Intuition is not something that is easy to define in a single sentence. But at its core, intuition is a sense, an idea, an instinct that you will feel without any conscious reasoning. The sense you get when someone new gives you a bad feeling, or when you walk out the door and turn back to get an umbrella because something tells you it might rain.
Intuition comes to us in many forms, and in ways that we don't always understand. But if you can recognise it, and learn to harness it, it can become a guiding force. One that can help us navigate to the most successful path. To understand more about intuition and how to better tune into this part of ourselves, we spoke to kinesiologist Athina Bailey. She explains that just like any brain function (like memory or problem solving), intuition is like "a muscle and we can train ourselves to develop this skill". Below, find her explanation on what exactly is intuition and how we can better understand our own "gut feelings".
What is intuition?
Intuition is an inner ‘knowing.’ It's a subtle and gentle feeling, calling our focus to something that isn’t right or needs our attention. Because it's so subtle it's easy to miss, but when we begin to listen, our intuition can transform our lives for the better.
Intuition isn’t logical, and it often doesn’t make sense, that's why it's so easy to shrug it off and ignore it. But listening to your intuition is important. Your intuition is a powerful tool to support you in guiding you to the right path and when we start to listen to that inner compass
Do you have any examples of what this might look like in real life?
We feel our intuition in our body and oftentimes we can have other feelings through our intuition that are accompanied with a gut feeling such as flutters, goosebumps, warm flushes, etc. The gut feeling we feel is our intuition trying to communicate to us. Intuition and psychic abilities are two different things - whilst psychic abilities refers to extra sensory perceptions, intuition happens in the body. Gut feelings are the physical manifestation of intuition. People can experience gut feelings at different levels, for some it's a gentle nudge, or a weight at their core.
If you’ve ever been in a situation where you met someone and you had a bad feeling about them, like you couldn’t trust them but had no actual evidence for this, that's your intuition speaking. If you’ve ever had to make a decision and you had a knowing which was the right choice straight away, that's your intuition speaking.
How does intuition work? Is it an unconscious process in the brain? Or something more?
Everything is energy and your body is able to read and perceive the energy around you. If you think of your body as an energy reader or pendulum constantly receiving information through the form of energy, our intuition is how we read that energy we receive.
Our body communicates that to us usually by feelings or knowings that are our intuition.
Are some people naturally more intuitive than others?
We see that highly sensitive people (HSP’s) and empaths are naturally more intuitive than others. These people are highly attuned to others emotions and can more easily tap into their intuition.
Intuition ties very closely with emotional intelligence and empathy and it's often those skilled in these areas who have excellent intuition.
How can we better tap into our intuition? Is this something we can work on?
Intuition is like a muscle and we can train ourselves to develop this skill. Just as some people who are born tall are often naturally better suited to playing basketball, it doesn’t mean anyone can’t also learn to play. Building up your intuition requires working with your body and being in tune with it. You can begin by treating your body like an energy reader and as you think of a person, situation or place, notice how your body reacts. You can ask a question such as ‘is this situation for my highest good’ and notice how your body responds. If there's a feeling of contraction, goosebumps, expansion, weight, take note. Your body always gives you signs and everyone's body is unique in how it communicates and its learning to read your unique communication.
We live in a world of constant stimulus and we are being bombarded with information continuously, which can make it challenging to hear our intuition. One of the best things you can do to heighten your intuition is to take time being silent without any distractions to quieten your mind. You can start by meditating, even for just a few minutes a day, to create room for clarity. As your mind quietens you can start to hear your inner voice more clearly.
How can we use our sense of intuition to our advantage?
There's a quote by Napoleon Hill that successful people make decisions quickly and unsuccessful people make decisions very slowly.
Intuition allows us to make decisions quickly, we may use our logical brain to evaluate the upside and downsides of a decision which can take time to ruminate over. When we follow our intuition, we can take action quickly following our inner guidance. Following your intuition in areas like dating can save you time when red flags appear and ensure you don’t waste your time on someone who isn’t a match for you. In your career your intuition can guide you on whether to accept certain job offers. It’s a tool that we can use in all areas to enhance our lives.
About Athina Bailey Athina Bailey is a Kinesiologist and Energy Expert who helps intuitive women up level in their life and business. Read more on Athina Bailey.
