An under-resourced form of WISDOM

An under-resourced form of  WISDOM

Albert Einstein once said, “the only real valuable thing is intuition”. Bill Gates stated, “Often you have to rely on intuition”. Both these men are known for their intellect and success, and both extoled the importance of honouring your intuition – one’s “sixth sense”.
Intuition is an intrinsic and powerful tool within us, and yet one we often are quick to dismiss. When we get a bad vibe from something or someone, we may try to convince ourselves we are being silly or paranoid. This is a mistake. While we can all succumb to experiencing varying levels of delusional thinking or paranoia from time to time, we generally hold many solutions to our problems and informed decision-making by simply tapping into our “internal knowingness”.
In life there are no guarantees or certainty. We are constantly faced with trying to make the “right” decision. But who’s “right” decision do we spend more time considering? Are we trying to appease a loved one, a boss, our societal or gender norms? In an attempt to favour acceptance and respect from others, I have made several regretful life decisions, all the while knowing in some silenced place deep down that those decisions were comprising my authenticity and connection to Self.
As a species, we are hardwired for connection, but not at a cost of losing our core sense of Self. The happiest people are those that rate high in emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence can be cultivated by learning to listen and honour your intuition.
A good friend of mine was in an abusive relationship for several years. To an outsider, he looked like a perfect catch: good-looking, educated, financially stable. She called him the “look-good-on-paper” guy. Everything *seemed* okay…except it wasn’t. She had an internal knowingness that something was “off”. Had she honoured her intuition, rather than listen to those around her (“he’s such a catch!”), and her own self-critic (inaccurately accepting that she must wrong), she could have saved herself a lot of heartache.

I consider my internal knowingness to be one of the guiding principles of how I live my life.  That doesn’t mean I don’t still fall victim to disregarding what is for how I wish it to be.
For many, this is often most evidenced when it comes to people who you care about and want to be in relationship with, but who may not be able to offer you positive regard and support (always a tough one to fully accept ☹).

Please feel free to share your own personal experiences around intuition. For anyone wishing to read an inspirational story on the beauty and power of intuition, I highly recommend The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – one of my all-time favorite books!

~ Christine