How to Trust Your Intuition

Spirituality | November 12th, 2008 by Pema Teeter

Ever turn right and the moment you do, say, “I knew I should have turned left!” What made you know that? And why did you turn right instead? That nagging little navigation system lives in your gut, and inevitably, knows a lot more than your head does. Not sure about that? Tune in and try it.

Here’s my five-minute how to guide on trusting your intuition. As always, if you have your own tips and strategies, feel free to leave them in the comments, below.

Hear It

Intuition is the feeling or voice that slips into your already crammed brain while you’re driving and shaving at the same time.

Trust It

Turn in the direction it tells you to turn. Take the action it tells you to take.

Pay Attention

How taking that turn affects you and your plans.

Compare

The outcome to what you were expecting. Consider whether your day or someone else’s is a little brighter, or you feel more protected, or you are making better sense than before.

Practise

Recognize that feeling. When you get to know your internal GPS, you can grocery shop, stock pick, discipline the kids, and choose what to say, all based on your inner guidance.

Trusting intuition is a function of trusting yourself. It is also trusting that there is more to your world than meets the eye. If you are being honest, you can discern what is intuition guiding your way, and what is your volitional mini monster telling you to rule the world. Follow your internal GPS and watch how your world comes into sync. You’ll be amazed at the connections you make and at the peace it brings to every day living.

Recommended and Related

Practical Intuition, by Laura Day

Photo by motumboe.

Viewing 5 Comments

pearl_mattenson 11/13/2008 10:11 AM 1 point
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This is great and so needed Pema. The tricky thing sometimes is to recognize your intuition. Different people connect to it in different ways. For some it is a physical sensation, for others it is a verbal message. I am still working at recognizing what is (and isn't) my intuition.

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Pema 11/13/2008 03:06 PM 1 point
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Hi Pearl! For me the feeling is a knowing. Somehow, when the feeling sneaks in, I know what to do next if I listen. If I try to go against that "direction," the feeling gets so strong, it is almost as if I am being scolded. You wouldn't use salt if a recipe called for sugar instead. The knowing seems that obvious. I have talked myself out of intuition enough times to realize it knows better than I after all. Wherever it comes from, it is always right! So I don't argue anymore. :-)

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Alison 11/13/2008 11:02 PM 1 point
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Trusting your intuition, like all powerful things, is incredibly difficult. Difficult, mostly because its simply a gut feeling, and not a guarantee. Most people would like intuition to be (in the words of Caroline Meiss) "Knowing that if you go ahead and take this step, you won't lose any money and there'll be romance waiting for you on the other side."

If we all had that guarantee, there would be no faith involved, no risk, and probably no strength. That's why people who take these leaps of faith generally deserve to succeed. They're doing what a lot of people choose against in loyalty to their dreams.

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Roy 11/20/2008 12:25 AM 1 point
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Pema, your intuition never ceases to amaze me. It is prescient that you should identify the gut as a source of intuition. Recently, the medical community discovered that each of us has a second brain, and it is the gut (The Second Brain by Michael Gerson, MD). So, trust that gut feeling!

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rob 11/22/2008 08:40 PM 1 point
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Great article, calling it your internal GPS is really a good analogy.
Just today I was driving and all of a sudden my gut said 'turn right go south on andrews ave' now i NEVER take andrews...so I ignored it and went my normal route..turns out once i got to my normal route street there was a huuge accident and it was gridlock traffic..I was stuck and had to take another alternate route...which took another 20min...how did my intution know that it was better to take andrews....
I would venture to say our intuition is always speaking to us....every single moment....and my goal is to listen to mine every step of the way..and basically it all comes down one thing.. . . .trust.

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