>Reflections

Discover Your Inner Voice

A friend and I were discussing names that he and his wife were coming up with to name their baby when it was born. I playfully said, "Tom, I'm picking up on a name if it's a boy. You could name him Joshua. It just came to me, so it must be true". And then he and I proceeded to laugh as we were both aware that this experience was not a so-called intuition for the most appropriate name for his baby. Rather, it was an awareness of what my mind was thinking and served as a message regarding how important the name is to me. How often do you hear of others saying they think they know what's best for someone else, possibly by using their intuition, when perhaps the information was likely best for themselves, from the chatter of their mind?

Intuition is natural, creative, fluid, and miraculous. Although it occurs at very subtle levels of consciousness, everyone can choose to tune in tu it. The greatest challenge often lies in discerning between intuition and the chatter (in Feng Shui we call it clutter).

There are four ways of experiencing intuition: as a vision, as an auditory sound/phrase, as a feeling, and as a knowing. Regardless of which one you experience, realize that these intuitions come without having to put any effort into them. The only effort that is required is in the listening, looking, feeling, and sensing for them with an inner awareness.

Some of the most popular movies that have been out in theaters display notions of intuition. For example: "Feel the force.", and "My Spidey sense is tingling."

Many of us are fortunate in that when we are tuned in we have visions. This is different from a visualization that may take several minutes, in which you picture what you may do tomorrow morning upon awakening. In a vision, you would see the big picture, including what you will do tomorrow morning, afternoon, and evening. Furthermore, it will take less than a second to see it all.

Another type of intuition is a knowing, which is prophetic in nature. Have you ever known something that you couldn't explain how you knew, you just did? Different from knowing something that is taught to you and therefore learned, a prophetic knowing lacks any reasoning to explain how you know the particular information that you know. Have you heard others use the excuse, "I just know"? It's as if it were written in their minds even before they were born.

A feeling, usually also called a sense, is another type of intuition. You either feel and have a good sense or feel bad and have a heavy nagging sense. This type of intuition is one that most people are aware of, as many can relate to "gut instincts" or "going with their hearts".

Lastly, but certainly not least, is an auditory intuition. If you read this paragraph out loud, listen to yourself reading it. Then, quiet down slowly until you are reading it to yourself silently and continue to listen. An auditory intuition is very similar, yet much more subtle. I remember driving along a highway several years back. It was a beautiful day. The sky was pure blue with just a few fluffy clouds. There were barely any cars on the road so I felt as if I was the only one on the highway. It was during autumn and therefore cool, but I was quite comfortable. I was focused, relaxed, centered, and peaceful. some would say I was "present". And all of the sudden, I heard a quote as if someone were saying it aloud to me. "Responsibility is the amount of growth one chooses to accept". That was a very profound experience for me. Was I tuning in to intuition?... I think so. I had never read that quote or heard of it before that time. and the radio was off. I realized from that experience how powerful intuition, and hence presence, truly are. As the mind experiences stillness, presence is the outcome. When we are focused, relaxed, and aware in that state of stillness, we are able to slip into the space between thoughts, where infinite wisdom exists.

Quantum physicists and some philosophers propose that all things consist of energy and are connected in a type of matrix or web that links all matter in some way. In Chinese tradition this may be represented by the term Chi, which is often referred to in Feng Shui.

Is it possible that an intuition is simply a tuning into the web or energy of life that allows us to experience insights such as E=mc2 or other prophetic knowings?

Perhaps the only way to know this is by tuning in. To be able to see, know, feel, and hear intuitions, presence is key. A powerful technique for pursuing 'being in the moment' is meditation. You may find the following simple technique allows you to tune in to that web, the universe, higher self, or matrix that exists in the space between your thoughts.



Exercise:

1. Go out into a park or somewhere that you feel safe, peaceful, and comfortable that is free from distractions.

2. Sit or lie down, close your eyes and be aware of your breath. As you breathe in through your nose be aware of how you feel as air enters your body and fills your diaphragm. Be aware of how you feel as you exhale through your nose. Feel your diaphragm contract as air exits your lungs. Continue to do this for a couple of minutes.

3. With your eyes still closed be aware of what you hear, smell, taste, and feel with your senses from the outside in. At that point, if you are dealing with a challenge in your life, ask a specific question as to how to deal with that challenge or ask to achieve or experience clarity with it. Be aware of images, visions, feelings, knowings or sounds that come to you from the inside out. Spend some time in this moment, being aware of what is coming to you. Simply allow pictures, feelings, sensations, and/or phrases to come. Spend a few moments in this experience.

4. When you are ready, bring your awareness back to how you feel, the wind brushing your cheek, gravity pulling you down comfortably to the earth, and slowly open your eyes. Begin to move around slowly and easily.

This is a particularly useful technique that you can use to spend some quality time with yourself at least once a day for 30 minutes. As you honor yourself more and more, your ability to discern between the clutter of the mind and intuition (visions, sounds and phrases, feelings, and knowings) will grow.

In sum, we all have a natural ability within us to see, know, feel, and hear our true selves, to connect with our Beingness and everything that we truly desire in all aspects of our lives. Wayne Dyer put it best when he said, "Prayer is you talking to God. Intuition is God talking back." When you clear the clutter of your mind, your ability to see, hear, feel, and know will expand and it is then that you will be more able to tap into the matrix of life that we call Being.

With Warm Regards,
Joshua Zuchter

© 2006-2012 Joshua Zuchter. All rights reserved.