How To Tap Into Your Intuition With Soul Writing
I find that some days, I have no idea if what we’re doing here at Holisticism resonates with anyone or not.
Sometimes I feel like a tired, baggy-eyed new mom pleading with her wailing new baby to just TELL HER WHAT TO DO! And then I stop feeling confused and remember that we literally have a survey where you tell us what you like and what you don’t like. And honest to God, it makes me want to kiss you on the face when I’m reminded that you give us feedback so freely.
The number one thing that everyone wants to learn more about is intuition. Hands-down. Something like 78% of the thousands of people who take our survey self-identify as wanting to know more about intuitive practices and clairvoyance.
I understand that so deeply.
So, intuition-themed topics have been on the Holisticism calendar quite a bit these last few months. First, we had our Clairvoyance workshop with Imani Quinn. Then, our Energy Healing 101 workshop with Maryam Ajayi. Last weekend, our Breathwork workshop with Eliza Kane. (In case you missed the workshop, you can still download them on our site here!)
And Eliza said something that really stuck with me: “You might be here because despite what you’ve been told by society, there’s something in you that says, There must be more than this. There’s got to be more to life than just this rat race. That’s your intuition telling you there’s something greater.”
trusting your intuition can be scary
It’s drilled into our brains from an teensy weensy age that we should only trust what we can see, or what can be proven by science or math, or by a white guy who’s “more experienced” than us. So it’s natural that when we come to this conclusion — there’s got to be more to life than this — we can feel a little … unhinged.
I mean, c’mon. When you Hulk out and pulverize the foundational belief system you’ve created your previous worldview around, it’s pretty disorienting. Practically normal to be dizzy with confusion and self-doubt.
This is the moment when we usually become interested — nay, obsessed? — with understanding, proving, and honing our innate intuition.
Here’s the cool thing: Everyone is intuitive. Truly! Everyone is clairvoyant. For real! Certainly, some are more attuned to their gifts than others. (There are so. many. ways. to discover how your own unique intuitive gifts manifest themselves)
And when we first acknowledge that we’re intuitive, it makes us really self-conscious. Or at least, it made me feel embarrassingly self-conscious — like, how you feel when the valet guy opens the car door for you at a fancy restaurant and you get this horrible full-body tidal wave of discomfort like, oh-my-god-I-don’t-deserve-this-celebrity-treatement-I’m-not-special-please-stop.
Admitting you’re intuitive can feel like admitting you’re special, or even worse, that you think you’re special when maybe you aren’t gifted, you’re just crazy.
Wow, sit with that for a second.
*sits down, blinks* Yeah, heavy stuff.
OK, so first, you’re not crazy. You’re intuitive.
And yeah, you’re special. But you’re not special because you’re intuitive — don’t be silly. You’re special because you are you. Everyone’s intuitive. That’d be like assuming you’re special because you have a right hand. Everyone else who has a right hand is not special because of their phalanges — they’re special because of what they decide to do with those hands they’ve been born with. (Pretty sure there’s a masturbation joke in there but let’s just keep moving, shall we?)
Alright friends, the first step to being intuitive is admitting you’re intuitive. Well done. Next, we’ve gotta commit to strengthening this muscle. Don’t skip leg day.
understanding and flexing your intuition muscles
In every workshop we’ve held around intuition, all of our expert practitioners reiterated one thing: You’ve got to practice, and you’ve got to meditate. Sadly, you can’t just put a crystal under your pillow and wake up the next morning with all the knowledge of The Universe at your fingertips. I wish it worked that way, because I love sleeping and I love crystals and I love shortcuts. But alas.
Sure, your soul can and does know everything already — but your body and conscious mind can really only process one thing at a time.
A regular meditation practice can help you tap into the subconscious and the superconscious (unconscious) minds, which are the two parts of yourself that are helpful to know if you’re trying to get in touch with your intuition. The subconscious and the superconscious are where 90% of our thoughts and beliefs are created.
subconscious mind
You can thank your subconscious mind for your primal instincts, because it contains the memories of all experiences that you’ve reacted to in order to survive. Often, our subconscious mind operates from fear — it’s represented by the three lower chakras, which have to do with stability, safety, and sense of self. When you get an intuitive hit from your subconscious mind, it usually shows up in your body (like a gut feeling). Your subconscious mind knows things that are literally passed down from generations before you, and it stores that knowledge in your physical body, for better or worse.
There’s so much good stuff to learn from our subconscious mind — and by reprogramming the fear out of our subconscious, we can really change our worldview for the better — but it’s also a place where we tend to have negative emotions and blocks. When you have an experience that feels like it *might* be intuitive, your subconscious is the voice that comes in and spits out things like:
“Or maybe you’re just crazy.”
“How could you be so naive/stupid to believe that this is real.”
“You’re not special.”
The subconscious can be kind of a dick.
superconscious mind
The superconscious (aka unconscious) is cool though. Represented the by the top four upper chakras (heart and up!), the superconscious is a zoomed out view of the world. Have you ever had an incredible moment, maybe after meditating or while you’re with someone you really love or while you’re in flow state, where you had a moment of clarity, peace, and the actual inner knowing that everything was gonna be alright? That was you operating from your superconscious. You might also refer to it as your higher self or future self.
The superconscious mind operates from a place of love, joy, and flow. You’re tapping into collective consciousness by realizing that we’re all connected. It’s very dorm room stoner talk, but the superconscious is like, the truth, man.
When you work with your intuition on the superconscious level, you’ll get information that provides real clarity and is just open hearted. It’s beautiful. It definitely feels like Higher Power information comes through when you’re tapped into the superconscious.
meditation is gym time for your intuition
All day long, you’re oscillating between the conscious, subconscious, and superconscious minds. Hell, even during a meditation you’re jumping between those three thought patterns — one second, you’re zen as a Buddhist monk. *angels singing* Superconscious! *angels singing* But then, the conscious mind kicks in and you remember you forgot to text your boss back yesterday. And then your subconscious totally blows things out of proportion like, “I’m going to get fired and have to live on the street because I didn’t text my boss and now she hates me.”
But then you catch yourself, because #meditation, and you try to settle back into that superconscious state.
Don’t fight it — you’re constantly flowing through all three of these states of mind. And that’s perfect. The best thing you can do is practice noticing these states, and do your best to tap into your superconscious mind as often as possible.
There are so many ways to do this (hi, meditation can be so many things!) and I really recommend checking out any of the above workshops if you want to dig deeper on tools that will help you deepen your relationship with your intuition. If you have an active mind, I particularly recommend our breath work workshop. It’s free powerful tool that helps clear blocks from your subconscious mind while simultaneously helping you to tap into the superconscious mind.
soul writing
I’ve also found Soul Writing to be extremely helpful! This exercise is adapted from Penny Peirce’s book, “The Intuitive Way.” It’s a really accessible workbook-style resource for anyone who wants to understand more about their intuition on a practical level. Penny Peirce recommends starting every day with Soul Writing (kind of like Morning Pages), and while I think that is fantastic, I also think it’s a really great tool you can use at any time when you’re feeling stuck.
It’s really simple.
Grab a pen and paper.
Take a moment to center yourself. Close your eyes. Clear your mind. Notice your breath.
Acknowledge your conscious thoughts, and then notice your subconscious mind. Remind yourself that you can only know what you are ready to know.
Make an active choice to step into the superconscious view, or Higher Self, or Your Soul’s View.
Ask your question, ask Your Soul to answer, and be patient.
Know that some part of you knows the answer, and it will make itself clear when ready.
As soon as you get a semblance of cogent word or thought, put pen to paper and start writing. Don’t judge or edit what’s coming out, just allow your soul to tell you the answer.
If nothing comes at first, listen to the signs and feelings that come up in your body. Follow those and write them down.
Write until you’re finished. Try not to judge yourself. If you do, just remember it’s you subconscious mind and give it a pat on the shoulder for doing it’s best to protect you.
That’s it, that’s all the rules.
So maybe let us know how that goes for you in the comments below?