Have any of these situations of hearing guidance and intuition happened to you or to someone you know?

You have a sense that you shouldn’t get onto an elevator with the person in there, so you wait for the next elevator.

You have an impulse to call a friend. When you do, you find out she has just fallen and needs help.

You feel an urgent need to do your shopping for the new baby now even though it’s not due for another three weeks. You go shopping, and the next day you go into labor.

In the middle of the night, you awaken with a deep concern for your brother who lives overseas.  You pray for him, finding out the next morning he had undergone a medical emergency last night. 

All these scenarios illustrate intuition. It has many named, including the still small voice, hearing God, or receiving inner Wisdom. I refer to that quiet little voice inside as my IGS or Inner Guidance System.

This brings up questions: Do we all have the capacity to hear that small voice? Yes, we do. Can we develop our intuitive abilities? Yes, we can. Here’s how…

Leaving this Moment Hinders Hearing Guidance & Intuition

Imagine a time line in which there exists past, present and future.  Our bodies exist in the present moment, yet how easily the mind goes elsewhere!

Past

For example, the mind can jump backward into the past. Thoughts of past events aren’t real in this moment; they exist only as memories between our ears. Past thinking often takes the form of “woulda, shoulda, coulda,” and “if only.”  I may feel regret or guilt about what happened back there, which can lead to depression.

Future

In addition, the mind leaps into the future. Thoughts about what might happen are no more real than thoughts about the past.  They exist only between my ears as imagination.  Thoughts of “what if,” in the form of dire consequences, can lead to anxiety. 

Present

Thirdly, in this moment, I may resist a situation and agree with the thought “this shouldn’t be happening. ” This form of suffering can lead to anger.

With these consequences in mind, when I remain present, accepting everything with gratitude and resisting nothing, all my senses attune to what occurs now. I relish in the feel of warm water flowing onto my soapy hands. The smell of onions frying awakens my senses.  The uniqueness of the person talking to me fascinates me.

To sum up Presence, it welcomes everything and resists nothing. Presence allows no room for depression, anxiety or anger. I exist within it in Stillness.

Given that God – as Guidance and Intuition — speaks only into this present moment, I dare not leave. If, through my thoughts, I get lost in past, future or resistance, I miss the message. When I silence the mind’s commotion, messages from my IGS stand out. With the racket gone, I can hear guidance and intuition clearly. 

Because of its benefits to hearing that guidance and intuition, it serves us to know how to…

Cultivate Presence to Hear Guidance & Intuition

I find meditation works to foster Presence. One technique, focusing on the breath, silences the mind’s commentary.  Then the mind lets go of beliefs that anything should be different than it is. The chatter of its opinions becomes silent.

At the same time, I stop trying to achieve an experience. Rather than seeking to “do” meditation, I allow myself to “be” with the flow of my breath. 

If thoughts, feelings or sensations invade the silence, I observe them and let them pass.  After several minutes (sometimes a lot more), the mind begins to rest and the noise settles down, yielding to the inner Silence. 

I love that Stillness. I let myself rest in it for a while.  

When I get on with the day’s activities, I’m challenged to stay in that still space. Thoughts and concerns want to rush in like water released from behind a dam.  They squelch my ability to hear guidance and intuition.

The carry-over value of meditation

Just as I bring my mind back during meditation to a practice (such as focusing on the breath), I now re-focus into this present moment. It may happen like this:  

Mind: What will we have for dinner tonight? 

Presence: Oh, wait a minute, that’s a future thought, and the answer will reveal itself later.  Right now, I’m focusing on this client and listening deeply to her soul.

Mind: What if Steve has an accident on his drive to Phoenix today? 

Presence:  Oops, future thought!  In this moment, all is well.  Now, what’s the best word to use in this sentence I’m writing?

Mind:  I did such a stupid thing yesterday!

Presence: Wait, my mind just went into the past and led me into self-judgment.  That thought created a bad mood.  Right now, the sunset over Mingus Mountain looks so vibrant and beautiful, and I’m grateful! 

Resting

As I practice relaxing into this moment, I become more sensitive to my IGS. I attune to what I feel now, in my emotions and in my body.  Because I don’t flee into past, future or resistance, I am present to receive the messages from my IGS that speak only into the Now. I catch nuances of meaning in what others do and say.  Intuition guides what I do or say. (Read here about Presence in a parenting scenario.)

We can all do this!  With practice, we can remain so present and grounded in this moment – so still inside – that we catch the inner whispers, hearing our guidance and intuition.  Emanating from our Source, it never stops flowing to us.  The only thing preventing us from hearing it is that inner hubbub!

Hearing guidance and intuition, the flow of Presence becomes our natural state. We can’t understand it through the mind. Quieting the inner noise and dwelling in the natural state, the mind drops its need to “do” intuition.

As we stop trying — as we relax into the Presence of now — guidance from our intuition happens easily and naturally.