Suzanne Guldimann is the editor of the Topanga New Times, and also TNT’s resident naturalist. She was recently asked to give a talk on being…
“Trust your gut.”
“Follow your intuition.”
“Have faith.”
These are all wonderful sayings—and for good reason. They are loaded with truth. There is a certain feeling we have in our bodies when something is right or wrong for us. We just know. We can walk into a space and have “a funny feeling” that something is off and that we should leave. We can have a “sixth sense” of just knowing whether something feels right or not.
Before you can listen to what your intuition is telling you, you have to be able to actually hear it. And let’s just quickly address the difference between hearing and listening before we go any further, as they are not the same. Hearing means that you have heard something. Listening means that you’ve heard it and you’re taking it in, and most likely, will then take action on what you’ve heard.
For some people, accessing and hearing their intuition feels easy and effortless. For others, this feels like aimlessly grasping at the wind. Here’s a little trick to help those that are having a challenging time hearing their intuition.
There are multiple voices talking inside all of our heads, all the time. It can be a really busy and chaotic place in there! The trick is to distinguish between which voices are those of the monkey mind and which one is the voice of Divine Knowing, or intuition. The monkey mind voices will be loud and busy, often fast and somewhat frenzied. The voice of intuition is quiet and steady. It is not loud at all, so it’s important that you slow yourself down regularly so that you can actually hear it! This is why so many people have epiphanies during meditation. They are simply quiet enough to hear the intuitive voice that is constantly trying to get through to them. So, this is good news—all you need to do is get quiet and listen and you will be able to hear the message your intuition is gifting you.
Listening to your intuition can be much more challenging than simply hearing the message. For example, let’s say you’re meditating and you get the message to move to Colorado. The message is clear, and it’s from the still, quiet voice so you know it’s your intuition and not just a random thought. But you live in Southern California and you hate cold weather and you like your cozy little life as it is, so why in the world is this voice telling you to move?! Ah. This is where it gets tricky. The logical mind (and all the busy voices that come along with that) will try to keep you “safe” and talk you out of this. After all, there’s no logic in it. Your life is just fine as is. But the intuitive voice keeps showing up and sending the same message: “Go to Colorado.” You now have a very important choice to make: do you follow the practical messages and stay where you are, or do you trust the seemingly illogical intuitive voice and pack your bags?
There’s no right or wrong answer to this question. It’s all up to you. You are always the creator of your own reality. If you follow the practical mind, you will continue with your life as is. However, if you are bold enough (and a little crazy enough) to follow the intuitive mind, you will almost always end up on an adventure more interesting than you could ever imagine. The reason is that when you are following the guidance of your intuition, you are not the only one creating the reality. You are now co-creating with a higher power. There is something bigger than yourself that keeps sending that particular guidance. It’s certainly something to ponder.
Again, there’s no right or wrong with any of this. And there’s no denying that there is a voice of intuition and that it is sending you messages! It’s up to you if you choose to hear and listen to it. At the very least, it’s an interesting game to play!
