I believe intuitive people are drawn to lifestyles where their intuition thrives. I believe frequently they don't even know it. Finally, I believe modern nomads, in particular, are often intuitive but don't always realize how and when they use their intuition.
A comment on a post in a modern nomad forum brought my thinking back to intuition and how large a role it played in my year as a digital nomad and, conversely, how much a role that year played in my intuition.
I'd like to nail down what I mean by intuition, and maybe address the 800 lb gorilla in the room, does intuition even really exist?
Intuition, as I'm using it, is the ability to access information or conclusions without the direct aid of a chain of reasoning. You may be able to provide a chain of reasoning after the fact, but you did not clearly go through one to get there. It can also seem like you know something that you have no earthly ability to know, but there it is. Empaths, in particular, can experience this with regards to other people, when they instinctively know someone is hiding something, or motivations, or even facts they haven't been told.
Have you ever made a decision, say about visiting Brazil in December, and everything about making plans for this trip was difficult? You couldn't find a good flight. Deciding where to stay was a struggle. Every time you did research on your destination, you'd find yourself watching videos about baby musk oxen instead. Then something came up, and as you let go of your plans it felt as though a weight had lifted from your shoulders.
Conversely, the time you decided to go to Plitvice, Croatia, everything was super easy. Nothing ever distracted you. Arrangements fell into place like toppling dominoes. You lucked into the perfect cabin just outside the park, and the hosts can't wait to meet you and might even want to hire you for some work.
These may be intuition at work. I believe intuition is a kind of mental muscle. Just as reasoning can be exercised and strengthened, so can intuition.
Intuition is made up of several parts. First, you must be able to recognize your intuition over wild guesses or wishful thinking. This is primarily a skill of inner quiet, and calm, judgment-free, reflective listening. You listen for the same voice as that of the Tao in Taoism. You listen for the voice that is there when you have silenced the cacophony of intentional voices.
I have an exercise that I like to practice to keep me listening on this level. The next time you are in a restaurant with a menu, narrow down your choices to a few (or everything if you are adventurous), and use the flip of the coin to decide what to have. The catch is that as you flip the coin narrowing down your choices (odd pages vs. even, first half vs. second, etc) listen for that momentary voice of disappointment when you get a particular outcome. The goal is not to ruthlessly follow the advice of the coin, but to recognize that fleeting moment when you have a preference you haven't expressed, even to yourself. Your intuition speaks at just this same volume. The better you become at hearing your internal voices which speak this quietly, the easier it will become to hear and recognize your intuition in the otherwise tumultuous din. And if that moment never comes, you've made an effort-free choice and perhaps had just a little fun.
Another exercise that will make hearing your intuition easier is the meditative practice silencing your inner monologue, recognizing that you are not the voice speaking in your head but the listener hearing the voice in your head, then deciding to stop listening to this voice that is not you. Eckert Tolle (The New Earth, The Power of Now) and Michael A. Singer (The Untethered Soul, The Journey beyond Yourself) have written powerfully about this. I have found it to be an intensely rewarding practice even beyond making recognizing intuition easier.
The second necessary skill in using your intuition is what I call the care and feeding of your intuition. I do not believe intuition is some kind of tap directly into the a priori knowledge of everything. I believe it is an alternative interface for accessing our human, and individual knowledge literally embodied inside ourselves, sense memory, biological inheritance, and all of our unconscious recall. A rich and responsive intuition needs open access to all kinds of information. Listen to conversations on every subject, even those you have no direct interest in. Stay open to ideas on every side of every argument. Embrace your catlike curiosity. Read, listen, watch, and play broadly. Embrace new cultures and languages. And when you are looking for deeper answers, dive deep into a subject. A well-informed intuition is an effective intuition.
When our reason breaks down, we look for new directions to try, new conclusions we can draw, fallacies in our reasoning or assumptions. When our intuition breaks down, look for more information, less direct information, related information, and above all, learn to give yourself a break. Tell your intuition you are looking for an answer about something, then go do something else entirely for 12 hours, and see if an answer isn't just on the tip of your tongue all of a sudden.
The final, and to me by far the most critical, skill to effective use of intuition is believing in it. Once you've gone to all the effort to be able to hear and recognize your intuition in your life, if you don't trust it or believe it is a valuable source of insight, you are likely to discount information just when you need it.
In order to build your trust in your intuition, I recommend tracking it in some way. Jot down a note about the situation, what your intuition told you, and how it turned out. Over time, this could lead you to trust it more or could help you realize you aren't as intuitive as you think.
On my journey, having a stronger intuition helps me in several places. It helps me select destinations. It helps me choose just the right listing out of dozens of choices on AirBnB or Kayak or etc. It helps me test the value of an option or choice in front of me. Once I trusted my intuition was real, and that I could rely on it, I would put all decisions past it, just as I check my answers on tests with reason. Following my intuition intentionally, reliably, and lovingly has led me easily through the best parts of my life.
What are some ways your intuition has helped you? Do you use your intuition intentionally? How have you strengthened it?
