“A woman knows by intuition, or instinct, what is best for herself.” ~Marilyn Monroe

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It’s that still, small voice inside—that feeling or knowing that this is good, that is not, this is right for us, that is the direction in which we should go.

I’ve come to believe that our intuition is like a muscle—if left unused, it will atrophy. But when exercised well and often, it grows, expands and becomes stronger.

Some say that women have a certain intuition unavailable to men. Certainly, nothing has revealed this to me more clearly than raising children. From the moment they were born, I could look at my babies and know when they didn’t feel well, when they had a need they couldn’t articulate, or when they were saying one thing but meaning another.

I’ve seen this phenomenon in other relationships as well. My baby sister and I have a deep connection. So deep, that I once canceled a family vacation we had planned with another couple, because I knew that she would need me. The day we would have left for that trip was the day she gave birth to my niece—nearly two months prematurely.

While it has been easy for me to listen to my intuition when she speaks about people I love, there was a long period in my life when I ignored the messages she tried to give me about myself. At the time, it felt much easier to ignore the things I didn’t want to hear or didn’t feel prepared to act on.

It’s pretty easy to drown out our intuition with other noise when we don’t want to listen.

Our egos can shout much more loudly than the whispers of intuition. We can get too busy with outside distractions to give her time to speak. We can choose to trust the words of another person, instead of our own inner voice, or bend to their influence or demands. We can even choose to discount our inner guidance, or explain it away.

The years I spent ignoring my intuition were painful ones. I felt lost and lonely. I was in the wrong relationship. My life was lacking purpose and direction. I was living reactively—I believed things just happened, and we had to do what we could to survive the days.

When that little voice began nudging me to change my life, I resisted. I let my fear control me. I let other people control me. I held onto the way things were, because I didn’t understand what I was being guided toward.

I didn’t understand that my intuition could see around the corners of my life in a way that my physical senses or logic couldn’t.

My intuition was trying desperately to show me that health and happiness were waiting for me just beyond my fear. If I could let go of the things that were hurting me, and reach beyond my fear of the unknown, she would guide me to that next step I was unable to see.

I didn’t know what would happen when I took that step. It was terrifying. Choosing to leave everything that represented home, safety and comfort to me was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I ended a 13-year marriage on the hunch that my life would magically change if I was brave enough to walk away from everything we’d worked so hard to build together.

That’s the thing about intuition—it doesn’t show up with a neon sign, blinking arrows or sirens. It’s a whisper, a feeling, a knowing, a gentle push. It’s a thought, a tingle, a little twinge in our solar plexus. Sometimes we call it a “gut feeling.” Sometimes, it speaks to us through symbols in our dreams.

It always knows what is best for us, and it is always there to guide us to our highest good.

In the beginning, it was difficult for me to trust my intuition. I wasn’t sure which voice was hers, with all the chaos in my head. Meditation was the key for me to still my mind and listen for the whisper of my guidance. The more I learned to tune in to her, the more readily she spoke.

Anytime I have followed my intuition, I’ve been grateful. She doesn’t always come to me with the easiest choice or the simplest task, but she does know what is best for me. She leads me places I would never find without her.

When I am listening to my intuition and making choices according to her wisdom, I feel in flow with my life. Opportunities, relationships and experiences come to me in wonderful ways when I am in the flow, instead of fighting against it.

I feel more confident in my decisions when they come from that still place inside. I’m less inclined to worry about hypotheticals and unknowns. My life is peaceful and less stressful because I know that my intuition always speaks for my best interest. I have grown to trust her above all other influences, always believing that she will show me the way to health, happiness, success, freedom and love.

When we learn to listen for the small voice of our inner guidance, and move in the direction she leads us, life feels amazing. We can let go of fear, and let life take us to the next experience, knowing that our intuition will bring only wonderful things to us. With each wonderful thing, our trust grows a little deeper, and her voice a bit louder.

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Author: Renee Dubeau

Images: Flickr/CHRISTIAAN TONNIS; Flickr/Eleazar Fuentes

Editor: Yoli Ramazzina