7 Practices to Improve Intuition

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When dealing with matters of the heart, I’ve learned that I have to wade through the anxiety to find the true intuition. Sometimes, what I think is my intuition is really just my anxiety recalling all of the times I have been hurt. Eventually, I stopped trusting my intuition.

I couldn’t trust that gut feeling – the one that was telling me that I was in danger – because it was recalling the trauma I’ve experienced in my life. It was connecting a present trigger with the past trauma, rather than making a current risk-assessment. It was painting me as a batshit crazy psycho lunatic because I was certain that I was in need of protection.

My “intuition” often led me to create the very situation I was trying to avoid: I was alone, scared, and hurt.

But then something really awesome happened: I met Tyler and instead of seeing my unraveling as jealousy, he saw the hurt and fear under it all. After months of that batshit crazy psycho lunatic behavior, he finally paused and wondered where all of that emotion was coming from.

Through couple’s therapy, we were able to identify our triggers and how they were playing into one another. Together, we worked to understand each other’s triggers – where did they come from? How did they present? What is at the root of the trigger? – and devised strategies that helped us to work through those triggers in real time.

As a result, I’ve been able to rebuild my trust in my intuition. When I get uneasy about a situation, I know (a) how to determine if it is anxiety caused by past trauma, and (b) how to calmly address the gut feeling, rather than act out of fear.

But the question remains for many, how can you build your intuition?

Here are 7 Practice to help you Improve Your Intuition

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that there are countless benefits to meditation. Add “Building Intuition” to the list. When you meditate, you are not only training your brain to live in the present, you are giving the brain space and time for our worries and fears to bubble to the surface.

When this happens during meditation, take note of the worry or fear and let it go. Don’t forget about it – but take a mental note and then let the thought go until you are done with meditation. When you are finished, jot down those thoughts. It is important to come back to them, but more on that later.

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Having a clear idea of where you are going and what you believe in will help you to build your intuition. Let’s say that your boss approaches you with an opportunity to lead a project. As project lead, you’ll inevitably have a bigger paycheck, but you’ll also have to devote more time to the job. As someone with clear goals and a defined sense of what you believe in, you will be able to make the right decision about tackling the new opportunity.

Is the project in alignment with your beliefs? Is your boss asking you to promote a product that you don’t agree with? Or perhaps you are only working at this job until you build up your side-gig to the point it becomes your main-gig. Will leading this project move the needle on that goal?

Without goals, we tend to take on projects and opportunities that aren’t necessarily in alignment with what we want for our lives.

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Really get to know yourself. Dig deep.

What really burns your britches? What would you absolutely, without a second thought, drop everything for?

Come back to those thoughts that surfaced during meditation. Where are those thoughts coming from? Is there past trauma that you need to unpack? Are you living your best life? If not, what do you need to start living your best life?

By becoming better acquainted with yourself, you will be able to recognize when you are making decisions from a place of fear or anger and a place of intuition.

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Ella Luna walks readers through the self-discovery process via whimsical artwork and motivational quotes. Luna helps you to recognize learned messages that often cloud vision and true desires.

Discover the subtle messages that are controlling your decisions and establish a baseline of your genuine aspirations. Figuring this out will set you on a path to finding and building your passion and life’s work and free you from the demands society places on us.Pause. Breathe. Focus. Decide.

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By taking a pause before we make a decision, we give ourselves the opportunity to answer the question, “Is this my decision because I am scared? Or is this really what I want?”  When we stop to ask ourselves this question, we can analyze whether or not we are deciding from a place of anxiety or a place of intuition.

So pause, take a breath, focus your attention on your true desires, and then make a decision.

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When we put off making a decision, we give anxiety the chance to take over. We open the floor for debate when there should be no debate. Either you want to do something, or you don’t. Either you feel someway because you truly believe it, or you don’t.

There are times when a pros-and-cons list is appropriate – like when deciding whether or not we should move across the country for a job opportunity. But whether or not you want to go out on a date with the new guy from the IT department? Decide now. Whether or not you’re going to make the six-hour drive to a wedding several states over for your neighbor’s daughter’s third cousin? Decide now.

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Sometimes, when we have moderate to severe anxiety, it is impossible to separate the anxiety from intuition on our own. We need the help – as I did – from a licensed therapist and support from our friends and family.

There is no shame in going to therapy. In fact, I think everyone should go to therapy. The personal growth you will experience when you open yourself up to analysis and vulnerability is immense – and highly recommended.

Check with your insurance plan to find a therapist near you, or visit TalkSpace, where you can find a virtual therapist to work with you on your schedule. 

As I have discovered, it is possible to rebuild your intuition. I’ve learned to recognize the signs that I am working from a triggered space because I learned my triggers.

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What strategies have you found help you to improve your own intuition?