Intuition is the quiet inner voice or feeling that consistently guides us toward being and doing our best in every moment. So how do we know that voice or feeling is truly authentic? That it belongs to us? That we are getting the “right” information? Here are 10 indicators to help you know your authentic intuition.
1. Intuition is a whisper—not a shout. True intuition will not compete to be heard—it simply is. It is a feeling, a nuance, an inkling, a subtle knowingness that is always accessible but not always acknowledged. The speed of life has a lot to do with your ability to understand and work with your inner wisdom. Chances are that if your intuition is shouting at you, it is time to acknowledge that that light really is the oncoming train.
2. There is a sense of calmness and certainty in the intuitive awareness. While it is not always easy to trust intuition at first (mostly because that is not a generally accepted practice of socialization in our formative years), there is a feeling of confidence in the intuitive insight. Authentic intuition just feels right when it is.
3. Your body experiences “breathing” in all ways. When we are in a state of fear, stress, confusion, or indecision, our bodies are tight, our breathing is shallow, and we can be distracted. Experiencing our authentic intuition leads to a release of that heavy or constricted sensation. When our intuition gives us the information or answer that is needed, we feel a particular lightness, a freshness, a sense of breathing again—literally.
4. It seems like your “life glass” just got cleaned. The world is brighter and cleaner, shapes are sharper, even smells seem sweeter. Your intuitive insight has gifted you with clarity; the distractions to appreciating your world are gone. Your vision and your senses are connected again to the world outside of you due to your intuitive direction. If you suddenly notice that your spring cleaning never did get sprung, you know you have had a solid intuitive connection. (So that is the upside of noticing housework. . . .)
5. The solution feels easy and natural. When your intuition gives you a genuine answer, there is a gentle and relaxed energy. This guidance can feel like permission or maybe even forgiveness. The insight is personal, and you know it to be true like you know being your own gender—completely natural and in sync with who you are at your essence. When it is authentic intuition, the message is effortlessly just for you.
6. True intuition will not harm you (or anyone else, for that matter!). Your inner wisdom is a compass guiding you toward what is in your best interest at all times. It is impossible for authentic intuition to share space with negativity or malicious intention. Intuition serves only your best and highest good. Your intuition may direct you to do something that you may not want to do but that is ultimately helping you. For example, it may be time to release a relationship, which may hurt either party, but overall, it is a disservice to prolong a relationship that has served its purpose. The healthy cycle of life (birth, living, dying) is inherent in every part of life and is inexorably linked with every phase of our lives—including intuition. The bottom line is that bad things do not come from good intuition!
7. The intuitive insight conveys creativity in being. Sometimes intuition is baffling in what it communicates, which could be a symptom of not knowing your internal intuitive language, or it could be that you are not quite ready to assimilate that information. Intuition is amazingly creative and yet perfectly simple. If something pops in seemingly from out of nowhere but addresses exactly what is needed in a kind, gracious, undiluted, and perhaps unfamiliar way, it is a message to be taken seriously.
8. Authentic intuition speaks in repetition. Intuition often shows up as consistent messages, such as hearing a word or phrase, seeing it in a magazine, then passing a picture of it on a billboard. There are no coincidences, only synchronicities. Many intuitive insights appear in dreams, where our conscious minds cannot censor the messages. Intuition will pass if you do not listen as it has no enforceable interest in being heard. Additionally, exercising free will in making choices overrides even the best intuition. However, if something shows up often for you, it is time to take notice. If you ignore an important intuitive message, it will show up again bigger and louder until you cannot miss it. (Much like the movie Groundhog Day, it is a do-over until you get it right!)
9. There is a sense of “flow” opening up in other ways. The purpose of authentic intuition is to help pull you forward in being your best. It creates space for your life to move in a dynamic, positive way. Things will start lining up easily and effortlessly. There is a new sense of open energy, ready to receive what is being attracted to you. Authentic intuition is to your life what water is to an ocean—it is an integral, changing element that creates, reinvents, and connects all parts of itself by being and “flowing.” When intuition is flowing, it is likely that your life is too.
10. Manifestation blooms around you. We are the creators of our life experiences. Intuition is a vital tool that illuminates all that is available to us in our relationships between our inner and outer worlds. Authentic intuition helps us to distill the bigger picture into something meaningful and accessible in our everyday lives. As a conscious creation instrument, intuition helps us manifest what we need and desire; upon connecting with authentic inner wisdom, you will know the power when you see (and acknowledge) the richness of what is manifesting around you.
What to Do When You “Get” Your Intuitive Signs
This is truly the greatest place for actively participating in the positive change choices that are possible and opening in your life—it is the awareness of the messages that are meant just for you. When your intuition is authentically speaking to you, and you hear it (or see it, feel it, know it, etc.), it is the time when you get to make a choice from your full knowingness. This choice will be demonstrated through your thoughts, words, actions, behavior, and therefore your results.
It is not generally a question of right or wrong choice because each individual choice point that you make from your intuition takes you down a different path. For example, when it is a choice between eating cake or a salad, your intuition will tell you what is better for you in the moment—and it could be either one, depending on what is happening in your life! If your best choice is cake, you will have one path, and if your best choice is salad, it is simply a different path, neither being likely to hurt you in the moment. However, you must exercise free will to follow the recommendation of your intuition. Additionally, over time, if you extend your journey on each of these paths, the result will be a very different experience (and one of them likely will result in love handles!).
The most important action you can take when you are in awareness of your intuition is to acknowledge and honor it. If you suppress, avoid, or reject it, you are setting up a process by which you are not only hiding from yourself, but you become unable to trust your own inner wisdom. When that happens, you may feel indecisive, disconnected, empty, or even lost, like you do not recognize yourself and do not know how to “come home.”
So what happens if you miss, or do not “get,” your intuitive signs? Worse, what if you think you do not have any? In this case, relax—your intuition is always with you. It is a part of the fabric of who you are, and when you want to access that part of yourself, it is waiting for you. If it has been a while since you honored your inner guidance, you will have to relearn its language. You may have to take a little extra time and create a quiet space to slow down to the speed of your inner self, but like all your other natural body parts, trust that your inner guide is always there for you.
Learning to appreciate and act from your intuition is a process. It takes practice, patience, and presence with your own inner guidance. Slow down to be aware of your inner voice as it is expressing itself right now—it is well worth the investment.
** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life”, visit http://www.selfgrowth.com/greatways3.html
Lynn Scheurell facilitates positive transformation for her clients using both linear and intuitive thinking. Her company, Creative Catalyst, is a leader in initiating dramatic change for independent professionals and decision makers. Download your own free report right now to learn “Your 6 Power Points for Personal Success—and How What You Don’t Know Can Cost You Years of Hard Work!” at http://www.mycreativecatalyst.com.