How To Tap Into Your Intuition

Do you know the feeling when you just know what’s about to happen next? Or perhaps you get a gut feeling or a goosebump on your skin that makes you feel like somethings off without any rational explanation?

This is called intuition - also called as our sixth sense.

But since these feelings lack rational reasoning - we often tend to discard them.

We live in a world governed by our rational mind and been taught it’s the only sensible way to make life choices and decisions. And fair enough, to certain extent rationality is a very good and necessary thing. But what if your intuition was able to tap into a much vaster source of intelligence than your limited rational mind? What if your subconscious and hearts intelligence knew much more than you can consciously analyze?

Like Albert Einstein said, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

So how can we start honouring intuition more and bring balance into our overly rational way of living?

In this post I’ll share how to tap into your intuition and why it’s important.

Let's get started with the definition of intuition.

What is intuition?

Listening to your intuition a process of waking up to all the deeper intelligence you have — in you body, heart, soul and subconscious mind.

So instead of just listening to your rational conscious mind, you tap into a deeper intelligence within you.

How this deeper intelligence is experienced is more difficult to define. Intuition has so many dimensions and it can be experienced differently - it may speak to you by words, images, feelings or a sense of inner knowing. These are the most common types of intuition:

Why is intuition important?

Listening to your intuition helps you to stay true to yourself. When you're making a decision from your heart - from what feels right - it often gives you different advice than your rational mind. Obviously you shouldn't bypass the brain completely - but rather to create coherence between our heart and our brain.

And once you create this coherence, you don’t only make better choices for your and others highest good, but you also reduce the risk to stress related illnesses.

Listening to your intuition can also free space for creativity, innovation and imagination.

Once you start using the right brain more, it brings you clarity and restores the balance as you connect both the left and the right brain instead of just being dominated by the left.

Indigenous cultures around the world have always valued intuition. And compared to the western culture, they live in much more harmony with their surroundings. Some indigenous tribes also believe our hair to be extension to our nervous system and that it works as an “antenna” for our intuition.

Once you learn to listen to your heart and intuition, you can also learn to live in harmony with yourself and your environment. You follow what feels right for you instead following what the society or someone else has decided for you.

How to tap into your intuition

Intuition is not something that only some special people possess. We all have it. Some may be naturally more intuitive than others, but EVERYONE can develop their intuition and learn how to listen to it.

Here are 12 simple ways on how to tap into your intuition:

1. Relax and meditate

Being constantly busy and distracted is one of the easiest ways to shut down your intuition. A distracted mind can never be an intuitive mind.

The more you’ll be able to relax and remove distractions, the better you’ll be able to tap into your intuition. Practising meditation is very effective for developing your intuition because it teaches you to let go of the rational mind.

2. Spend time in Nature

When you spend time in Nature, you have to learn to trust your instincts more and it allows you to open to your intuition as well.

Syncing with the natural rhythm of the Nature will help you stay grounded and balanced. Its silence, harmony and the lack of distractions will help you relax and listen to your intuition.

3. Connect with your heart

Did you know that your heart actually sends more signals to your brain than the other way round? And that your heart has actually significant effect on your brain function?

There’s a two-way communication between your heart and your brain. If this communication is in an incoherent state, it limits your ability to think clearly, remember, learn, reason, and make effective decisions.

On the other hand, if your heart is in a coherent state, it improves cognitive function, relieves stress and strengthens your intuition. The best way to activate coherent state is to feel deep sense of gratitude. HeartMath Institute has done extensive research about the heart brain coherence and how it can improve your life. Here's a version one of their exercises:

6. Bring awareness to your body

When faced with a choice, even a small day-to-day decision, notice how your body reacts. Pay attention to your heartbeat, your “gut feeling” and your chest and start learning what kind of signals your body is sending in different situations.

7. Pay attention to your subconscious

One way to pay more attention to your subconscious mind is to start writing down your dreams. When you're sleeping, your cognitive mind rests and opens space for the subconscious mind to signal you in dreams.

There’s also ways to tap into your subconscious also when you’re awake. Automatic writing for example can be a useful way to get insights from your subconscious mind.

8. Be creative

Engaging in any creative activities, such as drawing, painting or journaling, helps your cognitive mind to quiet down and allows your intuition to speak up.

9. Do the things that bring you joy

One of the easiest way to tap into your intuition is to identify the things in your life that bring you joy. Remember not to just rationalize “what you think should bring you joy” but rather focus on the FEELING. When you FEEL joy, follow it!

10. Balance your chakras

Chakra means wheel and refers to energy centers in your body. These centers correspond to bundles of nerves, glands, and areas of our energetic body that affect our well-being on all levels.

If a chakra is out of alignment - it often causes emotional, mental and physical imbalances as well around its corresponding area.

Most traditions agree that there are 7 main energy centres within our physical body:

Your third-eye chakra (Ajna) is located on your forehead, between the eyebrows and is the center of intuition and foresight.

If you feel confusion, uncertainty, cynicism and lack of purpose it can mean that your third-eye chakra might be out of balance.

But is opening your 3rd eye chakra the best solution? Not always. Many traditions emphasize the need to open and harmonize all your other chakras prior to opening the third eye. This is said to establish the grounding and capacity necessary to handle the insights of higher consciousness.

Therefore, instead of focusing just on your third eye right away - start working on balancing your chakras from the Root (Muladhara) and work your way up with patience.

There are several safe ways to balance your chakras such as energy healing such as Reiki, Tibetan sound healing, spending time in Nature, Yoga and meditation.

11. Decalcify your pineal gland

There's a common belief that the pineal gland that corresponds with our third eye chakra is the physical seat for our intuition.

Therefore it’s suggested that anything that may calcify and therefore impair the function of the pineal gland should be avoided. This includes fluoride which is often added in toothpastes and drinking water.

Fluoride is naturally attracted to calcium, and some researchers believe increased fluoridation leads to increased pineal gland calcifications.

Although the topic of calcification of pineal gland still needs more research, it’s probably a good idea to move away from the fluoridated water and toothpaste regardless. Harvard research shows that increased fluoride intake can affect the cognitive ability in children and can cause several health issues in larger amounts.

12. Learn to Differentiate Fear and Intuition

This is crucial. The only times my intuition hasn’t been right, it’s because I’ve confused it with fear.

Just because something feels unpleasant, it doesn’t always mean it’s bad for you.

The more you practise meditation and the other techniques above - the more you’ll learn to feel the difference between fear and intuitive bad feeling about something.

Also actively doing shadow work and acknowledging your fears will help you in this as well.

Wrapping Up

Many who haven’t learned how to listen to their intuition think it’s some mystical power that only some people have.

The truth is, everyone has it and anyone is able to develop it. Intuition is very practical tool that's always there for you- if you just take time to tune in.

By learning how to tap into our intuition more, you can live more balanced and meaningful life and live your own truth.

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