You likely know people who talk about being intuitive and maybe you wonder if you’re missing out. What exactly are they doing and how do they do it? Is it some cosmic mystery lesson? It seems so easy for them to consult their ‘gut feelings’ and get clear direction about what to do and where to go, but not for you.
Maybe for you, it’s hazy or indistinct and you can’t even really tell what your ‘guts’ are telling you. Yet you think you should know how, and you should be able to do this, and it’s frustrating as all get out! What is this mysterious thing called intuition and how can you make it work?
When I was living in Bangkok teaching English, I took a trip to Beijing, and I was trying to get around the city on my own. By this time I had travelled within Thailand, to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and I had managed to communicate relatively easily in ‘tourist English’ or had translators nearby. But, China!!
Chinese characters and street signs are incomprehensible to me, and I had never even verbally learned any Mandarin. Most people I encountered did not speak English. On this day I was trying to find my way to the Pearl Market in Beijing and somehow I got lost. What now?
I had no smartphone with data, nope, too long ago – all I had was this skinny little Lonely Planet phrase book. It had some Mandarin phrases with pronunciation instructions and English translations. That’s it. Me and the phrase book. Alone in the big city. Trying to get to the Pearl Market.
INTUITION IS LIKE SPEAKING A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
If you’re like most people, you want to learn to use your intuition to ask for directions and get guidance. You wonder, should I do this? Should I go to that party? Should I buy this? Should I take that job? What do I do now? You can feel lost and aimless, second-guessing every turn you make, and wondering if you made the right choice, and despairing of ever reaching where you want to go.
Getting intuitive inner direction is like trying to get directions in a foreign language. You speak English, but your intuition speaks ‘energy.’ You know that, technically, anyone can learn to speak another language. Yet, sometimes it seems so difficult to access it so it can work for you, and the ‘language barrier’ is real.
YOU CAN DO IT!
The truth is that we all have intuitive ability. You too can ‘speak that language’ and get directions from within. You’ve had hints. You know, those times when you said, “I knew you were going to call!” Or when something went wrong, and you said, “I knew I shouldn’t have done that!” Or when you had a bad feeling about something and you left, and later found out that you had dodged a bad situation.
You know you have it, and now you want to be able to use it! Where do you start?
Well, where I started, on the streets of Beijing, was by practicing a little Mandarin phrase to ask for directions to the Pearl Market. I gave it a try! I seriously didn’t think it would work, didn’t think that I could make some funny sounds (to me) and it would mean something to someone else.
I asked my little mangled Mandarin question to a man passing by, and he started speaking rapidly in Mandarin and gesticulating down the opposite direction with his arm. Wow! It worked! I was so amazed – this communication stuff actually works! And I was in over my head. Whatever he said, I had no idea. But I set off in that direction to save my face and his!
HOW TO GET STARTED - YES/NO BASICS
You know, it’s just you and your body. You’re not going to get humiliated in public if you don’t get it right the first time. Why don’t you give this little ‘phrase’ a try and see if you can make a connection with your inner self. Ready? Here goes!
LIGHT OR HEAVYYour body can help you discern what is true and what is not true – for you. The heavy, contracted feeling can be for you a “NO – not congruent for me –Red Light! STOP!” The lighter, more expansive feeling can be for you a “YES! This IS congruent for me!! Green Light! GO!” This is a way to ‘speak’ the language of energy.
You can use this to make decisions. Ask a simple question about a simple, straightforward choice or decision you can make, for which there can be a clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.
For example, one question you could ask is, “If I buy [this item], will it be beneficial for me and everyone, for now and all time?” Breathe in; ask the question; breathe out; notice how your body feels. Does it feel heavy and contracted (‘No’)? Or light and expansive (‘Yes’)?
KEEP EXPERIMENTING!
Try lots of different questions. You can ask whether your body would like to eat a certain food, whether to accept an invitation, what your body would like to wear – as long as there can be a clear yes or no answer, it can work. If the response is not clear, ask the question in a different way or make it simpler.
So take a deep breath and give it a try! You can’t do it wrong; if I can communicate on a Beijing street with phrasebook Mandarin and get directions (yes, I did eventually get to the Pearl Market!), you can try speaking the language of ‘energy,’ and make a connection with your inner self, even if it isn’t perfect!
Have fun!
Linda Lonseth, M.Mus, B.Ed.
Open the way forward by going within
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