That Isn't Intuition-That's Hindsight

This post was originally written January 4, 2021

I was randomly scrolling my Facebook feed a few days ago when I came across a meme about Intuition that I nearly shared in my group. After all, listening to the intuitive voice is kind of my thing and if you have followed me for very long, or ever taken one of my workshops, you know how passionate I am about it.

But on closer examination, I realized there was something off about what the meme said- "Oh look, it's my intuition here to say I told you so." It was intended to be funny and it had certainly gotten a chuckle out of me. The fact is, I've encountered a number of situations lately where I did not listen to that knowing in my gut and followed the wrong path only to realize later that I could have, would have, should have, trusted that little voice inside.

The other night, as I lay in bed playing my nightly game of spider solitaire, it suddenly hit me what it was that didn't feel right. What the meme was saying was that the intuitive voice was one that, if not heeded in the moment, would come back to taunt you. To sneer a bit as it said "I told you so". As a way to kind of rub it in your face that you, once again, did the wrong thing.

What the meme was saying was that the intuitive voice was one that, if not heeded in the moment, would come back to taunt you. To sneer a bit as it said "I told you so". As a way to kind of rub it in your face that you, once again, did the wrong thing.

See, the particular version of Spider Solitaire on my phone allows the user to backtrack and undo moves that lead to a dead end. Playing the game relaxes my busy mind as I work through it like something of a corn maze. Finding myself with no way through, I undo and recalibrate, I can make it to the end because it gives me a bit of hindsight. Hindsight is that thing that allows us to look back at something we did and recognize what we would have done differently if we had known the outcome of the thing before the beginning.

And sometimes Hindsight can be a bit mean.

When I have to backtrack in Spider Solitaire, that little voice never flares up and taunts me for not knowing what the cards are before they're turned over. I am not a mind reader. But so often, if I have to backtrack in my life, I beat myself up with what I should have, would have, could have done differently and that is not the voice of my intuition. That is the voice of my unrelenting, unforgiving perfectionist, who knows everything—in hindsight

Your intuitive voice never taunts or teases you. It never acts up when you don't listen to it. It may go quiet when you fail to listen to it regularly, it may be harder to hear in some situations than others, and it does take practice to learn to recognize, let alone heed it, but your intuitive voice is actually your most authentic, most vulnerable, most loving and truest expression of you. It is YOUR own voice buried down under all of the layers and the wounds and the external expectations over the course of your life. It is as unique to you as a thumbprint. When you can get down to that place, you find that your intuitive voice is actually the voice of tenderness, and compassion, and curiosity.

The critics voice, what I call the "Art Critic" when I'm in the studio, is the one that will throw your failures rather than anything resembling grace in your face. It will weigh you down and make you feel like you just cannot trust yourself and that you must listen to all of the external voices over your own. It really takes practice to get past the critic.

And your intuitive voice knows that.

The intuitive voice is patient and it is encouraging, because your intuitive voice— YOUR voice, knows that when you are able to hear it mirroring back to you all that you are capable of, all the adventures that are waiting for you, it will lead you to a place of freedom from the weight of those outside expectations and allow you to truly begin to create from a place that reflects your fullest highest potential.