7. Intuition: Your Secret Superpower

Hi, I’m Natalie Ottosen and you’re listening to The Mindset School podcast, episode number seven.

Welcome to The Mindset School podcast, a show for spiritual entrepreneurs who are ready to stop feeling stuck, reconnect to their soul’s purpose, and create a deeply fulfilling life and business. I’m Natalie Ottosen, transformational life coach, and reconnection healing foundational practitioner, and I can help you scale and grow a six-figure business from a place of inner authority, wisdom, knowledge, and truth.

If you are a spiritual entrepreneur and you are looking to take that first step towards your dream of running your own business, this is the show for you. Ready to step into your power and move forward with clarity and purpose? Let’s go.

Have you ever been told that you’re too sensitive, that you need to just let things roll off your back, that you need to have thicker skin? Have you ever been in a situation where you just know something was off, only to have somebody tell you, you are wrong and then find out that you were right all along? Or have you ever had a gut feeling or a hunch to make a decision and it was the correct decision? All of these situations are your intuition. Intuition is your guidance system, it’s your superpower. The more scientific definition is a communication experienced through body and physical sensation.

It’s a knowing or understanding based on instinct, feeling or immediate insight rather than logical reasoning. It’s implicit knowledge that comes from within without clear explanation or understanding. It’s a gut feeling or an inner sense of what is true or right even when there is no clear evidence or logic to support it. It’s described as inner wisdom or sixth sense that can guide us in making decisions or understanding situations. Basically it’s a knowing without knowing. You might be asking, “Does everybody have it?” Yes, I truly believe that every single person on this planet has this beautiful gift of intuition.

However, I do believe that some people may be more in tune with their intuition and more aware of it than others. And some people may have stronger intuitive abilities than others because of genetics, their upbringing or even life experiences. And all of this can be altered based on parents, school, religion, all the above. So what would lead us to question our intuition? I think that it’s really easy to dismiss it, particularly when you don’t have a lot of confidence or you’ve spent a lot of time practicing it, especially when somebody else questions you or you’re questioning yourself.

When you have had life experiences from parents or schools or religions that have made you question this inner knowledge, this inner knowing, this inner truth, telling you what to believe versus you knowing what’s true for yourself and you haven’t built that unwavering confidence yet. So some of the examples would be when somebody says, “You’re overreacting.” Or when you say to yourself, “I’m probably just overthinking things.” Or, “That doesn’t make any sense logically.” “I don’t have any or there isn’t any evidence to support that feeling, I’m or you are just being paranoid. You’re jumping to conclusions.

I don’t want to make a mistake.” How many times have you said that, “I don’t want to make a mistake”, when you have this feeling? I don’t have time to think about this right now. I’ll just go along with what everyone else is doing. You’re just being emotional, oh my gosh, you’re just being emotional. How many times has that been said to you, “You’re just being emotional?” You’re not thinking rationally. Don’t be silly, there’s nothing to worry about, just trust me. I know what I'm doing.

So because our subconscious mind is communicating with our conscious mind, the information in our brains that gives us that feeling or that inner knowing, it is real. But because that information happens outside of our conscious awareness it can make it hard to trust or listen. Ignoring our intuition can put us at an increased risk of endangering ourselves or bringing additional turmoil into our lives. When we’re able to learn to listen to our inner selves and follow our intuition’s guidance it's an important part of our journey.

So I want to tell you a little story. I was raised in a religion where my intuition was secondary to what my religion said. I was told my whole life that what other people thought and felt took precedence over what I thought and felt. Because of this and over time this got me in trouble. And eventually it was the reason I left the religion. When it came to making big decisions or being able to get myself out of terrible situations where I knew I was in trouble, I didn't have that practice, that trust or confidence to act. When I was 16 years old, modeling was my life. I actually started modeling when I was 14.

And around 16 I decided that I wanted to be a famous model. That’s all I wanted to become was famous, move to New York and run the runway. I was meeting with photographers to do what we call testing to build my portfolio. One afternoon I met with a well-known photographer in the area alone, someone I had worked with before. We were chatting and talking, and he kept talking and talking and talking. And as he was talking I was watching people leaving the studio one by one. And as people left he started to show me other work that he had done more what I would say for my age, inappropriate work.

And I knew at that point in time that I was in trouble and boy, was I right. That day I ended up being sexually assaulted and that experience changed my life diabolically and it completely changed the trajectory of my life forever. Number one, I believed that what happened to me was my fault. And it took me years to tell anyone and years of therapy to heal from this. Number two, because of my religion I believed that I was damaged goods. Number three, my intuition was guiding me and telling me that you’re in trouble, you need to get out of there now.

But because I didn't have the practice of listening, I didn't listen, and I stayed. Number four, because of all of this, all of my passions and desires changed. I didn’t really have any anymore and I really struggled with life. I felt like I had lost my identity. I didn't want to model anymore. In fact, I had had a meeting with Ford Modeling Agency in California. And I didn't even have any desire to meet with them at all. So what I know today is I've always had this very strong intuition. It's always been a guidance system for me.

And outer authorities, my parents, my school, my church, they taught me to dismiss and disregard it. They taught me that their thoughts and their beliefs and their system was right over mine. And what I also know today is that I can strengthen and develop this beautiful gift that is mine just like I would a muscle. Some of us learn to ignore or dismiss our intuition for various reasons, like I mentioned above. But I believe that everyone has this gift and intuition is a guiding post, it's our compass. It's the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning.

It is that gut feeling or that hunch, I love that Steve Jobs called it more than intellect. It really is a beacon. So why is intuition important? Just as mindset is the key to mindfulness which I talked about in the second episode, intuition is the key to our soul. It’s the key to unlocking our greatest capacity for knowingness, for wisdom and power. Because intuition can be developed through practice and experience it can be such a valuable tool in so many different areas of our lives, in business, in relationships, in personal growth.

And besides creating a morning routine, building, and listening to my intuition, trusting and acting on it. It was one of the most important things I believe I ever did and that you can ever do. In a world where things are changing rapidly all the time and we’re constantly being bombarded with information or misinformation, it is imperative we build this muscle so that we can learn to filter and discern information for ourselves, to know without a shadow of a doubt what is correct for us and our wellbeing. To have a guidance system that honors our truth and light.

So how do we build this beautiful muscle? Number one, you start to recognize it. We need to recognize and prioritize our intuition. Intuition are those a-ha moments. It's the same opportunities that keep coming around over and over again. It’s that repeating feeling or thought that just won't go away, it stays in your head. It’s visual images. It’s dreams. It's repeating thoughts or songs. I say ego is fear and uncertainty and intuition is clarity and confidence.

The next is you feel it, realize that every single person experiences their intuition differently and in fact, I didn't realize until I started working with a coach about a year ago, where I realized that all of my senses are part of my intuition because I have all of those sensory skills in my life. I have all of those senses. So intuition can be goosebumps, it can be that feeling in your belly, it can be a hunch or even just a knowingness. It can be inspiration. It can be euphoria. On the flipside, it can be that feeling of uneasiness that something isn't right, or it can be that feeling sick to your stomach.

The next is meditate on it. I mentioned this in episode three, that meditation helped me build my intuition process because as I was able to sit in meditation, I opened myself up. It’s when spirit knew that this was a time that I was open for communication. So the process of building my intuition has come again from that meditation practice. Meditation allows you to clear your mind, it allows you to ground your energy and it allows you to connect to your higher power and be open in the receiving mode.

One of my favorite sayings is, prayer is talking to God, source, or creator, meditation is listening. The next is listening to it. So go within. Your authority, if I can leave you with anything today it's that your authority lives inside of you, not outside of you. The answers you are seeking are on the inside, not on the outside. It won’t be confusing or angry. Your intuition will be kind and loving and discerning and it lives inside of you. I tell this to my clients all the time, “You have all the answers you need inside of you.” I am here to guide you, but you have all your answers inside of you.

The next is to practice it. Practice acting on the feeling and the messages that come to you daily, intend and claim your intuitive power. If you have a feeling to text a family member, to take a different route, to leave a situation, to say or send something, act on it. Every time you act on it you are building that muscle. If you have a feeling to do something, do it. Regardless of how small or insignificant it may seem to you, the practice builds that intuition muscle. If you're not used to listening, this will take some practice and time.

I can share countless stories of acting on my intuition where I sent a note, a text or called somebody to have them tell me they were just thinking about me, needed to hear from me or it was just what they needed to hear. So no matter what it is, no matter how big or how small, act on that intuition, write it. Try writing down your experience before the analytical process comes in and takes over. This process is beneficial to remind yourself, the evidence of the success. It's such a powerful tool in remembering this magnificent gift because messages can come when you're in the shower, driving, meditating, even in dream time.

So write it down or record a voice memo but use it as a tool to remind yourself that this really did happen. Trust it, learning to trust our feelings and acting upon it is one of the most important things we can do. I can’t tell you how many times one of my clients have shared with me that they had a feeling to do or not do something and realized later that they should or shouldn’t have done it. Again, if you're not used to listening to your intuition you may doubt or question yourself and that's normal but trust it anyways and have faith in yourself and what's possible.

As you do this you will begin to see the successes, you will begin to build this muscle. And you can write it down for later reference. Remember, intuition is a skill that can be developed and honed with practice just like any other skill, just like going to the gym and building your biceps. With time and effort you can become more in tune with your inner voice and use your intuition to make more informed and effective decisions. My intuition today is 100% my guidance system. I listen to it, I act on it and I’m not perfect obviously. I don't listen to my intuition all the time.

But I do find it funny when my intuition tells me to go one way and I go another or when I don't go away and then I find out there was a reason why. I love to use those little wins to remind myself how powerful this inner knowing, and inner truth is. And it is such a powerful tool in helping you build your business, moving in the direction you want to go. It's such a beautiful guidance, a guiding post for you to make decisions that are in your highest and best interest, for you and for your clients.

I want to leave you with some of my favorite quotes from the wisest minds. The only real valuable thing is intuition, that’s from Albert Einstein. He also said, “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.” Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next, Jonas Salk. Intuition is a powerful thing, more powerful than intellect in my opinion, Steve Jobs. Intuition is the key to everything, in painting, filmmaking, business, everything, David Lynch.

Intuition is a sense of knowing how to act spontaneously without needing to know why, Silvia Clare. Intuition is a spiritual faculty and does not explain but simply points the way, Florence Scovel Shinn.

So I hope this episode was helpful for you today. Like I said, if I can leave you with anything, it’s that you have a beautiful gift, a super power of intuition and your authority, it lives inside of you, not outside of you. Learn to listen and trust and act upon this beautiful gift that you have so that you can move in alignment with your purpose and your passion, your life, your business, your relationships. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

And if you want to learn how to build your intuition yourself, you can always come work with me, and I will teach you the process that I use to build mine and we will help you build yours. I hope you have a fabulous rest of your week, all my love.

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