Do you ever feel stuck? You’re trying to create something new or figure something out, but your mind just isn’t cooperating. You have a bad feeling about something but you don’t know why. A big presentation is coming up and the ideas just aren’t flowing. It’s like a log jam in there and you can’t find a way to free them. Maybe if you keep working a little longer, you’ll get the answer. Unfortunately, that probably won’t work.
What you have to do is open your mind to a new set of ideas. When you were little, the ideas were endless and you could create all kinds of wonderful adventures. He didn’t reason out his ideas, he just embraced them. As you got older, the powers of reason and rationalization took over. In fact, you now excel at this. You can kill any great idea, thought or message you receive in a matter of seconds.
The good news is that there is a solution. You already have the gift and it’s called intuition. It is a natural process that involves the mind. If you can learn to relax and trust it, ideas will come to the surface pretty quickly. Everyone is born with it and it connects you to everything else. In fact, it is available 24/7 and is constantly guiding you. You just need to listen.
To understand how it works, let’s take a look at the three components of the brain:
The cerebral cortex (conscious mind) is responsible for your conscious thought, including reasoning, perception, image formation, and comprehension.
The limbic system (unconscious mind) is responsible for memory images, mental patterns, fight or flight responses, and emotions such as anger, fear, and pleasure.
The brainstem (unconscious mind) is responsible for basic vital functions such as the heart, breathing, eating, and sleeping. The unconscious mind is also the channel for inspiration. When ideas come to us, they find us through the unconscious mind.
When we look at the mind, we observe four processes:
1. Thoughts (conscious)
2. Images (conscious and subconscious)
3. Mental pattern or behaviors (subconscious)
4. Emotions (subconscious)
The brain is the functional physical tool that works within the mind. The brain is a part of the mind. The mind includes inspiration, intuition, sensory instincts, and our sixth sense. The mind connects us with the collective consciousness and unconsciousness.
So when we struggle with creation and ideation it’s because we’re trying to use our conscious mind to figure it out, but it wasn’t designed for that task. He’s a fabulous problem solver, but he’s not an idea creator. The key to clearing the log jam is to engage the unconscious mind. intuition You cannot see intuition because it is energy but it is real and it is always there.
Intuition comes to you as a hunch, a gut feeling, or insight. It’s like a fleeting whisper. He doesn’t come with a booming voice like Charlton Heston. You have to be still to hear it. When you operate from a place of intuition, you receive ideas and insights that seemingly come out of nowhere. That’s why ideas come to you when you’re driving, taking a shower, or walking the dog. When your mind is focused on another task, your intuition can break through and deliver the message.
The thing about intuition is that if you don’t listen the first time, it will come back again and again. This is particularly true if something harmful is nearby. If you have a bad feeling about something or someone, then take note. You are being warned. While it sounds like it’s your imagination, it’s not.
To open your receivers to intuitive messages, you need to redirect your thoughts. A great method to do this is to get away from the computer and quiet your mind. Yoga and meditation are two excellent tools for this. If you’re in an office, you can’t exactly get into a lotus position on the floor, but you can stop, move your eyes to a quiet spot, and take a few relaxing breaths. If possible, you can even close your eyes for a minute. Then walk away from your frustrating task for a while. Go for a walk, talk to a co-worker, or start another task. This will give your brain a chance to relax.
Another strategy is to avoid the same routine every day. Like muscle memory, your mind creates its own set of repetitive systems called neural pathways. You want to keep changing things so they don’t get too set and stop serving you. Brainstorming, reading new types of books, painting, writing, and changing your physical activity are all great ways to create these new neural pathways while giving your intuition room to surface.
While all of these tools and tips are great, they won’t matter if you don’t trust the messages you receive. One way to build trust is to start small. Write down your ideas, hunches, and gut feelings in a journal, and then keep looking back to confirm that they were correct. This will increase your confidence and you will be more willing to act in the future. You must listen to your intuition. It will tell you everything you need to know.