How to follow your intuition

Are fear and ‘gut feeling’ the same? Is intuition in your head or your heart? A professional intuitive has the answers

Alley of green trees, illuminated by the sun, with light at the end of the tunnel. Watercolor hand drawn vertical illustration. Source: istock

People often confuse “follow your feelings” with “follow your intuition”. If you follow your feelings, you may be following your fear. If you follow your fear then you are being led by your knee-jerk reaction down a path that is probably not in your best interest. Feelings and intuition are completely separate. Following your gut, as people like to say, is beyond feeling. To arrive at your intuition or gut, you need to do some form of practice that gets you beyond your fear. Meditation is a great place to start. It allows you to calm the central nervous system so you can go beyond feelings and arrive at a place of clearness of mind, which is where true “gut feeling” comes from. Whether it’s Hinduism or Buddhism, different religions teach that we are not our body, we are not our mind, we are not our feelings. It’s also worth noting that on a scientific level, our emotions are chemical responses. So if you’re following your feelings, you may just be following some random chemicals that are being pumped through your body! One way you can cultivate your intuition is to start with five minutes of meditation per day. Because the world is so frantic right now — particularly with COVID-19 — it’s important to calm the central nervous system in order to get to a place of stillness. The next step is to increase your meditation practice. When you start to recognise your intuition, it’s like having your own life coach on call 24/7 that can help you with any life problem … But this can only arise when you have a clear, calm mind, where you are not stuck in your feelings or your fear.

Find Your Light by Belinda Davidson is published by Macmillan Australia, RRP $32.99, in stores July 14.