Intuition

Intuition. 100% of us are intuitive. 100% of us have intuition. Not all of us choose to listen or hear or even grow this gift. If the intuition you were born with isn’t encouraged or used, it will wither and fade.  Take note that I didn’t say ‘die.’  Nope. This gift, which I believe all of us have, will not die no matter how malnourished, mistreated or mistrusted. Intuition could be considered an evolutionary protector, as its job is to literally save our bacon.  It seems like I should throw a caveman analogy line in here, but I think I’ve played that card already.

Who hasn’t had gut feelings? I mean, who hasn’t?! Who hasn’t had the hair on their arms or the nape of their neck stand up? Who hasn’t thought something similar to, “I’d better not go down that street even though I’ve walked that way for 13 years. Today, I’d better choose a different route.” Or how about “I have to call Aunt Matilda. She’s been on my mind and something doesn’t feel right.”  Only to find out she doesn’t have Lifeline Alert and has fallen and …(snicker…) can’t get up.

On a lighter note, haven’t you guys just ‘known’ you need to pick up an extra 500 rolls of toilet paper only to be told later that cotton prices are skyrocketing? Or, if you’re like me, I know I should Neti but I don’t want to.  Again, I’m hit with the gut feeling I should Neti and again I choose to ignore it.  Two days later, uhhh, I should have Neti’d. I’m feeling the start of a head cold. Gaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh (insert a V8 head slap here)!!!  I’ve been around the block a time or two with this intuition stuff and yet I STILL fight it!

Yes, intuition.  Sometimes we listen to our gut and sometimes we don’t. Mostly intuition is meant to warn us but not always. Again, if it’s an evolutionary thing and its purpose is to help protect us, then there’s a reason for it.

Have you noticed when you ignore your intuition is when you get yourself into trouble? You know I’m right. Right??!

Case in point.  A very close friend of mine decided to marry his starter wife even though four days before their wedding he was struck with the thought that he shouldn’t do so. This wasn’t a pre-marital jitter.  He knew, deeply and strongly, going through with this marriage was wrong. He ignored his gut feeling and his marriage was, uhhh, difficult at best. His divorce was epically (is that a word?) nasty. To this day, years and years after their divorce, this bloke is still paying the price for not listening to his intuition. Admittedly, he says this was a powerful lesson for him to learn (Chaaaaa! Do you think?!) and he listens closely now when intuition comes a callin’.

Me? Well, sure I had gut feelings, but for the most part if intuition wasn’t telling me what I wanted to hear, I didn’t listen.  Plain and simple.

For instance, 1999. My mom was having routine heart surgery (if there’s really such a thing). As she and dad were backing out of our driveway, mom glanced at me. I was hit hard, like a fist to the stomach, with the knowledge my mom wasn’t going to make the return trip.

I felt the blood drain from my face and my eyes widen. Time seemed to have slowed down – wayyyyy down. My gaze faltered away from her for a nanosecond. When I looked back, mom was smiling gently and raising her hand in a wave goodbye.

Of course, I totally pooh-pooh’d that gut feeling. I said, like anyone else would, “Nah. That’s not going to happen.”  But it did. It did happen.

I woke up a few minutes before we received the “get to the hospital right away” phone call. It was another slo-mo time moment.  I remember being in the hotel bed staring into the darkness and knowing mom was gone. I could feel her energy surround me, hover over me. I heard – or maybe I felt – her tell me she loved me.

I look back on that event and I know it was the tremor that started the earthquake for me (see Abuse/Abuses blogs for more information on my journey).  I wish I had acted on my gut instinct. I wish I would have stopped their car and told mom I loved her one more time. I wish I would have hugged her one more time and told her I still needed her. Above all, I really wanted to ask her if she “knew”.

Sometimes you have to act upon your intuition NOW. Other times, you may get a couple of warning shots across the bow. The real trick, I think, is in knowing which option has been presented to you.  Either way, if you ignore what your gut is telling you, there will be a cost. Whether that price is small or big, you’re going to say, “Oh! I KNEW it! I knew I should have…..”