I appreciate the way you’re holding space for a kind of knowing that doesn’t demand justification. For me, intuition is not something ethereal or poetic. It’s deeply physical. Tactile. Trained. It’s the outcome of having tracked my nervous system over years, becoming fluent in the felt signals of what’s right for me—even before my mind can explain why.
I’ve stopped seeing intuition as a mystery. It’s not a sudden “download” or transcendent voice—it’s more like an old friend who doesn’t waste words. It arrives through breath, tension, fascia. Through pattern. Through silence. Through the absence of push.
What others call “intuitive hits,” I often call recognition. Not new information, but returning to something I’ve already known and didn’t have permission to trust.
Cultivating that trust has meant years of learning what safety actually feels like in my body—because without safety, what shows up isn’t intuition, it’s trauma reenactment in disguise.
So no—I don’t “just know.” I track, I sense, I listen, I wait. And sometimes, that waiting births a knowing that doesn’t need validation. Not even from me.
Thank you for inviting this reflection. I’ll likely respond to the journaling prompt in image and gesture, not as a tidy journal entry. My intuition isn’t linear—it’s layered. And I trust it enough now to let it speak in its own language.
Kris, yes, I sometimes call it re-wilding myself. Returning to what was intrinsically always there and what is always accessible to us as long as we are in this moment we cal now. Then we have full access to our intrinsic beauty, wholeness, worthiness, belonging, to the interconnectedness with other, with nature and the world. And then we know because everything in us, every sense it like a lighthouse being and showing us our way.
Jay, thank you for this beautiful description of your journey to recognition and living with your intuition as a partner who knows you so well and wants what is best for you! I agree that the more we build a relationship with our bodies, with our safety, with all the parts of ourselves that go so far beyond the five senses, the more we are able to access this thing I call intuition. I hope you continue to appreciate its multilayered complexity, since that seems central to how you experience it!
Lori, yes thank you. I am very attuned to my body and what is happening inside and I have learned to listed to it's own innate wisdom (It is usually not helpful if I don't at all). Yet you highlight the most important point here: multilayered complexity. That is what is true for each and every one of us, yet so often we have lost it in the conditioning of our socialisation.
The Universe is never subtle with me, and I love that for me! I have learned, through the years, that trying to direct what happens always backfires on me. I learned that with depression, reiki, mediumship, and other experiences. If I push to get through - I mean, we first born daughters are just trained to make things happen, have the answers, and move on to the next - I struggle more and for a longer time. In the last week, I’ve had this conversation three times now - I have to ALLOW IT. Allow myself to be. Allow myself to hear/sense/know. Allow myself to let my Team (what I call my guides/angels/ancestors) communicate with me. And then, TRUST IT rather than second guess.
I’m taking a course right now in doing Ancestral Healing. It’s been really cool, and my guides are always playful, which is such a tonal klaxon for how I have generally lived my whole life. But, the playfulness is teaching me to ease up about pretty much everything. My guides often show up as Disney characters or cartoons - and that makes me laugh and smile. I love it.
Lastly, what I think I love the best is the freedom of not being responsible for everything. It is humbling and freeing to be a conduit and to acknowledge that whatever is happening is through me and not of me. And I’m grateful for that.
Oh Kris, this sounds like such an incredibly fertile and vibrant time for you! I’m excited to hear all the ways that you are making room for new resources, new energy, and new ways of going through life. It’s so inspiring! Thank you for sharing and offering this encouragment to everyone. I feel so energized by your story!
What you said about not being able to demand intuition really struck a chord.
It's so true; it's like trying to force a flower to bloom by yelling at it. The more I try to control or summon it, the more it seems to retreat. It's in those quiet moments, when I’ve released the grip, that it decides to make itself known. I've spent so much time analyzing, trying to "figure it out," when what I needed was to just be and let it come to me. I think sometimes my logical brain gets in the way.
Maybe my logical brain is just insecure and wants to be in control! It’s almost like preparing the soil. You do the work, and then you leave it and wait. 🩵
Alex, I love both of your metaphors: prepare the soil and wait; force a flower to bloom by yelling at it. I appreciate you weighing in!
And yes, I know how my logical brain/ego want to bellow at that flower to get results. That part of me can really drown out my intuition if I don't actively manage it (usually by giving it another job to do so that it quiets down). Then the intuition can sneak up on us and give us a beautiful surprise. 💚
Hi Lori... I like your post & openess. Just want to share my experience with intuition. This happened in the late 70s & early 80s. I had an opportunity to pursue my degree in Abedeen & Edinburgh. As a young man growing up in a farm town, what do you do? One can't depend on opinions & views from outside people. There will be 101 reasons, views & opinions.My intuition told me to go it! That was a best decision I ever made in my entire life, spent next 5 years in Scotland.
ER, what a great example of listening to your intuition instead of the noise of other people's thoughts and opinions! I'm so glad it worked out well for you and that you not only got to have an incredible experience in Scotland, but also learned at a relatively young age that your intuition was trustworthy. Keep listening! :)
Lori,
I appreciate the way you’re holding space for a kind of knowing that doesn’t demand justification. For me, intuition is not something ethereal or poetic. It’s deeply physical. Tactile. Trained. It’s the outcome of having tracked my nervous system over years, becoming fluent in the felt signals of what’s right for me—even before my mind can explain why.
I’ve stopped seeing intuition as a mystery. It’s not a sudden “download” or transcendent voice—it’s more like an old friend who doesn’t waste words. It arrives through breath, tension, fascia. Through pattern. Through silence. Through the absence of push.
What others call “intuitive hits,” I often call recognition. Not new information, but returning to something I’ve already known and didn’t have permission to trust.
Cultivating that trust has meant years of learning what safety actually feels like in my body—because without safety, what shows up isn’t intuition, it’s trauma reenactment in disguise.
So no—I don’t “just know.” I track, I sense, I listen, I wait. And sometimes, that waiting births a knowing that doesn’t need validation. Not even from me.
Thank you for inviting this reflection. I’ll likely respond to the journaling prompt in image and gesture, not as a tidy journal entry. My intuition isn’t linear—it’s layered. And I trust it enough now to let it speak in its own language.
xo Jay
Wow! I LOVVVVVE this. I mean, boom! Doors open! Recognition. This is so powerful. Thank you.
Kris, yes, I sometimes call it re-wilding myself. Returning to what was intrinsically always there and what is always accessible to us as long as we are in this moment we cal now. Then we have full access to our intrinsic beauty, wholeness, worthiness, belonging, to the interconnectedness with other, with nature and the world. And then we know because everything in us, every sense it like a lighthouse being and showing us our way.
Jay, thank you for this beautiful description of your journey to recognition and living with your intuition as a partner who knows you so well and wants what is best for you! I agree that the more we build a relationship with our bodies, with our safety, with all the parts of ourselves that go so far beyond the five senses, the more we are able to access this thing I call intuition. I hope you continue to appreciate its multilayered complexity, since that seems central to how you experience it!
Lori, yes thank you. I am very attuned to my body and what is happening inside and I have learned to listed to it's own innate wisdom (It is usually not helpful if I don't at all). Yet you highlight the most important point here: multilayered complexity. That is what is true for each and every one of us, yet so often we have lost it in the conditioning of our socialisation.
Thanks for this yummy journaling topic, Lori.
My pleasure, Sandra! I hope you enjoy it as much as I’ve been savoring it in my own journaling process!
The Universe is never subtle with me, and I love that for me! I have learned, through the years, that trying to direct what happens always backfires on me. I learned that with depression, reiki, mediumship, and other experiences. If I push to get through - I mean, we first born daughters are just trained to make things happen, have the answers, and move on to the next - I struggle more and for a longer time. In the last week, I’ve had this conversation three times now - I have to ALLOW IT. Allow myself to be. Allow myself to hear/sense/know. Allow myself to let my Team (what I call my guides/angels/ancestors) communicate with me. And then, TRUST IT rather than second guess.
I’m taking a course right now in doing Ancestral Healing. It’s been really cool, and my guides are always playful, which is such a tonal klaxon for how I have generally lived my whole life. But, the playfulness is teaching me to ease up about pretty much everything. My guides often show up as Disney characters or cartoons - and that makes me laugh and smile. I love it.
Lastly, what I think I love the best is the freedom of not being responsible for everything. It is humbling and freeing to be a conduit and to acknowledge that whatever is happening is through me and not of me. And I’m grateful for that.
Oh Kris, this sounds like such an incredibly fertile and vibrant time for you! I’m excited to hear all the ways that you are making room for new resources, new energy, and new ways of going through life. It’s so inspiring! Thank you for sharing and offering this encouragment to everyone. I feel so energized by your story!
What you said about not being able to demand intuition really struck a chord.
It's so true; it's like trying to force a flower to bloom by yelling at it. The more I try to control or summon it, the more it seems to retreat. It's in those quiet moments, when I’ve released the grip, that it decides to make itself known. I've spent so much time analyzing, trying to "figure it out," when what I needed was to just be and let it come to me. I think sometimes my logical brain gets in the way.
Maybe my logical brain is just insecure and wants to be in control! It’s almost like preparing the soil. You do the work, and then you leave it and wait. 🩵
Alex, I love both of your metaphors: prepare the soil and wait; force a flower to bloom by yelling at it. I appreciate you weighing in!
And yes, I know how my logical brain/ego want to bellow at that flower to get results. That part of me can really drown out my intuition if I don't actively manage it (usually by giving it another job to do so that it quiets down). Then the intuition can sneak up on us and give us a beautiful surprise. 💚
Yes. I think I have yelled at a lot of flowers in my life. 😂
Hi Lori... I like your post & openess. Just want to share my experience with intuition. This happened in the late 70s & early 80s. I had an opportunity to pursue my degree in Abedeen & Edinburgh. As a young man growing up in a farm town, what do you do? One can't depend on opinions & views from outside people. There will be 101 reasons, views & opinions.My intuition told me to go it! That was a best decision I ever made in my entire life, spent next 5 years in Scotland.
ER, what a great example of listening to your intuition instead of the noise of other people's thoughts and opinions! I'm so glad it worked out well for you and that you not only got to have an incredible experience in Scotland, but also learned at a relatively young age that your intuition was trustworthy. Keep listening! :)
Much appreciated Lori for your comments 🙂