The Genius Whisperer

In my last post I felt ashamed that I had so much to say, but never actually sat down and wrote an entry, that I decided to think about The Woodshed as a regular publication rather than an open diary. So here I sit on a Monday evening after a jam-packed day with a Scotch thinking I should honour that contract.

Let's start with an interesting insight.

I often feel that intuition is like a muscle. The more you practice it, the stronger it becomes. Imagine signing up to your local Health Club and the only muscle you work out regularly is your intuition. Loyalty points are simply a windfall benefit. In a few weeks you would be following your gut and through some unexplainable miracle things would be working out for your greater good.

Let's take a closer look. Have you ever had to make a decision that when you rationally weigh up the options there can only be one solution? You then make that decision because, hey, you'd be a fool not to. But although it was an obvious choice, you feel terrible. Something about your decision does not sit well with you and you can feel it. Recently I had a bright, talented and gifted designer in my studio call me over and share this uneasy feeling she had with me. A few short weeks ago we had opened up an opportunity for her with a more senior position that entailed growth in other areas. She decided that the opportunity was not for her. It was, at the time, an obvious choice. And she had solid, honest reasons why. But things didn't sit well. She had restless nights. In fact, her decision felt so wrong, she probably thought she was going a little crazy.

This experience is incredibly common. It happens because our brains are trying to tell us something but are unable to in our everyday 'rational' language. Our subconscious is speaking to us through our intuitive feeling, which often has a much better grasp on the information our brains gather and what to do with that information to our best advantage.

How do you learn to listen? Quite easy. You go back to school. You are, very simply, the student as well as the teacher. Set yourself tasks ... and complete them. Then check yourself. Repeat. Once you feel you have become Aware (with a capital A) you have already set the curriculum in motion. The next time 2 friends who don't know each other call you asking for the same advice you're not going to ignore the content. You've listened to your intuition. And although there is no solid, factual, sane reason to do what you feel is right, you go ahead regardless.

You've listened to the genius that whispers.