Do You Listen To Your Inner Voice?

By: Vicky S.

Do you trust your intuition? Or are you a person who only makes rational decisions?

Even if you don't think you rely on your intuition so much, the opposite is probably true: recent recearch of a university in The Netherlands shows that three quarters of all managers make decisions based on their intuition -- and 80% of those decisions turn out to be good ones.

And we all know what Albert Einstein once said:

"It is better for people to be like the beasts...they should be more intuitive; they should not be too conscious of what they are doing while they are doing it."

Do these five exercises regularly to learn how to trust your instincts:

1. Listen like a pro

When you listen to someone, pay full attention to the other person. Don't think about what your response will be or what you'll do after the conversation: just listen. After a while you'll notice hidden things about the other person: for instance his emotions, his fears or other non-verbal signs.

Be careful though: if you start concentrating more on what others say, sometimes you'll absorb negative emotions like tensions, worries and frustrations. If the feeling becomes too intense, imagine yourself in a safe place.

2. Meditate

Close your eyes and relax. Focus on your Qi, the energy flow in your body, right underneath your bellybutton. Pretend it's a source of light, for instance a sun. Breathe slowly to your stomache, legs and feet and feel the sun growing with every breath. Keep doing this untill your entire stomache and body are filled with light. If you're not comfortable with this meditative technique, find a different technique.

3. The movie of your life

When you have to make a life-altering decision, you'll often find that your heart and mind seem to be on opposite sides. If that happens, try to relax. Breathe slowly and steadily while looking at the sky. Imagine watching a movie, where you play the lead part. You see yourself the way you are in two years, if you'd follow your heart. Write down the feelings you get when you watch yourself. Clear your mind and start the next movie, where you play yourself in two years, if you'd have followed your mind. Again, write down the feelings you get. Let it rest for a while, then compare the notes of the two movies.

4. The four rooms

If you are discovering your inner emotions, your self-knowledge will improve too. Native Americans consider a person to be like a house with four rooms: one physical, one emotional, one mental and one spiritual room. Walk through your rooms and decide which room you like best and which room you like least. What would you like to change in those rooms? Apply those transformations in your head.

5. Diary

Keep a diary of your most intuitive feelings and mark the days that your feelings turned out to be right. Keeping a diary can help you make difficult decisions.