Today we’re going to notice how intuition is marginalized in our world. Yesterday I pointed out that conflicting ideas about intuition make it hard to access. It also keeps it at a distance. This has a direct effect on your ability to catch the threads of intuitive messages you’re receiving all the time. Beliefs about intuition that characterize it as unreliable, sketchy, and a sign of immaturity are widespread. Even worse are ideas about mystics and seers that condemn them as dangerous charlatans who are up to no good.

It’s true that there are bad actors in every profession (lawyer jokes, anyone?) But it’s also true that there are a majority of reliable and principled people working in every professional capacity.

Stereotypes are designed to keep intuition away. Every time you have an intuitive feeling it has to fight through layers of these old beliefs like trying to listen to your favorite song on the radio when you don’t have a clear signal. All that gunk is like static blocking out the clear notes. Perhaps you can tolerate it for a little while, but it’s exhausting and difficult to keep listening. That’s one of the most important reasons we are so tuned out most of the time.

It’s a vicious cycle of fear. We are afraid of intuition, so we don’t talk about it, and because we don’t really have a language to talk about our intuition, it seems ever mysterious and frightening. Our defenses kick in so fast when we have an intuitive feeling our thinking doesn’t always have time to recover. We doubt ourselves immediately when we have a gut feeling about anything, making us over-dependent on logic and common sense for explanations.

Let me be clear about one thing: logic and intuition are not enemies. Believe it or not, they work together beautifully. I personally believe as much in scientific inquiry and fact-based knowledge as I do in my work as an intuitive. I have also spent many hours coaching clients whose intuition told them something they could not reconcile to common sense and were deeply stressed as a result.

There is a way to bypass all of this thrash and go straight to the heart of your heart. You really can receive a clear signal. It starts with noticing what you believe about your intuition and catching what happens immediately after you have an intuitive experience-before your defenses kick in.

Paying Attention: Today’s exercise has you on the lookout! Every time you notice one of these things, stop and slow down: if intuition makes you anxious, pay attention to when your heart is racing or you feel tense. Notice stereotypes about intuition, as well as unhealthy skepticism in yourself or others. Examine media portrayals of intuition and intuitives (they tend to be the most marginalized of all). Most importantly, see if you can catch yourself as you experience intuition but before your defensive thoughts go on the attack!