Learning to Trust Your Gut: How Intuition Works
We’ve all been there before, the knots in your stomach, the butterflies…. then the realization after the fact that you should have listened to your gut. We’re learning more about the science behind our gut reactions and need to listen up much more often. Here’s the details on how and why:
Have you ever been in a situation, especially pertaining to a romantic relationship where you had a “feeling” in your gut telling you that your situation was a good or bad one to be in at that moment? From sweaty palms and goosebumps to knots in the pit of your stomach, we’ve all been aware of times when our bodies have been trying to tell us something; sometimes with just a whisper, other times as if it’s screaming at us to pay attention.
Well, this is your intuition talking and it is trying to tell you something important. I know because I have felt this phenomenon before time and time again, often wishing after the fact that I had paid more attention to the situation. When I look back to examine what the circumstances were and what feelings I had, whether bad or good, I know I should have listened to my gut. It was trying to send me a message.
According to recent studies, many feelings that people have in their “gut” are connected to our bodies natural “fight or flight” stress response. This is our bodies way of telling us something may be awry. Another school of thought says that this is your intuition or sixth sense trying to send you a message, warning you that something is wrong, or telling you that you are right where you belong. Either way you slice it, our abilty to pick up on sensory ques and process them subconsciously is undeniable.
Why then do so many people ignore this phenonenon?
Until recently the scientific community has, in many ways, blown off the idea of intuition or gut feelings. Recently though, several studies have been published regarding this topic. Our stomach, or “gut”, has millions of super-sensitve nerve cells. In fact it has so many nerve cells that it rivals the brain in terms of the being able to sense and feel emotion as well as feed and process information to the brain. There may be more the “gut reaction” theory after all.
If you ever had butterflies in your stomach, or a sinking feeling in your stomach when something bad was about to happen, or a flightly nervous-but-excited feeling right before you received good news, then you have experienced a “gut reaction”. Often times if you ignored this feeling, whether it was trying to tell you your boyfriend was up too no good, or the feeling of elation and excitement when good news was coming your way, then you probably realized later that you were right with your first initial reaction.
Next time you experience a feeling or emotion in the pit of your stomach, make a note of it. Write it down. Describe what your thoughts were at the time, how you felt, and what the circumstances were that made you feel that way. I bet if you look back after the incident has passed that you were probably correct in trusting your first reaction. In my experience, 9 times out or 10, I am correct in trusting the first emotion or thoughts that pop into my head without over thinking or dwelling about the situation at all.
If you don’t think you have a sixth sense or intuition, you can definately fine tune it. Practice makes perfect, even when it comes to trusting your emotions. Next time you are confronted with a quandry, relationship or otherwise, sit quietly for a moment. Take a few deep breaths and think about the first few things that come too mind when you think about the situation. Chances are you will start to get a real sense of what you want the outcome to be and what to realistically expect out of the situation. Regardless of the situation or how you are able to tune into these feelings, sometimes your gut is trying to tell you more then that it is hungry. So listen up, those growling noises in your stomach might be trying to say more then just when to eat.
You’ll be surprised at the knowledge it holds.
– Source :chickspeak.com
