Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 2)

Let’s look at some other ways you can hear from that subtle but important force, intuition. (Part 1 is here if you missed it.)

Tapping Your Imagination

Another way to get in touch with your intuition is to use your imagination. Imagination is another one of those things that science just can’t explain, like intuition. The two can work hand in hand — let’s look at how.

Suppose you are considering taking some action, be it changing jobs, moving to a new town, whatever. Sit down and imagine, from start to finish, in as much detail as possible, the outcome of that action. Imagine that you are fully integrated into the new situation — that perhaps 4 to 6 months have passed since the big change. Are you happy? Do you like the picture you see? How do you feel now? If you feel anxious, make sure that you’ve imagined the situation long enough into the future to get over the initial stress of the change. Let’s look at an example.

Suppose you are thinking of breaking up with your boyfriend. Imagine what life would be like without him — imagine going through a period of sadness, loneliness or stress at first, and then imagine your life after that. Really try to picture what it would be like. What kinds of things would you do in your spare time? Would you be happy? Would you ultimately regret it? If your imagination leans towards eventually feeling happier and more independent, that’s your answer. If your imagination leans towards regretting the decision, then that’s your insight. Try exploring other places your imagination might take you… if you regret it, why? Is there any solution where you don’t regret it? What can you do to make your relationship better then?

If you really feel uneasy about the answer you get, then perhaps there is a lot of fear clouding your vision or colouring your imagination. This isn’t a black-and-white science! But this can certainly be an option to try.

Be aware that if your natural tendency is for negative fantasizing — what I call “apocalypsing” in Love Your Skeletons — then you’ll need to make extra effort to see this pretend reality positively. If you simply can’t, then take it as a sign, but not a big one.

Remember, you can also use your imagination to create a new reality, so while tapping into your imagination, you will also be forging the future at the same time. If you want to imagine a different outcome than the one you seem to be headed towards, do some focused, detailed, super-clear visioning and you will create that outcome instead. This type of imagination feels different; it feels empowered instead of receptive.

Come back tomorrow for Part 3!

 
– The “Hearing from Your Intuition Series” –
Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 1) Feel the Answer | Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 2) Tapping Your Imagination | Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 3) Detailed Messages/Knowing | Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 4) Centering Yourself

Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 1)

For some, hearing from their intuition is easy, but for many, it is so foreign, they don’t even know where to start. So, I thought I would give some ideas from my experience about how intuition speaks.

Let me start by reminding you about the two polar opposites of feelings: feeling good and feeling bad. Of course, we have many different words for emotions, and here are a few:

feeling good — excited, thrilled, happy, overjoyed, at-ease
feeling bad — tense, nervous, uneasy, anxious, cautious

Your intuition often speaks through feelings. That makes it tricky, because lots of other things can affect how we feel, like what kinds of thoughts we have been thinking, or even if we are hungry. However, if you aren’t hungry and you take a few minutes to breathe deeply and clear your thoughts, you can receive a message from your intuition by how you feel.

Feel the Answer

Try this. After centering yourself as described above, ask yourself a “yes/no” question that you already know the answer to. Think of something you like to do and ask yourself a related question. Then, see if you get a “feeling answer.” Let me give you an example.

I really enjoy knitting, so I might ask myself “should I do some knitting later?” The answer is Yes, and the corresponding feeling is one of happiness and anticipation of continuing my latest knitting project. If I ask myself a “no” question, like “should I get back together with my ex?” the answer is a most definite “no!” For me, I can almost hear the answer verbally, but I certainly get “yucky” (“no”) feelings — anxiety, stress, heart-pounding feeling.

Once you do this and feel both the “yes” and “no” answers, now you can try a less-obvious question and one that you don’t know the answer to. If you stay still, calmly breathing, you should feel the answer — either a good feeling, or a “bad” one. If you can’t feel the answer for some reason, try rephrasing the question or break the question down into a smaller part or get more specific. For example, if you ask if you should take a new job you’ve been offered, but you can’t feel the answer, try asking

– Should I leave the job I am at now?
– Is this job offer good for me?
– Should I look for an even better job out there for me?
– Is this new employer right for me?

A slight variation on this method is to use your fingers instead of just feelings. Make the a circle with your index finger and thumb, like the universal “ok” sign, on both your left and right hands. Now, interlock them like two links of a chain. Calibrate your response by asking yourself a “yes” question as before. Tug to see if your fingers will come apart — for a “yes” answer, your fingers will be strong. When you ask a “no” question, or say something that is untrue, one of your finger-thumb connections will give way and your fingers will come apart. This process is called muscle testing, and the video below will show you exactly what I mean. If you have a hard time feeling the answer, muscle testing will work for sure!

Tomorrow, I will talk about some other ways to connect with your intuition. Subscribe to this blog to make sure you don’t miss it (use the RSS button near the top-right of the page), follow me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook. Mention that you read my blog!

– The “Hearing from Your Intuition Series” –
Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 1) Feel the Answer | Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 2) Tapping Your Imagination | Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 3) Detailed Messages/Knowing | Hearing from Your Intuition (Part 4) Centering Yourself