A woman knows, by intuition or instinct, what is best for herself.
- Marilyn Monroe
People tell you to follow your gut. Listen to your instincts. Do you?
So that feeling in your chest, or that deep knowing that is shouting at you when things don't seem right. Are you listening?
Intuitive living is, in my experience, the most authentic way to go through life. Everyone and everything in the world is filled with many energies. When our gut is saying something isn't right, maybe a person or a new environment, I believe it's because our energies aren't harmonising in a positive way.
I also believe you can build your intuition, like a muscle, to be stronger.
The most effective way of doing this is journaling. Journaling really solves everything for me, if everyone just put their thoughts onto paper daily I feel the world would be a more peaceful place.
If you're invested in building your relationship with your inner knowing, I want to help.
Start by keeping a small notepad with you. Whenever you feel your intuition telling you something, write it down. Take note of what happened next and if by following the feeling you did what felt right, or if you went against it, what was the consequence? This exercise really opens your eyes to how powerful that gut feeling can be.
Some ways I respect my intuition -
:: In work & business
Whenever I collaborate with someone, I let my gut do the decision making. I find the universe has a way of sending me exactly what, or who, I need at the perfect time. It could be to help me, or to test me. Either way I always learn, grow and improve with each encounter. Remember whenever you make a decision, you'll either get it right or you'll learn a lesson. Both are amazing gifts.
:: As a mum
Having a child has taught me not only to listen to my intuition, but to respect that of my little girl. If something seems off, I find it's most beneficial to first see if the answer is within. I know my child better than anyone and sometimes the outside well meaning voices are just adding confusion to situations. Always take a moment, breathe and if I can't find an answer or solution, then I find help elsewhere.
I also found it really important to respect Bo's intuition when first giving her solid food. I would let her guide me as to when she was ready for it and I wouldn't ever force food into her mouth. At the same time, I would always let her tell me when she was finished. Just because I think she's had enough food, doesn't mean she has. I believe infants aren't born trying to manipulate you into getting more to eat, they eat purely intuitively until they are taught otherwise. As she got older I made sure she had a choice of foods she could eat with her hands at each meal, as well as some pureed dishes. So her lunch and dinner could be some pureed veggies with a selection of steamed broccoli, rice and when she got old enough, nuts and seeds also.
:: With food
This takes most people a long time to trust, because we have become so sucked in by marketing, flavour enhanced foods and for some of us, using food as a reward system. Once you clean out the processed artificial junk in your diet, you not only clean out your body, but your mind is free to focus more clearly on what the body needs.
We all know sugar is an addictive substance. Once you're past the detox phase and into eating a whole bunch of natural earth foods, you'll find you can start really listening in to what your body needs. Instead of a standard daily breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can begin to tune in to what nutrients you're craving and feed yourself accordingly. For some people, that might mean you want a big green smoothie one morning but the next you find yourself cooking up some oats. The best gift you can do for your body is to eat intuitively, like an infant. But you first need to do the required work to get you past the self talk that tells you that a salty packet of chips or a slice of bakery pie is what you need. That's not intuition, it's inner manipulation.