The Inklings of Intuition

in·tu·i·tion

/ˌinto͞oˈiSH(ə)n,ˌintəˈwiSH(ə)n/

a thing that one knows or considers likely from instinctive feeling rather than conscious reasoning.

My partner, Michael, is an executive coach. He meets with CEO’s, entrepreneurs, consultants, finance types a lot. He knows what its like to live in a world of get shit done at all costs. I’ve taken to prefacing our conversations with “I don’t actually want you to do this, I’m just musing here“ just to be safe. There are times this mode of operation is really quite impressive. When we were first dating, I mentioned a trip to Mexico and that very afternoon we had an airbnb. We ended up staying for 3 months and have been together since. That was 3 years ago. He’s a man of action. I love it.

That first year in Mexico. That leopard dress is not at all my style but I found it on the beach right after a healer had suggested I work with jaguar medicine. I had to yes! And now, I’m like “damn, I should wear that more often.”

Part of making decisions with a partner that is geared to do-no-matter-what has been learning to confidently step in when I receive those subtle knowings that maybe this course of action isn’t quite it. This has been a practice. There are a lot of pats on the back for getting shit done and taking action. There are not so many pats on the back for pausing, changing course, or not necessarily having a plan. And, yet there is so much wisdom there. So much so that 3 years in Michael has recently taken to giving this scenario to his clients, “what if we all paused when a woman (or man) said hey I’m getting an intuitive hit here. And everyone paused what they were doing to listen.” He says this to boardroom corporate types who I picture just staring quizzically back at him. Swoon.

So what does it look like to follow your intuition? How does it feel? How do you know? My trust in these hits has grown considerably in the creation and facilitation of our Foundations of the Feminine program and I want to share some practical tools for honing such an instinctual skill.

Pay attention to flow. We were recently in the hospital and thought we would have to spend several months in a town several states away from where we live. We needed to find a place to live. We hopped on it! By the second day in we had a place lined up and were finalizing paperwork. The interactions with the owners of the rental house began to feel a little bit off. There was a rigidity and coldness. There also were not many option on the table so we were anxious to finalize. I’m going to pause here to point out a couple things. One, we started to feel pressure to make this agreement happen even as the natural unfolding of things was starting to feel gritty. When you notice your mind putting pressure on you or a need to force something to happen, this is a good time to pause. So we did. We told the owners that we would be in touch tomorrow. Tomorrow came and through a sudden change of events we discovered we were not going to need to spend as much time there. Had we signed the night before we would have lost out on 3 months of rent due to their upfront rigidity around this commitment. Phew!
Take action when it hits. Intuition cannot be willed. It is not a byproduct of the conscious mind. Therefore, it comes when it comes and it doesn’t when it doesn’t. Our job becomes acting when it comes and letting go of the outcome. This whole wmn’s wisdom platform originated from Jessica having an inkling to reach out to me, Allie, after meeting at a dinner get-together. She barely knew me, but she had the hit and she reached out. It’s been magic since.
Notice the difference between mind knowing and gut knowing. I’ll go back to the hospital story. Mind-knowing had an outcome in mind it was trying to achieve. It was also weighing the options out there and creating scarcity. Gut-knowing sensed something felt off with the people we were trying to rent from. You can apply this to so many other scenarios. I got the promotion! My mind says be happy this will mean more income or prestige. My body feels dread. Notice when your mind and body are at odds. Notice when they are synced.

Start to play with these simple tools and see what you learn about the ways your intuition speaks to you! And, if you’re interested in growing your connection to the wisdom of your intuition, consider joining us for the next Foundations of the Feminine course. Fill out the form in the Enrollment Open section to schedule a discovery call.