On outsourcing our intuition.
Hello Beautiful Community,
I've been seeking new ways to spur on the fire of inspiration. My new morning ritual is to fill a flask with hot water and venture down to the beach at sunrise with some ceremonial tea in one hand and my journal in the other. I sip, tune inward, then reopen my eyes and pay attention.
Today, I was met with the delightful view of a breaching whale making its way back up to the north coast.
What can we learn from the whales who wander?
Watching her frolicking in the waves almost like she was dancing with the sun, I wondered how she knows when to leave her destination and begin her voyage of return. She doesn’t wait for someone to tell her; she just knows. What I learned, is that whales possess an innate sense of navigation. They follow magnetic fields, ocean currents, and temperature gradients to return to the breeding area of their birth. Whales use their intuition to be guided back to their home and place of nourishment.
It prompted me to think about how we humans, also born from nature but gifted with a human mind, so readily outsource our intuition. How we disregard what we feel, what we know, what we sense, and ask others what we "should" do. We forget that there is a constant stream of intelligence within and all around us, radiating the answers we seek.
As I watched the whale dancing in the vastness of the sea, I was happy that I didn’t have my phone with me and could resist the urge to capture the moment to share it via a digital screen, instead I absorbed the enormity of the animated wisdom ahead of me. The soft message “pay attention” continued to wash over me.
I reflected on how paying attention is both a ritual and a rebellion. A gift of devoted presence and an act of untethering from our capitalist-shaped worldview. When we pay attention, we come home to our intuition. The communication highway reignites.
When we outsource our intuition, we drain our personal power and bring static to our channel to nature's knowing. To know something to be true is much deeper than to “trust” something is true for us. Trust requires a level of convincing in our monkey mind.
To know, requires an inner rootedness that manifests as a soft feeling of certainty that reverberates a sense of calm throughout our entire being.
So what is in the way of us embracing knowingness and acting from intuition?
Mental mess. The constant stream of meaningless chatter, fears, worries, and stress clogs up our mental pipes.
Sensory overload. Submerging our senses with an endless array of information without pause, reflection, and a discerning eye.
Scarcity. Scarcity is a capitalist strategy to keep us all in line. Scarcity echoes through our mind and says, “There isn’t time,” “There’s not enough,” and “Take what you can get.” Scarcity makes us think we need to protect, compete and to shrink. Scarcity separates us not only from each other but from our most valuable internal navigation system. The opposing force of scarcity is abundance, and abundance is the currency of nature. Abundance says, “Come on in; there’s room for everyone.”
The Rush. A felt sense of urgency is often tightly bound with scarcity. When we believe that there isn’t enough, we often act from a place of fear that causes us to make a move based on relieving discomfort instead of an embodied right action.
There are some clues here as to how we might shift from a habit of outsourcing our intuition, decision-making, and choices, and returning to our sovereign compass by resourcing our intuition instead.
Slowing down, creating space, inner reflection and a regular meditation practice are some starting points.
When I feel an urgency or the need to seek someone’s opinion on a meaningful decision, it's an invitation to pause and get curious. Why am I looking outside myself for the answers? Noticing the urge to hand over my decision-making indicates that I already know the answer. It's likely hidden behind an avoidance of discomfort or fear. What I really need is some comfort and support to execute a hard decision.
One thing I know to be true is that our mind will lead us astray, but our body never lies.
Below is an offering of some guided prompts to help you reacquaint yourself with your inner currents and root into a knowingness fuelled by the infinite.
Prompts to help you migrate back to your own truth.
What does self integrity look like here?
What am I most afraid of that might be interfering with this decision?
Forcing is futile. Where am I rushing, grasping or pushing? How can I release the rush and open to divine timing?
If I zoom out two years from now and picture my dream life, how might this decision bring me closer to that vision?
What is the safe option? What is the honest option?
If you are wading up between different options or pathways, create some quiet space as you lie down to go to sleep at night. Slowly bring in each option individually at your heart space. Notice how your body responds to each option. Stay with the felt sense in the body for as long as it take for am image, feeling or colour to arise. Notice where you feel constriction, closing and density vs openness, peace, relief or spaciousness.
As I weave the next season of the podcast into its tangible form, I'm going to play with writing and sharing more often. I would love to hear about your thoughts, questions and challenges to help me feed and fuel my pages, so please drop me a line when you feel the pull.
With love,
Rach x