A simple technique to help you tap into your heart’s guidance when you need it most
Perhaps that random hunch to take an alternate route on your way to work saved you from an accident. Or maybe that inkling to call an old friend resulted in a life-changing opportunity that you would‘ve never dreamed of.
We’ve all experienced those occasional flashes of insight that can’t be explained by our rational brain. There is a reason that we often refer to trusting our intuition as “following our heart.” It turns out that the two are linked. Researchers have now found a way to tap into the wisdom of the heart on a more frequent basis.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” — Albert Einstein
GETTING TO THE HEART OF INTUITION
It may seem that our intuitive insights come randomly and that we have no control over them. But research from the HeartMath Institute shows otherwise. According to HeartMath, we become more intuitive when our body is in a state of psychophysiological coherence. And we have the power to shift ourselves into that state whenever we choose to.
When our heart is in a coherent state as a result of positive, regenerative emotions, it communicates with the brain in a more efficient manner.
When we are in a heart-coherent state, we can access deeper wisdom as the heart and the brain sync up and are able to exchange more information. The heart is also able to send a more orderly signal to the brain. We choose our actions more consciously rather than reacting from the same old patterns that may not serve us. The body’s systems become more aligned and our mental energy is freed up to notice insights that we normally would have disregarded.
POSITIVE EMOTIONS AS THE GATEWAY TO INTUITION
When we get stuck in negative thought patterns, the energy that could have been used to access the heart’s intuitive wisdom is instead spent on defense. When we are in protection mode, we have less energy to spend on creativity and growth. When we try to justify or defend our ideas of how we think things should be, we are not fully present. This can lead to many missed opportunities as we don’t fully register all the information that is presented to us.
In the last article of my Science of the Heart series, we looked at a simple technique to shift our mental focus towards more positive (coherent) states and emotions more frequently. Armed with this tool, we can now use that to access our heart’s intuition on demand.
5 STEPS TO ACCESSING INTUITION ON DEMAND
The HeartMath Institute offers a tool that we can use to access our intuition at will by shifting our physiology into a more coherent state.
Use this tool to help you with difficult decisions or to gain clarity and insights on creative projects.
THE FREEZE FRAME TECHNIQUE by HeartMath:
1. Identify & Acknowledge
Think of a specific situation that’s been difficult to solve or where you’d like your heart’s guidance on the next steps.
Write down a few words about the situation and how you’ve been feeling about it — mentally and emotionally. Acknowledge those thoughts and feelings without judgment.
2. Heart-Focused Breathing
Focus on the area around your heart. Keep your attention there as you breathe in a comfortable rhythm. Imagine that your breath is flowing in and out of your heart area.
3. Activate a Positive or Renewing Feeling
Make a sincere attempt to experience a positive, regenerative feeling such as love, gratitude, or peace. (See article mentioned above for the Attitude Breathing technique to help you do that.)
4. Ask
Ask your heart: What would be a more efficient or effective action, attitude, or solution in this situation?
5. Observe and Act
Listen to the response of your heart.
Quietly observe any changes in attitudes, perceptions, or feelings. Remember that shifting an attitude towards a situation can lead to new solutions. Commit to sustaining these beneficial attitude shifts and to acting on these new insights.
“My brain is only a receiver. In the universe there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration.” — Nikola Tesla
PAIRING INTUITION WITH LOGIC FOR BETTER DECISION-MAKING
While intuition is not widely talked about in business, many of the world’s greatest thinkers have praised its necessity for achieving new insights. These have often led to great discoveries.
Both sides of our brain are important for us to make optimal decisions. The tools of logic, linear thinking, and our past experience are much more powerful when combined with the intuitive wisdom of the heart.
“Intuition and concepts constitute… the elements of all our knowledge, so that neither concepts without an intuition in some way corresponding to them, nor intuition without concepts, can yield knowledge.” — Immanuel Kant
Your heart already knows the answer. Now you know how to listen. Follow its guidance. The more you do, the easier it will come!
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Related articles inspired byThe HeartMath Institute and their HeartMath Experience course: Science Of The Heart: How Uplifting Emotions Increase Our Mental Clarity and Focus Shift from Negative to Positive Emotions with this science-based tool
I have no affiliation to HeartMath - I simply believe in the power of their message to help us elevate our mindsets and emotions :-)