November 22, 2011
by Angela Archer
Intuition: If you’re about to do something, and it feels exciting or impulsive, but there is a small voice in your head that says “maybe this isn’t such a good idea…”
Example: You are thinking of calling your ex so that you could get some action (if you catch my drift). A voice then whispers, “You might feel good temporarily, but you won’t later.” Or you are about to stick your head into a preheated oven (at 400°) and bake it for forty minutes. Then a feeling or a voice pops into your head, screaming, “WTF has gotten into you? Bad idea. Don’t do it!”
Understand that the little voice is your intuition (and that louder voice, fear, will yell to save your ass)! Listen. Why? It’s there to check you before you wreck yo’self. Your intuition speaks up especially before you decide to do something that is harmful. Of course many folks choose to ignore that little voice (or might not know what that little voice is)…
Ok, before thinking that all the “little voices” you hear are stemming from intuition, it’s also good to see where the voices are coming from:
- Looking out for your best interests? INTUITION. (Heed its advice!) Intuition is inner-knowing. You just know when something is good for you. Nuff said. Intuitive guidance is not accompanied by feelings or emotions; it is neutral and quieter in tone.
- Coming from a place of fear, survival, or desperation? That’s FEAR/EGO. (Acknowledge it, and make a choice that’s better for you, and not based out of fear/ego. Fear and ego are linked to survival, however, and when they speak, they often speak or yell in louder voices, unlike intuition.)
- Coming from an emotional place? Those are FEELINGS. Feelings provide useful information, but they are different than intuition.
- Asking you to do something that involves some pain and pleasure but might feel good or do something destructive/compulsive? This could be hurt/compulsive feelings or possibly outside influences, but I’ll call this catch-all category The FOOL, since it often fools the recipient. Instead of going through with the compulsive/destructive action, it’s better to interrupt the negative act or thought and see if there is a message in it — that could give you insight on yourself (and what’s underneath the behavior that the compulsion is calling you to do).
Of course no system of categorization is perfect and absolute, it just makes understanding more accessible. You may experience a combination of the voices above, as they might assist you, speaking as a collective. None of these categories are “bad,” including fear/ego and the fool. They all provide useful information, if you can understand them.
Before doing something impulsive/rash, both intuition and feelings usually chime in.
Intuition and feelings are different:
• Intuition is inner-knowing, intuition is wise. It’s your inner guidance system. Intuition serves your best and highest interests.
• Feelings are more like a systems monitor — they clue you in…if you are on or off course, so you can decide if something needs to be adjusted.
Shortcut: If you have trouble accessing your intuition but need answers for something you are about to do…
Ask yourself: “Will I regret this?” or “Is this GOOD for me?“
Bottomline: Regardless of what form it comes in (for some, intuition may come in feelings, thoughts, voices, visions, etc.), the more you start paying attention to your intuition and take its advice, the more you will hone it. 
How do you experience your intuition?
i don’t know if it’s intuition. when i’m about to do something that i almost always regret, i feel that i need to get a fix, i feel compulsive. then i do it, go through the the compulsion and feel regret. lol. ok i think i just answered my own question. that’s not intuition, given what you wrote here. looks like it’s fear-based behavior.
Actually Charlie, it is intuition that you are describing, according to this article and definitely mostly the definition for intuition but not necessarily, and that’s where I come in with a comment on this article..
I think that intuition is a little more than a simple defense mechanism designed to keep you alive as the article seems to try to say.. so dig deeper people, you’ll find what it exactly means for you individually and personally…..
Jen, I don’t think the article is saying that intuition is a simple defense mechanism designed to keep you alive. To quote the author, “Intuition is inner-knowing, intuition is wise. It’s your inner guidance system.” Something with wisdom and serves as an inner guidance system…is not exactly a simple mechanism, unlike a simple automated response mechanism, like a heart rate monitor.
Charlie, what you described sounds like compulsion. You indicated that you felt “compelled.” That you “need to get a fix.” That you regretted it after the fact.
Compulsion is NOT intuition. I believe your intuition already kicked in before the compulsion, but you ignored that small voice and gave in to the loud voice, compulsion, and did something you regretted, several times. Intuition serves your highest interests, it would not lead someone to doing regretful, multiple times.
If this is frequent, it sounds like it could possibly be OCD? Those who suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can’t stop themselves, even though they know something is bad for them, because they feel compelled to follow through on an action regardless of the thought process (of that behavior being bad for them).