When have you had that gut feeling something wasn’t right? Or that sixth sense that helped you make a crucial life decision? This “knowing” was your intuition at work, and it may be one of the most important, yet overlooked parts of our nature. Our intuitive sense can be a source of true wisdom and guidance if we learn to follow these feelings. However trusting what we may not have evidence for isn’t always easy. If you’re like me and could use a crash course in intuitive development keep reading! I was fortunate to interview Angela Artemis, an intuition coach on a mission to teach readers around the world to “speak intuition” so that they unlock all the brilliant potential that resides within and start successfully living the life of their dreams. She blogs at www.PoweredbyIntuition.com and is an Amazon best-selling author of “Navigating by Intuition” and “The Intuition Primer”. Her newest book is, “The Intuition Principle: How to Attract the Life you Dream Of.” She was kind enough to offer her knowledge about how to live from intuitive inspiration, and to guide us through some of the most essential pieces of her new book. Enjoy! Joe: Angela, first off thanks for the interview, intuition is an area that I am continually trying to develop, so the book was an immense help in being more receptive to this natural ability. With that said, intuition is an abstract concept for many people. How would you describe intuition to someone less spiritually mature or less inclined to believe in the idea of synchronicity or non-dualism? Angela: Joe, first please let me thank you. It was when asked me to participate in your, “Great Life Philosophies,” ebook that I first realized I had written the outline for my book. Had it not been for that I might not have written, “The Intuition Principle,” so thank you! You don’t need to believe in the idea of synchronicity or non-duality to experience your intuition fully. It’s a process that takes place in the mind and it is defined as receiving information spontaneously without our being consciously aware of thinking about it. When you have a problem that needs to be solved your mind scours all of its stored data. When it finds the solution it appears in your awareness suddenly – seemingly out of the blue because you weren’t aware that you were “searching” for the solution. This is why it feels like an “aha” moment or a revelation at times. Here are some examples of how we experience our intuition: A. Have you ever known that someone was untrustworthy and later found out you were right? For example, many times parents know that a certain friend is not good for their child to hang around with. B. Did you ever regret a decision the split second you made it? Sometimes these regrets register as a sinking feeling in the gut. Later on after seeing how wrong it was, did you say to yourself, “I knew I shouldn’t have done that?” C. Were you ever engrossed in doing something such as house work, gardening, showering or taking a walk – when out of the blue the answer to a problem presented itself to you? Light-bulb moments like these are very common. D. Have you ever made a decision based on a hunch, without any other supporting information because it just felt right? And, later it turned out that you were right? E. Were you ever somewhere when you had the uncanny sensation that someone was staring at you? And, when you looked there was a person gazing at you? How many things on this list have you experienced? The more you answered yes to the more active your intuition is in your life. Joe: How does intuition help us be more successful, and what are some other key benefits it offers? Angela: Your intuition is another way of sensing and detecting information beyond the use of reason. The more informed you are when making decisions the better decisions and choices you will make in your life. This is what leads to success. For example, say you are out of work and looking for a job and you send out numerous resumes in response to job ads. You get a phone call back the next day from one of the companies. You call and make an appointment for that afternoon for an interview but, something bothers you about it. You can’t shake the feeling that this particular job or company isn’t going to be right for you even though you have no proof of that. You feel compelled to take the interview even though something feels off because you desperately need a job. You go to the interview. During the interview process this “unsettled” feeling becomes even stronger. You realize the job was misrepresented in the description you read online. This company wants you to do all sorts of things you have no desire to do and for very little money. They offer you the job on the spot. You are really conflicted over it because you need the money. What do you do? Do you take the job or do you wait for something else? Your intuition informed you the moment you spoke on the phone with the woman to set up the appointment that things were not as they appeared to be because you immediately felt apprehensive. When you got to the interview and they explained the job duties you realized why you had been feeling so apprehensive. You panic because you see no other jobs on the horizon and accept it. A week later you are miserable and regret taking the job. Luckily, you get some phone calls back on a few of the other resumes you sent out and one month later you are in a job you love. Had you listened to your intuition you would not have taken the job. Now you know better. Once you realize that is a very practical ability and to trust it you will make better decisions in your life. Think back to some of the “wrong” decisions you made in life and you will probably recall that there were times when this little “alarm” went off inside your head but you ignored it. In this example the mistake wasn’t the end of the world and things eventually worked out but, think of all the ways you could begin to listen to this inner wisdom to make better decisions in the future? Your intuition can assist you in choosing the right repairman, contractor, doctor, roommate, friend, mortgage banker, realtor, job, spouse, business partner and on and on. All it takes is listening to that that little “voice” within. Joe: What would you suggest for someone who struggles with “trusting” their intuition? How can they start to believe in this inner-knowing more easily? Angela: The easiest way to begin to trust your intuition is to make a list of the times in your life when you made a wrong decision and recalled hearing this little alarm or “feeling” this little “twinge” inside that you ignored. This will show you exactly how your intuition feels and communicates information to you. Your past mistakes can become your own play by play guidebook for making the “right” decisions in the future. Joe: Learning to be more in touch with intuition is a process for many people. What are some daily habits people can develop to raise the volume of their inner guidance system? Angela: Learn to quiet the mind so that you “hear” this inner wisdom above all of your own thoughts. One of the best techniques to quiet the mind is to learn to meditate. During meditation you will get “insights and solutions” to problems in your life. Take action and apply the insights and solutions to your life if it makes sense to do so. You can also keep a little pad with you and whenever an idea or solution comes to you out of the blue – write it down. Act on the ideas that inspire you that feel right. When you go back later and look over your notebook you’ll see that you have been gathering “evidence” to show that you are intuitive and that it can be practically applied to help you solve problems in your life. The more you do this the more confident you’ll become in your intuitive abilities and the more often you’ll receive this guidance. Joe: What are the biggest barriers people should be aware of that can block intuition? Angela: Over attachment to an outcome is one of the greatest blocks to intuition. Your ego, which speaks much louder than your intuition, will drown out the subtle whisper of your intuitive voice. You also create a lot of inner tension when you’re overly attached to a specific outcome. Tension also blocks your intuition. You need to relax and detach from the outcome and be willing to hear something other than what you want. Take long walks in nature. Meditate. Try to let go of thinking there is only one solution. Allow the genius of the intuitive thinking process to surprise you! The other block is not trusting out intuition. This can be solved by reviewing the list of your past mistakes when you ignored your intuition and learning what to look for in the future. Also, keeping the little notebook where you jot down your intuitively inspired ideas and what happened when you acted upon them can help you to begin trusting your intuition. As the evidence mounts that you can rely upon your intuition you will become more confident and gain more trust in your intuition. Joe: Angela, how do you use intuition personally in your every day life? Angela: I now tune into my intuition at all times to make decisions. I’m so aware of it that I know immediately when I am going against my own intuition and will correct myself on the spot before it goes further. If something doesn’t “feel right” I won’t do it whereas in the past I would have ignored these subtle feelings and gone ahead and done the thing anyway. If I get an uncomfortable feeling about someone such as a feeling that they are insincere or untrustworthy I pay attention and stay on my toes with that person or if I have choice – I don’t interact with them. I also listen and act upon those spontaneous promptings to “call” a certain person or to go somewhere that I hadn’t planned on going. One day I was driving home and I had the strong urge to take the long way. It turned out there was a horrific accident on my normal route. Had I gone that way I would have sat in traffic for hours. Joe: What is one main message you want readers to take away from reading “The Intuition Principle”? Angela: Learn to develop your intuition and to listen to it so that you will “know” whether you are making the right decisions or not. Never give your power away to others by ignoring your intuition. If you feel that something is wrong or you have a nagging suspicion that you ought not to do something or feel reluctance toward doing something you must honor these feelings. This is your intuition trying to guide you toward what is right for you. Your intuition can lead you directly to what you were meant to do in this life. When you are unhappy about a circumstance in your life think back – and you’ll probably recall that you ignored this nagging voice that wanted you to do something else. Always listen to your inner wisdom. Once you are aligned with your true purpose, the path before you will become completely clear and your life will flow easily and effortlessly. Learning to trust and follow “The Intuition Principle” will turn your life around from just getting through each day to living your life on purpose! Joe: Lastly, what bonuses are you offering people who purchase your book? Angela: I recorded several of the meditations from the book that you can download as MP3s. I also have some of the worksheets from exercises in the book and they can be downloaded as well. The book can be purchased online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
How to Discover and Develop Your Intuition: An Interview with Author Angela Artemis
