So You’re Intuitive, But Do You Really Trust Your Intuition?
Everyone and their Instagram lifestyle coach will tell you to "trust your intuition," like it's as simple as downloading a next gen GPS app.
But nowhere in these perfectly coiffed Instagram posts is there any instruction about how to trust you’re intuitive, trust the information you get from your intuition, or trust yourself to navigate through the uncertainty knowing it’s all going to be alright.
Ashley a la 2018 was deep in this very spiritual conundrum. She knew she was intuitive, but she didn’t know she should trust herself or the information.
I keep wondering what it is I want to do. What it is I’m feeling, but when I sit down to journal and try and figure it out, I get no reply. There’s literally just white noise. I am guessing. GUESSING! I don’t like guessing.
I’m guessing at answers that should be easy to make and yet here I am, without any idea why it all just feels like a dial tone. Nope. No one’s home.
How do I feel? What am I passionate about? Ha! I don’t know?!
Is it a weakness to ask for help to make my life easier? Am I weak or strong? Is it possible to be both?
To trust or not to trust. THAT is the question.
What these self-proclaimed self-help gurus don't tell you is that intuition isn't a one-size-fits-all cosmic hotline. And just because you’re picking up the call with your perfect 5G spiritual reception, doesn’t mean you’re not going to pass the cosmic download off as spam.
Is it your anxiety playing 5D chess?
It is it a high-level psychic equivalent of an MLM?
You don’t want to drink the kool-aid you just want to enjoy living.
If only there was a detailed guide to the different stages of trusting your intuition and how to trust it more. Oh wait…
While some people get constant four bar spiritual connection, many people are stuck with the metaphysical equivalent of T-Mobile in 2007—aka that trust meter drops it signals every 30 feet.
…like past me. 2018 Ashley trusted she was intuitive and spiritual and divinely connected. …like past me. 2018 Ashley trusted she was intuitive and spiritual and divinely connected. But when attempting to decipher her intuition’s poignant guidance for very real, hot and heavy decisions, the spiritual hotline just dropped.
For pages on pages, she shoulded and woulded and coulded herself into a level 10 Kim K lost diamond earring crisis.
Even though she just knew what felt right, she had no idea how to apply her intuition’s guidance to her life. She also couldn’t explain why it felt right.
(Gentle reader: She was in the dreaded cosmic dead zone. 2018 Ashley knew she was supposed to trust herself but she had no idea how.)
Here's what nobody tells you about intuition:
it's not about becoming some ethereal being who only eats air and automatically knows their life purpose. It's about figuring out how YOUR inner wisdom talks to YOU, even if that conversation happens while you're watching Real Housewives reruns in your pajamas.
[Quick pause for a possibly life-changing revelation: There are actually different intuitive archetypes, and knowing yours is like finally getting the cheat code to deciphering your own internal wifi. Take this 30-second quiz to find out if you're more "dramatic prophetic vision in the middle of Whole Foods" or "subtle knowing that hits you in the shower three days later."]
Trust me — I've spent years mapping this vast expanse of this internal territory (and keeping very extensive and cringe-worthy journals as proof).
And in hopes of sharing all the inside scoop and secret passage ways so you can figure out what it’s taken me 7+ years, let’s decode your personal intuitive style before Mercury goes retrograde again and we all lose what’s left of our sanity.
Stage One—The Beginner: You’ve fallen into a toxic vat of waste and You’re discovering your intuition is your super power.
At this first stage, as you’ve just been bopping along in your life lately, something hasn’t quite felt right. You’re starting to wonder as the rules laid out to you at the cherry wood dinner table at 5 weren’t actually quite right.
You’ve seen an episode or two of the Twilight Zone and your ex showed you the Matrix. Your life, your decisions, and your relationship to yourself are just starting to feel not quite right.
At a Beginner, you’re just starting to realize this quite voice within you that feels right but it tends to disagree with everything you’re supposed to do. And now everything’s starting to feel a little bit distorted.
Show Up. Carve Out Time and Space to Connect with You.
Your inner world is a vast and untapped landscape. It’s where you’ll find all the treasure you’re searching for—security, joy, success, and safety. Truly endless possibility.
There’s incredible news!!
The growth is to be deeply present with everything around you. The moments of goodness, the moments of frustration, and really acknowledge them.
Ponder Your Dreams.
There is a seed of pure potential, goodness and abundance that lives within you. Your dreams are going to be your reality. Facts. It’s true. Everything you secretly desire is a very real possibility.
Notice what you love about your life and being you.
Put down your phone, turn down the external stimulation. Notice what it is that you observe, feel, sense, and experience from the world within you.
Maybe it’s in the car after work before you go inside, an early morning a walk or jog, or 5-10 minutes of journaling and quiet presence before you turn out your light.
It's how you grow.
Do an Psyche Audit.
As you talk to other intuitive beginners and explore what trusting your intuition even looks like, it’s going to become more and more apparent to you that you’re holding onto A LOT. A lot of emotions, a lot of beliefs, and a lot of paths that aren’t yours and most certainly aren’t for you.
It's time to release the pain from past ****and in your present isn’t yours to hold—it’s holding you back from what is.
The grudges and the frustrations are pressing the mute on your soul.
The more you realize what’s yours and what’s not, the faster you start walking towards a life that’s new and more you.
Stage Two—The Skeptic: Trusting your intuition means rocking the boat (and that’s illogical).
You arrive at this stage when you realize there might be a glitch in your GPS even though it feels implausible. It’s preposterous to think that this knowing feeling within you might be more trustworthy than anything you’ve ever learned.
It doesn’t make sense and yet your intuition seems to be questioning and attempting to overide logic. Why would you trust a knowing? A feeling? You’ve got no proof you should. As the saying goes, better with the devil you know.
As a Skeptic, every time you hear your intuition whisper, there’s a part of you that automatically discredits it with logic saying, “Nope! Not helpful. Not possible. No, thanks.”
There are occasional moments when you notice that deep and anchored feeling inside you that feels kind of solid, right, and true.
However—overwhelmed by previous experiences—you've learned it’s safest to shut that feeling, your intuition, down and ignore it.
And yet, you feel dissatisfied and confused at the turn of events in your life. Stuck and unsure of how exactly to move forward.
You want to hit the fast-forward button and skip to the good part. You’re just not sure how to get there…
… here’s how you do it.
Search for the Answers Within Yourself.
Just entertain this possibility. You're scared of trusting it. Rightfully so.
With memories of the past scrambling your cosmic truth signal, doing anything irrational is truthfully horror film making. A part of you is curious about the whaling sound coming from the attic in your 276 year old house but maybe you’re just having an elaborate hallucination.
Ghosts aren’t real… right? There’s not data to support it.
And yet, all of the over-analysis you’ve been conducting and just pushing through to your next vacation isn’t actually working. You still hear the existential whaling of a young child at 2:37am.
The only way to know what to do, in fact, is to look within you.
That’s it. Just look and observe.
Take a Ride to the Experimentation Station.
Take risks because they light up your soul and just see what happens. Because the more you resist stepping into this unknown, the itchier this moment will get.
Do anything and everything that brings you joy.
Give yourself permission to journal and share with those who uplift you a couple of things you absolutely love about you.
Even if it feels short or silly in this moment, still do it.
Try.
Try one new thing every day for a week.
I’m talking about potentially (!!!) exploring a restaurant, making a playlist with music you don't typically listen to, or maybe ordering a caramel macchiato because it’s your favorite and makes you happy.
Notice Synchronicity
The prosperity, love, and success you seek is coming. So have empowering conversations with anyone and everyone here. Because while you might not see it, this hope and inspiration to believe in yourself is already here.
You must walk away from the old and familiar. What shall appear in its stead is lightness and reprieve.
Stage Three—The Protector: Your intuition works hard but your anxiety works harder.
At this stage, through low stakes experimentation, you’ve realize that your intuition is right and it also feels right to trust it. You’re also soaked in anxiety because now you need to trust it more.
As a Protector, you’ve hit the age old problem. Is it intuition or is it anxiety?
What could go wrong if you listen to your intuition is a lot louder than what could go right.
You’ve got a bucket of past negative experiences, a gallon of present overwhelm, and a ton of future fears. As a result, your anxiety is working harder than Kris Jenner to keep you safe.
Hence, the indecision. You trust your intuition enough to listen when cosmic downloads arrive whether your ancestors actually have a message for you or if it’s just some sleezy a cult leader from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
So, you send a survey to everyone you know and their mother to see what they think when your intuitive hits arrive. You know, just to make sure they also agree that your intuition is right.
You could experiment with doing this instead:
Slow Down and Take a Moment and Breathe.
To intentionally create a moment of peace and goodness within you.
You’re not failing. You’re actually just being human. You’re still learning, and your trust in your intuition is still growing.
As it happens, the more you breathe and find connect to your present, the more aware of you are that your self-protection system is currently glitching.
It's the only way to realize that what your body is experiencing and your mind is frantically screaming right now is just echoes from your past. In order for your body to feel it and to let your mind start to believe it, you need pause long enough to remind yourself that everything is going to be okay. Because you say so.
It’s how your intuition will grow louder. You just have to slow down to do so.
Carve Solo Time, Just for You.
It’s time to regulate your nervous system. Carve out intentional spaces of safety, rest, and presence.
To quiet the anxiety, time alone is necessary.
You have to stop running even though it’s also the last thing you want to do.
And yet it is the only path forward.
Rest for a while. Make it your #1 priority to take care of you and give yourself as much space as you possibly can. You need this. A nap. A journaling session. A guided meditation. A run or a hike. A home cooked meal. Anything to get you out of the what if and into the present. Take out from your favorite restaurant. Intentional breathing practice. Dance slowly, swaying your arms side to side. Yoga. Weight lifting. Commit to consistently showing up for you in the smallest way that feels achievable.
Decide You are Worthy. Full stop. Period.
And the true capacity for prosperity in your life? It goes beyond what you can even imagine at this moment. Is this… #luckygirlsyndrome?
The pure euphoria you’re experiencing right now is rivaling the ice bath bros on Instagram.
And the more you practice, the more you realize you’re the one who decides you are worthy.
You get to have spacious mornings for luxuriating with your lemon water, underlining every word as you read The Alchemist.
Your closest friends get to be people who match your freak. Ones that cheer you on as you shove crystals into every coat pocket and burn old journal entries under the full moon.
You are miracle grow, and your life is fertile ground.
So, let the ending be the ending and the beginning. Walk away from what feels wrong knowing you’re walking towards what feels right.
You get to have nice things and enjoy your life.
You deserve better, you know it (and so you’ll have it).
Maybe… everything really is working out for you.
And so now you’re here—at stage three out of six. You’ve made it over the first hurdle and started the rigorous lifetime work of distinguishing your intuition from your anxiety.
Now, you know enough to trust your intuition and its messages. More trust needs to be built before you come blaring out of the spiritual closet and declare to you’re conservative parents that you’re quitting your stable job and moving to Germany because a Blue Jay yodeled to you in a dream.
And yet, walking away from the career that stifling every single part of you feels right and so do the Marry Poppins bag worth of other dreams that are waiting in the wings.
Low-key, you’re starting to become an intuitive baddie. You’ve build this trust brick-by-brick and it’s time for you to own it.
But you’re only halfway there and you’re most definitely living on a prayer.
A prayer that you can feel whole and so deeply in love with yourself that every single one of your pipe dreams are starting to look like very possible future realities.
That is, until your anxiety gives way to the people-pleasing perfectionist within you and the root of why you don’t trust yourself and this spiritual calling enters the chat.
And that’s when it all starts to get really interesting.
