10 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Your Intuition

by Tanya Carroll Richardson

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

We all have some intuitive ability—whether or not we recognize it. And, tuning in to our intuition and our angel (and other) guides can have drastic, positive impacts on our life. Here are 10 things you probably don’t know about your intuitive abilities and how to tap into them.

1. Your sixth sense can improve over time. In Angel Intuition, one of the stories I share about my own life is how my intuition evolved over time. My first psychic experiences were as a pre-teen and included clairvoyance, or seeing guidance. Clairaudience, or hearing guidance, didn’t come online for me until my late 20s, and claircognizance, or knowing intuitive guidance, did not become a regular part of my life until I started offering professional psychic readings to clients. Just like learning to play the guitar or training as a carpenter, intuition improves with study and practice.
2. Your intuition is as unique as you are. You might receive intuitive information by sensing the emotions and energy of those around you, or you might hear a gentle voice in your mind, or see images appear like a photograph or mini movie in your head, or you might get large chunks of information suddenly planted in your brain like a download from heaven—or maybe you experience a few or even all four of these methods. Perhaps you have prophetic dreams or receive a ton of synchronicities. We all have a sixth sense, but beyond that the way we each experience and absorb information from our intuition can be very different.
3. Utilizing your intuition is a practical move that can improve every area of your life. Getting more in touch with your intuition might sound like a fun mystical or spiritual exercise, and it is. But it’s also a very pragmatic, earthy way to more powerfully co-create your life. From little things that improve the quality of your daily life (like following your intuition’s hunch about which dress to buy or when is the best time to ask your boss for a raise) to bigger things that can dramatically change the course of your life (like which career to pursue or what wounds or subconscious blocks are holding you back the most), learning how to consult and connect with your intuition is smart, savvy, and grounded.
4. Intuition exists on a spectrum. There are a ton of fun exercises and quizzes in Angel Intuition, including a quiz to find out where you currently land on the intuition spectrum. Some people might be wired to have a naturally stronger intuition (just like some people are naturally great athletes or mathematicians). But wherever you naturally fall now on the intuition spectrum, know that you can change your position dramatically over time simply with a greater awareness and curiosity about your intuition.
5. Sensitivity and intuition can be linked. Highly sensitive people are actually hyper-perceptive, meaning they pick up more easily on subtle stimuli. Thus, their nervous systems can become more easily overwhelmed, which is why HSPs like to spend alone time doing low-stimulation things like reading or walking in nature to recharge. If highly sensitive people are picking up on the subtle shifts in other people’s energy and emotions, they might also be better at picking up on subtle cues and guidance from their intuition—like the feeling that an off-hand remark from a friend was actually important divine guidance and Spirit speaking through that person.
6. Mindfully connecting with your intuition to help you problem solve or make decisions does not mean you stop using logic. The best decisions are made when you consult your head, your heart, and your intuition. Think of your sixth sense as one of your most trusted advisors, like a world leader has many different advisors from whom to seek opinions. Your head, your heart, and your intuition should all have a say about important matters in your life.
7. Intuitive information can appear in a flash, or take its time showing up. You might get intuitive information quickly out of the blue, like talking to a friend who tells you she is happy in her marriage while a thought pops into your mind or you get a feeling that the opposite is actually true—she is struggling in the relationship and feeling quite vulnerable. Other times you might write a journal entry to your angels or someone else on your spiritual guidance squad for advice and not receive any guidance until two weeks later when you experience a synchronicity—a stranger at a workshop you attend who knows nothing about your issues recommends a book on exactly the subject you are struggling with. You might wonder in your thoughts what your biggest subconscious block around money is, and not get much immediate guidance from your intuition. Then a few days later, when you are cleaning the kitchen and your mind is calm, you hear, “You’re afraid to make more money than your mother.”
8. Intuitive guidance could be coming from many different places. Your angels, your higher self, loved ones who have passed on, ascended masters, or anyone else on your spiritual guidance squad could be sending you intuitive information. In time, you can begin to discern who is sending the information. Usually, however, the source of the guidance does not matter as much as the guidance itself.
9. Guidance from your intuition can come as a shock. Often the best intuitive guidance is out-of-the-box, or ideas you never would have arrived at using just your logical mind. If your intuition gives you advice that comes as a surprise, resist the urge by your logical mind to immediately discount the guidance. Instead pay close attention. These out-of-the-box epiphanies could be some of the most powerful, transformative, and authentic guidance you receive from your sixth sense.
10. Honing your intuition will help you recognize and receive more guidance from Spirit, your guides, and your higher self. One of the reasons people don’t trust their intuition is because they are afraid that they’re inventing this guidance. The angels and guides I work with in readings with clients have told me that the average human misses about 80 percent of the guidance they send. It is often your intuition that picks up on or recognizes this guidance, so working to understand and improve your intuition will bring you closer to Spirit. When your guides and higher self see you improving your intuition they will send more signs, knowing you can now pick up on and interpret them.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018. All rights reserved.