I Gotta Feeling …
Article from the February 2012 issue of Cleo Magazine.
Oprah describes it as your inner GPS, others call it a gut feeling. Whatever its name, your intuition is here to help.
Some years ago, I was dating a professional athlete who travelled the world every few months for his competitions. After one such trip to Europe, I found a note, signed off with hugs and kisses, in his bedroom. The message wasn’t from me. When I asked him about it, he insisted that the girl who wrote it was just a new friend, someone he’d met and got along with. Fair enough, I thought, he’s allowed to make friends.
But as the weeks passed, I had an unshakable feeling that something more was going on. I couldn’t verbalise this feeling; it was just something in the pit of my stomach, whispering unease. It was this doubt that drove me to log on to his email account two months later, where I found dozens of messages to the girl – his ‘friend’ – who he’d been having an emotional affair with. Obviously, I was devastated, but the experience taught me a very valuable lesson: always trust your intuition.
It’s knowing without knowing
So what is this feeling – this sixth sense that silently tells you to keep going or turn back, to hold on or let go? That thing that warns of danger, or signals a right decision or true love? “Intuition is inner knowing. It’s the ability to recognise when a message is tapping you on the shoulder, gnawing away at your heart or stomach, or whispering like a little voice in your head trying to get your attention,” says professional intuitive and spiritual expert, Rebecca Dettman. “Everyone on earth has the capacity for intuition. It’s a primal instinct that helped cave women avoid sabre-toothed tigers, and which animals use every day. Intuition is important because it helps us stay in alignment with our true selves and can warn us of danger or a wrong move.”
Portia*, 23, learnt this the hard way when, aged 15, she was attacked while walking home from school.
“I saw this man standing near the front garden of a house. I just assumed he lived there. As I got closer, I got this terrible feeling in my stomach. A voice in my head said, ‘Cross the road’. But then I thought, ‘No, you’re being paranoid – keep walking’. A few seconds after I’d walked past him, I was grabbed, dragged 20 metres up a driveway, shoved to the ground and raped. To this day, I believe if I’d listened to my intuition and gone to the other side of the road, I wouldn’t have gone through what I did.”
All signs point to yes
While our intuition can be used to save us from horrific experiences such as Portia’s, it can also be a signpost letting us know that we’re heading in the right direction. Spiritual teacher and healer, Todd Savvas, believes intuition is the ability to sense things as though they’re happening to you, and says you’ll feel joyful and excited when you’re on the right track.
Natalie*, 26, can attest to this. After starting her own web business, she found herself in a pile of debt and wanting to quit. “It was very emotionally and financially draining, but there was something inside telling me to keep going. After a period of reassessment, I used my intuition to guide me and found that I kept attracting the right people to my projects at the right time. No matter how great it may have seemed on paper, if a deal just didn’t feel right, then I wouldn’t proceed. I discovered that I instinctively knew whether something was good or bad for the business. Now, I’ve cleared my debt and we’re about to relaunch the site, bigger and better than ever.”
Savvas says these hunches are there to help, and you should engage them. “Whenever you get these flairs of intuition or gut instinct, you have to do something about it, otherwise you’ll be delaying the process of your personal evolution.”
“intuition is inner knowing, it’s the ability to recognise when a message is tapping you on the shoulder… trying to get your attention “
Learning how to tap into it
There’s good news if you can’t tell the difference between a hunch and wishful thinking. Intuition is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Try these exercises to get you started:
Slow down: Take a couple of minute: out of your schedule every day to sit, breathe, relax, meditate and connect to what your body is saying to you.
Detoxify: The cleaner your system, the clearer your messages. This means a healthy diet, lots of water, exercise, fresh air, sleep and positive thinking.
Practice: Begin with simple exercises, like holding an object and seeing what energies you intuitively pick up, or try to guess who’s calling you on your cellphone before looking at it.
Trust yourself: Don’t let your logical brain take over, saying, “You’ve just made that up!”. When it comes to the messages your body sends you, there’s no pressure, and no right or wrong.
*Name has been changed.
|
Subscribe to CleoIf you love reading about fashion, beauty, relationships and all things hip and happening, why not subscribe to this great magazine? Give a Gift SubscriptionLooking for a gift for a trendy friend? Let them receive this wonderful magazine from you every month! Latest Issue of CleoSee what’s in the latest exciting issue of Cleo. |