“I believe in intuition and inspiration.”
– Albert Einstein
The years I spent living nomadically, buying only one-way tickets and not making any commitments, served me greatly in developing my ability to act intuitively.
Without plans, I was left to the present moment for direction. Through this, I developed a distinction between what I would call ‘impulse’ and ‘intuition’.
Many thoughts and feelings zip through our body and mind, however there is a subset of these which is more persistent and has a quality that suggests it emerges from a deeper and more coherent place.
For those familiar with the experience of faith, whether you name it intuition, God, spirit or otherwise, the needle points in this direction.
For the explorer with no destination, to choose to act from intuition poses no more risk than any other. This is why going on a hero’s journey can be such an important part of one’s life. The unadulterated adventure – being in the unknown with no map and only an inner compass to guide – allows us to meet ourselves more deeply.
The real power though is in holding onto this way of being after the time abroad.
My first practice in this is to come back to the present moment so that I can access the small but wise intutiive voice.
My second practice is to hold on to my faith in its power. Often I allow my mind to wander back to the cobblestones in Europe and to the scent of burning garbage in India as a way of reconnecting with that faith.
The more I believe in and act from intuition, the more I discover that allowing myself to be guided in this way is not only a means of discovering who I am within, but also means of creating at my highest capacity and finding out who I am capable of being on the outside too.
