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Judith Orloff MD

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Do You Listen to Your Intuition?

Posted: 07/12/2012 7:45 am

We are the keepers of our own healing. We are the keepers of an intuitive intelligence so powerful it can tell us how to heal. The time has come for each of us to claim it again. Never forget: It is your right to heal. It is your right to look inside yourself for the answers.

I'm defining intuition as a potent form of inner wisdom, not mediated by the intellect. Accessible to us all, it's a still, small voice inside -- an unflinching truth-teller committed to our well-being. You may experience intuition as a gut feeling, hunch, a physical sensation, a snapshot-like flash, or a dream. Always a friend, it keeps a watchful eye on our bodies, letting us know if something is out of sync.

As a physician, I combine conventional medicine with intuition to enhance my insights about patients. I also use intuition in every aspect of my life and strive to always trust my gut in small and large decisions. Intuition is your inner voice. It is the best friend you will have. I encourage you to develop and trust it too. Reach back in your experience. See if you can't remember a special time when you listened, really listened, to what seemed invisible yet felt so true. Maybe it was an inner call to enter a career, a sudden inexplicable attraction to the person you were destined to marry, or simply a strong impulse to contact a good friend you haven't seen for years. That indisputable sense of rightness is an echo of the code I'm speaking of. You deserve such certainty about all decisions. Even if you feel out of touch with it now, let me help you find it again.

To help you determine how much you listen to your inner voice, I've created the following quiz from my book Guide to Intuitive Healing: 5 Steps to Physical, Emotional, and Sexual Wellness. Choose the score that most corresponds to how often or seldom you listen to your intuition.


    Yes Sometimes Never
1. Do you believe your inner voice gives you good advice? 2 1 0
2. Will you get a second opinion if your doctor doesn't offer a diagnosis or treatment that intuitively feels right? 2 1 0
3. Do you pay attention to your body's early warning signs, such as fatigue or unexplainable symptoms, to take care of your health? 2 1 0
4. In your career, do you act on what moves and inspires you rather than only making decisions by what seems logical on paper? 2 1 0
5. Do you "listen to the goosebumps" (as Quincy Jones puts it) as a sign to go ahead when you're making a decision about a project or career move? 2 1 0
6. If you're looking for work, do you check in with your intuition for guidance? 2 1 0
7. Do you pay attention to people's body language when you meet them? 2 1 0
8. Do you listen to your body's signals and stay away from people who drain you? 2 1 0
9. If you're crossing your arms and moving away from someone at a party, do you listen to the discomfort your body language is communicating? 2 1 0
10. If you're sexually attracted to someone but your inner voice says "beware," do you heed the warning and take it slow? 2 1 0
11. When arguing with your partner, do you take a breath and tune in to your intuition about how to reach him or her before saying something you'll regret? 2 1 0
12. If all your friends are saying "this guy/girl is great for you" but your intuition says he/she isn't right ,can you trust yourself? 2 1 0
13. Do you listen to intuitive messages in dreams? 2 1 0
14. Do you listen to your "ah-ha" feelings even if they don't fit your picture of how things should be? 2 1 0
15. Are you spontaneous rather than having to plan everything? 2 1 0

 

How to Interpret this Quiz
To calculate your ability to listen to your inner voice score, total the numbers corresponding to your responses.

  • A score of 20-30 suggests that you have a considerable aptitude to trust your intuition.
  • A score of 10-19 suggests a moderate level.
  • A score of 9 or below suggests a beginning level.
  • A zero score indicates that you don't regularly listen to your intuition yet, but the good news is that you can begin now to tap into this empowering resource!

Whatever your score, this quiz will help you develop and listen to your inner voice. You'll identify your strengths and areas you'd like to improve. Developing intuition is an exciting process. Realize that we all have a ways to go. The more you listen to your intuition, the more it will improve.

To learn more about intuition, click on the link to read my blog, How to Develop Your Intuition, and watch the video below for more tips.

For more by Judith Orloff MD, click here.

for more on emotional wellness, click here.

 
 
 

Follow Judith Orloff MD on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JudithOrloffMD

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We are the keepers of our own healing. We are the keepers of an intuitive intelligence so powerful it can tell us how to heal. The time has come for each of us to claim it again. Never forget: It is y...
We are the keepers of our own healing. We are the keepers of an intuitive intelligence so powerful it can tell us how to heal. The time has come for each of us to claim it again. Never forget: It is y...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
VPerry24
Carpe Diem!
11:32 PM on 07/19/2012
I heard females are more into intuition than men. It helped me a lot in the past.
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11:52 PM on 07/16/2012
Intuition is basically listening to your subconscious. Some people are very connected to their subconscious while others have stronger filters.
For safety issues or decisions must be made quickly, its definitely a good idea to listen to your intuition. But in many other areas of life, its probably best to moderate your intuition with a bit of rational thought more often than not.
03:43 PM on 07/16/2012
Intuition has played an important part in my cancer survival. If I listened to my first Hemo doctor (almost three decades ago) I would no longer be here as they now know that particular treatment for my blood cancer leads to an aggressive acute leukemia years later.

Then five years ago my Hemo at the time gave me 1-2 years to live (this was a university hospital). My intuition again told me I needed to find another doctor/opinion. So I found another doctor that had a more leading/progressive approach to my cancer and the treatment I have been receiving is becoming the main stream approach for my specific cancer now. So intuition has come to play in my battle with cancer several times and will remain a part of my life.

So be proactive in your health care and allow your intuition to be a part of that process.
Divine thought
hate knows that love's the cure
12:08 PM on 07/14/2012
I pay attention to my intuition more so now than I did when I was younger.
I used to ignore it because I was afraid of the strong messages, feelings and divinings I would get.
I embrace my intuition.
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ginadeoliveira2008
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of you
02:05 PM on 07/13/2012
Intuition plays a big part in my life.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Royce09
Freedom is not Free, cost = Blood of our Military
11:19 AM on 07/13/2012
Do I use common sense - Yes as often as I can
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
pslcitizen
I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
02:30 AM on 07/13/2012
Intuition? Is that the name for the voice in my head? What do I call the other voices?? Shhh, I am trying to listen. lol
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ginadeoliveira2008
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of you
02:06 PM on 07/13/2012
pslcitizen, if you lol you don't use your intuition. What a pity!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
pslcitizen
I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
08:37 PM on 07/13/2012
Sometimes my sense of humor tells my intuition to chill out..but seriously if more people listened to their inner voice we might be living in a better world.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Bones Rhodes
10:22 PM on 07/12/2012
16. Do you go to a doctor who makes possible life and death ( your life & your death ) decisions based on her intuition instead of sound medical theory and techniques ?
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09:00 PM on 07/16/2012
Brilliant!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
KristineE
Out and Proud Of It
06:52 PM on 07/12/2012
Of course I listen to my intuition. Everyone has it. The happier individuals are the ones that use it.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Kyrani99
that Eternal Flame is the source of my shrine
06:40 PM on 07/12/2012
Everybody's intuitive but also true everyone is capable of extrasensory perception or ESP. The two can be confused and sometimes with disastrous results if they are confused because while your intuition will guide you, you have to be able to discriminate it from the presentation of ideas by others who may want to manipulate you in some way or do you harm. Intuition is a basic gut feeling for most people, which is not expressed as ideas and thoughts. ESP on the other hand is always expressed as ideas (some of which are subconscious) and thoughts, if you are being mentally addressed.

ESP can be used to manufacture any number of things. See here two of them. http://kyrani99.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/two-simple-uses-of-fear-and-esp-in-foul-game-play/ One of the examples is "fall in love at first sight" YES MANUFACTURED and the other is allergies. If you learn the difference between ESP and intuition then you can use your intuition to avoid such pitfalls.
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05:56 PM on 07/12/2012
I have been an intuitive for as long as I can remember...around two years old. My mother had the good sense to have all three of us tested and I also have the gift of clarisentience as it turn out. My middle sister "saw" things and my little sister not so much.
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mozzieboo
Whoa, watch your micro bio, don't insult anyone!!
02:27 PM on 07/13/2012
It's frustrating when someone sees things and no one else does. I wonder sometimes if Intuition is just really good common sense.
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06:55 PM on 07/13/2012
I am not sure if common sense has anything to do with it, I often refer to listening to my gut as another way to put it. It is that small, internal "knowing" that each of us carries inside.
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04:55 PM on 07/12/2012
I tried to change careers, go into RN school last fall, but my gut told me THAT PARTICULAR school was bad news. I felt sick inside being there & the curriculum plan was irrational (testing students on material that they never taught). Apparently most other students had the same sentiments: Within 1 semester, the program went from 88 new students down to only 20 remaining…(That school is now at serious risk for losing state accreditation)…I will be starting a *DIFFERENT* RN school late next month. My gut told me to try this one out. Met at least 6 people who already graduated from that school's RN program—all said they enjoyed their time spent there. Crossing my fingers! :)
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itruth
fideistic deist with socratic tedencies
04:53 PM on 07/12/2012
I think we are trained away from intuitive reasoning; at least for the mature reader; institutional learning was; after all designed to fill the need of industry; not humanity.

The cure for the nearness of the soul to the heart; get out of the damn office more and find something alive to nurture or wonder at; [Walk through a park] if you have no other way to exit concrete and steel; than go to the place near you that is quiet and turn off the devices for one hour; [if you can]...unplug!
04:42 PM on 07/12/2012
Interesting that this appears on the same AOL page as the article on hyperchondria. Don't those folks follow their intuition? This article sounds a bit too much like following your feelings, which can be very wrong or even based on superstition.
It's a fine line between reason and emotion/intuition, and I would rather follow reason where you might discover that your discomfort with someone or something may have a basis in fact.
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souldancer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soul-dancer
04:33 PM on 07/12/2012
The more I trust my intuition, the more confidence I enjoy. Much like anything other skill, the more we exercise it, the better it becomes. After leading countless workshops on my book regarding rediscovering a more fuller sense of worth, the results are clear. A solid sense of worth allows intuition to blossom - effortlessly.
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Janenotdoe
truth be known...
09:06 AM on 07/13/2012
understood, souldancer



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