Easy ways to increase your intuition and instinct

Here are two easy ways you can be with nature to ease your feelings and to help your instinct and intuition grow:

Moving at one quarter speed

Either step outside, go to a park or go to your favorite wooded area. You are going to find three things: a small rock, a leaf, and a blade of grass. Take a breath or two before you begin your search, and as you do, either lower your eyes or close your eyes. As you breathe, mentally ask your body to gently connect with you. You can even say in your mind these words: “Body, please let me connect with you in a gentle and peaceful way, and only as deeply as you are comfortable.” As you talk to your body, speak to it as you would speak to something that is tender and sensitive, and in a caring manner. Maybe speak to it as you would speak to a small puppy or kitten that you were cuddling or wanting to soothe.

Then open your eyes and begin to walk slowly as you look around you. As you do, keep your eyes open for a small rock or pebble. When you see one, you are going to pick it up – but pick it up moving at about ¼ the speed you normally move. That is – really slow down your movements.

As you slow down, pay attention to how your body feels, and how your mind/brain is speaking to your body. Some things you may notice are, a slightly increased sense of muscle tension as different areas of your body get ready to move, a greater awareness of your breath, the sense of your body moving in space…whatever you experience, just note it and keep on reaching and bending to pick up your rock.

Continue moving at ¼ speed as you pick up the rock, and allow yourself to slowly examine the rock. See how it looks as you bring it closer to your eyes. Feel the texture of the rock, and the weight of it in your hand, and do all of those things continuing at ¼ speed of your usual movement.

Then return to your usual pace and tempo, and begin looking for a leaf. When you find a leaf, do the same thing as you did for the rock, moving again at ¼ tempo as you bend and pick up the leaf, then allow yourself to see it and feel it. Repeat for the blade of grass.

At the end of the time you have, give all three things back to the earth. Mentally, or out loud, tell the earth, the rock, the leaf, and the blade of grass you appreciate their willingness to participate with this and make themselves available to you.

One of the beautiful things about this exercise is that it is impossible to do it incorrectly. Don’t have access to the outside? That is OK, go looking for three items you can find in the area you have available to you. Indecision about the right rock, leaf, or blade of grass? No problem, if you don’t find the item in whatever time frame feels OK for you, just move in ¼ time for about 30 seconds before resuming your usual pace, and go on to look for the next item. 

Let your feet make the decision 

For this exercise, you will need to be in a space where you can walk, at least a little. Additionally, it should be a place where you are safe and one that you know well enough so that you can return to your starting place without difficulty.

Then, as in the first exercise, lower your eyes or close your eyes as you take a few breaths. Again, as in the first exercise, mentally ask your body to gently connect with you. You can even say in your mind these words: “Body, please let me connect with you in a gentle and peaceful way, and only as deeply as you are comfortable.”

Then open your eyes and begin to walk. Walk in no particular direction. You do not have a destination. You are merely walking. If thoughts about where you should go or how fast you should get there come into your mind, just let yourself gently release those thoughts. Let yourself place your awareness on your feet. Become aware of how they feel physically in your shoes, and as they are placed on the earth. When you get tired of being aware of your feet or your mind wanders, let yourself just notice the things around you. See if you can key into senses other than the sense of sight. So notice how the air feels on your skin, and what you hear-both close to you and farther away-and how things smell. 

At some point, you will come to a decision point in your walk, about which way to go. Rather than make the decision with your head, gently ask your feet or any other part of your body to guide you. While being in some amount of curiosity, let yourself become aware of how your body speaks to you about where to go next. Once you have a sense of that direction, continue your walk, again being aware of the things around you with as many senses as you can. There is no need to strain in this exercise.

After you have been out walking for a bit, return to your starting place. Just as in the first exercise, there is no way to do this incorrectly. If you do not feel that you can sense where your feet or another part of your body wants you to go -no problem. If you are at a decision point and don’t feel like you are getting an answer from your body after about a minute or so, go ahead and make the decision with your brain/mind, and continue on your way without care. Just doing the exercise and gently asking your body to communicate with you is expanding intuition and instincts.

For more information on how Lisa can help you, reach out today.