In our interview with Alicia Isaacs-Howes, an intuitive healer and business coach we explored the concept of intuition and how everyone can learn to lean in to their own intuition to become more self-aware.
Alicia shared some simple exercises to hone in our intuition. If you haven’t listened to it yet, click here to access her interview.
Here are some additional ways to really help you explore, understand and trust your intuition.
1. Quiet your mind
This might seem really hard to do but one of the best ways to lean into your intuition is to quiet your mind and get rid of all distractions. In today’s world that means putting down your phone, turning off all devices and the really big one, to stop multi-tasking! Let your mind slow down and focus on the main activity or action on hand. It is no surprise that social media and the need to constantly be ‘online’ takes a toll on our brain activity. Instead try to do non-technical things like take a trip to the library, walk your dog (or a friend’s dog if you don’t have one), call a friend, or even prepare a healthy meal for yourself.
2. Listen to your body
Another way to tap into your intuition is to find a routine that works with your body as well as your mind. This can be done in many ways like exercising, eating healthy, and/or getting enough shut eye. Learn to relax your mind and body, and take advance of the physical quiet to tune into the mental quiet. The more aligned your mind and body are, the more other senses like intuition have a chance to have a voice.
3. Spend time outdoors
There is a lot of scientific evidence that proves the theory that being outdoors is good to us humans. Our mind benefits greatly from even a few minutes outdoors. If you live in the city, seek out the nearest park and take a stroll amongst the trees as regularly as you can. In Japan, forest bathing is hugely popular and we just love the concept of using nature to reset our inner batteries.
Get in the habit of spending time outside before work, during lunch or even right before getting to bed. The fresh air clears your mind and some light physical activity loosens your muscles. Tracking your steps and even joining a walking club can be easy ways to get some outdoor time. Try to avoid multi-tasking while spending time outside. Instead focus on everything that is happening around you while getting some fresh air.
4. Document your thoughts, feelings and emotions
We love journaling. It is such a great way to get thoughts out of your head and onto paper. In her interview, Alicia mentioned the concept of noting down feelings and emotions as they occur so you can go back and see how your intuition plays out in situations – using hindsight to learn about your intuition. Journaling can be structured or free flowing. It can also be an activity you enjoy with friends and family.
Here are two journals we love
Start Where You Are – By Meera Lee Patel
Present not perfect by Aimee Chase
5. Be calm
A great way to calm yourself is to incorporate more breath into your daily life by starting a habit of taking deep, meaningful breaths. Good breathing forces you to slow down and get more grounded because it removes us from our daily hustle and bustle. Once you have learnt good breadth work, you can do this at any time of the day – during your morning commute, at work or even at the end of your day.
6. Focus on one thing at a time
You know that buzz word ‘multi-tasking’. Our daily lives seems to be a constant juggle between crossing off things on our to-do list and adding more things on it. Life gets demanding, and our senses can easily get fatigued thanks to the level of inputs we receive each day. Pause and take a deep breath, and instead focus on one simple task at a time. By breaking down our endless list of chores and work projects into smaller steps and focusing on the task at hand, we can make better use of our energy and our attention.
7. Connect with yourself and your needs
Once you’re feeling calm and quieted, create a space and time for yourself to speak directly to your intuition so that you can make sense of your emotions and to help guide you. Remember the journalling exercise we talked about earlier? Use your own words and thoughts to dig deeper into your inner most feelings to figure out what your next steps are. Intuition helps us make rational choices that come from a place of awareness.
Use some or all of these tips to really hone into your inner voice – that sense of reason that we have become so attuned to avoiding because of the pressures of society, life and even sense of perfection. Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for everyone. Experiment and find your own rhythm.
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