Gut reactions, 90s Dial Up, and False Alarms — A Guide to Listening to your Intuition

Oh sweet intuition. It is a birthright, a sacred tool that is built in us, and it can be the faintest whisper or the loudest signal to guide you. And yet, so many of us, myself included, have had the hardest time fully dropping into it. 

When you mix things like fear, anger, trauma, inner child, and conditioning to the mix — intuition can get clouded real quick.  And it can be really disorienting. It is really hard to walk through life and not be able to fully trust yourself. Or you think that your intuition is right, and you do it anyway, it goes wrong, and then you feel really betrayed by yourself, angry, upset, and shutdown and disconnected. 

Be gentle with yourself, my love. Be so freakin’ gentle. Because we have been taught to listen to every other thing in the world besides our own inner voice. And ya know the whole “listen to your gut” thing? Your inner child usually lives in your gut, and can give you some warped information based on their experiences. So your initial gut reaction isn’t the most reliable sometimes.

In my experience, this shows up the most with people. I remember when I first met my friend Sam. The second I was introduced to him, my intuition went off like a fire alarm, and I immediately felt my guard go up. I thought I was so psychic, like I had this person figured out, I knew their true intention, they were not good. I was convinced. But after actually talking to them, really witnessing them, compassion and love came flooding in. And I saw the total projection that was happening. 

And damn, if I listened to everything my gut tells me, I wouldn't be writing to you right now. I would not have a business, I would not still be in a beautiful relationship, and I would not have done half of the things I’ve done. 

I’m not saying your intuition should be doubted — your intuition is an amazing compass. It’s the alarms our body/mind sends to us along the way that needs to be tended to. Picture it like this — it can be hard to hear clearly or just drop for a second, like when you were on the phone and your sister went on AOL in 1998 and all of a sudden it made those loud dial up sounds. Sometimes, we just have to pause, check our connection, and then move on. 

So take a breather. When you are really needing to listen to your intuition, pause. When it is fear, it will feel urgent, like a scream, like a 911 call inside of your bones. That is great information, but not necessarily truth. 

The truth is beyond the urgency. Intuition is a solid sensation that feels like warm pumpkin stew on a Fall day in your tummy. It feels good, true, smooth, and dense. It is not sharp and sudden. It can totally start as a eureka moment, just like taking the first taste of the yummy soup, but then it slowly sinks in deeper and deeper until it feels like an unshakable knowing.

That is not to say it will always stay like that. Sometimes our fear, trauma, conditioning, and story will come up and will shake us up. But the good thing is that we can settle back down into our knowing. 

When you are doubting your intuition — pause. Connect with your North Star, the force that you work with that encompasses all good to you. It could be your guides, God, Goddess, Truth, Love, or your Higher Self. Feel that energy, and breathe their essence into you, like actually fill up your lungs with it and spread it through your body. 

Calm your heart, connect your mind, drop in, and gain clarity. Then watch the magic you create. 

What’s your relationship with your intuition? Share your experiences below!