I wanted to stop, but I was told I shouldn’t. A clear voice, urging me to keep going, that it was going to rain later, and if I stopped at this café, I was going to get wet on the way back home. The message was so specific and direct that I decided to listen to it.
So, I didn’t stop at the café I usually go to. Instead, I went to a café near my house. And… that voice was right. When I came out of the café a few hours later, it was indeed raining. I was very happy that I had listened, since I was very close to home and didn’t get drenched like I would have if I had stopped where I originally wanted to.
Ever since I traveled the world on my own some years ago, I realized that I have a strong intuition, one that speaks to me fast and clearly. During that trip, I learned to listen to it, to trust it, and make quick decisions based on what it told me.
“These new people I just met are inviting me to travel with them for a few days (or weeks). Can I trust them? Should I go? Is it safe? Will I enjoy it?”
Before that trip, in my regular life, I rarely encountered situations like this, where I had to make fast decisions that would affect me for days or weeks. Usually, I had time to decide, to think about it, or the decision was unimportant, so it didn’t matter much what I did. But during this trip, I encountered situations like the above all the time.
I had many opportunities to practice listening to my intuition. After a few months, I was an expert. I could quickly tell if I could trust someone, if I should accept or decline an invitation, or the other way around, if I should invite someone to join me.
I vividly remember one time on a plane from Kathmandu to Delhi. Two young Nepalese women started talking to me. After a few minutes, they invited me to join them on a 10-day pilgrimage through North India. They were meeting two Indian guys in Delhi and planned to visit three different temples. As the plane was about to land, I had to decide:
Was I canceling my plans in India to join strangers whose names I didn’t even know? Or was I going to say “No, thank you” and go my way?
My intuition told me to go for it, so I did.
Things could’ve gone very wrong. We went to places where no one spoke English, places where I had zero idea where we were, where I had no idea how to leave if something went wrong. But I knew I could trust them. Even though they were strangers, I could tell they were nice people and meant no harm.
And in the end, it was an amazing experience. We visited places I would’ve never gone if it wasn’t for them, places where I was the only tourist. We did pilgrimages to temples that people wait their whole lives to visit. I remember one being a 20-hour journey by foot, up and down a mountain to enter a cave and see the holy statue, to offer our gifts. Crazy stuff.
There are countless other stories like this where intuition served me well. And even though, by now, I should know better and listen when this voice talks to me, I still sometimes don’t…
Just last week, my intuition spoke to me three times. I listened the first two times. But the third time, it didn’t align with my plans, so I ignored it.
And what happened?
I got sick and had to recover for five days.
Many times, my intuition has told me that I need to rest, and take a break. But that’s hard for me, because I like to be productive and get stuff done. Resting or taking a break sometimes feels wasteful. But you know what’s even more wasteful than taking one day off? Getting sick and having to take five days off.
This experience reminded me: I need to listen not only when it’s convenient, but especially when it’s not.
The alternative usually costs me more.
So what about you?
Can you remember a time your intuition spoke to you so clearly that you had to listen? Or is there something it’s telling you now that you’ve been ignoring? I would love to hear about it; just reply and let me know.
Until next time,
Angel
P.S. I’ve been training for my 800km bike trip from Berlin to Austria, which is happening in one month!
For a while, I felt somewhat adventurous for doing something like this. But recently I read this story, about a person who biked from Berlin to Tokyo, on a bike with no gears and no brakes! Definetly a humbling and inspiring read.
