So my new hobby is social dancing. I had been to several open dance nights when I decided it was time to step it up, so to speak, and take some lessons. I couldn't decide between West Coast Swing, East Coast Swing, Country Two-Step, or Hustle, and the registration deadline was fast approaching. Then, as I was talking to a friend, he began telling a story about life lessons he had learned in his 20s.
"I had to learn to hustle," he said.
Zing! His words gave me a jolt and provided the answer I needed. I signed up for the Hustle class. The next morning I drove my kids to school along a different route, and as I waited at a stop sign, the Hustle dance instructor walked in front of my car.
Is this silly or significant? I call it divine magic, and it's a natural byproduct of living intuitively. Moments like this remind me that life is a playground, full of mystery and surprises, creativity and inspiration.
We all have this force within us, and we all experience moments of synchronicity. But intuitive living is not exactly fostered in our culture. It's believed that most people turn down or shut off their intuitive abilities between the ages of 15-20, most likely because this is when so much change occurs physically and mentally.
It's always there, though, ready to be activated. Living intuitively is simply a choice. It's the bold choice, and like Goethe said, boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
And it's not just dreamers and psychics who believe in intuition. Steve Jobs called intuition "more powerful than intellect." And Einstein said, "The only real valuable thing is intuition."
So how do you recognize it? It's most often subtle: a whisper, a nudge, or something fleeting. Or it can be something external -- a person, a song, a sentence on a page -- that reflects your inner world so magically and precisely that a deep knowing is echoed back to you. The possibilities are endless and personal, but here are three consistent hallmarks of intuition:
- Intuition comes instantaneously. It bypasses the brain. It's the flash that comes a split second before the thought. Often, if the thought that comes immediately after the flash is negative or critical, it's a clue that your higher self was on to something! Follow the flash, and dodge the doubt.
- When intuition is activated, it pulls you forward. It has an AHA! feel. The pull outweighs the fear. Let yourself be pulled.
- It shows up in your body. It has a feeling of expansion rather than constriction. When you breathe it in, there is a sense of space. Tune into how it makes you feel.
I'm glad I followed the intuition that led me to my dance class. I've faced my fear of being spun like a top and breaking an ankle, and more importantly, I get to experience the joy of being outside myself, in an expanded state that's only possible when the music starts, and one, two, three, I let myself be lead.
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