Intuition is the knowing of what is right and true. It doesn’t come from outside of us, and it can’t be created. The knowledge we seek is always present. An intuitive person simply knows how to perceive what is already there.
Paramhansa Yogananda taught that calmness and reason are required to develop intuition:
“Pure reason and calm feeling lead to intuition. Therefore, the first requisite in developing it is to calmly reason and calmly feel everything.”
It is impossible to be intuitively guided or even mentally clear if we are not calm. Removing from ones consciousness the disturbances that steal our calmness is needed to be able to make sense of the thoughts and feelings we experience.
What are the things that disturb our calmness?
- Preferences
- Desires
- Attachment
- Lack of acceptance
These things I have listed are the source of most, if not all anxiety and stress. People say, “so it’s wrong to desire anything?!” No, it is not wrong; it is just a choice we make. Desire and attachment are in direct opposition to our quest for inner peace and intuitive guidance.
Our ability to hear inner guidance, or to find it amongst all the potential debris in our minds is proportional to our ability to concentrate, to be calm, and to be at peace with our selves and world.
I don’t know of anything as effective as meditation for developing concentration, calmness, and acceptance. Different people have different ways of achieving a meditative state, so do what works for you. Yogananda said that intuition is developed by continued meditation in the silence after ones techniques are completed.
Be reasonable and start small with your intuitive exploits!
Choose by what feels right in your own heart. It’s sweet, even blissful when you know. Don’t think of what you want (see above list), but instead feel calmly for an answer that is best for all concerned. You must remove your own desire from the process. Do your best to give the situation to God and ask to be guided. Then learn to trust what you feel.
Be careful, but do not be afraid of making mistakes. Life is a school. We are here to learn, not to pretend that we know it all.
The more we let go of trying to control things, the more fun it is to be alive and the more life will actually make sense. Worry, tension, and fear are unnecessary blocks to your awareness, understanding, physical well-being, and joy.
I would love to hear your thoughts.