How To Know If You're Ignoring Your Intuition (day 4)

By: Kel Amstutz
Keywords: Intuition, Gypsy, Spirit lead, instincts, downtime, healthy risks, grace, my story, life at gray gables, journey of self discovery

I feel very connected to my gypsy roots, like I can relate and have been handed down the gifts of the people who are my ancestors.  I can trust my instincts, for the most part with little doubt, as they are typically right, even when I don't chose to follow.  I can predict a phone call when someone is on my mind and I can read a hell of a tarot deck and I don't practice.  How is this?  I feel things and when I get rid of the voice that says I am just crazy or the doubt that beckons, I find that the instincts happen. Coincidence...I think NOT. 


I seem to be able to better grasp past, present and even future things, than most I walk among.  I seem to be the sought after person for events that are taking place to help ground and navigate friends and family.  But, every human possesses a sixth sense...and no we are not talking about the movie here.  Our sixth sense becomes stronger when we pay more attention it and and even act on its advice. 

The things is though, most people simply ignore their intuition.  I wanted to be able to share with you some signs that maybe you, too, are ignoring your sixth sense, but also offer some recognition on what and how you can begin connecting from here on out!

1. YOU OFTEN WISH YOU HAD FOLLOWED YOUR INSTINCTS.

Did a little voice in your head tell you that the phone would ring....and then it did?  Or maybe it was a thought that you should grab your umbrella even though the sun was shining?  Maybe you ignored your intuition and then you ended up soaked when it suddenly started to rain.  Honestly, this is a small thing that I am referencing, it's not like ignoring an intuitive  nudge to change careers, towns or a partner.   But, small intuitive hits are an excellent place to practice honoring your intuition and to begin creating new habits.  This way when the BIG intuitive insights come, you are more likely to take notice. 

2. YOU DON'T HAVE ANY DOWNTIME.

Are you rushing around, from here to here, from home to work, from work to the kids practice?  You really need to make time every day, even if for 15 minutes, to sit down and write in either a journal, a blog, some outlet to let you mind go blank, clear, reset.  You can also take a walk by yourself to quietly reflect upon your day and think about any intuitive insights that you experienced, like synchronicities, ah-ha moments, inspired advice from friends that resonated deep, symbolic dreams, or just plain gut instincts.  Busy people are those who want to get the most out of their lives, but if you aren't in touch with your intuition, you honestly can't live at your highest potential.  

3. YOU THINK INTUITION IS A BUNCH OF NONSENSE.

Naturally, we all fall at different spots on the intuition spectrum.  Some hear voices, see images in the mind's eye, have feeling sensations and strong intuitive knowings that can tell us names, places, events, etc.  Some are able to grasp the bigger insights like traumas that are being held back and what opportunities are in the future.  It's alright to be a skeptic.  I think that if you are, it's time to educate yourself about intuition.  Read a book, listen to a podcast, or better yet, schedule an appointment with a professional intuitive.  Once you begin to understand the power of intuition, you can start tapping into your own, and growing.

4. YOU AVOID TAKING HEALTHY RISKS.

Our sixth sense tells us when it is time to take healthy risks- usually a little before our ego feels ready.  If you have repeatedly felt the nudge to try something new- like taking a class, looking into a new career, beginning an overwhelming project, even dating- but you don't need to go at it on a hunch, you're not just ignoring your intuition but your doubting yourself.  Maybe this new venture/idea/person won't work out the way that you hope, but if your intuition is telling you to go for it then it knows you will benefit somehow from the experience as a whole. 

5. YOU FEEL UN-GROUNDED.

It is completely normal to feel lost or scared when you enter certain periods of your life.  Times of transition, significant relationships beginning or ending, and career or spiritual growth spurts are all excellent examples.  But, when you are in touch with your intuition, you are grounded within your soul- something eternal and infinitely more stable than changing life circumstances.  Your intuition can also provide you with practical next steps or help you put a certain situation into perspective so that you can understand how it fits into the bigger picture of your life.  When you make time to meditate, consult tarot cards, watch for signs from the universe, and journal or write, you can feel grounded even when the future can look and feel uncertain. 

6. YOU SEEN TO BE CUT OFF FROM GRACE.

I need to ask you, do you feel like nothing has worked out lately?  Do you feel like you can't catch a break?  It might be that you are not paying attention to intuitive guidance that signals grace opportunities.  Grace is when things just come together...as if by magic.  Grace is when your intuition whispers, "That diet you heard about could help your headaches," or "that book your friend recommended will give you a new perspective on cooking."  Grace opportunities are available to everyone but ONLY if you tune into your intuition and follow its guidance. 

My Own Story

I wanted to take a minute, as we close, to let you in on my own personal experiences.  I mentioned tarot cards.  I have been fascinated with wicca since a very young age.  It has been almost an obsession, one that caused me to dream of crystal balls and spell books and love Halloween and the like.  I have a few magical books that I have kept over the years, covered in dust taking up space in our attic.  

I also played with the OUIJA board. I don't recommend...nor condone this, as it was terrifying.  I felt my gift through these sessions, as a teenager in a dark basement...or worse, in my own childhood room where a spirit was summons with a full name, and not one the I recognized at the time. I also have this equal obsession with history, which led me to find that the name that was spelled out on the evil of the board was also a person who once lived in my childhood house, to guide me to the attic where pictures would be found...and yes, they were. Pictures of our dining room as a funeral showing, caskets splayed out for visitation purposes.  This is something that I feel I have not thought of in years.  

The thing about this is, was there really a spirit or was my intuition guiding me? Thereafter, I was gifted a set of tarot cards and so began my growing interest in the art.  I would read all my family members and friends and it seemed as if my reading of the cards was usually spot on.  How could this even be?  I honestly knew very little about the cards themselves.  It was not until eleven years ago, this year, I gave them up.  I closed that chapter of my life due to having a reading that predicted the end for my dear Grandpa.  I did not want to touch them again as I read the spread and the fate, the core was death, that change that we all were prepared for but not truly ready.  

Since those days, I have tapped into my instincts in other ways, trusting my intuition when I can and allow my own spirit guides to lead.  I find this fascinating to this day and as intuition awakens in my own children I feel that I am still learning to both listen and trust. 

Reminder: