“You will never solve a problem by thinking about it. You feel it and then an answer will arise naturally” – Jeff Rubin
When we are on the path of healing, we can get stuck. Frozen with indecision about how to move forward. Sometimes there is a great deal of confusion. Sometimes there is so much information and possible outcomes that we just can’t make sense of things.
Often in these situations our mind will ruminate, going over and over again all the possible outcomes and implications of each decision. We try to reason it out. We try to make a logical, sensible decision. But we find it impossible. There are too many variables. It is too complicated. Our brain spins with all the information we are trying to process.
When that happens it is time to step back and take a breath.
The right path can come to us. The best decision can materialize in our minds. The easiest pathway to that ideal path is through intuition.
Intuition is a type of cognition that can help us make better decisions, especially when those decisions are complex. Instinct, gut feeling, a knowing, inner wisdom, internal compass, inner guides are all names we use for intuition.
The purpose of intuition or inner knowing from an evolutionary view is to keep us away from danger. Often the world we live in has too many inputs for conscious mind to make sense of. Intuition helps us to tap into our subconscious which can process multiple streams of input and make sense of them.
This makes intuition an ideal way to navigate the complex world of medicine and healing. The route to using intuition is to get past the mental noise. To see through our constant stream of mental chatter and allow intuitive knowing to arise.
That is not so easy. When a thought comes into our mind, how do we know if it is intuitive knowing or just mental thought from our conscious mind? It can be tricky and difficult.
From a more spiritual perspective, intuition is about tapping into our higher selves. Our ego self, small self, is what we tend to identify with. This small self views ourselves as the physical body. So when illness or injury occurs, our small self goes into protection mode. Small self emotions immediately arise. They are emotions such as fear, anxiety, worry, anger, irritation, depression, shame, guilt and more.
To make matters worse, our small mind emotions send messages to our cognitive mind and can actually highjack our thinking process. We start having thoughts that support our small mind emotions. These thoughts occur whether those feelings are justified to the situation or not.
The trick is to see that small process happening and go beyond. Recognize there is a greater Self, a knowing Self. That Self can navigate these tricky situations with calmness and ease and come up with the best decision. This great Self is the greater consciousness. It is part of, connected to and is the whole. In Tibetan Buddhism it is known as Rigpa mind or pristine awareness.
Here are six ways that can help bring our intuition into our conscious mind:
1. Ask your higher Self for guidance. Just ask. You can ask your higher Self or even the universe or Buddha or Jesus. Ask and then relax knowing the answer will come. The answer will come when and how it needs to come. Rest with that.
2. Pretend you’re answering a question from a dear respected friend. Pretend that a dear friend is suffering the way you are now and they are asking your advice. What would you tell them? What advice would you give? Taking this approach gives us a bit of space between our problems and our mind. That space provides opportunity for wisdom to arise.
3. Go for a walk. I like to call this a contemplation walk. Enjoy the outdoors, experience the outside world. Put your issues, problems and troubles in the back of your mind for now. Don’t forget them or push them down. I like to say that I am putting on a back burner to simmer for a bit. The answer will arise when it is ready.
4. Sleep on it. As your falling asleep remember your issue. You may find the answer when you wake up.
5. Notice things. Pay attention to where you are and things in your environment. Look for things that stand out, are different or capture your attention. Try to let go of thinking about your problem as you do this. Sometimes you will notice something that triggers something deep in your mind. Allow it to just be there and bubble up on its own.
6. Feel it. As you think about different choices or different possible answers notice how they feel to you. Walk through them one by one noticing how they feel. You may notice a certain feeling that will indicate the best direction to go. If not just wait.
Intuition is an refined and subtle way to navigate the world. Intuition connects us to a larger part of ourselves that is beyond distraction and worry of daily life. If we continue to practice connecting to our natural intuition, it will get easier and easier to connect to a greater Self. Eventually we will find ourselves in that greater state of being and life will flow.
Comments