Intuition

P365:13
I got these delicious lollies as a part of a Christmas gift from some friends. If you can get them, you should! When it comes to candy, I've been known to have a bit of a sweet tooth. Eating these is practically guilt-free! ;)

"Intuition [is]...a potent form of inner wisdom, not mediated by the rational mind. Accessible to us all, it's a still, small voice inside. It's an unflinching truth teller committed to our well-being." Judith Orloff, M.D.

Intuition is all too often underestimated. Like most natural-born gifts, it is taken for granted and shoved in the back of our minds for something "better," something more rational and logical. More and more I've been appreciating the power of intuition.

I may be considered by most to be paranoid and over-cautious. I guess if you're a 6-foot-4, 200-plus pound, ex-college football lineman, and current military cop, you can afford a bit more elbow room than a 5-foot-2, 100-plus pound, ex-high school cheerleader...female.

Since my husband and I started teaching women's rape defense classes, and have consequently gone through more extensive education channels to better understand the nature of rape, why, how, and where it occurs, as well as the after-math, we both have gained a far greater appreciation for my "paranoia." Locking the car doors at a stop light is second-nature for me (the survival/threat bulb lights up and the finger instantaneously goes to the "lock" button). Something perhaps a less-vulnerable type may not even get a glint or flicker from the survival light bulb. Not to say women are vulnerable and weak and blah blah blah more PC terms...No regardless of who you are, that light bulb snaps on when it needs to. That light is intuition. It truly is our safety-net...our survival switch.

When you get that gut feeling, de ja vu, or chill on the back of your neck about a situation or a person, even if you've been to that place and with that person many a time before, DON'T IGNORE that feeling!!!!!!!!! You ARE NOT crazy, you are not hyper-sensitive, you are not overly cautious. You're protecting yourself! You're prolonging your survival. You're preserving your life. Don't ignore it. Don't shrug it off. However your logical mind tries to rationalize and talk you out of what your intuition is lighting up to, follow your intuition! What will it hurt? Nothing. Maybe you take a few extra seconds to get to the store front because you avoided that lingering, leering creep. (Just be sure you eyeball him to let him know you're onto him as you do. Creeps hate eye contact.) ;)


Don't feel bad for potentially hurting a strangers feelings because you choose to wait for the next elevator. If they're pushy, it's all the more reason to wait for the next one, or go to another. Don't risk your safety, your life, your future plans for the sake of someone's feeling that you don't know, barely know, or wish you didn't know.

Upon recollection, many survivors of violent acts recount that they had a bad feeling, knew something wasn't right but couldn't put their finger on it, things that seemed irrational at the time. It's perfectly rational to try to prolong and preserve your well being. You're number one. I don't care if you have kids, ailing parents, or a needy husband or wife. Your quality of life comes first!!! Without that you have less to give your parents, kids, and spouse. You are less than yourself when you give up something you truly care about or for, and willingly give it to a stranger (lest I remind you that this of which you care for is your health and safety).


In some cases, survival will require you to give up a little of yourself. Don't lose hope and don't blame yourself. Some worthless sack of sh*t trying to assert himself by bullying you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with that creepazoid being a weak, pathetic, piece of slithering slime, that deserves a long stint in the "gen. pop" of the slammer where everyone knows he's a wife-beater or baby killer, whether he really is or not. :)


Listening to intuition can of course, be less "dramatic" that physical, emotional, spiritual preservation. It can be "that feeling" to move to another area, find another career, ditch the loser, find new friends...it can feel like a calling, nagging sensation to do different...


Remember that everything is a skill. Although you've been hushing your intuition for years, you can reverse the effects by staying open to those safety-preserving thoughts and nagging "feelings," by acting on them one thought at a time. Like anything, the more you do it, the better you get at it, and the easier it becomes...the more accessible it becomes. Following intuition isn't psycho-babble. It's your innate ability to find fulfillment, satisfaction, success, clarity, and renewal. Don't keep shrugging it off because it's "free...." in actuality, intuition is quite invaluable.