Intuition or being intuitive is the inner voice that guides or warns you and helps you decide whether a decision is right or wrong. We also call it a gut feeling.
While some people call it irrational, intuition or your gut feeling can actually be your guiding force in various things. Are all people intuitive? Can you learn to be intuitive?
These questions often linger among people like you and me. And this is probably the reason you’re reading this post. Let me take you deeper to understand the true meaning of intuition and how you can utilize it in your best interest. I’ll also discuss ways to activate your intuition and use it to your advantage.
What Is Intuition?
In short, intuition is a guiding voice, a sensation, or a feeling that often strikes when you’re about to make a decision or prepare to start something new. Intuition isn’t a planned thing or not a calculated step. There is no calculated step involved in intuition. It’s a natural process that comes from deep-seated knowledge.
A recent study called “Psychological Science” by psychological scientist Galang Lufityanto, Joel Pearson, and Chris Donkin from the University Of South Wales proved that an inner voice which we call intuition really exists. It’s unconscious information stored in our mind which helps us make informed decisions.
Intuition is when our subconscious mind tries to identify, process, and use thinking patterns based on some prior experience. Some people also believe that intuition is our ability to sense things beyond the five senses. But since intuition or intuitive knowledge pops out of nowhere, people often find it surprising to believe what energies are guiding them.
But even though intuition is a powerful tool that helps in decision-making and may help get out of complex problems, intuition is not always reliable or 100% accurate. It should not be the sole basis for taking crucial decisions.
Apart from Psychological Science, there are many studies on intuition and how it works. In fact, intuition has been a part of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophical studies for years.
And a number of researches state that intuition is related to past experiences. Intuition uses the information stored in our unconscious mind. And when we encounter a similar situation, our brain uses past experience or information to guide our inner self.
Other studies state that intuition may be related to some people’s ability to process information quickly and unconsciously. In general, people always notice the emotional state of close ones and unconsciously make judgments of how they would react when faced with similar issues. Such unconscious decisions later prove beneficial, which some people call intuitive feeling.
There are lots more theories on intuition and intuitive feelings. Some studies say that our emotional processing in the brain plays a great role in intuition, while others consider physical sensations such as goosebumps or butterflies in the stomach as guiding energies of intuition.
Overall, we can say that intuition is influenced by both unconscious information and past experiences. There is still ongoing research about intuition, and researchers are trying to come up with more crude information about the same.
What Does It Mean To Be Intuitive?
To be intuitive means the ability to sense, understand or know something without conscious reasoning. Intuitiveness is when you access information beyond your five senses. There is a higher power or an authoritative voice within you that’s guiding you.
Also called gut feeling or hunch, intuitiveness also makes you highly empathic or gives you the ability to understand others’ problems. You may be able to understand others’ dilemmas without them explicitly expressing them to you.
All people are not equally intuitive. However, this awareness can be heightened with meditation, mindfulness and other spiritual practices.
How Does Intuition Work?
There isn’t any crude information on how intuition exactly works. It’s a multifaceted phenomenon with a range of mental processes. Psychiatrist Peter C Whybrow, in her book, The Well Tuned Brain, says that intuition is a key component to tuning your brain.
He also believes that intuition results from previously acquired experiences or learned patterns. So when a recognizable pattern or similar pattern emerges, our intuition immediately emerges.
The accumulation of experiences in the unconscious mind works immediately without having to access them.
Are There Any Benefits Of Being Intuitive?
Even though it may sound a bit unreal, there are myriad benefits of being intuitive. By synchronizing your mind and body, intuition unlocks supreme powers. For example-
- Strong intuition may help you send messages via your mind.
- Intuition helps you make better decisions. Even though intuition may not be 100% accurate, it helps you make informed and well-judged decisions.
- Intuition guides you in difficult situations in life. It warns you about wrong decisions and saves you from further problems.
- You may be able to predict the future with intuition. While you may not be able to predict significant occurrences, you can sense some upcoming changes via intuition.
- Intuition makes you more self-aware.
- Intuition also makes you empathetic toward others. It enables you to relate to others’ problems and difficult situations.
- Since you can sense what’s coming ahead, you won’t experience anxiety.
How To Become Intuitive? 5 Effective Ways
Following are some of the useful ways to tap into your intuitive side and live an extraordinary life-
Listen To Your Hunch
Don’t ignore your gut feeling. Pay attention to what your inner voice is saying before an important event or anything in general.
Stop Overthinking
Intuition can get distracted from too much internal chaos. To avoid that, stop paying too much attention to important things, don’t anticipate unreal or imaginary things, and stop trying too hard to be precise in everything.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness practices like yoga or meditation are a great way to deepen your intuitive side. Meditation brings you closer to your inner self and helps you gain knowledge beyond external things.
Meditating, especially before bed, is beneficial to activate your intuition because it opens up your subconscious mind.
Don’t Seek Outside Validation
Don’t get influenced by others’ opinions, ideas, or social norms. Trust your instincts or judgments. Intuition is all about trusting that inner voice that is guiding you.
Seeking validation from others is the biggest distraction of intuition; hence, avoiding it is the best way to deepen your intuitiveness.
Be Mindful About Your Dreams And Signs
Notice any special messages you received in your dreams. People receive many signs in their dreams which can guide their intuition. Other than dreams, notice anything that catches your attention.
Intuition also speaks to you with signs and symbols. You may feel a different vibe about something or some environment. Don’t ignore it. Ask yourself what is different about this place or why you feel a certain way about this place. These questions will definitely help you awaken your intuitiveness.
Related Read:
Final Thoughts! Mean To Be Intuitive
Intuition is a powerful tool to get answers from the unknown and see beneath the surface truth. If you feel you have the intuitive ability, you must try seeking answers from it.
Intuition lets you utilize your fullest potential and live a peaceful and successful life. However, please remember that intuition in no way should be your sole guide to judging any situation. You must use your cognitive skills and logical analysis to make decisions.
