Tracking Intuition Tip #5
Anxiety and fear often masquerade as intuition. Serve yourself a plate of each and you’ll know the difference.
As the founder and co-facilitator of a very dynamic intuitive development program The Intuitive Gym, Keisha Gallegos and I have found that anxiety and fear often masquerade as intuition. Even as I write these words, it takes me back to my childhood and to a time when I felt a great deal of anxiety and fear. Only now I realize, through the lens of the observer, that so much of the anxiety I felt as a child was due, in large part, to not understanding my intuition. Now as I work with people to help them understand their intuition, anxiety often plays a starring role and intuition is cast as a bit player. Time to reverse those roles and change-up the casting. If anxiety has a starring role in your life today, if it has unconsciously become your comfort zone, here are a few tips to track back to your intuition through the noise of anxiety and chaos of fear.
Exercising Your Intuitive Sense
In the Intuitive Gym and with my private clients, the one observation I hear time and time again is “how do I tell the difference between my anxiety and my intuition.” This is such a challenge for so many clients. When the line between your anxious sense and your intuitive sense is so blurred it can be almost impossible to trust your intuition. There are several tips we use in the Gym. One very simple one is that intuition doesn’t have what we call “a thought trail.” This is often how anxiety steps into the spotlight and we worry that something bad is about to happen and then we begin to make association connections of thought that we mistake as intuition. With an intuitive experience, there is no preceding thought that links to the next or the next and it doesn’t bring that sense of worry or dread. There is no trail. It arrives with a clear-knowing or feeling or image. We may have thoughts or emotions that surface after the intuitive hit but not simultaneously like anxiety or fear.
So here is a taste of how you can track your intuition vs. your anxiety. Let’s take them out of the realm of theory and put them on a plate where you can literally feel, touch, hear, know and see them for yourself. This is one of the many creative exercises Keisha and I use in the Intuitive Gym to assist members in developing a powerful and personal relationship with this invaluable resource.
Fear on a Plate
Close your eyes and imagine that you are in a five-star restaurant. You are seated at a table with a beautiful white linen tablecloth. The chef has prepared three dishes especially for you. Each one comes out to the table covered with a metal cloche so you are not yet able to see what the dishes look like – not just yet. Each dish is labeled. Let’s begin with the dish on the far left of the table. On the outside of the metal cover is the word FEAR.
Ok, here we go. Notice what you are feeling first as you anticipate getting a dish of fear without being able to see it. Notice how your stomach feels, now your chest. What is happening in your shoulders? Now, notice what your mouth feels like as you anticipate tasting fear. Imagine what you think this dish of fear will taste like? And now, notice how your head feels? What adjectives would you use to describe how your are feeling as your anticipate seeing this dish of fear prepared especially for you? Ok, now BEFORE the waiter lifts up the dome and reveals the dish, notice if fear has a scent, any distinct odor. Smoky, charred, acrid, bitter, sweet? And does this dish have a sound? Now, the waiter lifts up the dish and reveals what fear looks like. Trust the first impression that came to mind when you ‘saw’ the plate? What is there? Notice all the details on the dish. There might be something on the plate that makes no “sense” to your logical mind. Great, because we aren’t asking that mind what it thinks. We are very curious to know what the sensory mind, the intuitive mind is experiencing without judgement or censorship. If you are willing, you can touch and even taste what is on the plate. Notice your observations about what you are experiencing as oppose to what you are thinking because if you observe closely – they are happening at the same time.
If what was on the FEAR plate left not only a bad taste in your mouth but in your body, shake it off. Yes, you heard me. Shake. Shake your booty. Shake your body and all your parts. Hands, legs, hips and head, shoulders, knees and toes. There is some fantastic research about the value of shaking trauma right out of the body. Do it now. And then get ready for your next dish which is a plate of anxiety.
Anxiety on a Plate
Just as before, the dish is covered. Notice how your body feels as you anticipate a dish of anxiety prepared especially for you. Notice how your stomach feels, now your chest. What is happening in your shoulders? Now, notice what your mouth feels like as you anticipate tasting anxiety. Imagine what you think this dish of anxiety will taste like? And now, notice how your head feels? What adjectives would you use to describe how your are feeling as your anticipate seeing this dish of anxiety prepared especially for you? Ok, now BEFORE the waiter lifts up the dome and reveals the dish, notice if anxiety has a scent or any distinct odor. Is it smoky, charred, acrid, bitter, sweet? And does this dish have a sound? Notice all the subtle details. Now, the waiter lifts up the dish and reveals what anxiety looks like. Trust the first impression that came to mind when you ‘saw’ the plate? What is there? Notice all the details on the dish. There might be something on the plate that makes no “sense” to your logical mind. If you are willing, you can even touch or taste what is on the plate. Now, shake, rinse and repeat. This time, the waiter is presenting your last dish and it is a plate of intuition.
Intuition on a Plate
Just as before, the dish is covered. Notice how your body feels as you anticipate a dish of intuition prepared especially for you. Notice how your stomach feels, now your chest. What is happening in your shoulders? Now, notice what your mouth feels like as you anticipate tasting intuition. Imagine what you think this dish of intuition will taste like? And now, notice how your head feels? What adjectives would you use to describe how your are feeling as your anticipate seeing this dish of intuition prepared especially for you? Ok, now BEFORE the waiter lifts up the dome and reveals the dish, notice if intuition has a scent or any distinct odor. Is it smoky, charred, acrid, bitter, sweet? And does this dish have a sound? Notice all the subtle details. Now, the waiter lifts up the dish and reveals what intuition looks like. Trust the first impression that came to mind when you ‘saw’ the plate? What is there? Notice all the details on the dish. Unlike the previous two dishes, most people find that there is no need to ‘shake off’ the feeling of intuition. It is generally sensed as something clear, calm, neutral and doesn’t leave a “bad taste in your mouth.” Was the same true for anxiety? Or for fear?
Write down your impressions and experiences with this exercise. If you are like the members in the Intuitive Gym, you will find that this was informational and inspirational for distinguishing fear from anxiety from intuition and you will now have more information and insight as you learn to discern what life is serving you on that proverbial plate. And the symbolic information and impressions during the exercise, well, it isn’t chopped liver. You will find that there are gems of pearl-like wisdom in each image and smell and sensation. Write them down…you’ll be glad you did the next time you find yourself torn between your anxiety and your intuition.
Freeing the Senses
As we bring a sense (or five of them) of wonder and curiosity and neutrality to our thoughts, we can develop new muscles of awareness which in turn leads to a greater sense of peace and freedom.
Authors note: The exercise is intended to be a guided imagery exercise. Therefore, if you want to fully experience the exercise, have a friend walk you through it. Really, you will be surprised by the impact of the experience. Or better yet, consider joining The Intuitive Gym. Working out your intuition will change the way you see yourself. And when how you see yourself changes for the better, so does everything else.
Stay fresh!
