Intuition 101: Hello… Is Your Intuition Calling?

“Cease trying to work everything out with your minds. It will get you nowhere. Live by intuition and inspiration and let your whole life be Revelation.” Eileen Caddy

Intuition: The Eye of Our Imagination via T. DePietro

Intuition: the power or faculty of gaining direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference; knowledge or conviction gained by intuition; immediate apprehension or cognition without reasoning or inferring (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Our intuition guides us in many, many ways; sometimes we are even unaware of its seemingly magical manifestations. We often assume that decisions and promptings in our daily lives are just our mind offering ideas and solutions. However, in many instances, these promptings are our intuition. As we respond to what many also call our instinct/conviction, we develop a better sense of knowing when situations are less than ideal for us.

Did you ever get a knot in your stomach or a feeling of uneasiness on meeting someone for the first time? Did you feel anxious about an event or trip that turned out disastrously? Do you sometimes get urgings/nudges to do something or go somewhere? Yes, I do too, and when I listen to and honor the urgings/promptings, the outcome is infinitely better than when I don’t. I must admit that even the time-out I took from blogging recently was in response to an intuitive, prayerful urge to stop, step back, take stock, and re-evaluate…

After an extensive, three-week hiatus, being in absentia from blogging, Internet access, life as we know it, social media, and more, I am grateful to be back home in New York and to my connections here. My time away has been a blessing with cherished memories that will stay with me for life. I find that the human spirit is both flexible and resilient; we adapt to new environments and experiences and make necessary adjustments when we must. Taking time to care for ourselves is an important way we listen to our intuition. We honor our intuition when we take better care of ourselves and avoid confusing situations that could endanger our lives.

From this week’s offering from Kathy of Mamakat’s Writers Workshop, I chose the question: Describe a moment when you ignored your intuition. What happened?

I can recall many instances throughout my life when my intuition served me well, whether with making new friends, relationships, travel decisions, classes to take in school, and even buying food items that were good or bad for me.

“I have trusted my intuition to find the subjects, and I have written intuitively. I have an idea when I start; I have a shape, but I will fully understand what I have written only after some years.” V. S. Naipaul

Intuition: Hidden Face & Eye via D. Leepaisal

In college, we had a meal plan that let us eat in several cafeterias on campus. I preferred the cafeteria in my dorm because it was both convenient and cozy; plus the salad bar wasn’t as messy as the larger cafeteria in John Jay Hall (JJH). Occasionally, I ate in the large cafeteria with my friends so we could grab a big table and talk loudly; it was common because the cafeteria was always teeming with students rushing in and out, gathering to celebrate a sports win, a birthday, or other special events.

One winter day, I met my friends for dinner at the JJH cafeteria. I went to the soup stop to check out the choices, and my eyes glanced in the direction of a pot of clam chowder. It looked delicious, so I decided to have some. As I grabbed a bowl and reached for the ladle to serve myself some soup, I suddenly felt an odd feeling, then a knot in my stomach.

I paused, then went right back to stir the soup, look at it, sniff it, and ladle some creamy clam chowder into the white porcelain bowl I held in my left hand. I sat down at the table my friends had chosen, and we had a great time eating and catching up on each other’s day at school.

After the meal, we all headed to our dorms to get ready for study time. When I reached my dorm, I felt a bit tired and decided to lie down and take a nap before going to the library to study for an upcoming test. I must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing I remember was suddenly waking up to unbelievable stabbing pains in my stomach, having difficulty breathing, and feeling quite nauseous.

I got out of bed, staggered out of the room to knock on someone’s door. By the time the dorm mate opened her door, I had started to break out in huge, angry hives and had to be rushed to the hospital, which, thankfully, was nearby.

I was in such incredible pain, combined with the fiery itch of the hives, that they had to give me an immediate shot of something to soothe the itch and pain. I vomited all over the hospital floor and was kept in the hospital overnight. I barfed most of the time and had to take electrolyte fluids to replace all the nutrients I had lost. I was diagnosed with a severe case of an allergic reaction to clams and a dash of food poisoning to boot.

As I lay there feeling sorry for myself, I remembered the feeling/urging/warning I got and had ignored. My intuition was trying to warn me to stay away from that pot of clam chowder soup,oup but I was hungry and distracted and chose to ignore it. The price I paid was a huge lesson in becoming more attuned to my intuition. I was fortunate…

Has something similar happened to you? What happened when you ignored your intuitive urgings? Do share.

My friend, Lynn Robinson, often speaks about the power of intuition and writes a terrific newsletter on the subject, too. You may subscribe to her newsletter via her website; you won’t be disappointed!

My positive Motivation tip for this post is: Find the nugget of gold in a bad situation, and you will be richer for the lesson learned.

PHOTO CREDITS:
Intuition: Riding the Crest of the Imagination by Terrance DePietro via FineArtAmerica
Intuition: Hidden Face by Drussawin Leepaisal via National Geographic

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank