5 min read

4 Steps to access your Intuitive Guidance

Told through the story of my client, the dog guru...

For an empath to really thrive, they need to build a strong relationship with their intuition.

Deep down inside, we carry all the guidance we need to make decisions that are true to our unique and authentic selves. This is our intuition. But it can be difficult to hear our own truths when we’re dealing with inner-conflicts and distractions from the world around us.

Of course, this can be a bigger challenge for empaths since we’re receiving so much more input than most people and feeling it all so deeply.

In addition to the 24-hour news cycle, social media, career stress, family management, traffic, and everything else everyone deals with, empaths are feeling all kinds of intense energy along with other people's emotions.

As a coach, I help my empath clients build a deeper and stronger relationship with their incredibly intuitive selves.

I am continuously asking them to check in with their own inner guidance for answers.

Whether I’m working with a client for months or a single session, I'll help them learn to access, recognize, and trust their own intuition. Deep down inside, each client has all their own answers. I love this work so much because I get to help them find those answers!

But there's a lot you can do on your own. With a little patience and an open mind, you can start getting to know and follow your own intuitive guidance in these four easy steps.

Step 1 – Stop and check in

This is how you get started. Whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed or confused by an emotion, decision, person, or situation, slow down and check in with yourself. Just be there with the feeling for a moment, even if it’s uncomfortable.

Don’t wallow in it or spiral into big emotion, just observe the thoughts and feelings from a little distance and without judgement. Just becoming more aware of what’s going on inside, emotionally, physically, and energetically is a huge step. And the more you pay attention, the better you’ll get at it.

Step 2 – Turn down the volume

Once you become aware that you’re feeling overloaded, and why, it’s time to turn down the volume on all that noise—the opinions, judgements, stories, options, emotions, and worries. It's time to quiet your mind.

You likely already have some tools of your own for this step. Meditating, taking some quiet time alone, or getting out into nature, all work great (these might help you get started: Body Scan Meditation, The Best Meditation for You)

If you need to deal with overload immediately, and don't have time to hike or meditate, just taking a minute to check in with yourself and take a few deep breaths can help a lot.

Here’s an example:

A client of mine was trying to decide if she should quit her stable, full-time office job to pursue her true passion, training people to train their dogs. She had a lot of experience, a lifelong interest, and a lot of talent.

After she’d helped a few of her friends solve some of their dogs’ behavior issues, they convinced her to start teaching some group classes.

They were a big hit and she was making some decent money. She wanted to start her own training school, but felt unsure she could add any more to her already packed schedule, which of course, included her full-time office job.

No surprise, she was afraid of giving up her stable income. She also struggled with imposter syndrome. Could she really do this? What if she went for it and failed miserably? A lot of people would think she was crazy if she left her job—especially if she failed and it all came to nothing.

In short, her brain was racing with so many loud thoughts and feelings that she was unable to find clarity and make a decision. So, we went through steps one and two in our coaching session. She was able to quiet her mind and observe her fears in a calm and more logical way.

Step 3 – Ask for guidance

After you quiet your racing mind and check in with your thoughts and feelings in a calm and nonjudgmental way, it's time to ask for intuitive guidance. You can ask something like, "What is my heart telling me?" Some people think of their intuitive voice as their heart, spirit, soul, or highest self. They might place their hand on their heart or visualize their 6th chakra.

Others might ask something like, "Which answer is right for me?" Your intuition is just a deep, wise, and timeless part of yourself, so you can use whatever language you're comfortable with.

When your answer comes, you’ll know. It'll just feel right. It's not about "shoulds" or fears, it will make you feel happy in your heart and more relaxed in your body.

If you don’t get an answer right away, don’t worry. It will come.

You might get details or it might just be a feeling. If you’re trying to make a difficult decision, maybe you’ll notice that one choice makes you feel inspired while the other choice makes you feel exhausted or trapped. Those feelings were always there, but they were subtle and couldn’t be felt in your busy mind.

In the case of my dog whispering client, I took her through a guided meditation to quiet her mind and tune into her deeper self. Once she’d reached a calm state of mindfulness, I guided her to consider her question and ask her intuition for guidance and clarity. She observed her feelings and options from this intuitive place until she got the answer she needed.

Step 4 -Take action

The next step is to take action to follow up on the message you get from your intuitive guidance. The action doesn’t have to be big or dramatic at all. It just needs to be a step.

Once my client got some clarity, she knew she needed to take a chance and move forward with her plans of starting her training school. After that it was all about brainstorming the details and taking action.

She decided to stick it out at the office job for several more months, saving as much money as she could. In the meantime, she would do more research on what she’d need to do to start and grow her new business.

Making progress gave her more confidence. More confidence increased her momentum.

These steps can help with all kinds of decisions--little or big. If you practice on the little everyday decisions and issues, it’ll be easier to access your intuitive guidance when bigger and more emotionally charged issues come up.

If you continue to practice and invest in your intuition, it will get stronger and more powerful over time. It’s like working out at the gym or getting a Wi-Fi upgrade to your intuitive connection. If you can keep going and keep believing in yourself, you really can access your intuitive superpower!✪

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My mission is to help each highly sensitive and empathic person wake up to their power, brilliance, and authentic path. Learn more about Intuitive coaching. Send me an email or schedule a free consultation if you have question. Or book your one-on-one session to get started now. Subscribe for the next blog post.