Live Your Extraordinary Life With Michelle Rios

Intuition: Mastering the Language of the Soul

• Michelle Rios • Episode 58

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Have you ever felt a sixth sense about something, a gut feeling, or an unexplainable hunch that turned out to be spot on?  That, my friend, is intuition - referred to as your inner wisdom or the language of the soul.  I invite you to join me, your host Michelle Rios, for a deep dive into the mystical world of intuition, a force that transcends logic and connects us to a higher level of consciousness and universal wisdom. In this episode. I discuss what intuition is; why it matters; why we often resist it; and how to tap into it to guide us and our decisions.

A quick look back through history, we quickly discover how intuition has been revered by some of the world's greatest minds, from philosophers Plato and Aristotle to Albert Einstein to modern visionaries like Steve Jobs and Steven Spielberg.  It's a reminder that this silent language of the soul has always been with us serving as a compass for decision-making, and as an undercurrent that shapes our personal stories. 

The heart of this episode focuses on actions you can take to tap into your own intuitive powers. Whether you're at a career crossroads or simply looking for more clarity in your personal life, mindfulness practices and reflection techniques can help you amplify that inner voice. I invite you to trust in the subtle nudges and gut feelings we often overlook, Doing so will prepare you for a life of purpose and fulfillment – a life where intuition is not merely a whisper, but a trusted guide.

Connect with Michelle Rios:
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FB: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.c.rios
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michelleriosofficial
Website: https://michelleriosofficial.com

Speaker 1:

Welcome everyone to today's episode of the Live your Extraordinary Life podcast. I'm your host, michelle Rios, and today we're going to delve into the topic of intuition what it is, why it matters, how to tap into it. All of that good stuff. But before we do, I wanted to make a few announcements. As many of you will have noticed, I've been doing shorter solo episodes lately. Rest assured, I'm not changing the format of the podcast. The show has always consisted of a combo of expert interviews and solo episodes. However, I am focusing more on solos for the foreseeable future, and the reason is twofold.

Speaker 1:

First, super exciting, my first book is coming out soon. I'm working on it now the Power of Authenticity A Blueprint for Living your Extraordinary Life. It'll be out later this year, so there's a lot of writing happening right now. Additionally, as some of you may know, I'm the founder and CEO of a transformational coaching business. So what does that mean? Well, I've coached and advised CEOs, entrepreneurs, business leaders and other high achievers for more than 25 years. But what I'm most passionate about is helping individuals who've experienced success in their life but don't feel fulfillment and are wondering now what I personally know, what it's like to get to the top of your game and want more more purpose, more passion, more freedom, more impact. You know you've worked hard for everything you've achieved and you deserve to live a life that sets your soul absolutely on fire. So if this sounds like you, I'd love to help you create your next chapter. Please reach out. Which leads me to a bit of additional news, and that is the launch of my new, very comprehensive and beautiful website, which launches this week. So if you're listening to the podcast on the day it airs, it'll be Tuesday, the 7th, but the actual launch will be on Thursday of that week. It'll be available at michelleriosofficialcom. We'll include the link in the show notes, of course. The site is really fabulous. I could not be more proud of the work that my team has done. It was designed to be a comprehensive platform for engagement, not only with those who are interested in participating in coaching, but also for those of you who are listeners of the podcast. There is an extensive section of the site dedicated to the podcast, the history, the mission. You can even listen directly to the podcast from the site if you'd like. There's a whole lot of information on this website. I hope you'll take a look. It's really just a fabulous asset and tool for us to use. Okay, so now on to today's episode.

Speaker 1:

What is intuition? Intuition is often referred to as that gut feeling or sixth sense. You've heard this before, you know this. It's the ability to understand something almost instinctively, without the need for reasoning or rationalization, and inner knowing guiding us toward a decision or toward wanting something, even when logic fails to provide a clear answer. I know you've all experienced moments of gut intuition, of that sixth sense.

Speaker 1:

Oftentimes we sort of overanalyze and think well, wait, that doesn't make sense, why would I do that or why do I want this? A lot of times we question it, right, but many refer to intuition and and this includes scientists and a lot of historical figures, and I'll get into that a little bit later as the language of the soul, as it's believed to originate from our higher self, or our soul, that part of us that's considered wise, intuitive and connected to the universal wisdom. So by tapping into the deeper aspects of ourselves, we gain access to insights and guidance that go beyond our conscious mind. Intuition, as sort of language of the soul, reflects this idea that intuition connects us to this, beyond the realm of logic and reason, to a more universal wisdom, and here's why some people really are intrigued by this metaphor. So language of the soul also refers to connection, to inner self. Right, its intuition is associated with the inner knowing, a sense of truth that comes from within, from deep within, and it's a way of tapping into your deepest desires, values and beliefs, often considered aspects of the soul itself. Most of the time, when we think about those intuitive feelings that come up for us, they often transcend rationality, right, it operates outside the bounds of conscious thought. So it's believed to access a realm of understanding that transcends logic, allowing us to perceive truths that might not be readily available or apparent through a more analytical process alone. Right, we often, as individuals who are intellectual and smart, we love to reason and logic our way through things, but some things defy logic. Right, you know that You've experienced this, I'm sure, before. Like, just think back on a time where you're like that doesn't even make sense. Why would I do that? And yet you have this feeling that the sixth sense, that is the thing you're supposed to do.

Speaker 1:

There's also a spiritual connotation, which is why intuition is often referred to as the language of the soul. For many people, the concept of the soul is intertwined with spirituality and metaphysical beliefs. So intuition is sometimes seen as the channel through which spiritual guidance or insight is actually received, suggesting a connection to something greater than oneself. Authenticity, which many of you who listen to the show regularly know, is an important topic for me. It's obviously an underpinning for all of our conversations here on the Live your Extraordinary Life podcast. It also has an incredibly important connection to intuition and it's that notion of intuition implying an authenticity or a genuineness or a truthfulness, and it suggests that by listening to our intuition, we are aligning with our most true selves and expressing our deepest truth, so that part of us that is the most authentic. And then, last but not least, universal connection. I've sort of mentioned this a few times already, but some view intuition as a universal language that transcends any cultural, linguistic or societal boundaries, and it's seen as a common thread that connects all of us as individuals to a shared source of wisdom or consciousness.

Speaker 1:

So let's talk about the benefits of intuition. You know, obviously there's a sense that intuition really does represent our truest self, but it often doesn't match what our logical mind would anticipate. But there are really strong, proven benefits to tapping into our intuition, and I'm just going to list off a few and talk to them. One is quick decision making. Intuition can help you make decisions rapidly when you don't have all the information or time for analysis. You've probably been through this before you know, or you even have some of the information, and yet there's an overriding feeling that comes from deep within you that, based on this information, there's a clear direction you should go.

Speaker 1:

Creativity is another benefit of intuition. It's often spoken that intuition helps us tap into a creative mind. It allows you to see connections and possibilities that might be immediately apparent through logic alone. And so when you tap into this deep wisdom, when you get quiet, when you listen to your soul language, you often do come up with alternatives or new connections or new patterns or new possibilities. It's often viewed as a problem-solving tool. Intuition can guide us toward more innovative solutions to complex problems, especially when traditional methods fail us right, when logic just doesn't apply to whatever's happening and you've got to make a decision and it's a complex problem.

Speaker 1:

Self-trust is another benefit of intuition, and this comes with practice. You know, I would say for me and my experience throughout my lifetime, I've come to rely on intuition in a way that I could not do. When I was younger and I would say, in fact, probably during my adolescence and my 20s I would often question what came up for me intuitively. Rather than thinking that this was the wisdom of the divine or the language of my soul, I would just be like what is wrong with me? This is a little crazy, this doesn't even make sense, and I relied heavily on my logical and analytical mind. Let me know, does this resonate for any of you? I mean, is this something that you've experienced as well? I'm sure I'm not alone in this. Intuition allows us to develop and cultivate greater self-trust. Once you start to follow your intuition and sort of tune out the noise, particularly of what your rational mind will serve up, of what is either culturally or familiarly or societally acceptable in any scenario, intuition sort of cuts beyond that. And when you start to trust yourself and you rely on your own ability to follow your intuition, it does really boost self-confidence. I can say that from my experience. It really does empower you to continue to tap into your own wisdom over time.

Speaker 1:

Emotional insight Intuition is something that really can provide better insight to our own emotions and the emotions of others, aids us in being more empathetic and understanding, and that's something that we often don't read well right. People often hide how they truly feel, and so if you're only reading at a surface level rather than letting your intuition guide you to maybe understand what's behind someone's words or behind their actions, we can often fail to communicate effectively, but if we let our intuition guide us, we're often able to see beyond what people may be hiding or unable to communicate effectively or may be embarrassed to speak of, and when we do that, we can have greater empathy for those around us and greater understanding in the conversations that we're having with others. Risk assessment I can't begin to tell you in the pre-cell phone days how many situations I found myself as a young person, alone in metropolitan cities, whether it was Washington DC or New York, or overseas, in Madrid or Barcelona, or where I was traveling, because I lived in those two cities overseas as well, and my intuition, or my spidey sense, as you may call it, alerted me to a potential risk or danger, even though on the surface, everything seemed fine. I just had a sense that I shouldn't go in that particular building or walk down that particular street, and you know, some people may say, oh, that was superstition or what have you. But you know everything's fine. And then all of a sudden you're like, oh, I have this deep feeling like I shouldn't go to that event or that party, or down that street or get in that car or what have you. And you know, there were times where I absolutely listened to it and there were times when I did not. And let me tell you, while I'm grateful, nothing terrible happened. Often things did not go as I anticipated when I ignored my intuition. So I'm sure you all can attest to that as well in your own lives.

Speaker 1:

And then, last but not least, I want to talk about spiritual growth, because many people do believe that intuition connects us to this deeper truth and spiritual insights and can aid in our personal growth and development. I will say for sure, I've been on this personal development journey now for more than 25 years, and the more I've tapped into intuition, the more I rely on self-trust, the more confident that I've been and the larger leaps of faith I've been able to take, obviously the biggest one recently being the decision to walk away from a very lucrative and stable corporate career that I've had for over 25 years, a wonderful position in a company that I love to do something that in my gut, in my heart, that I really felt maybe wasn't the most logical thing to do, but I desperately felt the need to pursue the avenue of personal development and growth as a career, full time. So launching the podcast, writing the book, building the coaching business, have all come from a place of intuition and they're not new. My decision to act on it is what's come about in the last year or so, but those were deep-seated desires going back now to my mid to late 20s and it's just been over time. That call that whisper, that chant underneath that says, do this, go, go, go. Chant underneath that says, do this, go, go go. Trust, take the leap of faith has gotten louder and louder, and I think that's because my ability to tap into my intuition has gotten sharper over time. I don't know that the whisper has gotten louder. I think my ability to hear it has gotten better. So let's talk a little bit about intuition throughout history, because I think my ability to hear it has gotten better. So let's talk a little bit about intuition throughout history, because I think it's really interesting to look back and see how influential intuition has been throughout history.

Speaker 1:

It's not that intuition is like a new age concept or something that's come about, you know, in recent times. It's been around and revered and studied across cultures and time since the ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. They spoke of intuition as a divine gift. Eastern traditions like Buddhism and Taoism have emphasized forever the importance of intuition in achieving enlightenment. And then, if you think about more modern times, we have psychologist Carl Jung describing it as a function of our unconscious mind, and he saw intuition as a form of perception that goes on beyond the limitations of the conscious mind and connects us to the universal collectives. So again, this sort of mix of our understanding of how the mind, the conscious mind, works in the subconscious, and the connection, the spiritual connection, to the universal wisdom.

Speaker 1:

Albert Einstein himself is quoted as saying the only real valuable thing is intuition. Here we have one of the most renowned scientists of all time and he refers to intuition as being the only real valuable thing. Think about that. Let that sink in for a moment. In much more modern times, more recent times, steve Jobs is quoted as saying intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect. In my opinion, that's Steve Jobs. That's one of the most famous quotes from his biography.

Speaker 1:

Steven Spielberg also speaks of intuition. He says the harder thing to listen to your instincts. Your personal human intuition always whispers. It never shouts Very hard to hear. So you have to be ready every day of your life for the whispers in your ear, ready every day of your life for the whispers in your ear. So, again, it's just this.

Speaker 1:

I really wanted to get out this notion that you know we're not talking about a new concept here. It's not that the new age gurus have come up with intuition. Intuition is something that's bound us for a very long time, since the beginning, I think, since the advent of man and the idea of reflection. We've wondered you know, why are we here? What is our purpose? How do we tap into universal knowledge and wisdom?

Speaker 1:

And coming out of that, I wanted to share two stories, because I'm sure you can think of stories as well and I'd love to hear from you. So if you have a great story to share on intuition, please reach out to me. You should all know that I'm very active on social. You can find me on IG at Michelle Rios Official. You can find me on Facebook at Michelle Corrigan Rios. Send me a DM, reach out to me via email however you'd like to, but let me know that you have a story and then let's have a conversation, because I'd love to highlight your story, whether it was an intuition guided you to do something or, even better, when did you ignore your intuition and what happened as a result. So if you've got a good story to share, please think of it and reach out. I'd love to hear from you and we will feature it on social as well.

Speaker 1:

But two stories that I wanted to share with you of my own experience with intuition involve my son Alex. At least, the first story involves my son Alex, when Alex was about two years old this is going back now to 2009, he went through several nights of waking up in the middle of the night and throwing up Not a normal thing for a toddler to do but then during the day he appeared to be fine, didn't run a fever, he didn't have a cough, he didn't have any congestion. So you can imagine my dismay that every night, as we're trying to get some sleep, this poor kid was waking up and not well, but then during the day he was fine. Kid was waking up and not well, but then during the day he was fine. But my intuition knew something was off. So I don't know if you'll recall, but back in the fall of 2009, rsv was rampant here in the US. Alex didn't have any of the classic symptoms of RSV, which typically include cough, fever, congestion and even wheezing. He had none of that.

Speaker 1:

But I knew something wasn't right and, given that that was going around, I brought him to the pediatrician. And when I got him there, the pediatrician looked him all over head to toe, couldn't find anything wrong with him. Took his temperature no fever, normal temperature. Took his temperature no fever, normal temperature. Listened to his lungs of the stethoscope, didn't hear anything and said to me maybe there's something wrong with this milk, which I knew there was nothing wrong. And I kept saying no, it's not that Like we got to keep looking. And he sort of dismissed me, to be honest, and was like first time mom, you know she's just nervous, but I was pretty resolute that I wasn't leaving until I knew what was wrong with this baby. So I said I want a chest x-ray just to be sure, just to at least eliminate that. And the pediatrician fought me. He was actually like this is a terrible use of your time. There's not going to be anything to find His lungs sound great, you're just wasting time and money. And I was like, well, it's my insurance and my time, so don't worry about it. Order the x-ray of his chest, I want to make sure he's okay. And guess what? Lo and behold, they didn't find one, not two, they found three spots on his lungs. He had pneumonia. So here, without any of the classic symptoms, my child actually was in the throes of a bout of pneumonia. So you can only imagine how that pediatrician felt when he had to look me in the eyes a couple hours later and say, huh, I guess you were right. And it was a little unnerving for me because his exact words were I guess it's just mother's intuition and sort of ignored it. But I knew there was something wrong. And I think you know, as parents we kind of develop a greater intuitive sense with our children and even our animals, right? I think a lot of us who have animals know when they're not well, even if they, you know, are eating and don't display any odd behavior. We just know. And so that was the first experience where I was like I have really got to listen to my gut better, particularly raising children.

Speaker 1:

The second particular story I want to share is about this personal development journey that I've been on for now more than 25 years. For now more than 25 years, and I always knew at some point since my mid-20s that I would at some point have a full-time focus on personal development as a career. But in my 20s I made a conscious decision to continue the corporate climb, to continue with the career that I had really started to climb in and continue to ascend. But each year I would take out some time out of my schedule. Two times a year, actually One during the summer, when I would typically be on some sort of vacation. I'm normally traveling overseas during that vacation. I'm normally traveling overseas during that vacation and I find being away from my day-to-day life is a great time to reflect on those major decisions and contemplate what we should do if we need to make changes, if we need to make shifts. I find it much more difficult staying in my everyday life and trying to contemplate that. So getting out you know for me going overseas often, or at least by water, is really helpful.

Speaker 1:

And so every year at um during these summer vacations and at the end of the year, as I'm thinking about the year ahead, I would contemplate. Is this the year that I need to make a change toward this personal development journey as a full-time career? And for I don't know. I want to say the last 15 years that I've asked myself this, the answer was a resolute no. And I say this because every time I contemplated that, contemplated it as an option, my body would have a visceral reaction Like nope, not the time, not what you're meant to do right now. There's more things you're meant to do where you are at. Until two years ago Now, two years ago, my family and I went on a vacation to Greece, and while in Greece it was our first time there we were on a boat in the Aegean Sea and it was absolutely beautiful.

Speaker 1:

We were there for a full day out on the water. And as we're out in the water, I began to think about whether or not now might be the time right. So I'm checking in with myself, asking this question. I've asked myself every year now for more than a decade Is this the time to make a change? And lo and behold, for the first time, a deep peace came upon me. I felt a tingling sensation from head to toe, one that like even just recounting the story and telling you now I feel goosebumps and I knew in that moment, beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was time to make a change. Knew in that moment, beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was time to make a change. And to say I knew it was going to happen or exactly how things were going to unfold, it would be a lie. I had no idea. I just knew it was the right time. It was like a universal sign for me and I knew that meant I needed to act. I needed to take action. So I'll tell you.

Speaker 1:

I followed my intuition fairly quickly. Within a few weeks time, not only had I made the decision to pursue this full-time, but I also resigned from my full-time executive position. I began to podcast. I had no idea what a podcast was initially, so I was studying podcasting and four months later, I launched this show. And I will tell you, like every time, I just followed my intuition. Once I got that resounding yes, now is the time. Each time I went one step further, a piece of the puzzle fell into place. And now I just want you to think about, in a very short span of time, that was the summer of 2022. Here we are now the spring of 2024. Within that timeframe, I have left my full-time corporate career, launched a podcast which within weeks became one of the fastest growing personal development podcasts out there. Today it's in the top 2% globally rated podcast. Thanks to you, it continues to grow. Podcast Thanks to you, it continues to grow. I've now launched an executive coaching practice that's thriving and I'll be rolling out more programs for group coaching and self-study and I have speaking engagements coming up. Just everything is falling into place.

Speaker 1:

It's not that I've orchestrated this with some grand plan. It's really been about listening to that inner wisdom and taking a leap of faith really, on all of these initiatives, because all of them have required suspending disbelief, because I had a lot invested in my career, in my corporate career, and I was being paid well to be in that. So to walk away from that, to start something new, particularly at midlife, I think, really requires a leap of faith. Certainly it required mustering courage, but more importantly, what I want to bring it back to intuition is it really required a sense of self-trust in the wisdom that was coming up for me and continues to come up for me from deep within. So those are the two stories I wanted to share with you. I would love to hear from you on, maybe, a story of, again, one time that intuition really saved you, propelled you, helped you make a hard decision, and maybe another time where you didn't listen to intuition and what unfolded after. So, again, love to hear from you on that front.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so we've talked about what intuition is, the benefits of intuition, talked about the historical context of intuition, the fact that some of the greatest leaders of our time really cite intuition as being incredibly important in their lives, in the lives of their companies, in the way they think. Now, with that being said, many of us resist intuition, and I know you know what I'm talking about, right? I think sometimes the most intellectual among us have the most difficult time relying on intuition because we are so incredibly logic driven, we rely on analyzing facts and information, and so getting to that place of faith, getting to that place of believing in the wisdom that you have coming up from you as actually being wisdom, can be difficult, right? So fear, doubt, societal conditioning let me repeat that Fear, doubt and societal conditioning often play roles in our reluctance to trust our inner guidance. We've been taught prioritize logic over intuition. I know I certainly did in the first half of my life.

Speaker 1:

We second guess ourselves all the time and we often do it. I'm certainly guilty of this as we seek external validation. So this is often tied back to our sense of self-worth. If we have a need for external validation in order to get our worth, which a lot of us do or have in our past, then we are going to second guess ourselves. Even if you have a strong intuitive feeling about something, you'll probably go and ask a friend, a parent, a spouse, a colleague, a neighbor, a stranger. We just don't trust ourselves and that information or that sensation that's coming up. But when we do this, we deny ourselves access to wisdom and guidance that's divinely orchestrated. So how can we overcome this resistance? How can we start to embrace our intuition fully? Well, it starts with self-awareness and self-trust. Right, that's something we're always working on. We really need to call a spade a spade.

Speaker 1:

I certainly needed to recognize the times in my life where my own self-worth, or lack thereof, got in the way of me trusting my own guidance. Here I was getting intuitive downloads and I was dismissing them as not credible, relying on my logic brain. I did this all the way through graduate school. I would logic my way through every problem that came up, even as I was getting intuitive downloads, because I didn't quite yet have that sense of self-worth and self-trust that's needed to tap into intuition. So sort of a first step is acknowledging where we have limiting beliefs. For me it was a worthiness issue. Until I could recognize that my self-worth was inherent in my being, not in my doing, I wasn't going to be able to really rely on intuition. But when I did start to trust myself, when I did start to validate my own needs and my own self-worth instead of looking for it outside of myself, in external achievement or in approval from others, when I started to really trust myself, that's when the shift happened. That's when I was able to dismantle the barriers that blocked my intuition. And as we cultivate that sense of trust in ourselves, in our instincts, they'll allow us to navigate life with a lot more confidence. I can tell you right now.

Speaker 1:

A lot of people have asked me over the course of the last year plus how did you do it, michelle? How did you leave something so stable particularly with your background of coming from very humble beginnings in a rural setting and not having a lot finally getting to a place of financial stability and security and being at a place where, professionally, I had a lot of respect. How did I walk away? You know a lot of people play like wasn't that so hard to do? And an earlier version of me wouldn't have been able to do that right? To be very honest with you, I wasn't ready. But this particular place, once I was able to listen to that intuition and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had to make that move, it was like it's hard to say other than that that was what now was always part of the grand plan, even if I didn't see the way. Now I see that and for me, because I was really dialed into intuition over the last decade in particular, but last five years, significantly, I was able to make this transition, quite frankly, without a lot of the typical spiraling that happens when somebody leaves a long-standing career or job or relationship, for that matter. You all know what I'm talking about, right? Like?

Speaker 1:

A lot of us want to make changes in our lives, whether it's a career, whether it's a relationship, whether it's moving, and yet, even when we do those things that we say we want to do, there's this sort of like buyer's remorse around the decision and we start to self-doubt. And then we spiral. We literally fall apart. We start to unravel and I was able to bypass that experience completely, but only because I was so dialed into my intuition. That's something that came out of practicing, using it, tapping into it, trusting it, believing that this really what's coming up for me was what was divinely intended for me, that actually staying in the stable career as stable as any career can be would be defying what was intended for my life. I felt that very strongly so, even with the implications, felt that very strongly so, even with the implications financial and you know all the things that come with leaving a longstanding career. I knew it was exactly what I needed to do and I haven't looked back. I haven't. I really haven't doubted that I made the right decision. I really haven't doubted that I made the right decision. Have moments been tough? Absolutely. Have I felt tired in the moving forward in this entrepreneurial setting? Absolutely, the days are long when you're building something from scratch, but I've never doubted for a moment that this was what was intended for me, once I got that green light from the universe, once I got that sitting out on that boat on the Aegean Sea in Greece, the yes, you need to make the change now. Ever since that moment it's been green lights let's go.

Speaker 1:

So what I'd like to do now is talk more about how we can tap into that intuition, into this innate wisdom. How do we master this language of the soul? I think the predominant way of doing that and certainly this has been my practice because I like to keep things simple, we do not need to overthink these things. I think the most significant things in life are often the simplest, which is why we miss them. But external world and tuning into our inner selves, which is something not many of us do, and if we do it, we don't do it that often. So how do we do that? For me, it comes in a couple of different forms I mentioned.

Speaker 1:

I travel usually a couple times a year when I'm overseas and I'm away from my day-to-day life. I have this ability to really shut out the noise, if you will, because I'm in a place where no one knows me. I have creative freedom. I can think through things much more clearly than when I'm in the day-to-day throes of my everyday life. So traveling often is a place for me to have a bit of a meditative state. But you don't need to travel to meditate right. You can do that right, in the convenience of your home or your car, or on a walk. It can really be done anywhere.

Speaker 1:

And meditating is just about getting still. It's just about being quiet, trying to tune out the noise from the external world and, I would argue, the noise in our heads. So I use my Insight Timer right on my phone. It's actually used the free version of it. I do have a paid subscription for some of the programs and I like those too, but I often don't have time to do the longer meditations, so I set it up for 10 or 15 minute intervals of meditation. That's all it takes.

Speaker 1:

So think about that 10 minutes or 15 minutes at the start of your day, having that mindfulness practice, being quiet, letting your mind be still. You don't need to think about anything and if things come up, let them pass through. It's okay, don't judge it. It's hard. In the beginning I used to have grocery lists going as I was doing this and my to-do list for the day. But over time, getting still and emptying my mind has become easier and easier and it's a place now I can't wait to get to each morning. It took time. So for those of you who are not used to doing daily meditation, start slow, start easy, do something that you can keep with and keep up Five minutes, 10 minutes. If you can do longer, do 15. But the idea is to consistently return to yourself on a daily basis and get quiet, getting out of the chaos of your daily life so that you can hear the whispers of your soul.

Speaker 1:

I sometimes add journaling during my mindfulness practice, but I often journal beyond that. So everybody has their different styles. You'll have to sort of experiment and see what's best for you. You'll have to sort of experiment and see what's best for you. But finding time and for me it's carving out time at the beginning of the day, because if I wait it often doesn't happen. But carving out time for solitude and reflection is the most integral way of tapping into intuition that I've found works for me. So, whether it's actual meditation or taking a walk in nature, it's about making space for quiet contemplation. That's as simple as it gets. Again, journaling can help. It can be an effective method. What I've found is when I do write after meditating, I start to see patterns, patterns emerge. For me it goes back to when you allow intuition to guide you more, you come up with more creative solutions to problems and you allow yourself to see things that may be in plain sight, that you couldn't see when you were allowing your logical mind to drive the car forward.

Speaker 1:

Another technique and I use this a lot in coaching because I'm able to guide folks through it is visualization, and all visualization requires is close your eyes, envision a situation or a decision that you're facing, get very quiet. Don't sit there for one minute or two minutes. Give yourself a full 10 minutes. If you can do 15, do 15. And just allow yourself to notice any sensations or emotions or images that may arise. Your intuition often communicates through these subtle clues.

Speaker 1:

I get a tingling sensation when something is coming up for me from an intuitive place, I have a complete goosebumps experience. So that kind of gets me to my next point, which is pay attention to your body signals. We are sometimes so disconnected from a mind-body experience that we often overlook how our body reacts to intuition. But physical sensations can often provide insight that your mind overlooks, and I'm telling you, while sitting on that boat in Greece, I had this tingling sensation head to toe that just recalling it through visualization and thinking back to that moment I'm getting them again.

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And then, finally, practice listening to your inner voice. We all have one, so try to trust that it knows what's best for you, and this often requires not judging what comes up, allowing whatever comes up to just come up, even if that path or what it suggests seems uncertain or not the expected answer. Don't judge it. Just sit with it and see what happens the next day and revisit again the next day. If you start to see a pattern that this voice is telling you over and over again the same thing, then you have a pattern emerging that's likely your intuition talking to you. And so then the question is will you trust your gut? And so then the question is will you trust your gut?

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As we get to the end of today's episode, I want to invite you to really think throughout your day about the wisdom of your own intuition and ask yourself if you're willing to trust in the guidance that it offers you. You know, intuition is not a soft skill, it's not a mystical power reserved for a select few. It's a gift that's inherent in all of us, and by honoring and nurturing and cultivating our intuition, that's what's going to allow us to lead lives with greater purpose, greater clarity and greater fulfillment, and that, to me, my friends, is the foundation for living an extraordinary life, is the foundation for living an extraordinary life. Until next time, I hope you all will spend time in quiet contemplation, listening for your own intuitive downloads, and going out in the world and living your extraordinary life.

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Michelle Rios

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