When I was growing up, and in my early 20’s, I didn’t see the point of having strong intuition. I didn’t consider myself very intuitive.
But now I can’t imagine living without it.
Your intuition is that sense of inner knowingness, the part of you that can always help you make the best choices for YOU, no matter what other people are saying.
Today, I’m a professional intuitive–both a medical and all-purpose intuitive.
These are three of my top tips for increasing YOUR personal intuition.
1. Ask for Assignments
Your intuition is part of you, but you can definitely give it orders. When you are just beginning to grow your intuition “muscles,” it can be beneficial to ask your own intuition to give you easy things to do to practice.
Here’s an example from my own life.
I woke up one morning and asked myself to send me some intuitive ideas to act on and practice with.
Then, I went to Target.
I walked into Target and saw they had cabbages on sale. I instantly heard my own internal intuition telling me to buy one. I rebelled. I thought: “Ew! Cabbages are gross! I would never eat one, and I am NOT buying it!”
And I left Target with an assortment of other random things but not the cabbage my intuition specifically told me to buy.
Later that day, I learned I had to emergency-wean my exclusively breastfed baby. That night was the last night of nursing––and by the next morning, my chest was ACHING!
I did an internet search for ways to help with weaning pain, and what do you know: cabbage leaves were the number one recommended intervention.
Consciously, I had NO idea I was going to have to suddenly wean my child within 12 hours of receiving the intuitive idea to buy a cabbage. Fortunately, not buying the cabbage only led to mild inconvenience in my life because my husband went out and bought one for me. But that experience taught me that our intuition can send us really great ideas that are easy to act on and low-stakes if we don’t act on them.
Ask your intuition for easy ways to practice using it, then trust what comes into your mind. You’ll see for yourself how practice makes perfect!
2. Breathe Deeply
All human beings have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind. Our intuition lives in the subconscious mind, which is one reason it can be so hard to access.
Fortunately, when our human bodies were designed, they were designed with a special bridge that connects the conscious and subconscious.
This bridge is the breath.
Your body breathes on its own; it will breathe even if you’re asleep or unconscious. But you can also consciously breathe.
When we use our conscious mind to monitor our breath, we create a bridge between the conscious and subconscious minds.
In my years of work with intuition, I discovered that my breath will tell me everything I need to know if I listen to it.
I invite you to try it, too.
Ask your body right now to tell you what a “yes” feels like, and breathe in. Maybe give it a few good deep breaths. See if you can feel a subtle feeling, possibly in your throat or upper chest.
When that’s done, ask your body to tell you what a “no” feels like and take a few deep breaths. Most people report that “no” feels like a downward movement, something they feel more in their lower belly than their upper chest.
When you master the art of listening to your body saying “yes” and “no” with every breath you breathe, suddenly you will be much better at living in alignment with your Truth every day.
This breathing technique is a great way to really tune into yourself when you’re making important decisions. Your body knows what’s best for you. Asking it for answers and really listening while you breathe will set you on a good path.
3. Trust Yourself
I know, I know…easier said than done!
Living by intuition takes practice! No one comes by it naturally. It can be scary to have an idea show up out of nowhere and then act on it… but that’s what intuition is all about. It’s about allowing things that don’t make sense to flow into our minds and guide us, even when it doesn’t make sense.
Many of us have been burned by times we thought we were doing the right thing, only to have things fall apart on us in the end. When that happens, it can be hard to trust your intuition the next time it asks you to take action that doesn’t make logical sense.
When you have trouble trusting yourself, it’s time to go back to tips 1 & 2.
Practice with something a little more low-key, a little more low-stakes. Ask for intuitive “homework” that no one has to ever know about except you. And practice really tuning into your body and acting on the messages that your breath has for you.
As you get better and better at using these three tips in your life, I’m confident you’ll see massive gains in your ability to use your intuition to make your life easier and easier. And that is the natural consequence of a life led by genuine intuition: calm, positive flow.
