How to Connect to Your Intuition to Gain Clarity

Have you ever wondered how to connect to your intuition?

I’ve wondered that from time to time, particularly when it seems far away.

I base most of my decisions on my intuition—what my gut says. But sometimes, when I ask for that guidance, I come up empty.

That’s when I know that the gap between my rational mind my intuitive brain has gotten a little too wide.

If you’re in a similar place right now, I’ve got a few tips that may help.

Why Your Intuition Seems to Disappear Now and Then

If you, like me, regularly consult your intuition for help, it can feel disconcerting if you turn to it and find that it’s not there.

Fortunately, this is a common occurrence and is usually caused by the fast pace of our modern-day lives. Some say that their intuition is “blocked” or “asleep,” while others describe it as not being able to “get into the zone.”

Several factors can drive you away from your intuition, including the following:

• Anxiety
• Too much “busyness” in your life
• Clutter
• Illness or not feeling well
• Exhaustion, fatigue, insomnia
• Overindulgence (in food, alcohol, sugar, drugs)
• Lack of meditation (or other intuition-connecting activities)

We’ll talk more about these blockers in a future post, but for now, the important thing is to realize that something is standing in the way of your intuitive guidance. And that can leave you feeling confused and unable to move forward.

It’s time to breakthrough.

How to Connect to Your Intuition Tip #1: Get Out in Nature

Nature has a positive effect on the mind and body. Many studies have shown that getting out into green spaces can help ease stress and increase well-being, which in turn, can help you get in touch with your intuition.

In a 2019 study, for instance, researchers reported that both parks and forests provided significant stress reduction. An earlier study agreed that green spaces buffered life’s stresses and improved overall health, with those having access to nature experiencing significantly better mental health.

Writes Lissa Rankin, M.D., in MindBodyGreen, “Being in the natural world, away from technology and the cognitive mind’s other temptations, can open up the kind of intuition we needed when we as a species lived outdoors and relied upon it to keep us safe from the elements, predators, and other true fear dangers.”

2. Break Away from Your Normal Routine

I have a love-hate relationship with routine.

On the one hand, I love it because it helps me get things done. When I establish a routine that includes my work, exercise, and time to write, I find that I can manage my schedule a lot more easily than if I simply “wing it.”

But adhering to a routine also tends to dull me out over time, making it seem like I no longer have any intuition at all. I need to change it up to refresh my brain and spirit, or I tend to go along like an old workhorse without a new idea to save me.

You, too, may feel like your routine is making it harder to access your intuition. If so, try changing things up. Move your furniture around, redecorate, try a new type of exercise, take a class—whatever you can think of that will pull you out of your comfort zone and insert some novelty into your life.

How to Connect to Your Intuition Tip #3: Get Away

This, by far, is the most effective way for me to reconnect to my intuition.

Taking a trip—particularly to the coast where I can see the ocean—helps me to release all my daily responsibilities and allow my intuition some space to visit. If I can stay for a week or more, all the better, as it usually takes a couple of days to adjust.

If you can get away for a while to a place where you can truly relax and be yourself, you’ll probably find that your intuition returns of its own accord without a lot of effort from you.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has made travel more difficult recently. I’ve had to cancel two writing retreats so far because of it. If you’re in the same boat, hang on! Surely things will get better soon. In the meantime, these other tips may help.

4. Dedicate an “Intuition Time” for Each Day

Do you have a specific time that you’ve set aside to listen to your intuition?

If not, this may be a good idea for you. Your intuition may have receded in your life for the simple reason that you haven’t been listening to it.

“Life is busy,” writes Jack Canfield, “and in the rush to cross off items on our daily to-do lists, it’s easy to forget to stop and tune into our higher intelligence. But your most valuable wisdom comes when you are most open to receiving it.”

You can think of this as a short, five-minute easy meditation. Choose a time when you’re likely to feel relaxed. First thing in the morning before everyone else gets up may be a good option, or last thing at night before you go to bed.

Sit in a comfortable place, light a candle if you like, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. Dump your worries for the day (journal for a few minutes first if that helps), and allow yourself to just “be.”

“Our intuition is always sending warnings and encouragement but often we are too busy to notice,” writes psychologist Karen Young. “Let your mind wander and be open to what comes to you – feelings, thoughts, or words.”

How to Connect to Your Intuition Tip #5: Get Creative

There’s something about working with your hands that’s enticing to your intuition.

Activities like knitting, scrapbooking, painting, drawing, woodworking, and the like all have a magical way of quieting the cognitive mind. As you work, your worries and anxieties tend to drift away, your brain waves slow, and your intuition has a chance to speak without being drowned out by all your other thoughts.

These activities are usually relaxing, too, which can help you reduce stress and anxiety—two of the most powerful intuition-blockers.

So if you need to gain clarity, pull out your coloring book and enjoy!

6. Ask a Question.

I’ve done this before: Expected intuitive guidance without asking a question first.

It doesn’t work very well.

If you haven’t heard much from your intuition lately, it may be because it doesn’t know what it is you’re wondering about.

“Receiving wisdom from your intuition shouldn’t be a passive experience,” writes Canfield. “Get specific about the information you need and what kind of answers you’re looking for. The more clearly you pose your questions to your innate wisdom, the clearer the answers will be.”

This means you need to get clear about what you want to know—and sometimes that’s not easy. You may feel a general sense of malaise or know that you’re stagnating or drifting but not know why.

The good news is: that’s okay! Your intuition can help. You just need to ask a question.

If you’re not sure what the specific question should be, try asking one or more of the following questions before going to bed to see what occurs to you first thing in the morning. Or use these questions to prompt some free writing.

Either way, asking the questions will help you connect with your intuition:

• What’s missing from my life right now?
• What do I need to feel excited about my life again?
• What’s causing me to sleepwalk through my life right now?
• What emotion is underneath this general “blah” feeling?
• What one simple activity would help me feel better at this moment?

How to Connect to Your Intuition Tip #7: Follow Through on What Your Intuition Says

Your intuition demands your loyalty.

In other words, if you ask a question, your intuition gives an answer, and then you don’t follow through, your intuition is likely to be offended and recede again into the background.

To strengthen your intuition, you need to take a leap of faith. And another. And another.

Start small. Ask your intuition what you should eat for lunch, then follow through. Ask your intuition what one important activity you should do this weekend, then do it.

Step by step, you’ll bring your intuition close again. Says empowerment coach and spiritual teacher Laina Caltagirone:

“If you get the impulse to call someone or reach out, do it. If an idea comes in that feels exciting and inspired, write it down and follow it. If you have nudges or hunches about people, honor that. As you use it more and see the results, your trust in yourself and your intuition will grow.”

How do you connect to your intuition?