Are You Receptive?
Intuition is called our sixth sense. It is the ability to synthesize the impressions we receive from our five senses and it is achieved by being receptive.
Receptivity requires letting down our guard, seeing with new eyes and fine-tuning our hearing to begin to listen for the nuances that indicate what is not being said. Intuition sometimes asks us to hear what we don’t want to hear. When we open to our intuition we may be challenged to handle negative information about ourselves or others. Why can’t we simply focus on the positive and build on that?
Positive thinking is useful; it just isn’t the whole story. “Fake it until you make it” is sometimes a necessary strategy to get us over the rough spots in life. It can also plant our feet firmly in the land of pretense. In order to see what is real, it is necessary to gently begin the process of unraveling the safe cocoon we may have fashioned for ourselves and become more receptive to what we are actually experiencing.
When we let go of habitual protective responses put in place to keep us distanced from uncomfortable feelings, we begin to defrost. All of us have pretenses. They are our first line of defense to counteract an unsupportive world.
Access to our inner wisdom requires us to face our fears, heart hurts, insecurities and losses; the “negative” aspects of ourselves. This is the part of us that resides underneath who we pretend to be.
We have our first layer of behaviors that we show the world. This is who we pretend to be: consistently smart, stable, directed, loving, caring, friendly, trustworthy, honest, and powerful.
Underneath who we pretend to be is who we are afraid we are: fearful, scared, sad, angry, broken, cold, lost, disconnected, lonely, and bored. Logic says: “Stay away from that emotional cesspool. Keep a positive, forward thinking outlook.”
The spiritual, inspirational part of us is very compatible with the intellectual, positive part of us. Our spiritual body and our mental body work well together. But what about our insecurities? How do our emotions fit into the equation? What about our emotional body?
In order to be fully anchored to our core, our wisdom base, it is necessary to nurture the ability to face our fears, acknowledge their existence and accept them as a vital part of ourselves. Our emotions are a crucial part of our intuitive warning system.
Distancing from our fears is unrealistic and deadening. Wallowing in them doesn’t work either. What is the best way to deal with our fears? Over-look them.
You say: “That’s what I have been doing! Pretending they aren’t there and hoping they will go away on their own.”
Well, no. That’s not what I am suggesting. Overlook, as in climbing up the mountain and looking over the scene from an expanded viewpoint. When we can accept our fears as valid responses to the ever-changing nature of our lives, it prepares us to receive new, usable insights.
Cultivation of the art of receptivity to all aspects of our self-knowledge provides life-giving gifts of energy, insights and wisdom. As a result, we are able to discern and choose vital life paths that contribute to vibrant and continued health and happiness.
Susan is the author of BEYOND INTELLECT and facilitates personal and professional development seminars for the general public. Find her at susanvelasquez.com
