We are all intuitive. Even those of us who say, “I don’t think I’m intuitive at all.” As a human species, we are highly perceptive creatures, but many of us don’t recognize or claim this part of ourselves because our culture teaches us that only certain people “have a gift” or that “it’s not real.”

Then something profound happens in our lives where our own intuition or the intuition of others is undeniable. When your close friend calls you at exactly the time you need to hear from someone. When you have a dream about someone or something, and then that exact thing happens a few days later. You feel something in your gut that says, “I don’t have a good feeling about this.” These are all signs of intuition in our everyday lives.

Some people don’t think that they are intuitive because they simply don’t understand the mechanics of it. Here are some clarifications and simple definitions.

There’s a Difference Between Sympathy and Empathy

Sympathy is common when people feel for someone during a time of loss, like a death. We sympathize with this person’s circumstance when we say, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Empathy looks more like this. “I understand what you’re going through because I’ve been there too.” It’s an understanding based out of you actually having “been there” yourself.

My best friend, Kent, died when he was 30 years old. It was very unexpected and highly tragic. So when my daughter lost her best friend, Jennifer, to a car accident when she was 19 – I was able to empathize with her because I know what it’s like to lose a best friend.

Feeling Empathetic is Different from Being Empathic

Empaths are people who can LITERALLY feel the emotions and sometimes physical sensations of others. This is a unique gift that very few have, and “medical intuitives” also possess this talent meaning that they can sense medical conditions intuitively and somatically – in their own bodies.

The Eight Clairs

 There are eight main types of intuition, and every one of us is born with one of these stronger than the others. “Clair” is the Latin root meaning “to see” or “clear” meaning clarity.

1. Clair-voyance means that you “see things” like maybe colors or visions (sometimes when you’re awake and sometimes during your dreams).
2. Clair-audience means that you “hear things” like maybe your grandmother’s voice speaking to you. This could be in your ear audibly or just in your mind.
3. Clair-salience means that you can “smell things” like a distinct cologne or a certain cigarette when you enter a room – with neither one of these actually being present. Only you can smell them.
4. Clair-cognizance means that you “know things” but maybe without knowing why you do. For example, you might be driving to work one day like normal but then suddenly you have a feeling that you should drive a different way. Then you find out later that there was a car accident on the route you normally take.
5. Clair-sentience means that you can physically “feel things” of others. You might feel a pain in your right shoulder when there’s no personal injury there, but then you find out later that day that someone you are close to had a shoulder injury that same day. 
6. Clair-gustance means that you can “taste things” like maybe a metal sensation in your mouth. This is yet another sense that your body is picking up intuitive information.
7. Clair-tangency means that you can literally “feel things” like something or someone is touching you – or you can sense how thick the air feels in a room – or a temperature change suddenly in a space.
8. Clair-empathy means that you can emotionally “feel things” of others. You might feel sad when you sit next to someone on a bus when you yourself didn’t feel sad at all before sitting down.

Knowing which of these “clairs” you inhabit the most is crucial since this is the intuitive strength you most possess. Once you clarify which one is strongest, you can then utilize this gift in your everyday life.

Intuition at Work

Let’s say that you can sometimes hear things, meaning that you are clair-audient. Imagine you’re in a meeting and you can “hear” a message that someone in the room is lying – maybe even a particular person. This is vital information for you to use if needed. It’s something you can use to your advantage.

Imagine you’re dealing with a client or customer and you sense something about this person. Maybe you’re a caterer or wedding photographer and you’re going over a proposal or a pending contract, but all you can feel is something about this person’s mother.

Now, you can subtly bring “Mom” up by asking a question like, “Will your parents be attending the wedding?” This brings it up in a casual way and may lead to an important detail about the upcoming marital events.

Or maybe you’re at work interacting with a team member or supervisor and you’re sensing something needs to be said that isn’t necessarily relevant to the conversation. You might be going over a report or deadline and you feel the need to say something like, “I’m wondering if we need to bring on some more support for this?”

Your intuition will serve you well in business to help you navigate important decisions, significant relationships and vital strategies.

Your Body is Great at Knowing YES or NO

Other great example is when your “gut” says, “yes,” with every fiber in your being – or whether it says, “absolutely not.” Imagine expanding your staff or collaborating with another business. You meet with people and the instinctual part of you (your gut, stomach – or what many call “your second brain”) is all in knots.

This may be signal to you to not do business with this group of people – or one particular person. This is not about opinion or judgement or bias. This is about your being “knowing” something, and when we listen to this knowing – it typically pays off very well.

Listen to Your “Guts and Your Guides.”

There are four areas of your body where intuitive energy lives.

In your head area, you can pay close attention to your angels and guardians – maybe a deceased relative or a spirit guide. This could be someone you know or someone you’ve never met. The point is to pay attention to any information you receive in this area of your body.

In your heart area, you can listen to “God” – maybe saints or your inner voice. You can put your hands on your heart and breathe so to feel these sensations. It helps to close your eyes and take a series of full slow breaths.

In your stomach area – your solar plexus – your “gut” – you can listen to your instinct which lies there. This is the part of your body that tangibly feels whether you like someone (or not) upon first meeting them. It’s always there and you can trust it.

In your pelvic area, you can sense what your “root” is feeling. This might hold some ancestral or familial memory. This area of your body is connected to your “knowing” around safety and security – money and foundation. If you feel something here, it could be an indication that something you’re doing or considering is safe or unsafe.

The point is to listen and pay attention to what your body is telling you – what your intuition is telling you. This can serve you well when you’re feeling indecisive or feeling confused. It’s such a great tool, and the best part is that it’s free!

Apply and Grow Your Intuition

Here are some simple ways to develop and apply your intuition, especially for those who feel like they don’t have any:

1. Drink more water. It sounds simple because it is. Being hydrated means that electricity and biochemical information is flowing well in your system.
2. Get into water. Take baths, get float tank sessions or go swimming. Same concept – being in water increases your ability to feel your own intuition. Some of our most creative ideas stem when taking a bath or shower.
3. Listen to your body. Some of us are “floating heads” meaning that we live from the neck up – intellectually. Doing yoga or taking a walk can wake up our bodily sensations. This is also called “Earthing.”
4. Hindsight is not as fun as foresight. We can beat ourselves up for not listening to our intuition about something important. Better yet, start claiming your intuitive sensations knowing that they are guiding you to foresee things instead of having to regret things.
5. Socially, we meet people in one of three ways. Sometimes we meet someone and immediately like them – we might enjoy their personality or what they’re wearing or the sound of their voice. Sometimes we meet someone and immediately dislike them for whatever reason – maybe we “hate” their outfit or dislike their personality. Sometimes, we meet people are hardly notice them at all. A colleague might say, “Did you notice so-and-so in that meeting?” and you might not even remember that particular person. The reason for these three different meeting styles is based on our intuition. The people we immediately like are probably good for us to do business with. The people we immediately dislike probably don’t belong in our business ventures. The people we don’t notice are also not particularly important to your business because your intuition is showing you indifference to them.
6. Ego is not a bad thing. It gets a bad rap, but our ego is a great filter for us. It protects us. Allow your ego to filter people. Allow it to show you who is good for you to work with and who isn’t. This might mean that you need to change departments or supervisors because you literally don’t feel good around this person – maybe a coworker or a boss. This is not personal. Sometimes it’s just a matter of compatibility.

One of the challenges that people face when developing their intuition is that they wish that they had intuitive gifts that others have stronger than them.

Allow It to be Easy

After looking at the list of “clairs” above, ask yourself which one of these is strongest within you – then develop that one first. If you do this, the others will naturally develop as well. If you try to force it and try to first develop other forms of intuition, it might backfire on you.

If you are naturally gifted with clair-cognizance – a knowing about things – then embrace this as your special intuitive gift. This is someone who just knows things but doesn’t necessarily know why they know these things. The point is that it doesn’t matter why. You will learn why by listening to your intuition and allowing it to guide you in life and business.

If a clair-cognizant person envies a clair-voyant person because they wish that they could “see things” – then they’re missing the point. Developing whatever intuitive gifts you already have will eventually lead to you experiencing all of them!

Incite Your Insight 

Intuitive gifts and talents are naturally born and have a purpose. They guide us in life – both personally and professionally.

Trust me, start working these gifts and you will see your life change for the better.

What is your intuition telling you right now about your life?

Dez Stephens is the Founder & CEO of Radiant Health Institute, a social enterprise and prominent international coach training school which certifies individuals to create vibrant, professional, private practices as holistic life coaches, wellness coaches and business coaches. She is a certified life coach, master trainer and marketing strategist. You can find more information on her website.

Image courtesy of Killian Pham.