The Dalai Lama has this.
You have this.
I have this.
And I don't know about you, but I certainly got myself into a few pickles and painful situations in the past when I ignored it. Not the most pleasant of experiences I can tell you.
What am I referring to?
Why that little voice within, gut feeling, intuition, or vibes of course ;-)
That divine prompting within that nudges you towards or away from something... often giving you a sense of knowing that something is for you (or not for that matter).
Whatever you call it... there's no denying it can be extremely useful and often underrated. After all it stands for 'Inspired Tuition' or the 'Tuition within' whether be it from the Universe, your Soul (or whatever resonates with you) helping you to continue along the path in life you have chosen in a happier, easier and lighter way. An internal navigation system that gives us the answers if we chose to listen.
"Listening to the energy from the heart without judgement" as Sonia Choquette, world renowned intuitive author says.
So for something that we all have, yet often many of us avoid using it, ignore it or struggle to decipher the messages... how can we make this journey a little easier?
For an empath like myself (someone who is extra sensitive to energy, and often able to pick up how others feel emotionally and sometimes even physically), intuitive messages not only come in the form of feelings and sensations but also as distinct emotions. I receive such an overwhelming happy emotion of YES YES YES when there is something I need to pay attention to and take positive action towards that.
And there can also be moments when it is ever so subtle... a simple change in direction of the energy within... slight expansiveness in the chest or a slight feeling of contraction or nausea within the abdomen. That gentle difference of expanding or contracting within can take practice noticing, especially if we are primarily focused on the external world around us and critical thoughts in our heads.
Not impossible though... and yes everyone has the ability.
And there can also be moments when it is ever so subtle... a simple change in direction of the energy within... slight expansiveness in the chest or a slight feeling of contraction or nausea within the abdomen. That gentle difference of expanding or contracting within can take practice noticing, especially if we are primarily focused on the external world around us and critical thoughts in our heads.
Not impossible though... and yes everyone has the ability.
This New Year I started feeling such a strong pull towards a particular place in Europe, one of my favourite places that I have visited over the years. I literally woke up dreaming about it, thinking about it every day, every week more than I ever have before... I felt such a strong emotional pull towards this place. This was my intuition's way of letting me know that I could benefit from some time to myself on this island. A place of calm and tranquillity.
In NLP we talk about VAKAd, this being the different preferred representational systems that each person has i.e. meaning the preferred way that we filter and process information that comes to us through our senses in day to day life.
We don't just have one representational system, we have all of them to some degree... however usually there are two main systems in play more often than the others with one of them being slightly stronger than the other which we call our 'preferred system'.
V = Visual
A = Auditory
K = Kinesthetic
Ad = Auditory Digital
VISUAL (V): People who are more Visual notice what they see and what things look like more than other senses. Quite often these individuals will use language to reflect this too such as 'I see what you mean' or 'I get the picture'.
AUDITORY (A): Some people are very Auditory, meaning that they are aware of sounds more than their other senses. Background sounds can be distracting or music can be the preferred method that they use to feel uplifted. These individuals can also use language that reflects this such as 'That sounds good' or 'I hear you'.
KINESTHETIC (K): Others are have a tendency to feel strongly and be very in tune with the Kinesthetic side of things, meaning the sense of touch, gut feeling and how they are feeling emotionally too. Words and phrases can involve 'I'll catch you later' or 'That feels good to me'. These people often are a lot more aware of their intuition too compared to people with other preferred representational systems.
AUDITORY DIGITAL (Ad): A fourth, slightly less common representational system (though one of my favourites!) is Auditory Digital. This simply means that there is a strong internal dialogue. These people can be very logical, with strong desire to make sense of things, understand people and situations and can sometimes display signs of other representational systems. Often they also can use phrases such as 'That makes sense' or 'I understand'.
[We also have Olfactory and Gustatory (sense of smell and taste) however as the majority of people have one of the above 4 as their preferred systems I will focus the majority of this post on the 4 above.]
One way to help decipher which are your preferred systems is to consider the following question...
If you were in a cinema and smelled fire smoke, what would you do first?
Look? Yell? Move? Or do you question the situation internally first trying to make sense of it and the situation?
Personally, being quite Auditory Digital with a strong Kinesthetic nature coming second. My reaction would probably be the following...
- (Thinking internally) 'I smell smoke, where is it? Is there a fire? (trying to make sense of the situation - Ad)'... then I would start moving my head around (K), closely followed by noticing what I see (V) and then later sounds and/or verbalising it out loud to others (A).
- Someone who is very Visual may smell the smoke, look around with their eyes first (V) then followed by moving their head and body (K) to find out where it comes from, verbalising it to themselves or others out loud (A) and later quickly deciding on a plan of action (Ad).
Now, bear in mind that the difference between each step can be milliseconds.
This is just one way to get a rough idea however I encourage you to also notice how you talk to yourself and others during the following week and observe what clues you pick up on.
This is just one way to get a rough idea however I encourage you to also notice how you talk to yourself and others during the following week and observe what clues you pick up on.
Whilst our sixth sense/intuition is strongly linked with the kinesthetic element of feelings and sensations ('gut feeling') we can however, by knowing our preferred representation system have the possibility of opening up ourselves to even more more information that may come our way. Specifically noticing how that expansion or contraction within changes as you absorb information through your preferred system.
- So those of you who are VISUAL may also notice your intuition communicating to you not as random isolated feelings, but by noticing that sensation when you see images whether be it in your reality or as flashes of images, visual memories and colours within your minds eye. Struggling to make a decision about something? Notice how the gentle contraction or expansiveness within may vary when you consider both options as images within your mind.
- Those of you who are very AUDITORY may notice your intuitive messages in the form of sound or being more aware of your 'gut feeling' when you are consciously connected to sounds. For example hearing loving words or compassionate guidance within as if someone is gently whispering it to you, hearing songs and lyrics that seem to really resonate with you at the time of listening to it, hearing loving support that someone says to you which feels right or simply noticing that expansion or contraction within as you hear those previous examples is your intuition pin pointing you in the right direction.
- And as mentioned before KINESTHETIC individuals, notice the intuition's main way of communicating feeling bodily sensations and emotions directing them towards or away from things. They can access more information by regularly and mindfully tuning into how their body feels in different situations throughout the day, strengthening that muscle to detect any shifts that may occur and what situation it may be connected to.
- Finally those who are AUDITORY DIGITAL quite often can access more intuitive information and feelings by allowing themselves the time and space to reflect on things internally. These individuals, due to their strong internal dialogue benefit from that time alone to reflect so that they can make sense of the expansive or contracting feelings within.
So here's for the first NLP challenge of 2016!
Over the next 7 days I invite you to connect with that curious inquisitive mindset and notice...
I wonder... how is my intuition communicating to me?
I wonder... what is it guiding me towards so I can experience a happy and healthy 2016?
Notice what positive, gentle guidance comes up and then start by taking action. By the time you are reading this I'll probably be enjoying my weekend away on that island ;-)
Notice what positive, gentle guidance comes up and then start by taking action. By the time you are reading this I'll probably be enjoying my weekend away on that island ;-)
Now, I'd love to hear from you!
Using the comment section below, what do you think your preferred representational system is and how will knowing this enhance the way you notice your intuitive gut feelings?
Have a friend that would find this useful? Share this blog post now via facebook, twitter or by email and offer a helping hand.
Until next time, wishing you a fabulous start to 2016!
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