Hey there!
“When I was in college, I was the only one of my friends that had a car on campus. So naturally, when it was time to go to the mall or grocery store, they would ask for me to take them. There was only one problem, I could NEVER find my keys. I had a famous question I would start with, “ Let’s play a game called” and my friends would answer in unison, “Find Mimi’s keys”! Like clockwork, whenever it was time to go somewhere my keys were always missing. It was getting so frustrating, because it would take hours on end to find those darn things.
Until one day, I became smart and I started to get quiet. I would close my eyes in a sort of meditative state and simply say out loud, “Please lead me to my keys”. After a few moments of silence, I’d follow whatever direction felt good to follow. Sometimes I would be led to a pair of jeans I wore the night before, or they’d be in the couch cushions, and one time I even found them in the refrigerator! Usually, I would find my keys within a couple of minutes versus the hours it would take me before.
Now, that might seem like a silly example. But when was the last time you listened to your gut, your instinct or your core? Believe it or not, you actually have a network of nerve fibers behind your stomach known as the Solar Plexus. The Solar Plexus’ function is to give you guidance and direction. We all have the ability to use our inner guidance system, but it takes a setting the intention to do so. Here are three ways to enhance, trust, and follow your inner guidance.
1) Decide. First, we must decide we want to live this way–we want to follow our intuition and see where it leads us. Until we decide to live by our intuition–to trust and obey those whispers–we simply won’t be committed enough to actually hear and follow them. We must choose to trust that inner voice in order to then practice trusting and following it.
2) Experiment and practice. Just like I had to do in college with my keys, it’s important to experiment and practice hearing and trusting your inner voice. If you’ve already decided you want to use this successfully then you’re well on your way. Next, you can choose to put that desire into use daily, hourly, and really, practice. It will take time to learn to hear the whispers of your intuition. Give yourself time. It will take practice, trial and error, to know when it’s trying to tell you something, to stop and pay attention, and to follow. When you don’t listen and follow your intuition, you’ll know, because you’ll come to a block or a challenge or a realization that “I should’ve listened…” or “I wish I went left instead of right.” Practice will eventually enhance our ability to trust, follow, and obey our intuition.
3) Listen and obey. This is part of experimenting and practicing, but deserves its own step, because it’s really “the way” we learn to trust and follow our intuition. Moment by moment, listen for the whispers. One of the best ways to do this is by learning to meditate. Having a time each day that you put aside to listen quietly to your deepest self is the lifeline of accessing your intuition. It may not actually sound like words but might be more of a feeling of what to do or not do. Pay attention to this feeling.
Remember, intuition is soft and quiet. It’s not a loud shouting voice or feeling; it’s most often gentle but direct guidance. Journal about what you hear or feel or sense within. All of these can help you develop that ability to more easily hear or feel those whispers as you grow.
I am confident that if you try these tips you will be well on your way to connecting to your inner guidance system.
XOXO,
Mimi B