INTUITION

You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

– Bob Dylan (Subterranean Homesick Blues)

For a lesson in intuition, take a large glass or pitcher of water and slowly pour it on a rough, inclined surface. Now watch the flow of water as it travels down the incline. It will meander, pool around obstacles before flowing around them, take paths in small crevices unnoticed before.

Intuition is like that. It's our internal compass through life. We all have it. We only need to listen to it. Think of it like any other muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

The catch is, intuition has such a thick foreign accent it's sometimes hard to understand. If you've ever tried to communicate with someone in a foreign country, you know that you have to hear beyond the language. You have to watch gestures and facial expressions to understand what they're saying. Same thing holds true with intuition.

But how do you hear it? First off, it's best to clear your mind. This is why meditation or times of silence are so important. You have to let the muddy waters settle before you can see the jewels beneath the surface.

Here are some quick Intuition Indicators: If it's telling you YES, you'll sometimes feel an expansion inside. Or a release. A good feeling. If it's telling you NO, you'll tighten up. You'll feel a sense of anxiety. We've all felt intuition talking to us. But we're afraid to always trust it.

Pay attention to these feelings and follow them. Then pay attention to what happens. And give it time. Intuition exists in each step, not in the total journey. You may think you're going in the wrong direction but over time you'll see that you were really just going around an unseen obstacle.  (Disclaimer: if your intuition always takes you down the wrong path, you may be hearing Conditioning, not Intuition. It's sometimes hard to tell the difference. And only experience can help you learn which is which.) 

Taoists trust in the natural flow of life. Intuition is the language of that natural flow. Trust it as you trust the sun to rise every morning. The more you do, the more you'll hear it and more confidence you'll have in it. Its thick accent will even become easier to understand.

The Master observes the world

But trusts his inner vision.

He allows things to come and go.

His heart is open as the sky. (v. 12)