THE ART OF LISTENING TO YOURSELF ~ 5 WAYS TO HONE YOUR INTUITION
~ By Ars Spiritus Team
“Have you ever heard the phone ring and know who it is?”
Intuition is something that has been debated a lot in recent years. Some believe it to be pseudo-science and woo woo, whilst others believe there’s a rational explanation to it. I’m part of the second group, as I have witness within my self the experience of intuition.
The debate ended for me as I knew for myself that it was true. At first I didn’t know what it was, but the more I listened to it the more my life starting changing.
I’ve found that your intuition is “smarter” than your thinking processes, as it has only led me in the right direction, even if my thoughts ran wild and kept telling me not to do it. To quote psychiatrist Carl Jung, “Intuition (is) perception via the unconscious”.
So in this article I want to help you build your intuition, and hone it to the point where you trust it enough to run your life. And it will, and your life will be 100 times easier.
1. EXPRESS YOUR CREATIVITY
If you want to increase your intuition and have a ton of fun doing it, then you have to start training your creative muscle. This means coming up with ideas.
Painting a picture, writing a song, making videos, or just a casual day dream are all great starting points. As long as your mind is being creative, your intuition will increase.
This stems from the belief that the right brain, where creativity resides, is also a portal to your intuition. Your left brain is very intellectual, analytical and doesn’t have much room for anything that isn’t rational.
I’ve found this to be true, as lately I’ve been more and more into graphic design and seen an increase in intuitive feelings.
2. MEDITATION
Meditation seems to come up a lot in my lists. It’s the solution to a lot of problems we have, because the problems we have are mind created. Meditation is to take a step back from the mind and into just simply being.
When you meditate your mind become more pure, less clouded in static. This will dramatically improve your ability to follow your intuition, as the only thing that blocks intuition is your mind.
3. DREAM ANALYSIS
Your dreams are a reflection of your sub conscious mind. They present to you what has been buried deep in your psyche. These are your core beliefs and values which are challenged and shaped on a daily basis.
So in your dreams you’ll find metaphoric symbols and interpretations of what you what truly fear, and what you truly want out of life. Your subconscious mind, where intuition resides, will start hinting to you through dreams on what to do.
If you are at a cross road in life and have been struggling about which path to take then your dream will start showing you metaphorical examples of what you should do.
4. MINI PRACTICES
What I sometimes like to do is when I’m reading a newspaper or a magazine, I try to guess what the article is about just from looking at the photos.
Sometimes they’re obvious, but a lot of the time they are just a small representation of the article. What you’re doing is practicing listening to that little voice inside of you.
It doesn’t even matter if its a newspaper or a magazine, or trying to guess the subject of an article, you can apply these mini practices to anything. Another example is to guess whose calling, without looking at your phone screen. You’ll be amazed at how often you’ll get it right.The point is to practice your listening skills.
5. FOLLOW YOUR BLISS
I think bliss and intuition are closely related to each other, as both of them give you a motivation to do something. Find out what it is that you want to do and do it. The guide of your life is your bliss.
It is your compass, and how you know that you are heading in the right direction. I think a good life consists of freedom and enjoyment in that freedom. I call it conscious freedom, which is a contradiction if I present it like that because true freedom can only be conscious freedom.
To know that you are free. So by following your bliss, and doing what you love, isn’t that freedom? That’s what you would do anyway in your spare time. So listen to your bliss and your excitement, and let it guide you.
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Like everything else in life, intuition is a skill that needs to be practiced. The skill is in listening to it, because it is always trying to tell you something. We have to silent our minds to let in these small nuggets of inspiration and insight, as this is the only way you’ll hear it.
The more you practice, the easier it becomes.
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