How To Develop Your Intuition For Greater Self-Awareness & Self-Reliance

When you commit to developing your intuition, you embark on a powerful journey of expanding self-awareness and self-reliance.

And you won’t be alone. More and more people are seeking guidance from the wisdom of their inner voice in virtually every area of human experience. From intuitive leadership, to intuitive eating, to intuitive investing–the list goes on. Intuition has hit the mainstream.

Whatever your motivation for mining the depths of your inner knowing, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

What is intuition? 

Gut feeling, hunch, inner knowing, or sixth sense. Intuition is the “ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.” 

Chances are you’ve had these kinds of experiences:

• You have an uneasy feeling about a business deal you’re considering, even though everything looks great on paper. Soon after, a more aligned business prospect shows up that you have an easy “yes” to.

• Your partner has misplaced their keys. When you “tune in” you feel drawn to a particular area of the house. Lo and behold, that’s where the keys have been hiding. 

• You’re inspired to take a different route to work and discover a new coffee shop along the way that then becomes a bright spot in your morning routine.

The thing about intuition is that it’s very personal. It’s a feeling or insight that arises from within. You may have a sense or a knowing, but there’s no conscious reasoning or analytical thinking behind it. It just is.

Your intuition is the voice of your higher self. American author Dean Koontz describes intuition as “seeing with the soul.” It’s there to guide you forward on your path of growth and self-expression.

Who can develop their intuition?

Intuition is innate. It’s a natural resource that everyone has access to, and not just limited to the purview of psychics and the world of woo. 

Some people may be in the habit of accessing it more than others. For example, many empaths have highly developed intuition. 

Yet, everyone has an inner well of wisdom that is unique to them, and anyone interested may expand their connection to it. 

It’s simply a muscle that you strengthen with practice.

This is terrific news. Because intuition, when honored and developed, is a source of power that enhances self-awareness and self-reliance. 

Expand your self-awareness by developing your intuition.

The purpose of your intuition is to guide you on your authentic path. To help you unfold your highest potential in your life. 

If this is your journey, then your intuition will help you see yourself more clearly. It will bring more consciousness to your thoughts, feelings, habits, behaviors, decisions, interactions, and relationships. 

Developing your intuition invites you to confront limiting beliefs and attachments that may run counter to the loving guidance offered by the wise-self. Your intuition will help you become aware of your inner drives and motivations that may block your growth and expression. 

As you to fine-tune your self-awareness, you open up to hidden impulses and fears, and discover your power to transform and embrace your wholeness. 

Build self-trust and self-reliance.

Many of us were taught to rely on outside sources for direction in our lives. We learned to look to parents, teachers, peers, “experts,” and other figures of so-called authority for answers. 

Where to go to school? What career to pursue? Where to live? What to eat? How to manage your money?

There’s nothing wrong with seeking outside input and fresh perspectives. But when we have a habit of outsourcing wisdom and decisions to others, we risk cutting ourselves off from our innate truth and undermining our self-authority. No matter how well-intentioned the guidance offered may be.

Developing your intuition is so incredibly empowering because it connects you with your truth, which is unique to you. As you learn to validate and trust your authentic hunches and insights, you build clarity, self-confidence, and self-reliance. 

Ultimately, developing your intuition is about saying “yes” to yourself. It’s about embracing your deep well of wisdom within that is there to guide and support you. Your intuition wants nothing but to help you unfold your most aligned expression and radiance in your life. 

When you say “yes” to your intuition, you say “yes” to you. 

6 Practices To Develop Your Intuition

1. Slow down, make space, and be present.

The most reliable way to develop your intuition is to be present. To be in the “here and now”. 

What takes us out of the “here and now”? Ruminating on the past; anticipating the future; recycling an old pattern that was created in the past based on past experiences; getting stuck in rational, analytical thinking. The list goes on. When caught in any of these, we cut ourselves off from our intuition and the higher guidance available to us. 

To notice the gentle nudges of your soul, slow down. Make space in your life. Come into the present moment. Allow yourself to become aware of what is happening at this very moment. 

Meditation is a beautiful practice for being present. When you meditate, you gently release the mental chatter and energetic clutter layer by layer. And you begin to notice what’s happening in the moment — the in-flow and out-flow of your breath, the temperature of your skin, the sound of the wind in the trees. It’s in this space that your intuition speaks to you. 

Meditation doesn’t have to take a long time or be challenging. Just five minutes a day can help build a bridge to the wise-self within.

2. Discover how your intuition communicates with you.

One question you might have is, “how will I know it’s my intuition speaking and not me making something up?” There are two responses to this question. 

First, everyone is unique. We each have our individual way of connecting with our inner wisdom. Your intuition will have its own way of delivering messages to you. (More about that in a minute.) 

That said, what is characteristic of all truly intuitive information is that it comes with a quiet, peaceful nature. Your intuition speaks in the language of love, not fear. And so, even if it’s a message that you (on the personality level) might not want to hear, your intuition will deliver it in the vibrations of love and peace. How you react to the information is a different matter. 

Either way, the journey of opening up to your intuition can be incredibly fun. I invite you to explore with open curiosity. 

What channels or senses does your intuition like to use? Does it speak in visual images, physical sensations, words or thoughts, flashes of knowing? Or is it a combination of these? And how does it come? Is it fast and sudden? Is it a slow-growing awareness?

The more you pay attention with open curiosity, the more you’ll discover the unique language of your intuitive guidance and begin to develop it.

3. Get into flow.

Have you ever noticed that insights often come while you’re walking in nature, or doing the dishes, or taking a shower?

Your intuitive channels open up while you’re in a flow state — when you’re fully engaged in an activity, and the cognitive, analytical mind goes quiet. 

By engaging in creative activities that involve your body, you break out of habitual patterns of movement and thought, expand beyond the familiar “limits” of you. You open a clear channel for your inner voice to speak.

Play with activities you feel drawn to, whether it be dancing, cooking, hiking in nature, painting, or playing music. What’s important is to find something you enjoy being fully immersed in. See what bubbles to the surface as you do. 

4. Ask your intuition questions.

One of my favorite practices for developing my intuition is to speak directly to it. I often begin my day by opening up my journal and writing at the top of a new page, “What’s going on?” And then I’ll free write for about two or three pages. I’m often surprised by the a-ha’s that jump off the page. 

Another practice to play with is to get a sheet of paper and write at the top of the page: “One thing my intuition is telling me now…” Fill the page with as many answers as possible. 

Write quickly without editing or analyzing. It doesn’t need to make any sense whatsoever. Just write fast. Once you’ve filled up the page with responses to the prompt, reflect on what you’ve written to see what new awarenesses emerge. 

5. Play with low-stakes decisions.

Take your intuition out into the world for a test drive and see what happens when you make decisions based purely on your intuitive hits. 

For example, if you were to shop for a pair of socks, allow yourself to be drawn to the pair that feels good. Permit yourself to let go of logic and analysis. Which pair of socks, of the whole selection, feels aligned?

Playing with low-stakes decisions develops your intuition in a light-hearted way. And, the more you play, the more you become attuned to that feeling of alignment your inner voice is guiding you towards. 

6. Record and validate your intuitive guidance.

Keep a journal to record your intuitive guidance. Write your insights down as soon as you have them. Chances are, you’re receiving more intuitive information per minute than you realize. 

By jotting down the insights you receive, you validate your intuition and signal that you’re open and available. In the process, you’ll strengthen your relationship to it and learn to rely on it more and more.

A few months ago, I was at the grocery store and felt myself drawn to buying two ready-to-bake pizzas. We’re not big on pizza in our household, so I was curious about this sudden interest in pizza. I didn’t question it, though. I simply acknowledged the guidance and put the pizzas in my cart. 

Later that day, friends appeared at our front door for an impromptu visit. It was dinner time, and happily, I had something to offer them. Which they thoroughly enjoyed. 

It might be tempting to dismiss this as a lucky coincidence. But the more I practice heeding the hints and whispers of my intuition, the more I’m convinced it’s an incredible gift that wants to help us in all things in life, large and small.

Indeed, intuition is a source of power. When you commit to developing your intuition, you gain greater self-awareness and self-reliance. It can be a lot of fun, too!

If you’d like to develop your intuition and unfold greater self-reliance in your life, I’d be happy to work with you through a Clairvoyant Reading & Energy Healing Session. Click here to book a session. I look forward to hearing from you!