The Ego/Mind is designed to keep you out of trouble. Intuition is designed to lead you to happiness.
My whole schtick here is to help people tap into their intuition to reignite their divine spark which serves as a
compass leading us all to alignment. According this this article, "alignment is about clarifying who you are—your values and priorities—and removing the noise and distraction of other’s expectations, rather than trying to achieve some unattainable 'balance' based on society’s norms and values. It’s finding the flow and letting the things that cause friction go. It’s seeking an order to life rather than trying to be everywhere, doing everything for everyone." I couldn't have said it better myself, which is why I didn't try. By living an intuitively-led life you can begin to shed the scripts you were taught to follow in favour of creating your own path forward. Below I lay out some good steps for starting to bring your life into greater alignment.
The first step to discovering your intuition is mindfulness; check in with yourself regularly. This means when you are faced with a decision (start with small ones, like what's for dinner) narrow down your options and then sit and think on one option at a time. Notice how your body reacts to each, and pay attention to the differences. When you hear your ego say "you might get heartburn" or "maybe leftovers is a smarter choice" acknowledge the thought and let it go, digging deeper into your sensations. With food sometimes our intuition will show up as a craving, and that can be trusted. In a lot of cases if we are having cravings it's because we need something that food has to offer whether that's physical or emotional. Ask yourself why you might be having a craving. Exploring this intuition may give you greater insight into your needs and desires —and that's ultimately the outcome for anything you do. Tap into your feelings and sensations and identify where in your body are you feeling, what it feels like, and asking questions to determine if it's intuition or ego.
Another exercise I like to propose is setting out for an intuitive outing. You can go for a walk and let your intuition guide you (make it a colour-walk, and follow a colour of your choosing as you go), or hop in the car and let your intuition guide you to a destination (enjoy the journey while you're at it), or do intuitive shopping —it's a lot of fun! Pick something like buying a book, and don't limit yourself with ideas of what you're looking for. Let yourself be open to whatever might happen. When you enter the shop, just listen to your body to navigate until you find yourself in front of "the right" shelf. Then you can reach your hand out and intuit which book is the one. There's no obligation to buy, but maybe flip the book open and set your eyes on the page and see if there's a message in there for you. Or perhaps you do buy the book and let it take you on a journey.
Using tools like Tarot or Oracle cards can be great too, especially if you're not familiar with the deck yet. Pull a card and just sit with the image and see what ideas or thoughts pop into your head. Remember if the messages seem to be supporting your happiness, then it's likely your intuition. If you're hearing questions or find yourself listing possible threats, it's likely your ego speaking. Both ego and intuition can be helpful in reading cards, working together to carve a confident path forward.
Starting out with intuition needn't feel too heavy or purposeful. In my experience keeping it light is best. Start with easy activities or decisions that don't actually need to be made now so that you have room to explore your feelings. And over time, as you improve, you'll start to get a much clearer sense of what you want and how you want it. There's always going to be a particular vibe or something that accompanies intuition that will help you know the difference between ego/mind and the more you pay attention the more familiar you'll become with your particular intuitive signature. In the meantime, remember that the mind's job is to keep you out of trouble, but your intuition is designed to bring you happiness. With practice, you'll eventually start to witness the ways you've been dishonouring your alignment; this will offer you new opportunities for learning and leaning into your intuition.
Do you have any questions about intuition in general, or perhaps you'd like some help identifying your particular intuitive signature? Sign up for an Insight Session and we can get you started on the right foot with Soul Coaching!