Sitting at the stoplight, I had two options. I could wait for the light to turn green and proceed straight or I could turn right while the light was still red. My rational mind quickly calculated that making a right hand turn would be faster and I would arrive at my destination sooner.

Then, I felt a strong inner tug that suggested “Go straight.” Go straight? Straight meant waiting for the light to change and also taking a longer route. I decided turning right was the better decision because that meant I could move now and get to where I was going.

As the police officer was in his car writing the speeding citation, all I could do was laugh at myself. Something had told me to go straight and I ignored it. I trusted my rational mind more than my intuitive knowing and my reward was a ticket!

Ways of Knowing

I believe in intuitions and inspirations...I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am.”

— Albert Einstein

There are two basic ways of knowing and understanding the world around us: intellect and intuition. Our intellect is the composite of knowledge we accumulate over years of education and experience. Intellect is a kind of tangible knowing – things like how to read, compute math problems, understanding scientific principles, and that touching a hot stove causes pain.

There is another, more powerful knowing called intuition. This knowing comes not from external sources and experiences. It comes from some place inside each of us. Intuition is the “gut feeling” or the “hunch” we feel as we navigate through life through life. It cannot be explained using conventional reason and often contradicts rational thinking.

A Metaphor for Intuitive Guidance

The human body is like a radio antennae. It’s designed to listen for messages and information that the rational mind can’t even comprehend. Every cell of our being is a receptor for data at the quantum level.

While the rational mind is responding to data that can be seen, smelled, heard, touched, and tasted, the intuitive mind is responding to the environment at a subtle level.

It’s the body receiving the energetic signals and the intuitive mind interpreting them. When the hunch or gut feeling arises, it’s a response minute quantum shifts in the frequencies around us.

Why Intuition Matters

The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days.”

— Lao Tzu

Learning to let our intuition lead is about personal power. We become empowered when we make life choices that honor our internal compass. By inviting our intuition into our decision making process, we learn to trust ourselves.

In our society, we have grown accustomed to deferring the power of choice to some external source. In doing that, we are saying, “You know what’s best for me. I know only that which you have taught me.” And what we’ve been taught is to discount or dismiss our intuition when there is a conflict between inner knowing and an external source.

Tuning In

After years of living exclusively by external knowledge, our intuition has atrophied like an unused muscle. The good news is that we can begin exercising the intuitive muscle and learn how use it in our every day life.

Here are some simple steps you can take to start tuning into your inner wisdom.

Trust

You must train your intuition - you must trust the small voice inside you which tells you exactly what to say, what to decide.”

— Ingrid Bergman

The first step to tuning in is trusting. Trust that you have intuition. Everyone has it – including you. Even the most rational scientist has it. Trust that it’s there and it’s waiting for you.

Listen

At first, the volume of your intuition might be faint. It’s been on mute for a while, so we need to be patient and invite it to speak to us. Make the decision today that you want to live a life inspired by your inner wisdom and tell your higher self, “I’m here and I’m listening.”

Be Aware

Once you’ve begun listening, start noticing. How is your body feeling? What thoughts and ideas bubble up from seemingly nowhere?

Take Action

Once your intuition provides guidance and direction, act on it. By taking action, you’re demonstrating trust, and the cycle begins again. Over time, you’ll find that the more you trust your intuition, the easier it will be to listen for it, hear it, and act on it.