try to find (or keep) our authentic path in life. We need a sort of personal radar to guide us step by step. This radar is what you describe as ***feels bad, don’t do it; feels at ease, do it***
Our society doesn’t value stopping to calm the mind and focus on the body because it’s not seen as “being productive.” It’s as if you’re not getting something done if you’re not physically moving. I would argue (as you do) that sitting still and simply being leads to the most effective productivity – following our personal radar in order to best serve the world.
Angela Artemis’book is one of the best ones about intuition I’ve ever read. The various techniques she shows can apply to searchers’preoccupations… Nevertheless, gut instinct is only gut instinct. Body responses to life are always clear. If you do not follow them you wil regret it. since your body feels at ease or not according to situations. It is a sort of GPS. Train it and you can make appropriate choices juqst by listening to that sort of overall feeling and acting upon it. But (there’s a ‘but’). Can we merge ‘collective unconscious’ and God ? Has intuition got anything to do with DIVINE inspiration ? Have we really got a spiritual mission in is is ‘collective unconscious’. Listening to our body is enough to be effective. But it is just my opinion. Angela Artemis is right when she says we can miss important goals if we do not listen to our intuition. Do read Angela’s book, I think it is a good one and it yields excellent results even if the ‘spiritual thing’ might not appeal to you…
Alain,
I’m so glad you enjoyed Angela’s book. Yes, it’s a great one!
There is research that says that we actually have three brains in our head, heart and gut. They each communicate to us in different ways but are equally important. I personally prioritize the feedback I receive from my gut because it’s so easy to decifer (feels bad, don’t do it; feels at ease, do it).
I personally believe that collective unconscious, god, intuition, divine inspiration are all the same. It’s all energy that we’re a part of that flows through and makes up everything. Our physical bodies simply need to learn how to tune into it. Many native cultures around the world who haven’t been disrupted and bombarded by “more progressive” cultures remain connected to the messages of this energy (they may call it nature or “the gods” or a host of other names). These days we’re so distracted that it’s hard to be quiet enough internally to hear the messages that are always there for us.
Hi Paige,
Thank you for this wealth of info here and telling us about Angela. I am always looking for personal development blogs as no one is an island and we all need to make connections with our peers.
Intuition is a wonderful voice that we all have and every time we listen to it we can’t go wrong. I don’t think you’ve ever been to any of my blogs, but I’ve told my recent story there were my intuition told me not put my kitty through an anesthesia to have his teeth cleaned. To make a long story short, he died from cancer within a year that the vet told me that he needed to have his teeth cleaned. A sick feeling was overwhelming me when I thought about doing this.
Something bigger than me was warring me or telling me don’t bother putting him through all that.
Thanks again for this post, Paige.
That was definitely your intuition speaking to you with your kitty. Many times we can’t understand why we have certain thoughts or feelings until much later. But our intuition is always right for us.
I’m so glad that I could connect you to another amazing writer and blogger! Thanks Sylviane!
Paige and Angela, thanks so much for the book – cannot wait to read it!!
Congratulations Karen!!
I have to disagree that you’ll always feel good about all the things your intuition tells you to do. Your intuition can tell you to do things that are outside of your comfort zone, like starting your own business, which is pretty nerve-wracking although it can transform your life for the better. Sometimes it takes a lot of courage to follow through on your intuition.
I’ve been using EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), where I clear all the blocks to getting in touch with my intuition. Blocks include anger against God and fear of dramatic change. Everyone has intuition, its just a matter of clearing the blocks. Meditation helps a bunch too!
I defintely see your point Rad. I wasn’t exactly comfortable with the messages that I received from my intuition but, somehow, I knew it was the right thing to do (regardless of how crazy it sounded). And, yes, it can definitely take a lot of courage to follow those messages. Many people ignore the messages they receive because they seem to difficult or outlandish.
EFT is an amazing tool and is quite effective in so many areas. And I don’t know what I’d do without my daily meditation. That’s when I’m calm and quiet enough to get all kinds of answers to questions I have.
It sounds like you’re on the path to making some wonderful changes in your life. Best wishes with all of them!!
Ah… this is EXACTLY what I’ve been trying to hone in for lately. I’ve been making space in my life to listen carefully to the guidance and intuition that will lead me further into my authentic self and path… I already took a very big step, and now I’m allowing myself to be led toward whatever’s next. Living on faith… a bit of a scary (but freeing) place to be 🙂
You’ve been on an amazing journey over the past year, Therese! You’ve made some bold choices and have been and continue to be open to whatever comes next. That’s some livin’ from your heart/intuition! I did the same about 15 years ago and had the most amazing experiences. It changed how I think and how I live. It was the best thing I could have done.
All the inner work you’ve been doing is getting you ready for something huge and wonderful to show up any day now. I love being able to be there with you along the ride!
It can be hard sometimes to discern which voice I am listening to. But I believe that being mindfully aware that it could be the voice of the ego helps. And so I will try to double-check that I am picking up the right signals. Then again, in my zeal to get greater accuracy, I find myself asking the same question over and over again. I guess I still have more to work on 🙂
I know exactly how you feel Evelyn. And it’s the mind/ego that wants more accuracy and asks the questions. Our intuition works on feelings. As someone taught me, if it feels good, it’s our intuition. If it feels bad in any way (questions, should’s, etc.), it’s the mind/ego. It’s that simple. Thanks!
Staying true to your intuition – I have read many a review of Angela and her book – trusting your heart, your gut, your intuition is KEY to life. For myself, everytime I go against my intuition – I seem to get myself into some type of trouble….
Thanks for the review,
Nancy
I’ve had the same experiences Nancy. Thinking that my logical mind actually knows the best things to do. Ha!
I love Angela’s book and learn something new every time I go through it.
Thanks!
Paige…..Intuition is our best friend. Without it, we live a flat, non-meaningful life. With it, our lives become magic….we open to the possibilities of what can happen. And we welcome the uncertainty and mystery of life.
A big thank you for sharing the wise, intuitive Angela with us. And as always, your personal story of your growth warms my heart….xxoo-Fran
Thanks Fran! Magic is definitely what our intuition brings to our lives. Once we stop resisting and are open to the flow of the Universe (which operates through our intuition), amazing things happen.
Glad you liked the story! xoxoxo
I just won a book from Angela! I’m so excited to read it! When I saw I email I literally squealed! It’s funny because I only started winning stuff when I started my search for personal development. LOL..
I also won Alex’s book from you, remember Paige?
The book was amazing. I’m even working on a post on it. So happy! Let my inner voices be heard! 🙂
That’s awesome Glori! You’re obviously putting out the right energies and attracting exactly what you need. It’s all about being open to accepting it.
Yes, both Angela and Alex’s books are amazing!!
Dear Paige,
Thank you so much for this wonderful review and interview about my book!
I truly appreciate your being part of the book tour.
All my best,
Angela
Wow Paige, once again your words come to me right when I’m looking for them! You’ve knocked it out of the park with your description of the search for connection with intuition – when you’ve been so used to following left-brain thinking! I love your “dialogue” with your own intuition. Thanks for sharing your story. And THANKS SO MUCH for this amazing interview with Angela! Vidya is so right, reading it is like a great big hug! This post is a keeper for sure , I’ll be looking back on it on those days when my intuition seems oh-so-elusive!
Thanks Sarah! That really means a lot to me! We think so much alike in so many ways. We just need to get out of our heads and away from our to-do lists more often and follow some of the amazing self-care advice you’ve accumulated over the past week on your new site.
When all else fails, simply breathe……..
I love reading posts that celebrate intuition! For years I had no name for that thing that led me – that I leaned into often (which felt odd, different) – and which I knew KNEW more than I could explain logically. I’ve used intuition when applying to schools, when checking out places to work, for all manner of things (OH, I have stories!) — and I’m still in the process of learning about intuition – I have an idea that there are many, many more ways to listen to her (Intuition) wisely!
You’re so right Karen! There are infinite ways of listening to our intuition. She’s always speaking to us. We just need to be quiet enough to hear her.
Our society works so hard to convince us that our intuition is rubbish and we should listen to our logical mind (aka crazy, monkey mind). I wonder what the world would be like if we all followed our intuition first?????
Thanks so much for your beautiful comment!
I know I did this on my blog, yet I love reading it again – because it is so beautiful – like a huge hug. Thank you, Paige for sharing your experience. And Angela, she rocks!
Yes, she does Vidya. Angela is an amazing woman and has so much to teach us! I agree – it is like a huge hug. And I LOVE hugs!!
Dear Paige,
I’m so glad you found the book helpful to getting new insights for your life!
I’m so happy you’re sharing it here with your readers too. Thank you.
I cannot wait to see who the lucky winner of the book is.
All my best,
Angela
And thank you for writing this awesome book, Angela! It’s been so helpful for me. I’m sharing it with as many people as I can. The more we can all confidently follow our heart and intuition, the happier we’ll all be!