You probably know much of this already in your gut, in your bones. But I felt it was important to give words to it, because our Western, colonial and patriarchal culture still makes intuition out to be “nebulous” and “flaky”. Here goes…
I believe that we exist simultaneously in a body—in a material dimension— and in a spiritual, or consciousness-based dimension.
We can call the latter metaphysical, or subtle-energy, or soul-field; etheric planes or 5D (and beyond). I think of both these distinct planes, Matter and Spirit, as our ecosystems, filled with complex webs of relationships.
Physically, this is everything from our body, our home, our car, our partner, our children, our workplace, the natural habitat around and underneath our human-built spaces, the web of life that keeps us fed and breathing— all our connections and interactions on a day-to-day basis.
Spiritually, I see each of us existing in as rich and complex a web of relations as the countless connections we can name in our tangible day-to-day.
The parallels are right there:
We have a spiritual “home” in our inner world, a spiritual body (or bodies, depending who you ask), loved ones, friends and family in spirit (not necessarily only people we’ve known or were related to from earthly life).
And not only that.
The denizens of the realms of spirit are numberless: so many more than those beings directly connected to us. They appear not only as human spirits but as myriad non-human, more-than-human individuals and collectives.
Gods, fae, angels, guardians, spirit animals and so many others that are impossible to name — so small is our knowledge compared to their infinity.
Many of these sacred Others are involved and intertwined in our human life, some in benevolent ways. Some are indifferent, and yet others might cause harm purposefully or inadvertently. This is in no way different than how we must be in right relationship with embodied, non-human beings. Some are naturally friendly to us, some are friendly and helpful sometimes and hostile others. Some, we want to steer fully clear of. All of them contribute to the overall thriving of Earth’s ecosystems.
In my eyes, there are many parallels between Spirit’s landscapes and living webs and our earthly environments and habitats.
Moreover, the evidence is strong for the source of all existence to be in Spirit, and flowing *from* Spirit into Matter. In other words, we’re spirits having a physical experience, and we return “home” at the close of our physical journey.
I see our Earth realm as important, beautiful, precious, interwoven with Spirit. Each impacts the other, and yet, our spiritual reality is fundamental. The invisible realms guide, move and shape our day-to-day life in ways we’ve only barely begun to acknowledge inside of Western culture.
While, going about our life, we almost take for granted the use of our body’s senses to navigate everything that takes place from the moment we open our eyes in the morning, to the second we drift into sleep at night, it’s not always the same for our spiritual reality.
Many spiritual people I’ve met have never consciously attempted to perceive the invisible ecosystem directly. Perhaps out of fear, or out of a pervasive myth that it’s hard, or that you have to be gifted with a particular psychic talent only bestowed on a select few.
And let me be clear that the invisible ecosystem is not a rarefied alien-dimension: it’s the very same reality you’re experiencing now, reading these words. It is right here and now, all around. Whatever’s happening with you, in your environment, in your relationships, is taking place also in the invisible world. You *can* know it directly, _and it is relevant because it’s your life._
What I’m proposing, then, is that what a lot of us mean when we way “trusting our intuition” is about opening the equivalent of our eyes and ears — all our senses — in the non-material realms. To navigate life, not blind, not bereft of reference points, not lost.
Just as our sense of smell lets us know if the milk carton we just took out of the fridge has gone bad, our intuition is *wanting* to protect us from an abusive relationship. Just as our sense of hearing lets us take in the most ecstatic music, our intuition lets us know that that opportunity that looks doubtful on paper is actually portal to great learning and future success. An attuned intuition is our way of *knowing what is so,* in a sea of possibilities.
Intuition is the antidote to nihilism, as it taps us into channels of meaning and connection that are always there, waiting for us in the invisible realms.
Our culture’s insistence that intuition is a frou-frou, lightweight thing has blinded us collectively to the fact that our spirit eyes and ears are, perhaps, the most life-saving, life-connecting faculty we possess. And too many of us don’t know how to use them, or what to make of what they experience through those psychic channels.
Intuition lets us read the currents of a situation to know whether, first and foremost, it’s safe and right at a survival level. It might let us see glimpses of others in pain and distress when we have a chance to make a difference.
It especially activates when our hearts are open to another in service of their highest good, helping create pathways to solutions where there might have been none in sight. For intuition-literate people, it may be possible to glean the truth of a mystery such as a crime or the whereabouts of a missing person.
And this cosmic GPS, aside from guiding us to navigate life in the most inspired, right-for-us way, also guides us *home* to our spiritual essence of connectedness, through time, space and dimensions.
P.S.,
And *yes*, despite the typical rebuttal you’ve probably heard countless times…
*“If psychic abilities are real how come no one’s won the lottery with them?”*
…people *do* win money in games of chance, and make profits in financial investment through intuition. They just don’t tell *everyone* about it