Everyone, to a larger or smaller degree, has intuitive capability.

Known by many names, such as, gut instinct, sixth sense, intuition, inner guidance and more, each person experiences this type of non-verbal knowing at some point in their life. This in-built human ability can be brought into awareness and cultivated with increasing sensitivity, awareness and accuracy.

In a society that denigrates dreams, individuality and expression, people become accustomed to setting aside the natural, quiet guidance inherent to us all. When it comes to intuition most people start at the same place: self-doubt, fear, ignorance and self-denigration.

1. First honoring, then seeing the non-verbal inner realm is a journey.

The approaches used by the mind to communicate knowledge, experiences and stories are not the approaches that one’s heart and soul use to communicate presence.

One must learn to honor and respect the messages from within that have been invalidated by family, education, religion and society at large. This requires self-respect, self-esteem and an ability to listen and truly hear ones own authentic voice through all the stories, justifications and pain.

Though initiated within the silent, non-verbal part of one’s being, this understanding begins to be explored with words, and continues with dialogue until exhaustion brings a person into silence. No matter how much knowledge, how many degrees or experience, intuitive guidance remains a domain of the soul, operating in stillness.

This kind of perspective and relationship style is alien at first, because it is simply unfamiliar.

Intuition never needs to be justified, and being able to feel it and honor it is a step to take note of and appreciate.

2. Being able to understand and then communicate the experiences, knowledge and insights granted by intuition is another adventure.

New-agey, touchy-feely language is over-saturated with confusing dialogue used to communicate spiritual, emotional, empathic and intuitive insights.

Rational people will argue, invalidate and dismiss intuitive knowledge. For such a person, it isn’t factual or based on reality. Such individuals are never worth the time, effort or energy to express intuition with or to. They can only be a black hole, and lack the heart or imagination to consider that the world is far larger than black and white facts.

The biggest hurdle to cultivate intuitive guidance is to not be that person to our own self.

Once an intuitive recognizes and honors their own inner relationship and communication styles, adjusting to people who disagree or see things differently becomes progressively easier and easier. Such people can be gifts, providing insights otherwise unavailable through communication styles that are disagreeable.

Intuition can be expressed in ways that defy the limitations of words and verbalization, language and logic, yet make complete sense, bringing integration, insight and harmony.

3. Putting one’s perspectives into play in life with harmony and effectiveness is another depth of experience.

Seeing, communicating and acting on intuitive guidance is a life-long experience of continuing self-discovery.

At first, interpreting and putting insights into play can bring a great deal of chaos. Perhaps one’s interpretation of the insight is off, leading to false assumptions. Acting on false assumptions can destroy relationships, de-harmonize an environment, and cause stress and sickness. However, one must act and move forward—without trying there is no learning.

It’s important to keep going. A setback is an opportunity to revisit one’s own lack of knowledge, to address and move through fear, and to relinquish the destructive patterns of self-doubt and denigration. Intuitive insight demands humility, integrity and action.

4. The largest concern of intuitive insights are how personal fears, perspectives and egos interfere with the message.

One experiences this as a gut-knowing, an intuitive message. And instead of listening to it, one begins to doubt it, rationalize it, make stories that justify the perspective. Acting on this misaligned knowledge can only bring about yet another learning experience.

Another error in misunderstanding happens when emotions are mistaken for intuition. Emotional reactions are not intuitive guidance. Emotions are indicative of ego, perspectives and stories, which often cloud and completely undermine intuitive insight.

The only way to understand the non-verbal, inner domain is to endure, continue to live and express the heart’s intuitive wisdom, and breathe even deeper.

5. It is a lifetime journey to cultivate and nurture the subtle skills and the innate ability to relate to oneself and the world authentically.

The times our soul and hearts are challenged is when we are given the pure choice to be, or not be, one’s true self.

The upward spiral, breath after breath, home to heart.

Remain true.

Relephant:

Cultivating a Relationship with Your Intuition.

~

Author: Keith Artisan

Editor: Travis May

Photo: Flickr/Maria Dawson