3 Keys to Quiet Your Mind and Listen to Your Gut

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

Y’all.  Let me tell you, the experience of life changes when you begin listening to and trusting your intuition.  When I made that a priority, everything else seemed to fall into place.  And even in those moments when things don’t seem to work out, it’s less distressing because I chose that particular path for me – not because of “shoulds” or assumptions about what others wanted or expected.  My mistakes are truly my mistakes when I’m following my intuition.  I’ve found that extremely liberating and peaceful.

Of course, there are situations and decisions that will require a bit of logical reasoning along with intuitive sensing.  The key here is to recognize when analyzing becomes overthinking.  The closer you get to analysis paralysis the further away you are from your intuition. 

As a coach, my biggest desire for clients is trust and confidence in self.  There is nothing quite like hearing a client come alive and begin recognizing and trusting their worth.  The first step is often quieting the negative nelly chatterbox mind and tuning into your wise, powerful, knowing self.  Here are 3 keys to starting that journey.

1.       Shhh…

Be quiet.  No really.  It’s that simple. Easy, no. Simple, yes.  Quiet your mind and practice tuning in.  You can’t hear your intuition if you aren’t listening.  It might show up as goosebumps, a flutter in your stomach, a flash of heat, or a racing heart.  It may even be something you can only describe as a “knowing”.  Choose to be open, and start paying attention to those subtle and not so subtle messages your gut is trying to point out.

2.       Slow down.

There’s no shortage of things to keep us busy these days.  Racing from one task to the next will hinder your ability to tap into your intuition.  Practice using down time, even those five minutes in line at the grocery store, to let your mind wander.  Have you ever noticed your best ideas come in the shower? when you’re zoned out? Instead of focusing on the next to-do item on the list, try to go blank and see what thoughts, feelings or words show up.   

If you are having a hard time resting your mind, try noticing and naming 5 things you see, followed by 4 sounds you hear, 3 things you touch, 2 smells and 1 taste.  This exercise will help quiet the chatter and provide a little downtime.  It also helps you develop your “noticing” skill.  As you practice noticing things around you in greater detail with your 5 conventional senses the volume on your intuition will increase.

3.       Be honest with yourself

Sometimes our gut is pointing us towards a path we aren’t ready to take or a hard decision we don’t want to make.  We try to push those nudges aside to avoid the discomfort.  We rationalize making the easier choice.  Our ego keeps up the act of living someone else’s life to avoid failure and taking risks.  But none of that brings us a sense of peace or relief.  In fact, it will lead you further away from a life of contentment.  Unlike your rational mind, intuition doesn’t fight, argue or rationalize. It simply presents your deepest knowing. It’s up to you to trust it. Hit pause on the thinking and instead ask the deeply instinctual part of yourself what it is you want or need. 

Now, notice.  Are you finding heavy, tight sensations?  That is pointing you towards “no” for whatever you choice are contemplating.  Experiencing light, open, inspiring energy?  Consider moving ahead, even if you need to set fear aside.

By the way, did you know scientists have proved that a “gut feeling” is a real thing.  The microbes that are found in your gut influence your feelings and behaviors.  Very simply put, messages are sent via the gut-brain axis through microbiota and neurons.  In fact, your gut and brain are in constant communication.

And, in 2011, a Stanford psychologist compared more rational decision-making strategies and going with your gut when making quick decisions.  Intuition led to the best choice 68% of the time, compared to a 26% success rate for more head-focused strategies. Wow!

If your rational thinking brain can’t quite buy my experience or trust your own intuition yet, consider the science and start to experiment.  Remember, clarity and confidence come from action.  Don’t just listen to your intuition and think it over (and over, and over) – go do, go play, go explore, go discover.