Apologies for going MIA last week - you may already know that I was out in the world, traveling, having a fantastic time. Thursday in particular - the day I write my newsletters - was a big travel day, as I made my way from Tulum, Mexico, to Healdsburg, California. Woo it was a long one.
I spent a few blissful days by myself on the beach in Tulum and it really made me think - what is it about travel (even more specifically, solo travel) that makes us feel so free? So ourselves? So inspired? In my experience, I feel more permission to be myself when all the context of the life around me has been lifted. It's really how we can answer the ultimate question: who are you without your roles? Who are you without the job title, the labels (mom, girlfriend, teacher), the daily demands, etc. It's kinda like observing who you are when you're just sitting still, meditating; it's how we (re)connect to our intuition, to our deepest desires, to our truest selves. I found this, too, when I went traveling for several months in 2013. It's why I chose to stay in Barcelona for a little while longer - I had discovered this new "me" and had to try her on for size before coming back to the US where I feared/anticipated being jammed back into a box of expectations and societal programming. Good thing I did, too, because even with that extra time away, I almost did get back in that box... but that's a story for another day...
So do we all need to escape to the beaches of Mexico to rediscover ourselves? No, although I highly recommend it if you can. Today I wanted to explore all the ways we can connect with our intuition on an everyday basis; the further challenge is then trusting it, bucking the expectations and suggestions of those around you, and being true to yourself. But, for now, let's just start with the intuition...
In these practices we begin to notice the difference between our inner knowing, and the voice in our head that tries to step in with "logic." Noticing this difference is key to learning the language of your intuition, because it's not the same as the voice; it may even be helpful to name that voice, so you can say, "butt out, Becky!" when she tries to pipe in.
1. Going for a walk and letting your gut lead the way.
2. Allowing yourself to get "bored" and seeing what you naturally feel compelled to do.
3. Doing a tarot card spread, pendulum swing, or anything else that's supposed to give you the "answer," you'll always have your own interpretation of these modalities, and you'll know which way you really want to go by what you see in the cards.
4. Free writing in your journal.
5. Talking it out - with a trusted and completely non-biased, nonjudgemental friend - as you ramble it will become clear that you are "making your case" for one way over the other.
6. Have a friend ask you "this or that" questions (especially if you're a generator or manifesting generator in human design). Instead of open-ended questions, i.e. What do you want to do with your life? try multiple choice until you drill down to the specifics: Do you want to go to an office everyday or work from home? Do you want to make your own schedule or have more structure? Do you want to work with a team or mostly solo? etc etc
7. Do whatever you can to get out of your head an into your body - the answers are in your body, not in your head!! Dance, yoga, walk, make art, swim... free yourself physically and stop thinking so hard.
8. Change your environment! Yes this is where the travel thing comes in, but it doesn't have to be so big. Just get out, take a walk, or a short trip if you can. Change the energy, the stimuli, the boundaries. Again, this is all about removing the self-imposed limitations so we can hear what's really happening deep down.
9. Flex your intuition muscle on small, everyday decisions. Research says we make 35,000 decisions each day. 35,000!! That's a lot of opportunities to flex. Notice what you're doing because you think you should, or because "it's time," or because you just do it automatically, or because someone expects you to... and see what you actually want to do, feel drawn to, and need most in each moment.
10. Finally - look up your human design!! Two of the biggest tools in human design are the strategy and authority and they can both help you carve the pathway to your intuition. Our strategy explains how we'll best interact with the outside world to find optimal flow, while our authority is quite literally our decision-making tool. It points to an energy center in our body that governs decision-making, and tells us what to look/feel for when something is “right” or “wrong” for us.
You can even use your intuition with this list! Which one jumps out to you most? What do you feel eager to try? Trust that! Play with it! Learn the language of your inner guidance, and use it in small ways until you feel safe enough to use it in bigger ways. However, you must know that the voice in your head (Becky) has been chattering away for your whole life - she’s used to calling the shots, and the bigger the decision, the more she'll have to say. So not everything that your intuition says will feel "safe" or even "logical," the trick is trusting it anyway. Knowing that safe isn't where you grow, and logical isn't necessarily where you’ll find your greatest happiness.
Want help? This is what I do: teach others to connect with themselves, release limiting beliefs, trust their inner knowing, and create the life that really suits them based on their most authentic self. Book a free call today to learn more about my 1:1 coaching program.
Til next time!
xo,
m.
*according to human design, the term “trust your gut” isn’t as applicable to everyone as we’ve been led to believe. Generators/people with a sacral authority are meant to “trust their gut” for a yes/no response in the moment, but others may need more time, and may feel it differently… just another example of how we’re programmed to believe we’re supposed to do something a certain way, but it’s only that way for some. Curious to learn more about your human design? You can book a session here.
