One day when I was hiking in the Marin headlands alone on a sunny weekday afternoon, the hair bristled on the back of my neck. I got the internal creepy feeling of knowing that someone was watching me. I decided to turn around and head back up the trail. However, when I looked up the steep incline, a mountain lion was slowly coming towards me in attack position. I froze and looked into her eyes. My life flashed before me like a movie on a movie screen; I saw my past, present and future. I thought this was the end of my life. As she lowered down in hunting position, I had to make a quick choice and follow my intuitive voice. It told me to run, not fight. I turned around and sprinted as if my feet were grazing hot coals. My desire for survival kicked in and fueled the run for my life.
I found out later she was simply protecting her cubs and had smelled me hiking past her the first time. She was not going to let me get near them again and she was protecting her family. The consensus was that I was foolish to run away and lucky to be alive. I should have picked up the biggest rock or stick around to make myself look bigger. However, in a life or death situation, our intuition becomes our primal guidance system. Our intuition is there to protect and guide us. In that instance, my intuition saved my life as I ran down that trail as fast as my legs would carry me.
Okay, not everyone has a near-death experience with a mountain lion, but the point is to listen to what our intuition is saying to us in our everyday lives. Have you ever had that internal flash or feeling that something was unsafe? Our intuition is our seventh sense and is a powerful indicator of what action to take. Our intuition gives us gentle nudges to follow a certain direction or path, but how often does one listen to it and follow it? Our intuition is our internal guidance system and will always tell us who is unsafe, where to turn, or what action to take. Everyone has an intuition but for some reason, many of us do not listen to it! We all have some disconnection to our intuition, and often hear the phrase, “hindsight is 20/20.” There is that feeling in the pit of our stomachs that was trying to tell us to follow a different path. The goal is to diminish the conflict between following what we know is good for us and feeling good in the moment. One can ignore that brief flash of knowingness. However, what are the consequences to ignoring this powerful inner voice? Broken relationships, toxic friendships, abuse, or bad business deals. We tell ourselves that the situation is safe and good for us even when there is that inner knowing it is not. When one listens to their intuition, they are listening to their authentic self. This results in empowered choices, higher self-esteem, and positive emotions. Next time a choice is presented take a moment to access your inner voice, as it is always right. One just needs to listen.
Ami enjoys helping others unlock their inner brilliance, true potential and attract success through individual counseling/coaching, group coaching and workshops in San Luis Obispo.