Unlock and hone your intuition: a beginner’s path

This hones your intuition, improves mental health and emotional states, and familiarizes you with a chosen form of divination.

If that sounds like something you want, here is a way to do it.

In this article we’ll cover how getting more in touch with your body’s natural reactions to stress can actually unlock deep insights you might otherwise overlook in your life. To do that, we’re going to a take a non-mystical approach towards divination. We’ll cover establishing a divination/intuition session at least once a day, how to do that, and what to expect from it.

The most important part will be finding a routine or schedule that works for you and you will stick to, where you’ll perform some type of meditation activity and record your insights in a journal to review later. The journal is necessary because looking back over it is how you’ll spot or recognize patterns you may otherwise miss, and it will help build your confidence about the reliability of your intuitions while spotting inaccurate, misleading, or unhelpful signals and feelings.

Choose a way to enter “ritual mindset”

You will also need to decide on a way to enter “ritual mindset”. It must be an intentional act you do for no other reason than tapping into your intuition. It doesn’t matter very much what the act itself is, as long as it’s something you’d never do for any other reason.

Many find it helpful if the act grants “permission” to access their insight, or helps them feel as if they are paying for it through effort. Here are a few examples the author has witnessed or used effectively:

• An affirmative statement or mantra spoken in a specific pose (like a yoga position or Tai Chi stance) that is only performed before doing a divination.
• Drinking a tea or mixture that you’d never drink for enjoyment, like tea made from pine needles or dandelions.
• Preparing a food or drink you would normally consume or enjoy, but doing so in an unusually specific way, where the method is so abnormal you’d never do it for any other reason. Think Japanese tea ceremony.
• A dance you’d only do when accessing your insights, because it would be strange/unusual to do it when dancing for celebrations or parties.

You don’t need to put a lot of thought or planning into this ritual mindset, at least at this stage. Your methods and practice will naturally evolve over time. The main point at this stage in your learning is to just pick something and do it, so go for something easy and repeatable. Your own insight and your journal will help you “get it right” over time.

Pick a divination method

At this stage, it doesn’t matter very much what you use. The key is having a method that expresses a full picture of your worldview, including both negative and positive things.

Think of your divination method like an alphabet or a language. If the method can’t express a wide range of concepts, then it will limit you, and is probably not a good general divination method.

Many people use tarot cards to begin with since they’re ubiquitous and accessible. It’s traditional to receive them as a gift, but the reason for that is not necessarily spiritual. It’s intended to be an external confirmation from someone else, who possesses insight, that they believe you have insight too. It’s meant to lift you up or give you “permission” to access your insights. Also, many people left to their own devices will choose divination methods which paint an incomplete picture of reality, since looking in the mirror and being honest with oneself can be challenging.

Other reasonable options may be creating or buying a set of runes you can mix in a bag and draw or roll at random, as long as the set of runes is a complete one that can express a wide range of concepts. The Futhark runic alphabet and the ancient Hebrew script have worked well for many people across many ages, but their usage is less accessible for most people than tarot cards. The Chinese I Ching is yet another example.

Daily practice

First, enter “ritual mindset” by doing an intentional action that you only do before trying to access your intuition or perform a divination. It must be something you have absolutely no other reason to do. The importance of doing this cannot be overstated.

Second, perform an affirmation that states you are qualified, worthy, and able to understand the information you are about to receive. It should not be “questing” or “desire” language.

“The future reveals itself to me, because I am present in this moment to heal the world” is a possible example. Notice it speaks in the present and affirms that you are able, ready, and qualified to access your intuition.

Start simple. More elaborate, specific things will reveal themselves to you later.

Once you’ve done that, then try to focus on the moment. Let yourself feel and experience everything around you. Pay attention to how your body feels, your breathing, smells, tastes, sensations, and sounds. Try to focus on them without reading into why they are happening or what you think about them.

Then, begin your divination.

Try not to formulate a question in your mind. Instead, set your intent and affirmation based on what you want to receive. Pick a method of context, like a tarot spread, focus on the moment, and then do it.

Lay the divination results out, and write them down or record them along with anything that might help your future self understand the moment you are in. Standard things tend to include where you are, the current moon phase, or time of the day. Be sure to record any sensations you are experiencing; sights, sounds, feels, smells, and tastes.

Then write down what you think the divination result means, and why you think that.

Finally, if you experienced or did anything different than normal recently, write that down too. Things like trying new foods, meeting animals or people, or even waking up on an unusual side of the bed.

Come back to the world

You should also intentionally exit ritual mindset. Many traditions talk about this as “grounding”.

In the author’s opinion, this is mainly a safeguard because carrying on with your day in a ritual mindset can lead other people to feel something is wrong with you. You may find yourself speaking or acting in ways which unsettle other people, who may add undesired difficulties to your life. They are not used to meeting living, Awake souls, and may not react well to the experience. You may also attract people who wish to feed on your energy, and such interactions can be highly draining before you learn how to handle that.

Once you have honed and tempered your intuition, you may find less reason to exit ritual mindset, but until then, it’s highly advisable to do so for these and other reasons the author may have missed.

So… how do you do that? Basically, anything that is a very mundane, intentional activity that sets you back into “normal” life. It can really be anything that helps you tell yourself “okay, I have received what I need to, and now I must go about my day”. It could be something as simple as saying that to yourself and then taking out the garbage or starting the dishwasher.