Intuition is the ability to know or feel automatically or instinctually what is going to happen or what may be necessary or appropriate or the right solution in a given situation. It is a kind of premonition, a gut feeling or a hunch, which lets you know exactly how things are shaping out or in what direction you are progressing. In intuition you do not deliberately use reason and analysis. They probably happen in the background without your active involvement. What you get from your intuition is usually the end result or the final conclusion. But how do you know that your intuition is going to work and that it is not a mere guesswork? There is no real answer to this. Only time will tell whether your intuition was right or wrong. One fundamental truth about intuition is that you cannot force it to happen. It happens most of the time on its own, without any expectation. If you have a strong ego, very likely you may not be able to think intuitively. You may force yourself to think intelligently through hard work and discipline. But you cannot do the same in case of intuition. You can however let intuition arise on its own in your heart and mind. You can to do it by cultivating a passive, mindful, nonjudgmental and detached awareness and by not interfering with your thoughts with a rigid mindset. You should allow your intuitive mind to express itself by developing sensitivity and inner tranquility. The following factors improve or enhance your intuition and help you experience intuitive feelings and thoughts more frequently.
1. You must be sensitive to your thoughts and feelings.
2. You must be mindful of what is happening in your mind and body because intuition may arise in you as a bodily sensation, gut feeling or vague thought.
3. You must be calm and composed. If your mind is disturbed and agitated, you may not be able to notice the intuitive thoughts arising in your consciousness.
4. You must remain in the present and observe people and situations keenly. A keen sense of observation is very essential for intuitive thought to arise.
5. You must listen attentively. When you listen to people actively, you will allow your mind to draw its own conclusions about the verbal and nonverbal clues coming from people and think intuitively.
6. Cultivate empathy and compassion. They will make you more sensitive.
7. Practice detachment. When you are detached you allow your mind to think more freely.
8. Empty yourself to the extent possible. When you empty your mind, you give room for other people's thoughts reach you.
9. Cultivate purity. Try to be a good person to the extent possible. Intuition is a higher faculty and it develops to the extent you allow your higher mind to function.
10. Consider yourself to be an essential and integral part of the Universal Self. Know that your body is a part of God's body and your soul a part of His effulgent Self. You may think yourself a separate entity, but you are inside the universe and you are part of it both physically and spiritually. when you identify yourself with the universal self, you feel more connected with the rest of the universe and feel their thoughts, feelings and emotions.
11. Practice yoga and meditation. They purify your mind and body and allow you to experience greater calm and inner stability, which are very essential for intuitive thinking.
12. Suspend your judgment. It opens your mind to seen new possibilities and opportunities that you were not noticing before.
13. Minimize your expectations. Don't anticipate. Live in the present and flow with the flow of life.
14. Express gratitude for the intuitive thoughts arising in your mind and do not fee disturbed or unhappy if your gut feeling proved to be wrong. Accept the uncertainty of life as normal and essential aspect of life.
15. Overcome your urge to control things. Do what you can and leave the results to God. Live with the understanding that you have a right to do and you have not control over the outcome.
16. Control your fears. If you are afraid, nervous or depressed, your intuition will remain suppressed.
17. Slow down. In our fast paced lives, we miss to notice many things which are important and which have a value and relevance to our lives. Slow down, whenever possible, and take a deeper look at yourself and your surroundings.
18. Maintain a journal to record and analyze your intuitive experiences and know how you are making progress with your intuitive sensitivity.
