Determining if it’s our intuition can be a tricky thing. Sometimes there is such a fine line between the answer that solves all our problems and complete paranoia. Then there are times our intuition throws us a curve and surprises us.
 

Here Are Ways to Tell if Our Intuition or Inner Voice Is Speaking to us …

Our intuition…

• Comes in a whisper or a glimpse. To me it’s a calm statement or a quick peek, a matter-of-fact.

• Keeps gently reminding us. The message will not change and it will keep repeating over and over -- sometimes for years.

When people hear what my specialty is, they proudly comment, “I’m good at using my intuition.”  Then as the conversation progresses they start telling me about how difficult some of their relationships are, how they don’t have enough money, how they are unhappy in their job, and how they are coping with their illnesses.
 
I really don’t think most people realize that if we really listened to our intuition and followed it all our problems would completely disappear.
 
Here is a test to see How Often you Listen to Your Intuition or Gut Instincts?
 

After one of my workshops, a woman approached me. I asked her if she liked the workshop. She replied: “Not really, I don’t believe in intuition because I’m a Christian.” Her answer caught me by surprise. What does being a Christian have to do with intuition? It didn’t make sense to me until I remembered what one of my bosses told me years ago, “The key to understanding anyone’s view or anything new is to first be open to learning the terms for it, then connecting the dots is easy.”
 

Here are 22 Ways to Describe Intuition….

          1  A knowing.

Here’s what Vickie Champion talks about in this video…
 

INTRODUCTION

 
Hi! I’m Vickie Champion. I am a business and life coach who helps people listen to their “intuition” or “gut feelings.”
 
This is one of the videos in a series called “Is this your Intuition?” One of my assistants will describe a common scenario and then ask you if the person used their intuition or not? Then I’ll tell you my answer and explain “why” I came to that conclusion.

Share this:

Here’s what is talked about in this video…
 

INTRODUCTION

My name is Vickie Champion and I am a business and life coach who helps people get out of the fear and use to their intuition or gut instincts.
 
I thought it would be fun to let you hear from one of my coaching clients who had a decision to make and used his intuition, Jeff Taylor.  He is blogging about his experiences and can be found at http://www.MyInnerJourneyToHappiness.com/. Here’s Jeff’s story.
 

Here’s what is talked about in this video…
 

INTRODUCTION

My name is Vickie Champion and I am a business and life coach who helps people get out of the fear and use to their intuition or gut instincts.
 
I thought it would be fun to let you hear from one of my coaching clients who had a very interesting example about using our intuition. Here is Diane Bolden who is also a leadership coach and the author of “The Pinocchio Principle” with her story.
 

Here’s what Vickie Champion talks about in this video…

INTRODUCTION
Hi! I’m Vickie Champion. I am a business and life coach who helps people listen to their “intuition.”

This is one of the videos in a series called “Is this your Intuition?” One of my assistants will describe a common scenario and then ask you if the person used their intuition or not? Then I’ll tell you my answer and explain “why” I came to that conclusion.
 

A COMMON SCENARIO- CHOOSING A HOTEL

Here’s what Vickie Champion talks about in this video…

INTRODUCTION
Hi! I’m Vickie Champion. I am a business and life coach who helps people listen to their “intuition.”

This is one of the videos in a series called “Is this your Intuition?” One of my assistants will describe a common scenario and then ask you if the person used their intuition or not? Then I’ll tell you my answer and explain “why” I came to that conclusion.
 

A COMMON SCENARIO- ACCEPTING A JOB

Here’s what Vickie Champion talks about in this video…

INTRODUCTION

Hi! I’m Vickie Champion. I am a business and life coach who helps people listen to their “intuition.”

This is one of the videos in a series called “Is this your Intuition?” One of my assistants will describe a common scenario and then ask you if the person used their intuition or not? Then I’ll tell you my answer and explain “why” I came to that conclusion.
 

A COMMON SCENARIO- MAKING A CONNECTION AT A NETWORKING EVENT

Here’s what Vickie Champion talks about in this video…

INTRODUCTION
Hi! I’m Vickie Champion. I am a business and life coach who helps people listen to their “intuition.”

This is one of the videos in a series called “Is this your Intuition?” One of my assistants will describe a common scenario and then ask you if the person used their intuition or not? Then I’ll tell you my answer and explain “why” I came to that conclusion.

Most of us forget to trust our “intuition” or “gut instincts” with simple things like finding a boy/girl friend. It usually means the difference between having a difficult relationship that is more stressful than it’s worth or finding a relationship that is pleasant, low-maintenance and amazing.

Whether you’re on your first date or have been dating for some time, one of the easiest ways to detect a great relationship is to pay attention to the flow. Below are some simple ways to know if you’re heading for a difficult, ho-hum or disastrous relationship.

12 Signs Your Date is NOT Perfect for You:

When you…

Are you one of those who want to be right at all costs? Maybe you get your thrills from always having problems to deal with. Or perhaps you think all this woo-woo is nonsense? Then I don't need to tell you the benefits of ignoring your intuition or gut instincts. You probably think this list is NORMAL and the way LIFE IS. I know -- I use to be you.

This blog is for those of you exploring other ways to live, like I did several years ago.

Here Are Some Benefits of Ignoring Your Intuition:

You...

Do you wake up in the morning feeling secure, confident and excited about all the good experiences the day will bring? Are you watching yourself become a better person every day? If so, you must be using your intuition.

Intuition is described as a knowing, a feeling, an inner voice, an awareness, a hunch, a gut instinct or a sense.

Here are Some of the Benefits of Using Your Intuition:

When we use our intuition...

• We don't need to make sacrifices to solve a problem.
• Stress, anger, and resentment disappear.
• Obstacles fade away and we get in the zone.

It seems like the world is getting a little crazier. There are natural disasters from earthquakes to volcano eruptions, angry political rallying and celebrity affairs that get weirder with every news report.

Trust your Intuition
One of the ways to start feeling safer is to stop putting all our faith in the experts, government, laws, and anyone or anything out there that is promising us security. Instead, let's start trusting our gut instincts. You know, that silent voice or knowing inside that can quell our fears, pull us out of any jam in an instant, and solve any situation without hurting any one. I call it my intuition.

I had a discussion last week with my editor, Sonja Haller, and we got onto the subject that was interesting to me since most of my business and life coaching clients are women. We came to the conclusion that women often give up on meditating before they begin. Sonja just wrote a blog on "Why Women Can't Meditate" and I want to share a couple of her thoughts.

Women feel...

• Guilty when they take time to do nothing. And meditation -- at least at first -- feels like doing nothing.

Take notice of when happenings go along smoothly with no struggle at all and very little, if any, effort. When we listen to our intuition the path is easy with no obstacles. We might say we’re “in the flow” or in a state of “natural synchronicity.”

An example of NOT “being in the flow” is:

Before attending a breakfast meeting with a customer did you oversleep after a night of tossing and turning, drive on the most congested streets, wait for a parking spot and have your customer forget about the meeting?

I was glancing at the book Your Sixth Sense by Belleruth Naparstek the other day and came across this interesting information. She interviewed 43 extremely psychic people with solid reputations and a good public track record. Many shared the same health issues, family dynamic and talents.

Typical Characteristics of the Intuitives she Interviewed were:

• A woman in her mid-40s
• Parent or grandparent who displayed psychic abilities
• Some degree of two-handedness or two sidedness
• Being an only child
• Some talent and experience in the arts (music, dance, art, theater, writing, poetry, design, and so on)

Do most of your work days run smoothly? Do you feel you are lucky in business? Either your business is happily thriving in this economy or you’re excited to reinvent your business because of it. You must be following your intuition.

Intuition has been defined as a knowing. Other people describe it as a gut instinct or a sense they get. Business owners operating from their intuition notice that their productivity is up, their stress down and that their dreams are coming true.

Here Are Some Other Signs You ARE Operating Your Business Using Your Intuition:

If you find yourself…

Are you one of those business owners who do everything the hard way? Maybe your bottom line is decreasing but you are reluctant to change.

Our intuition can be defined as a gut instinct, a sense or a knowing. Intuition can fix any business problem, eliminate stress and difficult situations, increase productivity, give us the ability to achieve our dreams and most of all, make the process enjoyable.

Here Are Some Other Signs You Are NOT Operating Your Business Using Your Intuition or Gut Instincts:

If you find yourself…

• Spending your day solving one PROBLEM after another.

We’ve all heard about meditation as a way to stay in the moment.  But we can learn to be present in any situation, any time of the day, anywhere with anyone without meditating. An easy opportunity to practice being mindful of the present moment is through travel.

Here’s How to Stay in the Moment When you Travel…

• To be in the present moment the most important thing you can do is release thinking you KNOW what’s going to happen on the trip, when it’s going to happen, how your traveling companions are going to act and how you’re going to react when something does happen.

Believe it or not there are conditions that actually activate our intuition and make it easier to hear intuitive answers.

Are you ready to awaken your intuition or gut instincts? Here are 9 ways:

1 Taking a Shower -

There’s something about warm water beating on your body that releases those intuitive insights.

2 Commuting -

Whether we travel by plane, train or automobile, the commute often gives enough quiet, reflective time to recognize intuitive answers.

3  Brainstorming -

When we bounce ideas around with other people and allow ourselves to open to new possibilities our intuition slips in perfect ideas.

What’s so great about releasing the fear? Every aspect of our entire life would improve tenfold. First, we could hear our intuition or gut instincts so that it could guide us in the decisions we make every minute of the day. When that happens, we could find the perfect job. We could see our relationships with significant others, our children, our clients and ourselves turnaround. By releasing the fear, we could have what everyone wants: we could be HAPPY.

Here are Some Signs We’re Releasing Fear…

When we find ourselves…

• Not taking SIDES

What's so bad about being afraid? Lots! Fear causes us to act in ways that get us in terrible situations. Fear causes illness, financial problems and conflict with others.  Fear lowers our self-esteem, and most of all, causes us to remain unhappy.

Here are Signs we Might be in Fear...

When we...

• Are STRESSED, UPSET, ANGRY or RESENTFUL.
• Want to CONTROL the situation.
• Want to PROVE something.
• Find ourselves confronting a lot of OBSTACLES.
• OBSESS. Replaying a situation over and over and thinking about how it could have been avoided, what will happen because of it, what needs to change to fix it and who's to blame.

With everything changing so quickly, it's easy to become paralyzed with fear. People are losing jobs, entire industries are disappearing overnight and when you go to your favorite coffee shop for a little escapism in the form of a latte, you find it closed. For good.
 

To Get Rid of Fear Try One or a Combination of These Suggestions...

1  Make a Plan-

Sometimes the best way to get rid of fear is to have a Plan B waiting.

2 Decide to Fully Participate-

Often we get afraid when we're not giving 100 percent.

Most people do not realize or consider the emotional and practical impact fear has on our daily lives and businesses. Yet fear impacts everything from our personal relationships to our self-esteem to our health and that of our company’s bottom line.

Think fear is your own private, locked-away misery? Let’s consider all the ways that fear is cutting you off from your intuition, sacrificing your happiness and causing conflict in your life right now?
 

FEAR CAN CAUSE US TO…

1. Not pursue our DREAMS or not know what our DREAMS are
2. Feel LOUSY
3. Not SLEEP well

The Anatomy of Gut Instinct

We’re under more stress than ever before as the economic meltdown has affected everybody in some way or another. We are losing jobs at a record clip. Entire industries are becoming extinct overnight.  Families are being forced from their foreclosed homes. Because of these hard realities, relationships with family and friends are suffering and so is our mental, emotional and physical health.

Everyone is feeling confused, lost and afraid. It’s hard to know what direction to go in. So now it’s more important than ever to rely on your intuition…