Develop Your Intuition

This is the follow-up to yesterday's blog.

There are many different ideas about what intuition truly is.

Some think that it is a physiologic response to experiences that have occurred throughout our evolutionary history. So even though it seems to have no explanation, it is profoundly rooted patterning at play.

Another postulation is that as we encounter scenarios time and time again the more aware we are during these encounters, the sharper our intuition gets.

Others believe that it is a real sixth sense, something that was readily utilized in a bygone era. Now, that we are inundated with information and technology, we have lost touch with this primordial power.

I can't say for sure what intuition is, but if it is something innate within us. And it has been lost over the past few decades or centuries. Then it makes sense to try to reclaim and refine this lost superpower.

"Remove the body as a barrier."

I say this all the time to my patients and clients. I believe that much of what we are doing with exercise and rehab is getting the body out of the way. This is similar to concepts that have existed for millennia, such as in traditional yoga practices where the asana (posture) precedes the pranayama (controlled breathing) which precedes the dhyana (meditative absorption). We could get deep in the weeds here but think of it like this. If you're always consciously focused on aches, pains, and stiffness then it is going to be much harder to quiet that input to listen to your intuition.

The four levels of competency.

Unconscious incompetence.

Conscious incompetence

Unconscious competence.

Conscious competence.

Again, let's break this down in simple terms. You move from not realizing you lack skill in something, then you are aware you suck, then you become okay at the ability but not enough to be wholly repeatable and reliable, and then finally you are a Zen f'ing master!

The four stages of competence apply to all aspects of life, and when we become consciously competent in an area, that is when intuition starts to kick in.

Being alone.

You must develop your inner voice and the ability to listen to it. I believe that this can only be done during times of solitude, and often prolonged periods of isolation. Many people find it hard to be alone, to be quiet, and listen to the inner voice. This could be for a variety of reasons, but at the end of the day, that voice is usually trying to help us out.

Pattern recognition.

The best in the world at anything is typically phenomenal at recognizing subtleties in their environment that the rest of us are oblivious to. This is absolute gold, and this heightened awareness or perception in and of itself may be the biggest key to developing intuition. Nature is filled with repeating patterns. You've probably heard of the Golden ratio or the Fibonacci sequence. Everything in our world is unique, and at the same time, it is based on the same system. Your perception of the world is unique to you, and the more you realize that and tap into what you are seeing, hearing, and feeling, the better your life becomes.

So, you've got a game plan.

1. Remove the body as a barrier.

2. Become consciously competent.

3. Find your inner voice.

4. Start recognizing the patterns within YOUR world.