Intuition Mindset & Setting

In my last blog post I talked about intuition as a concept. What it is, what it isn’t, and some examples of the ways that it might surface in our lives, as well as the ways we tend to stifle or ignore it. In this article, we’re going to talk about the ways we can prime ourselves in order to become more open and receptive to hearing and recognizing our intuitions and internal wisdom. Even if you come from a place where you have never been able to differentiate between your own thoughts and intuitions coming in, the recommendations within this post may be able to help you become more attuned to the subtle differences and help you set the stage to metaphorically raise your antenna and start to explore what comes in.

The first order of business is to find the right setting. While intuition becomes easier and easier to identify the more you flex that muscle, if you feel you aren’t well-attuned to recognizing it when it comes in, or being able to understand its message, it will be worth your time to find a specific place to do exercises that are geared towards getting started in those areas. The easiest and best place in my opinion if you’re just starting out is in a place like your bedroom where you feel most comfortable. I realize not everyone has access to privacy, peace or quiet, so I suggest going outside if you have space there, a public park, or using noise-canceling headphones or earbuds to start out

What I might suggest for newbies who want to start from the basics is to first do 5-10 minutes of breathwork or even a very simple guided meditation that is only a few minutes long. Ideally, one that is focused on clearing your mind. There are a lot of free resources on YouTube for both of these things.

Much the same as meditating, you can expect that at first, there’s going to be a lot of random, intrusive thoughts, or your mind may go into its default mode of worrying about the remainder of your to-do list for the day or who you need to text back or what you need to grab for dinner. Try your best not to get frustrated when this inevitably happens. Once you identify that it’s happening, just say to yourself “okay, later” and do your best to visualize the thought floating away.

This next part may require some supplies, but don’t worry. There are free resources you can use in the meantime or as a complete substitute. I always think that having your own tarot deck is a truly easy and effective tool to use to help develop intuition. Just sitting in silence and hoping for intuitive thoughts or ideas can be very difficult for a novice, and I find most people work best if they have a thing to place their intentions on. You’re essentially giving a concept or idea a physical form to make it easier to work with. There are very affordable tarot decks available online, and bookstores usually have a tarot section as well.

While I think it’s best to work with any deck that seems to “call” to you or one that you feel attracted to certainly go with the flow on that. However, I strongly recommend that you start with what is known as the Rider-Waite- Smith Tarot Deck, sometimes simplified as Rider-Waite deck. The reason I recommend this deck is because the overwhelming majority of other decks out there are based upon the very same system. Everything in these decks from the colors used to the details in the illustrations has symbolism and meaning within the card, and there are no coincidences or accidents found within the images on the cards. What this means is that once you learn this basic deck, and start to understand the cards for what they symbolize, rather than just going by memory, it will unlock an ability to transfer that knowledge over, and next thing you know, you can read just about any deck that is based on that very popular system. It puts you on the fast track to learning multiple decks simultaneously. If you don’t have access to a tarot deck, or are not in a position to purchase one, starting with a tarot app can be just as useful and a lot more accessible for some.

The first exercise to use with a Tarot deck or even a Tarot app is an exercise in simply looking at the cards and getting a feel for them. Ideally, you want to go through the meditation or breathwork mentioned above first. This sets your mind up for being open and receptive to what comes in. Next, grab a notebook and a pen. Yes, a real notebook and a real pen. Writing things down rather than typing can help things “stick” and feels more permanent in putting your ideas out there. Now, it’s time to shuffle the cards. No questions, no motivations, just shuffling for the sake of shuffling. When you feel ready, pull a single card and take a few minutes to take the entire image in. Next, ask yourself some journalling questions and be sure to write down your answers as thoroughly as possible. Here’s a great example of the types of questions to ask yourself:

·         Is there is a person on the card? If yes, ask: How do I think they are feeling? If no, ask: What if happening in this scene?

·         What emotion does this card give me? Is it a positive feeling, a negative feeling, or something in between?

·         What do you think is causing this emotion?

·         Who is the person on the card? What is their story? What are they going through?

·         What do I think is happening in the background of the card?

·         Is there a moment in your life that reminds you of this card?

Finally, write down a short description of what the card means in your opinion. This isn’t supposed to be a “guess” or “trying to get it right,” but more of an invitation to make the card what it represents to you. Don’t hold back.

After you’ve written some on the card and ruminated on it, leave it out for the rest of the day. On the following day, go ahead and look it up in the guidebook and see what it says. What aspects matched your initial instincts, and what differed? Ask yourself how your life and even your mood at the time may have shaped your initial impression of the card.

I recommend sticking to this practice for a while, picking a new card every other day or so until it becomes habit. This is not the type of exercise that can or should be rushed. You’re better off taking small little steps forward. Once you’ve progressed through the deck, the next step I’d recommend is doing 1-card pulls at the end of the day and seeing where the situation has fit in with your day. Let’s look at an example:

You pull the Page of Pentacles at the end of the evening, and you quickly run to google to see what it means. Hmm. Ambitious. Diligent. Goal oriented. Planner. Studious. Grounded.

At first, you feel resistance to this card. That was not at all how your day went. You went to work and were very late because of traffic. You spilled your coffee in the lobby and felt so bad about it you took an extra 10 minutes just cleaning it up because you couldn’t stand the idea of just leaving it there for the janitor. Your boss gave you a look and then very passive aggressively glanced at the clock to make sure you got the message. For the rest of the day you felt like you were just trying to play catchup and get back to equilibrium. By all means, this card does not seem to connect well with you. That’s weird.

Suddenly, you remember that after work you came home and, knowing what day it was, you instantly went upstairs, changed in your athletic wear, and did 20 minutes of yoga. For some people, this wouldn’t be out of the ordinary, but you just started doing this yoga practice the week prior. The first week it took a lot of conscious effort, reminders, and even a few times you had to give yourself a pep talk to get upstairs, change, and get going. Today, despite the late arrival to work, and the chaotic day of trying to catch up that followed, you came home into your safe space and the first thing you did without thinking was go upstairs, change, and then slide right into your yoga practice. As a matter of fact, today was the first day that you didn’t have to remind yourself or convince yourself. It came naturally to you.

Diligently adhering to your commitments and being a great yoga student. Not every day will be a momentous moment in time, but you should be able to find a connection with your cards and how they fit into your world and your day. I’d strongly recommend giving this exercise a go for a while and see what pops up for you. Pay special attention to the thoughts and feelings that bubble up when you do a daily card draw.

I’m going to leave this blog post here as a great place to leave it. On my next installment, we will discuss how to flex your intuition without cards and a few more exercises. Take care until next time!