Intuition: A Personal Journey

There will be a few times in your life when all your instincts will tell you to do something, something that defies logic, upsets your plans, and may seem crazy to others. When that happens, you do it. Listen to your instincts and ignore everything else. Ignore logic, ignore the odds, ignore the complications, and just go for it. ~ Judith McNaugh

The definition of intuition is the “ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.” Different than a “hunch” or “gut instinct” which is often based in actual known facts in many instances — intuition is different. To quote analytical psychologist Carl Jung: “ actual reality counts only in so far as it seems to harbour possibilities which then become the supreme motivating force, regardless of the way things actually are in the present”. It is about concepts and future possibilities.

I have guided much of my life on intuition. I have also ignored it staunchly at various times and have paid a heavy price for doing so. As superfluous as it may sound, listening to your intuition is akin to listening to the universe. Often enough, it is telling you something. Intuition is not about dreams, wants or desires in the conscious sense….but about seeing around a corner. Often a linear thinker will not employ their intuition as there are “just not enough facts”. That very concept is the difference between the intuitive sort and the sensing sort.
Alas, I digress.

In the broad picture of my own life, intuition has been my guide. I especially listen to it when it is strong and I simply cannot ignore it. Many many years ago as a young woman I stayed with a relative who was saving me from a volatile home life. She had a busy schedule to keep one particular day and deposited me on a nearby beach. I sat on the sand of that beach for hours just staring out into the horizon. I felt warm inside. I felt deeply in tune with something. Finally, I felt like I could…..exhale.
Prior to this visit I was passionately looking forward to moving to New York City. This same relative had a contact there and an apartment I could sublet. I was young, wild and vehement about getting the hell out. The very last thing anyone could persuade me to do was switch gears and settle into a small, seaside coastal village.

No one needed to persuade me — -my intuition had done the work already. Ignoring my want and desire to live what I deemed a more promising life in my mind…..I listened heartily to what seemed to be right.
Within weeks of that visit, I began my new life there with only a trash bag filled with my belongings and 10 bucks in my pocket. With only the rest of the summer to bunk with my cousin before I figured out the rest.
24 years I spent there, building a life. Living a life with the ups and downs, the good times and the bad. I never regretted the decision. It was a blockbuster life…. a deeply fulfilling one. Then intuition came knocking again. Once more, I listened to it but I tried earnestly not to. I didn’t like much of what it wanted of me. In real fact…..it was everything I needed. The next step of my life was a painful one and truly a very vital next step in my life’s journey. After 7 long years — intuition is at the door again…and so, I listen. At once I can see the broad picture ahead but I am not altogether sure how I will get there. And so…..I listen.

Intuition is not about visions or crystal balls. It is not something to replace faith. Faith is always essential. It is about paying attention. There may be times you don’t like what it seems to be saying but you’d be right to stop rationalizing and listen.

Staying open to the flow of life is very often a wondrous journey.

*Author's Note--I penned this essay a handful of years ago but wanted to share with you here on The Burning Heart Diary.