Gut feelings are a simple pathway of Intuition that offer vital, protective information to keep you safe or make your life easier. Perceiving those gut feelings is dependent on the connection between your emotions and thoughts. It is vital that you are able to self-monitor your feelings and thoughts, even if it doesn’t make sense according to your physical perception.
Consider the difference between the feeling you get when you look at a newly blooming rose, as opposed to a withering rose with faded petals. Find some flowers while on a walk or waiting at the bus stop and spend a few moments observing them. Growing feels expansive, whereas dying feels like contraction, pulling in. Be mindful as you go through your day, and notice how opposites of every kind “feel” to you. Think about some other opposites and how they might affect you. The exercise will help you link your thoughts with your feelings in a sort of intuitive shorthand.
Sunrise/Sunset Summer/Winter Hot/Cold Dark/Light Growing/Dying Yes/No Blooming/Withering Tightening/Loosening Happy/Sad Enter/Exit Right/Left Up/Down Stay/Leave Forward/Backward
True story. A man was hired as a new employee at a place I had worked for a couple years. He was a relative of my boss. At first he seemed very normal. In fact, thinking back, he seemed almost especially thoughtful, insightful and socially appropriate. Our jobs didn’t intersect very often, but when they did, he was polite and mannerly. After he had worked there about 3 months, he asked me if I would give him a ride somewhere nearby, in connection with our work. I was about to say yes, when my antennae started waving wildly, accompanied by a strong but quiet gut response of “No!” I couldn’t make any sense out of that.
As he stood there, waiting for my response, I quickly analyzed my feelings and thoughts, as well as my perceived reality. It made no sense! His request was polite, his reason was, well, reasonable, and I felt really dumb refusing him. But I know my intuition and gut feelings are usually on the mark. In my gut, I felt a quiet, insistent feeling of fear. I knew something bad would happen if I was alone in a car with him. So, smiling apologetically, I made up an excuse. I told him there was a report I was working on that simply had to be finished right away. I suggested he ask the secretary to give him a ride. The fear response disappeared and the rest of the day was the same as any other.
A few days later he asked me if I would ride with him to transfer a vehicle somewhere. Again, I came up with an excuse. That scenario happened two times more before I had confirmation that he was not a nice fellow, and in fact, was probably dangerous. One afternoon I was working on the computer at my desk, when he approached me. He failed to observe the usual social boundaries. He thrust his face right into my hair, pressing his nose against my head while whispering that I had a nice ass. I was so shocked that I jerked away, stood up, and walked out of my office. The next time I saw him he was business-casual friendly, with an innocent expression on his face.
A few weeks later he again asked me to give him a ride! That time, I raised my voice and was openly hostile, “No! I am never going to be your Chauffeur!” He finally got it, and left me the hell alone. I later learned he had harassed two other females at work before he was finally fired.
Gut feelings are usually fairly succinct and accompanied by specific, quiet, imperative thought; “Don’t get in a car alone with him.” “Drive a different route to work today.” “Call your brother.” The feeling/thought will pretty much stand alone, without anxiety or panic. Some people, myself included, get a kind of tightening of the stomach and a pseudo fear response, much like a shrinking feeling in the gut.
The first few incidents, you may be inclined to dismiss the feeling or thought as nonsense, because the environment or situation does not appear to back up the message from your gut. You may feel silly, or be worried about hurting someone’s feelings. Remember, you do not need to explain yourself, or your decisions, to anyone! Make excuses or tell white lies about it if you must, but definitely trust and follow your gut.
For in-depth information on this topic, I highly recommend this book!
The Gift Of Fear, by Gavin De Becker
Pingback: Quiet Your Mind and Trust Your Gut « The Sensory Spectrum