Try these easy ways to boost your inner strength and listen to the whispers of your soul. By Kirsten Harrell, PsyD
Everyone has intuitive potential - men
and women. It is a natural talent that everyone possesses. It is not
something special limited to only a few gifted individuals. As a
child, you freely accessed your intuition. Unfortunately, over time
you likely received negative feedback from your peers, teachers, or
family. You likely began to doubt your intuitive voice and shut down
this channel of information. The good news is that with a little
patience and practice you can strengthen and hone your intuition to
create a valuable guidance system.
The first and most important thing that you can do to develop your
intuition is to acknowledge and honor the intuitive messages that
you are currently getting. Your intuitive voice is still there, you
just need to tune into it. Start paying attention to and trusting
those little hunches or gut feelings that you have. If you did
nothing more than start honoring your intuitive impulses, you would
find a dramatic improvement in your intuitive abilities.
1. Clearing your mind
It is easier to hear the whispers from the soul when your mind is
quiet and open. You likely have lots of thoughts
running through your mind
at any given moment. You probably spend much of your day
multi-tasking. All of this "noise" makes it difficult to hear your
intuitive voice. It is important to find some ways to quiet your
mind. You can't shut off your thoughts completely, but you can learn
to slow them down. Let all the distracting thoughts flow out of your
mind. Let them go. Picture your thoughts floating away on a cloud.
Focus on your breathing and allow your mind and body to
relax more with each
breath. You might even try counting down from 10 to 1 and allow
yourself to relax more with each count. Once your mind is clearer,
you can then access your intuition.
2. Meditation
There are many forms of
meditation and all are
excellent ways to get centered and quiet the mind. Even a few
minutes of meditation daily can increase your ability to hear your
intuitive voice. Meditation is like priming the pump. As you get
used to being in a meditative state, you will find that it is easier
to hear the whispers from your soul and to distinguish these
messages from other mental chatter. If you are new to meditation you
might try sitting quietly and focusing your attention on a candle
flame. When your awareness drifts (and it will), simply bring your
attention gently back to the flame. You can also try focusing your
attention on a short phrase or word (mantra) that you repeat over
and over to yourself. Remember that the key is to gently bring your
mind back to your focus point. Getting frustrated will only
interfere with the process.
3. Imagery
You can use imagery to help you access intuitive answers to
your questions. Imagine yourself in a quiet place in nature,
surrounded by beauty and wonder. Make this image as vivid as
possible by using all of your senses. Spend a few moments simply
enjoying this place in your mind’s eye. Then, imagine a treasure
chest nearby. You feel excited as you approach the chest because you
know that the answer to your question is inside. Take a deep breath
and imagine yourself opening the treasure chest. Don't try to
control this, let your intuitive mind guide you. Trust that whatever
is inside the chest is your answer. You might receive a very clear
answer or you might get a symbol that doesn't make logical sense to
you. Either way, it is exactly what you need. Trust that if the
answer is not clear right away, it will become clear over time. Over
the next few days, be open to feelings, songs, conversations, or any
synchronistic events. Be patient! If you become frustrated or try to
force an answer, you will block the flow of intuition.
4. Dreams
While you are sleeping and your conscious mind is at rest,
your soul has the opportunity to bring intuitive information to you
through your dreams. When you are working on a problem and looking
for your intuitive guidance, take some time before you fall asleep
to ask for an answer to come to you through your dreams. Be sure to
keep a journal by your bed so that you can record your dreams the
moment you wake up. Your answers may come symbolically and may need
some interpretation. Look for the emotions and themes of your dreams
and see if this sheds light on your problem. If the answer still is
not clear, be patient and remain open. You may find more clarity
with time.
5. Affirmations
You can use affirmations to focus your mind. It is best to use
affirmations with some form of
relaxation (such as deep
breathing) in order to get the combined effects of a relaxed body
and focused or centered mind. Affirmations are a terrific way to tap
into the power of your subconscious mind to help you reach your
conscious desires. Affirmations should be concise sentences stated
in a positive way. When creating an affirmation remember to state
what it is that you want, not what you don’t want. Another important
guideline is to always use the present tense when creating your
affirmations. The following are a few examples of affirmations to
increase your intuitive abilities. I trust my intuition. My
intuitive voice is consistently accurate. I access my intuition
easily.
6. Practice
It is important to practice using your intuition. When you first
start practicing you may want to begin with small issues that do not
have a significant impact on your life. For example, try to guess
who is calling before you pick up your phone. Guess which elevator
will show up first when you are standing in front of a bank of
elevators. Practicing with these simple issues will allow you to
stay relaxed and focused without too much distraction from fear or
other mental chatter. As you practice, you will get better at
recognizing your intuitive impulses and you will gain confidence in
using this skill. The more confident you feel about identifying your
intuitive voice, the more you will trust it and be able to act on
it. As you practice using your intuition and build your skill, you
will find that your intuitive voice is a precious resource – an
indispensable gift. You can use this inner wisdom to guide you in
all of your decisions at work, at home, and at play. The more you
use and trust your intuition, the stronger it will get and the more
confident you will feel about it. The whispers from your soul will
always guide you to the path that is for your highest good.