Part of the featured topic series,
Using Intuition
I cannot tell you how to use your intuition; I’m afraid I’m not that evolved. What I can share with you is my unique experiences of living a life with the understanding that one of the lessons that I believe I am supposed to be learning during this lifetime is how to follow my intuition. That seems like it should be a simple thing to do. There are times when I’m driving my car and get a strong sense that I should turn left at the next intersection or that I should drive more slowly because something is coming. When this happens, sometimes I can see clearly what I was to avoid and other times not. I believe that following my intuition in these instances has probably saved me a bent bumper or two or even my life.
So why then do I often find it more difficult or even ridiculous to follow my gut instinct in other situations? There have been any number of times that I have had that “intuitive feeling” in business but ignored it only to suffer because I didn’t listen. I have ignored my inner wisdom in personal relationships too.
One area where I use intuition always and constantly is while working with a client in massage. The minute I sit down with a client and start talking about their aches and pains, information begins to pour in. Some of it is from observation and when they are on the table and we begin to massage, some of it will come through my hands in palpation. But none of this explains how I often intuitively know what injury caused the knot I’m palpating in someone’s back or what emotion they felt when the injury occurred.
Dr. Joyce Brothers once said, “Pay attention to your intuition, it’s usually the result of observed facts stored just below the surface of your mind.” Where ever this information comes from, it almost never steers us wrong and often can mean greater safety, prosperity and peace of mind when we do listen and act on the knowledge given to us.
So I am learning, the only way I seem capable of learning, slowly. I am learning to not only heed my intuition more often but I am setting my intention to let intuition come more often, with more information and with a whole heck of a lot more acceptance and gratitude on my part.
Copyright © 2011 Michele Holmes. All Rights Reserved.
HI Michele,
Meee tooo! I’ve done quite a few intuition meditations and I’ve discovered that intuition, for me, resides in my upper abdomen. Actually, most emotions reside there, for me. I’ve spoken to others and found many people find their intuition in the very center of their head.
Where does yours reside for you? Yay, more juicy topics to talk about over lunch!
Debbie
Boy is my face red! As an LMT you would think that would be one of the first questions that would be I asking myself but it’s never occured to me to think about it.
So asking now, I would say that I have experienced both that “gut feeling” of intuition as well as flashes of instinaneous information that I feel comes directly to my head. And it is a tactile flood of information that comes to me through massage. Almost as if my hands were some sort of “reading” device kind of like a scanner in the grocery store or like reading Braille.
You are right many people store emotions in the abdomen. I think it’s where the analogies of “bad” feeling come from like “I have a sinking feeling in my stomach” or ” I feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach.” But I find that clients store emotions everywhere, often tied to injuries such as head, spinal or leg injuries. However, certain careers seem to dictate where people “store” their stress reactions. An example is business executives who don’t often have tight shoulders from stress like the rest of us, I find they often store it in their hips, buttocks or legs, below the negotiating table where it’s not seen by their collegues and might be interpreted as a sign of weakness.
I always say Bill Gates still hasn’t built anything that can rival the sublty and complexity of the human body and condition. We all are truly beautiful and utterly amazing creations.
Michele~~~What a great and simple posting and sharing of intuition. I felt like you were writing my journey..although I must say you seem more ready to respond than I have been. It’s funny, in things that I might pay attention to and heed accordingly, they aren’t things that on surface would greatly impact my life if I did not; whereas where the consquences of not heeding could be devastating, it’s like I fight a war and ultimately choose to ignore. Sigh… My intuitive feelings come both gut and head wise and in fact, come in my dreams – seriously. I’ve gotten messages in my dreams that have resulted in my law firm winning an otherwise losing case in the courts. I think the test for me was being prepared to share with “senior, wise, stuffy counsel”…hey, Gee boss – I had a dream and if we do or say this…well we’re gonna win! Am I prepared to “look foolish” in the “eyes of the worldly” and share my intuitive thoughts? That, for me, as caused many a moment of hesitation – and when I’ve “thrown all caution to the wind,” and said, “To he** with it,” and blurted out my “weird intuitive thoughts” – well, low and behold, I’ve been blessed and so have a whole lot of other people.
Intuition is something we all have – whether we heed it or not is a whole other ballgame! But, it is also a responsibility, that when we become awakened to it, we need, we must use that gifting for the blessing of the universe.
I loved your sharing, thank you! See, it has done it’s work, for it has triggered lessons within me for me!!
Thank you Michelle for your article. It is an interesting point you make that the inner voice is so much easier to hear in certain situations–with clients for you. And I like Velma’s comment about throwing caution to the wind. When I do that, anything can happen–because I allow it. Not sure if that’s what you all intuition or presence, or maybe they’re kind of the same thing–open to all that is in the moment.
Thanks so much for all the encouraging comments. When I saw the what the subject matter was supposed to be, I got excited as this is a subject dear to my heart and big part of my life lessons.
Velma, I know exactly what you mean. As a massage therapist, it can effect your bottom line if the public perceives a therapist as too Woo Woo (the technical term) so I have found ways to pass on the information I receive to some less receptive clients that doesn’t reveal my “sources”. It can be difficult to stand in public and announce to the world “I listen and act on my intuition”. Some folk respond favorably, other get turned off and some even want to know what numbers you think they should pick in the lottery! So I thinks it’s a slow journey, akin to becoming well grounded in yoga, to gain acceptance from others and yourself.
Sharon I think it can be called many things but, for me, presence is being grounded and ready for action and acceptance. I think presence is like turning on an old TV, the power comes on and your present then you are just waiting for the information to flow. In massage they taught us the be present, centered which I always included grounded here and aware which I think means having your focus on the client. Massage for me is like an hour-long meditation of a single (if complicated) object. So just like meditation the time can both drag and fly by at the same time.
Such fun being here with you all!
Your point on Woo Woo–yes! And this is what I was kind of trying to get at when we were discussing future topics, and on of them is about being authentic to yourself in all manner of company–in your example, less receptive clients. So when that topic comes up, I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it!
On presence and intuition, I think I would edit what I said. The two go hand in hand, but I think it is the presence that opens all radio channels, so to speak, which is maybe what you were saying. How cool that your career is such a learning/practicing place for that.