A good friend of mine said this to me the other day. It was in a slightly different context as we were discussing the validity of certifications, learning from teachers, respecting lineages, taking the time to sit with a new skill/craft before trying to teach it to others, and just overall doing the work to fully understanding the context before moving into a intuitive place. It was also in the context of needing some structure in order to direct intuitive flow. An analogy that we could use here is learning a new instrument. Usually, you need to first learn how the instrument is built/works and its effects before you learn how to play it. AND you need to set up a regular practice schedule to learn the basics of the instrument, and get to know the instrument, before you can really begin making up your own songs.
In this day of awakening we are being called to trust our intuition more and more. We are discovering the power of our third eye and ability to “see” energies and receive insights. The heart is taking the stage with its field of energy, communication pathways, and intelligence. Our gut instinct has always been a driving guide for this earth experience. And for those who identify as female, womb wisdom is emerging honoring the feminine energies in all new ways.
And what I am discovering, is that there is a heightened need to sit our asses down and study ourselves so we can connect to our intuition … because it is oftentimes obscured by ego, fear, and trauma. We tend to think that intuition is something that happens naturally and we don’t actually need to “work” to connect with it. Or we can step into any “space” without any preparation because we are intuitive. And that may have been true for our species at some point. But today, so often our intuition has been programmed in ways to protect us, not help us grow. Our intuition has been focused on our survival. There’s that saying that goes: The habits you created to survive will no longer serve you when it’s time to thrive. Get out of survival mode. New habits; new life.
Our intuition helped create those habits to keep us safe.
Similarly, Bruce Lipton points out in his book, the Biology of Belief that our body can’t both be in protective mode and growth mode at the same time. So we have to learn to go beyond the instinctual barriers of protection so we can expand. And for most of us, this takes time and practice and learning a lot of life lessons along the way.
Somebody who goes through life saying, I’m intuitive and work in an intuitive flow, who never sits down and actually does any self-inquiry practices, or doesn’t create safe and solid containers for intuition to flow, may actually be more ego-based then intuitive. They may even be caught in cycles of spiritual bypassing to think that their intuition is all they need and they don’t need to take the time to study, to learn from teachers, to honor lineages, and to invest time into learning either about themselves or a “craft” they are offering.
To develop your intuition is to study how you react, respond, and show up in the world and to make the changes necessary to come into alignment.
It’s to mindfully approach each moment in life.
For some of us, external programming is so intense that we don’t even know how to trust our intuition let alone connect to it.
Sometimes we need books to help us peel back the protective layers keeping us from really showing up in our intuition.
Sometimes we need a teacher to help guide us deeper into our bodies and emotions so we can see how they are reflections of our minds.
Sometimes we need a mentor/coach to, without judgment or bias, reflect our shit back to us.
Most of the time, we just need to sit our asses down to be with ourselves. To be quiet. To learn to listen. And to learn how to self-regulate.
We need to “clean up our side of the street” and heal ourselves so we aren’t projecting our insecurities onto others.
We need to fully invest in understanding our authentic selves so we aren’t stealing from others or trying to be something we’re not.
It’s easy to get caught in the cognitive process, thinking through everything, and focusing on thought work. But we also need to get into our bodies. We need to move unhealed/trapped trauma from our physiology. We need to stretch and create space and comfort in our physical form. We need to actually sit down and breathe and meditate to work with our nervous system so we can shift out of the intuitive habits we developed to protect ourselves or to navigate childhood. But as adults, there is an initiation into the wild that returns us to our intuitive selves. And in a society that teaches us that time is money, and our worth is associated with our productivity, it can be hard to slow down and take the time to actually discover who we are.
And this is a form of studying. When we engage with our energies in mindful and intention ways through the lens of inquiry, we become students.
That’s why we need to study. To learn to discern between intuition and ego. To heal from trauma and painful experiences. To learn to trust our instinct the first time. To fully become who we were meant to be.
It’s a lifelong journey, this self-study.
If you’ve been trying to connect with your intention and really begin to live on purpose, and yogic practices call to you, try out my Yoga Challenge: 28 days to Living on Purpose. It will help you begin to ask questions about your health, relationships, money, and purpose. It can be a great place for you to start to really begin to dive into your intuitive nature.