Healthy Intuition...Healthy Body

Do you believe that how well-connected you are with your inner self has a profound impact on your level of health...physically, emotionally and spiritually? Some do. I've decided to dedicate a few posts to this very subject, so here's an article for warm-ups. Enjoy! xo



The Seven Habits of Highly Intuitive People
By Lisa Bailey

Intuition. We’ve all heard of it, even used it in varying degrees. But, what exactly is it? One dictionary source defines intuition as “the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference.” To me, that’s a complicated way of saying that it’s a gut instinct, the voice of wisdom, truth and love…an inexplicable sense of “knowingness.” Exactly where it comes from may be a mystery, but there are certainly some intriguing facets to its appearance in our lives.

I wondered if there were some common characteristics in the lives of people who not only tune into their inner voice of intuition, but make a daily practice of following it. So, I set about in the spirit of the well-known personal development guru, Steven Covey, who authored “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, interviewing a few top intuition teachers on the subject. Could I find seven habits that highly intuitive people shared? I believe I did, and what follows are my findings.

1. Intuitive people practice the art of pure presence.

What does “pure presence” mean and why is it an art form? Pure presence is a state of being whereby the egoic mind has been silenced, judgments have ceased and the inner sense of “beingness” is overpowering. In this space of “beingness”, there is an inner sense of expansiveness and connectedness to all of life…what some call “oneness”. Love, peace and true joy emanate from this space. There is a knowing that all magic is created in this space of pure presence, that the universe displays its beauty, grace, and unlimited power within our sense of knowing, within our awareness.

Practicing pure presence becomes an art form because its practitioners are unique, diverse and bring varying levels of awareness to their practice. It is a life-long process of learning to silence the egoic mind and become increasingly aware of the inner life force, or magic within. It’s a delicate dance of style, beauty and individuality that is developed and cultivated at the practitioner’s own rhythm, pace and tempo.

2. Intuitive people have a unique relationship with fear.

It is important to understand that while we use the term “knowingness” to describe the inner direction or guidance, there is often a presence of fear, doubt and skepticism that accompanies it. There are basically two kinds of fear. Primordial fear is what tells us to get out of the street when a car is approaching. Psychological fear, however, is the kind that we deal with most often, and it’s the one I am speaking of now. It’s the voice that asks the endless “what if” questions when we’re making decisions. It’s the one that paints us the pictures of doom and gloom that will come upon us if we make a bad decision. It’s self-blaming, doubting, deceptively cautious and very, very normal. Fear is not the enemy. Doubt is not the enemy. It is paramount that we acknowledge and even honor those voices that oppose our guidance, and that we accept them.

3. Intuitive people seek to find and remain in the flow of life.

We often hear the phrase “just go with the flow”, but what does that really mean? How do we find the flow? And, once we have found it, how do we remain in it? It’s as much an art form as practicing pure presence. We’ve all experienced life out of the flow. Everything feels like an effort, and there’s a sense of heaviness around our work and personal lives. It feels like we’re pushing the boat rather than enjoying a ride in it. Now, imagine you’re on a raft in the middle of a river. There’s a steady current, slow and gentle in places, fast and thrilling in others. You’re lying back, very relaxed and comfortable. You have no oars, because you don’t need them. The current takes you in the exact direction you need to go and at the exact pace. You’re only job is to enjoy the ride. Energetically, this is how it feels when we are in the magical flow of life.

Finding the flow begins with an inner “letting go”. We let go of our agendas, our fears, our striving…even our goals and our desires. We give up trying to control our lives and surrender to the magic within. This process, too, is a cultivated artistry. The ego will resist loudly, but that’s really OK. When we locate the inner place of letting go, the reward is always an overwhelming sense of peace and authentic joy. Our energy is renewed and the load we’ve carried becomes lighter and can even disintegrate.

4. Intuitive people enjoy the journey as much, if not more, than arriving at the destination.

Receiving and following intuition is a magical journey, and it is laden with adventure (which our spirits love, by the way!). It is important to respect and honor the process, embracing the accompanying sense of mystery. Maintaining an appreciation for mystery and enchantment is an essential component to enjoying the journey. Our intuition lights the way for an adventurous, enchanting and even mystical experience of life. And, our experience in this life IS a journey. There is no such thing as a destination. As soon as a goal is achieved, we replace it with another. In the world of self-development and personal achievement, perhaps we’ve lost sight of this. In fact, it’s often been said that it’s not the achievement of our goals that profoundly impacts our lives, but rather who we become in the process.

Learn to love the journey, no matter what unexpected twists and turns you encounter. It’s sometimes at those very turns in the path that our magical, intuitive nature delights us the most. One thing we can count on in life is change. Our intuition guides us through change with a sense of beauty, style and grace. It’s like the bread crumbs left along the path to show us the way…or, like a flashlight in the dark. We honor it by listening and following.


5. Intuitive people are optimistic and authentic.

The self-help gurus speak of the importance of maintaining a positive attitude. However, that doesn’t mean we ignore the negative emotions. Perhaps it would serve us to stop judging and labeling emotions altogether and just let them be. When we judge something within ourselves as “bad”, we tend to resist it. Guess what? What we resist persists. In light of that fact, it’s essential that we acknowledge all our emotions authentically and genuinely…first with ourselves and then with others. Allowing all emotions to pass through is embracing our sense of wholeness as a person. It’s much easier to maintain optimism when we’re coming forth with our emotions in an honest and non-judgmental way.

6. Intuitive people trust their hearts above all other voices.

In a world that has to large degree lost its sense of magic and wonder, it seems that analysis, hard evidence and sensibility are valued above all else. “Seeing is believing” has become the motto we’ve lived by. In some ways, it seemed safer, more secure. Turns out that safety was illusive. Just look around you…does what you see in this world with your human eyes leave you feeling safe and secure? A growing number of people are waking up to the illusion and embarking on an inner journey.

To re-embrace your inner magic and rekindle the light of intuition, it’s important to believe in the information you receive from your heart. Let the heart lead. Intuitive people understand the relationship between the heart and the mind. For too long, we’ve pursued what the logical mind judged as important and let the heart and its passions take the back seat. Intuition is a function of the higher mind and does not play the game of life with the same set of rules as the analytical mind. Australian intuition guru, Darren Eden, teaches his students to lead with the question, “What do I love?” That has to be the best litmus test for hearing, interpreting and understanding intuition I’ve ever heard. This moment, stop reading and ask yourself, “What do I love?” Don’t filter it. Don’t judge it. Just listen, and enjoy the revelations you receive!

7. Intuitive people love life and it loves them back.

All relationships with people, animals, plants and things on this earth stem from the primary one…our relationship with life. All intuitive people understand and embrace this fact on varying levels. I’ve heard it called many things…source, God, energy, the force (hey, Star Wars is still the most widely favored movie of all times), Buddha, Allah, Jesus, Mother Earth, the big Kahuna, etc. Whatever you call it doesn’t matter so much as that you get to know it. It is the great consciousness from which all higher wisdom and intuition originates and its very essence is love. Life LOVES you and is constantly broadcasting its love for you…through nature, through people and through your intuition. It’s your choice and privilege to tune into the frequency of love. Just like setting your radio dial, you have the ability to set your inner dial to love.

To sum it up, it seems intuition can be likened to the voice of the gods knocking on your heart. Following the guidance is like opening the door…letting in more divine magic and letting out more of it into this world. Listen to your inner voice. Cultivate it. Honor it. Celebrate your intuition and you will create a life of celebration and magic…for yourself, for others and for your world.


If you're still hungry for more information, I recommend these two brief videos from Dr. Judith Orloff, author of "Positive Energy"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WRmj5uUlyI&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Followed by...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxD8xmXPPjY&NR=1