This blog post is one of my “fun” things to do each week. I have played around with it and enjoyed the process. The inspiration came from a book I revisited written by Penny Peirce titled, The Intuitive Way - A Guide to Living from Inner Wisdom.
Peirce begins with talking about what is intuition and what it is not. “Intuition is a long-lost juice of life. It brings us fluidity and joy, instantaneous answers and abundant knowledge just for the asking. Living by intuition is an art that when mastered produces a thrill like no other.” p. xii. Peirce approaches Intuition as a spiritual process or voice from your soul; her style of learning intuition is a flowing, creative style.
“Intuition is not “figuring it out.” Intuition is almost always knowledge that we have from accumulated experience. Intuition is not about thinking but about receiving.” To start priming the pump of your intuition, Peirce suggests beginning with a writing session considering some of these questions:
What areas of work, romance, spiritual practice, physical exercise, pleasure, etc. would I, the soul’s voice like you, the personality, to pay attention to right now? Why?
What ideas do I need to let go of to be more intuitive? How does each interfere with my direct knowing?
If I had all the time in the world with no deadlines or responsibilities, what would I do first? Then what would I do? How would the activity change my present state of mind? What would I learn from each activity?” p. 16.
Lisa K, PhD’s method, while also spiritual in nature, is also quite practical with its step by step method which may be a learning style that someone else might like. She has recently written the book, Intuition on Demand. (A list of resources for further exploration of this feminine principle topic will be found at the end of the next blog post.) Lisa K has many suggestions for awakening and strengthening your intuition. I’ll share a few of my favorites.
Consider writing the “stream of consciousness” method which to me is writing from the inner voice. Just write spontaneously without reading, judging or punctuating your thoughts and just be aware of what happens with this process.
Recently a workshop participant had a profound and startling “story” that came from a guided imagery experience. It was complex with great detail so that just ‘thinking about it’ just wasn’t working since her conscious mind struggled with the information given. The participant spontaneously came up with the idea of just writing about it using a stream of consciousness process which was the best thing she could have done to acquire greater clarity about the imagery’s message to her.
In this process, it is important to not expect outcomes but to be receptive and see what comes.
I recently had a profound dream that needed to be written out while I was half-awake at 4:00 in the morning so that I would remember it. As I wrote everything down, I found more content became clear and more ideas came forward. Anyone else have experiences with stream of consciousness writing?
A third resource, Sixth Sense, is written by Laurie Nadel, Judy Hims and Robert Stempson. In it they list 10 cognitive steps which provide a more structured approach to developing intuition.
1. Define intuition for yourself. Break it down into types of intuitive experience. Recall any intuitive experience that you have had and use it as a point of reference for the future.
2. Identify it. Give it a form: shape, color, sound, feeling. Visualize your mind as a room and find your intuition.
3. Cultivate your intuitive resources. Create a data bank of those qualities that you believe are components of your intuition. Model intuitive behavior.
4. Acknowledge your intuition. Meditate by spending time with yourself. Learn to hear your intuitive voice. Establish a dialogue by asking your intuition if it is willing to communicate with you. Even if you hear it say no, it will enable you to identify that intuitive voice. You can find out under what conditions it will be willing to communicate. (Make Intuition into a subpersonality and have a chat with it.)
5. Trust it. Become aware of how you respond to your intuition. Do you “undermine” yourself? Do you suffer from intuition anxiety? Do you judge your intuition as weird? Create a place of inner safety, a personal sanctuary where you can shift your point of focus in order to feel safe and secure.
6. Nurture it. Deep breathing, yoga, and relaxation exercises are especially valuable. Learn how to defocus your attention from tense, stressful situations so that you can be receptive to input from your intuition. Make a mind map and a treasure map to stimulate free-form, creative ideas.
7. Value it. Respect your intuitive intelligence as another mental ability. Affirm that you deserve to make full use of your whole brain, including your intuition. If your voice of reason (another subpersonality) opposes this intention, engage in a dialogue with it.
8. Release it. Then wait for it to guide you. Ask for advice or direction and learn how to identify the response. It may be a voice, a flash of insight, an emotional impression or gut feeling, or simply a sense of knowing where to go and what to do.
9. Validate it. How did information from your intuition serve you? Was it accurate, timely? Helpful? Did it work? Use your rational intelligence to assess it.
10. Thank it. At first, the idea of saying or thinking “thank you” to a part of your own mind may seem strange. But it’s important. As you become more familiar with this step, you will find that you naturally feel appreciative when your intuition transmits helpful signals. Thanking it is part of learning to appreciate yourself and reinforces the intuitive process.” p. 183-184.
Of these 10 steps, the authors identify 3 which they feel are the most important
Parts of the intuition developing process.
Define it.
Identify when it happens.
Trust that it is valid.
More to come in the next blog post. This topic is running away with me!