I write to heal. Often Divine insights for blog posts come when I’m out of my head and moving my body on the bike with Peloton. During one of those rides, the instructor, Christian Vande Velde, said, “release your death grip,” and went on to explain how squeezing the handlebars is a waste of energy. Your hands don’t push the pedals.
My thought immediately jumped to how some of us put a death grip on dis-ease. First, we analyze it from every possible perspective. Then, try every possible solution presented and still can wind up stuck or physically/emotionally dead. But what if you were able to release your death grip? Would you unleash your true power and somehow heal?
Just as Christian explained on the bike, when you use your body weight, strong core, glutes, and legs – all your power goes straight through the pedals (not the handlebars!) A light grip allows you to stay on the bike – in the game. Likewise, in health, healing happens when we surrender our perception of reality. We don’t let go of our intellect (head smarts). Instead, we loosen its grip on us. In doing so, we tap into our heart smarts (intuition) and unleash our true power to heal.
If this sounds like a fun ride, keep reading! I’m excited to share four easy ways for you to tap into your heart smarts and relax into healing. Plus, knowing how to harness the power of your intuition can help you make better decisions in life – which, as you know, often feels chaotic and complex.
My thought immediately jumped to how some of us put a death grip on dis-ease. First, we analyze it from every possible perspective. Then, try every possible solution presented and still can wind up stuck or physically/emotionally dead. But what if you were able to release your death grip? Would you unleash your true power and somehow heal?
INTUITION VS INTELLECT
Albert Einstein has been widely quoted as saying, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” I’m not sure if Einstein really said that, but it healed my internal discourse when I read it. So thank you, Albert, or whoever paraphrased him.
What exactly is the intuitive mind? Is intuition knowledge? Or is intuition feelings? The most straightforward intuition definition I’ve found is from Ph.D. researcher Simon McCrea: “Intuition is the ability to understand something immediately without need for conscious thought.”
In essence, intuition is knowing without knowing. It’s a form of knowledge that appears in consciousness without obvious brainwork – analytic reasoning. How it emerges is through our senses. That’s why intuition is often referred to as a “gut feeling” or your sixth sense. Many see intuition as the highest form of intelligence. Others think it’s woo-woo. However, while intuition may seem unexplainable (many aspects still are), there’s a lot of scientific literature about it and how intuition complements analytical thought (intellect.)
I think of intuition as the GPS of the soul – a network in touch with everything you’ve seen, felt, and experienced – that sends accurate and concise information to be used (or not.) It’s your choice to awaken to self on the soul level, or not.
In essence, intuition is knowing without knowing. It’s a form of knowledge that appears in consciousness without obvious brainwork – analytic reasoning. How it emerges is through our senses. That’s why intuition is often referred to as a “gut feeling” or your sixth sense.
CAN INTUITION BE LEARNED?
Intuition is like a muscle. We all have it, but some have more of it than others! Some of us are going to the intuitive gym daily. As a result, our heart-smarts are all toned and buffed. But, unfortunately, others of us are (eh-hem) eating Oreos on the couch watching Netflix looking at our pea-size flabby heart-smarts wondering why we’re so depressed.
A few years into practice as a pediatric physician, I had my fourth miscarriage (a second-trimester loss.) I tried my best to do everything “right” and utilize all my knowledge gained through med school and residency. It was as if my head-smarts were on steroids from years of study. But along the way, my heart-smarts shriveled to a size of a pea. I felt utterly deflated – defeated.
Are your heart-smarts feeling a little flabby these days? You’re in luck! Intuition can be developed. You can get those heart-smarts toned and buffed through a quiet mind. In contrast to head “schooling,” where your analytical mind actively eats up knowledge, honing your intuitive skills requires a calm mind. I think of it as heart “schooling” where your mind takes a rest. You get out of your head and into your body to receive Divine insights (your sixth sense.)
You receive these Divine insights through different sensations. You can see them, hear them, feel them, or just have a knowing they’re there. These four sensations – often referred to as the four clairs: clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, and claircognizance – aren’t just for psychics. Divine signs are for you and me, too, and they’re everywhere. Read Divine Signs You’re on Track.
“The good news about intuition is that it doesn’t abandon you. Like a lover who never gives up on you, intuition will do whatever it takes to capture your attention and guide you toward your path of power, love, health, and the purest sense of purpose. And once you commit to strengthening your intuition, it will only get stronger.” – Lissa Rankin, MD
Intuition is like a muscle. We all have it, but some have more of it than others! Some of us are going to the intuitive gym daily. As a result, our heart-smarts are all toned and buffed. But, unfortunately, others of us are (eh-hem) eating Oreos on the couch watching Netflix looking at our pea-size flabby heart-smarts wondering why we’re so depressed.
INTUITION EXERCISES – CALM YOUR CHAOS
Studying intuition, scientists have discovered that your intuition improves when you’re feeling calm.
“To me, this is one of the most crucial things to understand about intuition. Intuition is only useful if you’re not already overloaded with other emotions. Being in your body, having an intimate sense of the triggers and prompts as they’re coming, makes it more likely that you’ll feel it when your intuition is nudging you in a certain direction.” – Joel Pearson, Ph.D.
I use the mantra “Breathe, Write, Pray, Play” to remind myself to calm the chaos. As I breathe, write, pray, and play, I mentally exhale. I get out of my head and into my body – where I can receive Divine insights.
Sitting under the dark cloud of my fourth miscarriage, I had to find a higher meaning for my deep sorrow. So, with a quiet mind, I leaned into a Divine conversation. Imagine that annoying student who raises her hand with just one more question – that was me! But no one else was in class, just my pen and some paper.
Every question I wrote down had lots of answers. When I asked, “Why are these miscarriages happening?” one response I received was, “They’re happening.” Sitting with this answer shifted my focus from the sadness and grief of loss to the miracle – we are conceiving. We are bringing life into the world.
When I surrendered my perception of reality, I was instantly flooded with faith. My deflated – defeated self felt joyful! In time, I began to trust the Divine order of our parenting journey – even though my mind couldn’t understand it. Eventually, the balance between my head (intellect) and my heart (intuition) recovered. I released my death grip to heal.
“I was recognizing there was a greater power than me. And that is how I began to heal.“ – Reb, from Mitch Albom’s, Have a Little Faith
I use the mantra “Breathe, Write, Pray, Play” to remind myself to calm the chaos. As I breathe, write, pray, and play, I mentally exhale. I get out of my head and into my body – where I can receive Divine insights.
HOW TO USE INTUITION
Intuition feels good, like a trusted friend giving you a warm hug – not a burglar popping out of a corner scaring the crap out of you. That’s fear. There’s a difference.
As I learned from Tony Robbins, there are four classes of experiences based on how something feels for you, does for you and others, and if it serves the greater good. I find intuition is either a class one or two experience. When it’s a class one experience – it feels good for you, does good for you and others, and serves the greater good. It’s a grand slam! When it’s a class two experience – it doesn’t feel good for you but does good for you and others, and it serves the greater good. This type of intuition can be a warning.
CAUTION: Intuition is a powerful force, and your intuitive insights will not always be approved by those you love. Hard. Yet, “Time discovers truth. Time heals what reason cannot.” – Seneca the Younger
Intuition is sensing. “We can sense a solution to a problem, or we can sense a decision that we should take. It’s a judgment – it’s almost like a hypothesis. We don’t know whether it’s right or wrong until we act on it.” – Eugene Sadler-Smith, Ph.D.
Unfortunately, our mind often gets in the way of us taking action on our intuitions. Taking action can feel uncomfortable and usually requires us to grow in some way. Yikes! Humans avoid pain. We don’t want to feel uncomfortable, so we stay the same. We say to ourselves, “It’s not that bad.” Or worse, as Mel Robbins says in her famous TEDx talk, we say the f-bomb “I’m fine.” Mel expounds, “Oh, really? Are you? Dragging around those extra forty pounds, you’re fine? Feeling like roommates with your spouse, and you’re fine? You haven’t had sex in four months, you’re fine? Really?! I don’t think so! But see, here’s the deal with saying that you’re fine: It’s actually genius. Because if you’re fine, you don’t have to do anything about it.”
That’s why with intuitive insights, you don’t want to think too hard. Just let the information flow and act upon it quickly. The 5-Second Rule is a tool that helps you take action when you don’t want to. It allows you to get out of your head (to stop thinking about doing it) and into your body (to just do it!) As Mel Robbins explains, “When you feel yourself hesitate before doing something that you know you should do, count 5-4-3-2-1-GO and move towards action.” Read Give Your Excuses a Funeral.
Nothing changes without new action. I learned from Tony Robbins, it’s in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped. When you decide, you act. And when you act, life reacts. That’s why taking action on your intuition is so important!
“Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs
Said another way, intuition is your superpower and “inspiration plus action makes you a damn superhero!” – Robin Arzón
I’m excited for you to breathe, write, pray, and play – to tap into your heart smarts and relax into healing. As your mind quiets, may you sense your soul speaking. May you surrender your current perception of reality and, in the process, experience a miracle – a shift in perspective. Your death grip wants certainty, but faith (absolute certainty) happens in the surrender. Of course, you’re not in complete control (what your intellect craves.) But with intuition, you’re harnessing your true power. So LISTEN and with courage (all your heart), use intuition to make better decisions in life – for you, for others, and for the greater good.
#WeAreInThisTogether for #HealthyChange
Feel Better, Be Better!
P.S. Download my Vibrant Health Guide to discover ways to quiet your mind. And check out my favorite Stress Relief Medicine to reach your health goals (from releasing sticky pounds to sleeping through the night again!)
P.P.S. As Lissa Rankin, MD, says, “Most of us are capable of being highly intuitive, but we may dismiss things we know without knowing how we know, especially if we’ve grown up highly rational or been influenced by scientific education or fundamentalist religions. As a physician with a physician father and three Methodist ministers in the family, I was one of those stealth intuitives.” You might be too. Click here for 10 Signs You’re An Intuitive & Don’t Know It
About the Author: Dr. Sue
Sue McCreadie, MD (aka Dr. Sue), is a Pediatric Physician and Breakthrough Coach for Midlife Mamas. For over two decades, she’s helped thousands achieve vibrant health as a wellness expert. Bringing three daughters into this world, she lost four along the way, and crossed the pregnancy finish line a digestive–hormonal–emotional mess. But, over the following decade, she found a deeper meaning for miscarriages, reclaimed vibrant health, and grew emotional resiliency. Dr. Sue is obsessed with living her soulFULL purpose and helping other growth-minded Mamas do the same. She believes we are in this together to rise up, realize our dreams, and feel fulfilled in every facet of our lives.