Magazine articles, blog posts, and quotations about the power of intuition have been falling into my path lately, so I should probably pay attention to them. One article mentioned that gut feeling you get when you know you should do something, as well as that warning sign feeling you get when you know you are in danger. Listening to our body seems to be the main focus. Everything is connected and the process is about slowing down and turning inward.
I know I’m not alone, but find this so difficult to do! My mind has a habit of complicating things, trying to run through a to-do list, thinking about what’s next in my whirlwind of a day with a young toddler. It could have been the latest Oprah magazine that had an article that said we already possess all the wisdom we’ve been seeking.
The answers are within. If I can take even a minute to pause and tune in to my body – to my racing heartbeat or to a pit in my stomach, and ask what I can do for myself or for the situation, there’s usually a simple answer. I am learning to trust what I know, even if I don’t remember how I know it. A feeling I get about a person, a sense about which path to take. If I let my mind be quiet for even a few seconds, I’ll know the right way. I think this sense has always been there, but my mind has talked over it.
The most useful way I am using this gift is in times of indecision. I am one that needs an answer and needs it now. I don’t like open items on lists! And yet, I am learning that sometimes that confusion of not knowing what’s the right thing to do is a sign that I need to stop and put it on the back burner for awhile. The right answer usually comes. I can get filled with panic when I don’t resolve something right away, whether it’s which home to purchase (drove my hubby nuts with my impulsiveness), whether my daughter should start preschool (very glad I listened to my gut on this one because now she is definitely ready), or which kitchen sink to order for our new house (acted too quickly and now I have to send one back). I like it crossed off the list. And yet, things have a way of working out for the best, so if I can wait and let the proper path unfold, I am usually happier. The way I’m letting myself do this is by convincing myself that by actively choosing not to resolve something immediately, I am indirectly letting the right answer come forward on it’s own. That’s very Zen, no? I don’t know if my subconscious is ruminating on a decision without me knowing, if some higher power is working her magic, or if it’s all a bunch of hooey. What I do know is that it takes some of the pressure off of me. Try it!
