It's something thrown around a lot in my world..." just connect to your intuition" they say, "be guided by your inner wisdom". But, how the frig do we do it?
~ Today I wanted to give you an Intuition 101 with a free 15min guided practice recording for you to explore + play with ~
Woven into the seams of the Rise Programme (doors closing this Sunday my love :-) is learning to do just this. Because in creating a joyful, connected life that is on our terms, it must be guided by that incredible inner compass.
So where to begin? Well in our heady, fast, noisy world, it's easy to see how we have become disconnected from those more subtle messages that come through from our body, mind and heart.
Intuition speaks to us through sensations of expansion, tingling, feelings of love, relief or excitement, our breath may deepen or release a big sigh out of nowhere, a phrase or a word might arise in us, our attention might all of sudden be drawn to details that signal synchronicity of our life to details of that around us. But to hear, trust + translate this language we must both set the conditions + practice, practice, practice.
How Do I Know When It's Intuition Talking?
Intuition is not concerned with what has happened in the past or the risk of the outcomes of the future. Intuition doesn't care what other people might think or the bridges you might need to cross - it will help you navigate the bridges when you come to them. All it cares about is what is right, true and aligned for you because it knows your full, brilliant potential. If worries of any of the above arise, we know we are currently speaking with fear + a stressed nervous system.
Stress disconnects us from our intuition
Yep, When we're under stress our nervous system shifts us both physiologically and neurologically into risk-averse, threat seeking, hypervigilance.
It is accessing the filing cabinet of conscious and unconscious memory stored in the brain and body for quick reactions that have worked in the past to keep you safe at all costs. This burrowing into the past for information and projecting into the future all the risks means we are not present in the moment OR most importantly in connection to our present experience in our bodies.
Our bodies are where so much of the big YES's and NO's from our inner GPS show themselves. So even if we do hear its whisper, and it starts telling us that our next step is something new, uncharted or unfamiliar (which our unbounded intuition does like to do regularly for us, because all it wants is for us to be in our fullest potential :-) then our hyper-vigilant state can quickly dismiss it.
Creating healthy, embodied, intuitively guided change in our lives is very very hard if we don't begin to care for our stress levels + regulate our nervous system on the daily. So make this a priority to start hearing that guidance sing through.
Practice Makes Perfect
Take DAILY opportunities to connect to your intuition and become familiar with how it speaks to you. It’s not intuition that needs to be learned, it’s the learning to listen to it that does.
Start with the decisions you make every day, taking a few centring breaths before you begin and then start bringing those big and beautiful questions to the table.
Here are some examples to play with this week:
In the lead up to a meal “What tastes, colours and textures will make me feel satisfied and nourished?”
When you’re about to take a break “What do I need to fully sign off from this work for the next 15 minutes so I come back feeling my best?”
When you’re winding down in the evening “What will gently guide me closer to being ready for sleep tonight? What might I need to say no to?”
When choosing your next book to read “What do I want/need to experience/learn right now that will support my growth and happiness?”
~ And Here Is A 15 Minute Guided Practice To Connect You To Your Intuition ~
Now my love, if you are still on the fence around Rise, now is the time to get in touch with me - fire over your questions and let's explore together whether this might be the next right step for you.
I will not be running this course again this year, so if you're feeling drawn to do this beautiful, important personal work, perhaps it's time to listen to that.
Until we speak again, I am sending you the greatest of love + heart,
x Hannah x