Listen To Your Intuition - LIVE Talk & Practice 04/15/22

Hello,

Hello.

How are you?

I love this.

Lovely that you are here to join me at my weekly live here on Friday.

My name is Femke Bakker,

One of the meditation teachers here on Inside Timer and I welcome you at this time every week at Friday.

I'm holding my live meditation here on Inside Timer.

I'm doing so since October 2020 with a few exceptions and I'm so much enjoying being here meditating together with you.

If you know me,

You might know that every week I discuss briefly a different theme and then we dive into a meditation where you can experience for yourself what my words actually mean to you personally.

At the core of everything that I teach stands you being as kind and gentle to yourself as you can be.

And so also today's theme,

Listen to your intuition,

Is a very important part of that because by tuning into ourselves,

By tuning into our intuition,

We learn a lot about ourselves and we can really,

Really get to know what it is that we need and want and desire.

So last Sunday I had a single workshop.

It was a workshop of two hours,

Although we run over time.

It took us two and a half hours and it was a workshop with the title,

Learn to be self gentle,

Learn to be gentle with yourself.

And it was a really beautiful experience.

There was a group of really lovely participants and what I loved so much of the group was not too big,

Not too small.

It was really intimate.

We could really share experiences and I really,

Really loved it.

And if you are at all interested in the concept of self gentleness,

Then another workshop is coming up.

By the end of May,

I will run an eight week workshop,

Which will take place in four sessions every two weeks of one half hour,

Where we will dive into the pillars of what I call starting to live a life of self gentleness.

And I want to give you my definition of self gentleness.

So this is it.

Radically accepting that you are the most important person to deserve your own gentleness.

Do you get it?

Again,

Radically accepting that you are the most important person to deserve your own gentleness.

And I so love this concept.

It has done so many good things for me personally.

And I really love the instrument that meditation can be in this whole process of becoming more self gentle.

So over the course of the next lives,

I will tell you a little bit more about that.

So if you're interested in following the workshop,

Then follow my lives.

You could take a look already on my profile to see what I'm writing there.

There's going to be a special Q&A about it also,

When we come closer to the start,

Which is 29th of May,

We still have some time.

But I so love this topic myself,

Because it has proven to give me as a person so many things.

The moment you embark on this journey of becoming more gentle with yourself,

Things are going to open up for you.

And so many beautiful surprises,

Not just for you,

But also in the interactions that you have with others.

So let's speak about intuition.

Because intuition is,

You know,

I would like you to pick the word for intuition that you like to use.

So some might call it gut feeling.

Some might call it a knowing.

Some might call it a connection with God or source or the universe,

Your inner being,

Your soul.

Intuition is a word that we use a lot.

But in my experience,

Also a lot of people have trouble to trust their intuition.

So this week,

I was giving a physical workshop to professionals in my capacity as being a professor at the university combined with being a meditation teacher.

And actually,

That course was all about connecting with your authentic self in your professional role.

So you might have seen a course that I have here on Insight Timer,

It's called Authentic Leadership.

And so that workshop that I was doing live was connecting in a certain extent with that course that I was doing there.

And then you see that everything I say about making that connection with yourself,

Becoming aware of what is going on within you,

In your body,

In your heart,

In your mind,

In your soul,

In your being.

Everyone could relate to how important that is.

But to really start trusting,

Many people have a really hard time with that.

Because there are so many things to deal with,

Expectation of other people,

Expectations that you have based on what you think that society at large or your family,

In the smallest sense,

Is expecting from you.

And with that outer sounds,

It's really easy not to listen to your intuition,

But start to listen to those things external to ourselves.

And there comes the problem,

Because the expectations we think others are holding of us are generally not expressed by them to us.

But these are internal expectations.

We have internalized these expectations,

Or we have thoughts about what if the other thinks that,

What if the other one will think that I'm not nice,

Or that I'm not doing what I should do,

Or you know,

I'm sure you know what I mean.

So there lies the question.

So everyone will probably agree that we have an intuition and it's important to listen to it.

But how can you listen to it?

And how can you know what your intuition is telling you is truly your intuition and not your fear of speaking,

Or worries that you might have,

Or things that are triggered from your past,

All traumatic responses.

And with trauma,

I think everyone has some traumatic responses.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a big trauma,

But just by being alive,

Growing up,

Experiencing life,

We can also have traumatic experiences,

Things that are carved into our soul and that can be triggered.

And these things are confusing the communication we can have with our intuition.

So the guideline I always use for listening to your intuition is this.

First make sure that you are in a relaxed place,

That your body is relaxed.

Because when your body is relaxed,

You're way more open to feel what is going on.

And although your intuition might not come as a physical sensation,

Generally we do have physical sensations coming with it.

So when you can make a genuine connection with your intuition,

You can actually start to recognize where you feel this in your body.

And when you train this connection,

You can start to train by recognizing how your body feels if your intuition,

Your soul,

Your inner being,

Your connection with source,

Or whatever you want to call it,

Is there.

Another point is that it's really helpful to calm your mind.

Because when you have a lot of thoughts racing through your head,

You know,

Thoughts about the past,

Thoughts about the future,

Thoughts that are worries,

Or just to-do lists,

Or to-do lists based on expectations of others,

That also confuses that inner voice of your intuition.

Because that inner voice of your intuition never shouts,

It never screams,

It always whispers.

I once heard or read an interview with Steven Spielberg that he taught his children to listen for that whispering voice within,

And to really make the effort to listen to it,

Even though the whispering voice might be really,

Really small,

Because truth would lie there.

And I so love that idea that he was raising his children to connect with that.

Because in your intuition lies so much wisdom about who you are,

What you want,

What your desires are,

What you can do,

What you don't want.

Also really important to know what you don't want,

What you need right now,

What your body needs,

What your soul needs.

And also there lies wisdom about others.

So another point is,

So when you have the feeling that your intuition is speaking to you,

And with speaking you have to take that really broad,

It can be like indeed having thoughts,

Hearing a voice,

Knowing things,

But it could also just as well be smelling something,

Remembering something.

Your intuition speaks to you in a specific way,

So it's also really important to start to understand how your intuition communicates with you,

But then to check how does it feel.

So for instance,

You know,

You're in a situation and your intuition is telling you not to do something.

So the question is then,

Is this truly my intuition who is telling me not to do something,

Or is this my fear speaking?

And I'm not saying that you should never listen to your fear,

Because it might be wise sometimes to do so.

But it's important to know if it's your fear or if it is your intuition.

So in general,

The messages of your intuition will feel pleasant,

Will feel light,

Good,

Uplifting.

And if they don't,

If they feel frightening or fearful or worrying,

Then generally this is not your intuition.

And again,

I'm not saying you should not listen to those messages,

But you should take them at face value and see what their source is,

And go to that source and take that seriously.

But that's a different discussion.

We're here now to connect with that intuition.

All right,

So I know I can speak a lot about this,

And I can give you a lot of examples,

And you can nod and understand and think,

Okay,

But will that help you to connect with your intuition?

Well,

Maybe a little bit,

But I believe in the power of your own experience.

So what I want to do today is to guide you in a meditation where you can actually make that connection,

Feel that connection,

Or probe that connection,

And to start to understand where you can connect to your intuition,

And then you can start to practice with that.

Because like everything in life,

It's a work in progress.

I'm saying this every time,

But it's true,

Because life is a work in progress.

Life is a beautiful work in progress.

We never get it done,

And that's the beauty of it also,

Because that is what is giving us new ideas,

New inspiration,

New insights,

New growth,

New things to discover,

New things to experience.

So all right,

Let's meditate,

And after that I will come back to see if you have any comments or questions,

And then we will wrap it up for the weekend.

But first we will meditate.

So make sure that you are sitting or lying down as comfortable as you can.

Really make it comfortable,

Because meditation is a tool for you.

You are not the one that has to bend into specific meditation techniques.

No,

Meditation is here for you to be used to your advantage,

Your benefit,

Your well-being.

So use it in a way that is pleasant for you.

So really sit or lie down in a way that is comfortable.

Make it yours,

And if you want to lean against the back of the chair,

Or lean against the back of the sofa,

Or whatever it is,

Then do so.

And if you really enjoy by just sitting straight up with your legs in a lotus position,

If that makes you feel good,

Then do that.

Whatever makes you feel good,

Do that.

But make it comfortable and easy,

All right?

Now let's gently close our eyes,

And use the time to check in with your body for a moment.

Feel how you are sitting or lying down.

What parts of your body are connecting with the earth below you?

Your feet?

What points of your feet are connected with the ground?

What other points of your body are connected with the ground or the cushion that you're sitting on?

Your buttocks?

Bring your attention for a moment to your hands.

Are they lying in your lap?

Keep it relaxed.

You don't have to do anything special with your hands.

Pay some attention to your shoulders.

Are those relaxed?

If not,

Then just pull them up for a moment,

And then just drop them and sigh it out.

Such a comforting feeling from that dropping of your shoulders.

Is your head relaxed on your neck?

Your jaws relaxed?

No clenching?

No tension in your forehead?

All right.

Now let's use our senses to really bring our attention to the here and now,

To our body in the here and now.

So with the next time you breathe in,

Bring all your attention to whatever you are hearing.

You probably first will hear the most loud sounds like my voice.

So when you have heard that,

Try to see if you can hear also further away.

Maybe all the way to the street,

Traffic driving by,

Or birds singing in the trees.

And can you hear also more gentle sounds?

Gentle sounds in your environment,

Like the way your clothes shift over your body,

Or your own heartbeat.

With your next in-breath,

I would like you to bring your attention to whatever you are feeling with your sense of touch.

So probably really prevalent is the way you're sitting,

Your thighs and buttocks on the chair,

Feet on the ground,

The hands in your lap,

Touching your thighs.

But can you bring your attention also to the more subtle sense of touch,

Like the way your socks are sitting on your ankles,

Or your shirt resting on the skin of your shoulders.

Maybe you can feel the hair in the back of your neck,

Or if you have a beard,

The hairs on your cheeks.

All right,

The next time you breathe in,

Bring your attention to whatever you are seeing with your eyes closed.

And that might be just dark,

Or black,

Or maybe you see some light shimmering through your eyelids.

Some people see swirling colors,

Or colored dots.

And with some others,

Their imagination might be turned on.

You see something in your mind's eye.

Whatever you're seeing,

You don't have to change it.

Just observe it.

What are you seeing with your eyes closed?

Now,

Next time you breathe in,

Bring your attention to whatever you are sensing with your nose,

Your sense of smell.

What are you smelling?

There are always some smells around you.

You might probably smell the most strong ones,

Like maybe the soap you use to wash your hands,

Or you might wear perfume after shave,

Or the detergent from your clothes.

But can you smell also more subtle smells?

Maybe something you cooked yesterday?

Or flowers on the other end of the room?

Can you smell the quality of the air?

And with your next in-breath,

Bring your attention to your sense of taste.

What is it that you taste?

You always have some taste in your mouth.

It might be from something you just ate or drank.

Maybe you brushed your teeth not so long before,

And you taste a toothpaste,

Or the mouth water.

Or maybe you have the taste of a dry mouth,

Or some acidity.

That's okay.

You don't have to change it.

Just observe whatever you're tasting.

All right.

Now you can let go of your attention to your senses,

And bring your attention back again to your body,

Just like when you started.

And can you feel a relative difference with how you started?

That your body is more relaxed,

Your mind is more in the here and now.

There is some more calm quality within.

Now,

Let's use this quality to sink a little bit deeper in ourselves.

And let's do that by bringing our attention to the center of our head.

Just right behind your eyes,

About the middle.

All your attention to the center of your head.

And let it quietly hoover there for a moment.

Now,

Let's slowly drop our attention from the center of our head.

We will gently,

Slowly let our attention drop down,

Down,

Sinking into our throat,

Sinking into our chest,

Into our heart.

Let's hoover around a little bit in this heart space.

If you like,

You can put your hands on your heart to support yourself,

To support yourself in having the attention in your heart.

And take a moment to acknowledge what is going on there.

Is it quiet and peaceful?

Or is something stirred up there?

That's okay.

Whatever's going on,

Just see if you can observe it like you were just observing what your senses were observing.

Observing.

You might help yourself by saying,

Hello,

Heart.

Hello,

Beautiful heart of mine.

What's going on?

I love you,

Beautiful heart.

And you know,

When you speak those words,

Whether it's out loud or just inside of you,

I love you,

Beautiful heart.

Can you feel how your heart responds,

How it jumps a little bit in your chest,

How it starts to grow and glow and feel pleasant feelings?

Let's try it again.

Hello,

Heart.

How are you?

Can you acknowledge that,

That your heart responds to you,

Sending it some love and attention?

It's a good feeling,

Right?

Your heart is a good place to visit from time to time,

To just say,

Hello,

Heart.

I love you.

What's new with you?

What's going on?

The stories your heart can tell you.

All right.

And if you feel that it's making you emotional or overwhelming you,

Then just know that's okay.

That's really,

Really okay.

That's a release,

A release of things that are stored within that really love to come out,

To leave your system,

To leave your heart.

Just be kind to yourself.

Be gentle.

Hello,

Heart.

Just say it again.

Hello,

Heart.

I love you.

What's new with you?

And the beauty is that your heart speaks in its own way.

It might speak in words,

But it also might speak in images,

In sounds,

In knowing,

In feelings.

Yes.

Whatever your heart's language is,

Just open yourself up for it and know that your heart is benign.

Your heart is gentle.

Your heart is loving.

All right.

Now,

Let's see if you can let your attention go down a little bit more to the center of your stomach,

Just below the solar plexus or behind it,

Just under the ribs.

Bring your attention there.

So,

Traditionally,

This place is seen as your center of power,

Center of self-power.

Does it feel like that when you connect with it?

It might be a really weird question for you.

So,

Let's just experience it first.

Bring your attention there to the middle of your stomach and let it hover there.

And with your imagination,

Your fantasy,

Is there a color or an image or symbol that you understand that rests here in this center of power,

This center of self-power?

For many people,

It's like a beautiful sun or a beautiful light shining brightly there.

But for others,

It's just a sense of knowing who you are that is right here.

So,

Whatever pops up,

Just be open to accept this for now,

For this moment,

As being the core of your self-empowerment,

The place where your light is shining,

This beautiful bright light that you are.

So powerful.

Even if you don't believe in your own power,

The power is there.

Believe me.

Can you connect to that feeling there,

That place?

You can put your hands there if you like.

Now,

I would like you to ask this place if it has anything to tell you right now.

Is there a message?

Is there a knowing?

Maybe there is an answer to something you asked not so long ago or maybe a long time ago.

And don't overthink this.

Just sit and relax.

Let your mind wander calmly and have all your attention to this place in your stomach.

And just be with whatever is going on there.

Whatever this spot in your body is telling you or not telling you.

Sometimes not hearing something is also a message.

And whatever you are getting from that communication,

Don't overthink it.

Just accept it as it is.

If you don't understand what it is that you are now receiving,

That's okay.

It will come later,

I promise you.

Just make a mental note that this is what you got.

This sound,

This word,

This knowing,

This feeling,

This image,

This symbol.

All right.

Now,

Let the attention go from that center of power and let it go down even lower in your belly,

Just behind your navel.

Take some time to get down there.

And when you are there,

Then acknowledge for a moment how different this place feels from the center where you just were and your heart where you were just before.

Now,

When you have your attention here in the middle of your belly,

Just behind the belly button,

How does that feel?

Does it feel safe and secure?

Strong?

Or is it wobbly?

And that both is okay.

There is no right or wrong answer.

Just acknowledge whatever is going on there.

And you might want to ask your belly,

Say,

Hi beautiful belly.

How are you?

How are you?

You could rub your belly a little bit,

Show it some affection and love.

Most people are really,

Really tough on our own bellies.

We judge them for being too fat or too skinny or too bubbly or too stuck or whatever,

But our bellies don't deserve that.

Hi belly.

I love you.

What's new with you?

And then listen what your belly has to tell you,

What wisdom and knowledge it has.

And again,

This wisdom can come in all kinds of ways.

Just be open to whatever you're receiving and accept that this is the way your belly communicates.

And if you don't understand what it says,

That's okay.

It will come later on.

So now you probably have experienced that there is a different quality in the connection between you and your heart,

The connection between you and your center of power,

Your solar plexus,

And you and your belly.

Three different places,

Three distinct places in your body.

But at the same time,

These are the three places that most people acknowledge as the place of their intuition,

Where the roots of their intuition lie.

Now for some,

It might be all three places connected or separate.

For some,

It might be just the heart.

For others,

It might just be the belly.

And for others,

It might be that solar plexus place in your body.

So I would like you now to just sit for a moment and to let your attention shift from your belly to your stomach,

To your heart,

And then slowly back to your stomach and to your belly.

And feel and acknowledge the difference and also feel the difference of communication of these three places.

Are these places all able to provide you with information or is one of them really,

Really dominant as the one giving you information?

It can be different with everyone.

It can also be that your intuition rests in your big toe,

But most people have it in one of these three places.

So I'm going to give you a minute to just feel it out,

To see where your connection lies in one or two or three of these places and how they are connected.

Or maybe you do have three places where you can communicate with,

But they each have messages about different things.

So your heart might tell you something about others.

Your solar plexus place might tell you something about you.

And your belly might tell you something about life in general.

But it might be also something completely different.

There is not one truth.

Every individual is a unique being and has a unique connection with yourself.

So take a minute or so to feel it out for yourself,

Where your strongest connection lies and what kind of information you can get there.

Go ahead.

And if you feel doubt or you don't know how to start or you have a lot of thoughts popping up,

That's okay.

You know,

It's a process.

Whenever you're distracted by other things and just start again with connecting to your heart and see what your heart is to tell you.

And then see if you can drop down to your stomach.

Feel out that connection and what your center of power can tell you.

And then drop to your belly and do the same process there.

Now which of those three places speaks most clearly to you?

Which of those three places is the easiest to connect to,

To listen to,

To hear and not be overshadowed by other things going on?

And it might be that it's all three like that.

That's really,

Really great.

But if not,

Then you just know by now which one has the most clear connection.

Not too much fuzz on the phone line on this connection that you have.

All right,

So pick the one that connects you best.

And bring your attention to that connection.

Bring your attention to that place and see if you can let your attention sink into that place.

Hover in that spot.

Enjoy that connection.

Feel how clear the sound is.

Feel how clear the messages are coming through.

And I would like you now to think of a question that you are carrying within you already some time.

A problem,

Something that you would love to know,

Something that you would love to solve.

Whatever it is,

It can be small,

It can be big,

But don't take something that is so big that it's really hard for you to fathom that a solution is possible.

Start to practice with something more easy than that.

But it can be a problem that you don't see the solution of.

And now ask this place,

This question.

Offer this connection,

Your problem,

Your puzzle,

Your dilemma,

Your question.

All right,

And now I want you to literally hang back a little bit.

Lean really against the back of your chair.

Relax into it.

Have your hands in your lap.

Let go of the tension in your body.

And now tell yourself that your intuition will give you an answer.

You don't have to look for it.

You don't have to work for it.

You don't have to search for it.

You don't have to be worthy because you are worthy.

Trust.

Trust that the answer is coming and you will know what it is when you see it.

I would like you now to think of something that makes you happy.

Something in your life that,

When you think of it,

It brings a smile to your face,

A cheerful feeling of glowing around your body.

It can be something really simple like looking at your pet,

Looking at your pets,

Making a coffee for yourself,

Feeling the sun on your face.

Whatever it is,

Just think about that.

Really,

Really allow this feeling connected with this person,

This situation,

This object in your life.

Let it shine on you.

Let it lift your heart up.

And just know that by letting go of a question and trusting that your intuition got this,

That your answer will come.

Maybe right now.

Now maybe a word will pop up or an image,

A song in your head,

A symbol,

Knowing and it might be that it will pop up later today or maybe even tomorrow or the day after.

Just trust that it will come.

Just allow yourself to relax.

Allow yourself to be soft.

Allow yourself not to worry.

Allow yourself to be gentle to yourself.

Now connect again with this place,

One of those three places that you feel that the connection is most clear and put your hands on it for a moment and use this time to think this connection for its wisdom,

Its insight,

Its love for you.

Because the wisdom of this connection dictates that you are lovable,

You are worthy,

You are unique in every aspect of your life.

And this connection knows that and this connection will never tell you differently.

It will always work with this premise that you are lovable and worthy and special and unique like every other being on this earth.

Acknowledge that feeling for a moment.

It's a good feeling.

It's a healthy feeling.

It's a feeling to really connect with on a frequent basis.

It's an important feeling to recognize and embrace.

All right.

Now you can let go of your attention and just sit again for a moment and acknowledge how you're sitting,

How your body is feeling,

If it's even more relaxed relative to how we started.

And you are bringing back some knowledge with you,

Some insights,

Some knowing,

Some feelings.

And even if you don't really make what to make for it,

If you don't really know what the message is,

Then that's really,

Really okay.

It will come just after the session.

Take some time to write it up and then just be open to know this answer and know that this connection that you curved out for yourself,

The strongest place of connection,

That this is there.

How does it feel to you?

Where do you feel it in your body?

And really note,

Make a mental note of how it feels to have that connection so you can trust on it.

Because during the day when things are happening,

Your intuition will speak to you through these three spots.

And when you are knowing what is the most clear connection and how it feels,

You might recognize it when your intuition speaks to you.

And that will help you to listen,

To trust,

And to work with it.

Again,

It's a work in progress.

You have to practice.

You did a really,

Really great step by starting it right now together with all these other beautiful souls that are meditating together with me and you right now.

All right,

Let's take some time to come back.

Keep your eyes closed,

But use the time to bring your attention back into your body.

You can move your hands,

Your feet,

Wiggle your fingers and toes,

Stretch your spine.

And then in your own time,

You can start to open your eyes,

But take it slow.

Take your time.

You can take a minute or so,

Or maybe even two,

If you like.

Take your time.

I will be here waiting for you.