Trusting Your Intuition

Your Instinctual Voice

by Laura Interval

"All great men are gifted with intuition. They know without
reasoning or analysis, what they need to know."
– Alexis Carrel, Nobel Prize winner in Physiology

So, how many times do we have to say, “I KNEW I shouldn’t have done that. I had a feeling it was the wrong thing to do”… after we already did it… with disastrous results? How many times do we have to go against that inner voice we all have, before we realize that it is almost ALWAYS RIGHT? Why don’t we trust our INTUITION?

"Intuition clears your vision and steers you to the right target," says Judith Orloff, M.D., renowned psychiatrist and medical intuitive. “It tells you the truth about how you can help yourself in physical, emotional and sexual ways that your conscious mind could never tell you." The truth? My impulses and quick responses to my environments can tell me the truth about a situation? OK… that’s amazing, right? Then, how come I have made wrong choices in my life? How come my instincts haven’t led me to everything-I-want-ville?

They can and they will, if you get to know them better. With focus and attention on your impulses, you can learn to understand them and translate their meaning.

We all have them! We are all born with instincts. It has nothing to do with learning or intellect. The encyclopedia says that instincts develop in the same way for all individuals of the same species. So, we are all equipped equally as human beings. The difference then, comes in how well you can tune in to yourself. How well do you know your instinctual voice?

I have to admit, I think I have strong instincts. That said, I can recall several instances where still… I didn’t listen to them.

I once left my purse in my car while I ran into a store quickly to grab something I needed. As I was trotting into the store my intuition said, “Hey Laura, go back and get your purse. It’s stupid to leave it there. Someone is going to break into your car and steal it.” “No” I answered. “Silly instinct, I’ll just be a minute. No one would do that anyway.” You already know the end of this story, don’t you? Yep. 15 minutes, my car window was smashed in… and my purse was gone. Now, I just have to point out here… not only did I not listen to my instinct… but, I also had some law of attraction forces at work.

It’s really a discipline to pay attention to your inner voice. What is it really anyway? There are a million answers to that question; some believe it is God’s voice, some believe in guardian angels, others in past life forces. The point is, what does it mean to you and how can you get to know it better?

Begin to pay attention. Can you feel your body’s signals? Your body can often sense dangerous or threatening situations before your intellect can. You may begin to feel nervous or sweaty, maybe you find it harder to breath or your heart starts beating faster. Whatever the change is, listen to it! If it feels troubling… it usually is! And as they say, “better safe than sorry”, right? The police are big supporters of the “trust your instinct” motto. They use it often in their advice for fending off sexual predators.

Be very present with your thoughts. Be aware when you challenge your first instinctive thought. For example, when I told my inner voice that I wasn’t going back for the purse; I should have just recognized that, and not let myself second guess. I was in a hurry and I just didn’t feel like turning back. Well… waiting for the police and having to file the report took up a lot more time than a jog back to my car would have!

Your instincts can also tell you about people and your health. If someone makes you feel strange, off balance, or distrusting, don’t disregard it. I have regretted some relationships that I have pursued while ignoring “red flags” from my inner voice. Turns out, my instincts were right. I could have saved myself a lot of time and heart ache if I had just trusted myself from the beginning. The crazy thing is I was afraid of “accusing” the other person. (But, that’s a whole other issue for another article!)
If you are getting feelings that something is wrong with your body, listen to it! I have heard over and over from people who say they just “knew” something was wrong. They were wise enough to listen to their instinctual voice, get medical attention and catch a condition in the early stages.

Not every instinct will be correct. I don’t think we can accurately translate every intuitive thought that we have. But, I do believe with discipline and awareness, we can get better at hearing them and allowing them to guide us on the right path. Try to keep your intellect out of it… and see where your instincts take you.

In the words of the great, Nobel Prize winning philosopher, scientist and humanist Albert Einstein: “The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why.”

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