Harnessing intuition through creative wellness & empowerment practices

So when I talk about intuition I mean being so intune with your gut and inner knowing that you can understand things or know what to do without the need for conscious reasoning or analysis. 

Like a GUT FEELING or an INNER KNOWING. 

We’re not really taught to get in tune with this very powerful inner dialogue or inner power or inner wisdom. 

And what I’ve come to understand for myself is that getting in tune with this inner magic and really feelling into our decisions and getting comfortable being still in our bodies and minds so that we can tune our inner antenna into this amazing resource, is a big key to living more authentic soul-aligned lives and simply feeling better and more equipped to deal with difficult days or chapters in life with more love, grace and acceptance. 

Accessing our intuition helps us to have more compassion and empathy both for ourselves and for others. And it helps us to not feel as stuck and powerless, more resilient and to able to transition into brighter experiences more easily and quickly than if we were to try and figure out everything in our heads and rely too heavily on the opinions and perspectives of others.

Understandng and trusting that we do not always need to apply logic and reason to problems, decisions, set backs, tension, feels of unrest or disappointment, overwhelm or that sense of unfulfillment when we’ve lost touch with ourselves through the myriad of roles and responsibilities we impose upon ourselves through society's conditioning and expectations. As women we are literally doing it all! And if we don’t stop and take the time to truly know ourselves then no one will really know us.

So when we realise how important it is to spend time cultivating a relationship with our intuition, we can work on finding ways to really nurture ourselves and start to remember who we are at our core, by getting curious about our intuitive instincts. And remembering our strengths and weaknesses with loving kindness that actually empower us to make better choices and decisions that truly support us as we show up in the complicated, noisy, opinionated world that we all live in.

Accessing and harnessing our intuition is a critical part of living our best lives. Developing inner trust, confidence and knowing. Using our inner power and wisdom to guide us an to support us towards a living a soul-aligned live that feels more doable, more gentle and peaceful, as we learn to cut out things that harm us and to add more in that nourishes us.

Our intuitive power can be tapping into our subconscious and our mental and muscle or sensory memory. We have lived many experiences and we intuitively know what steps to take when we have already learnt a lesson before. Ever heard that saying: The universe will keep throwing the same problem/toxic situation until you’ve learnt the lesson. Well I would say until you’ve learnt to trust your intuition enough to stop repeating it. This is part of sub conscious programming from our lived experiences. But there is also an element of intuition that is spiritual or truly soul-led, inherited from our ancestors or part of the universes inter connectedness.

We inherently know what to do, but trusting, listening, and acting upon this inner roadmap or compass is a different thing entirely. However when we learn to tune in and harness this inner power, we become unstoppable and resilient and at peace with whatever may come.

A slow burning light bulb for me, has been how creativity and art-making make it easier and more effortless to access my own intuition. 

Through the simple act of creating things with your hands, you able to defer that busy brain into the tactile task at hand allowing your intuition and inner wisdom to bubble to the surface. Helping you to make creative decisions, take creative risks and helping you get so still and quiet in your mind. That your intuitive voice can be heard. 

Often thoughts and emotions will bubble up to the surface randomly as you deeply immerse yourself in creative activites. It will help you to let go of toxic energy and stress but also help you to process thoughts, feelings and emotions without having to apply logic, words or reason to them. Just sit with them and let them go.

This process is enhance the deeper your creative practice. Mindfulness is one thing but in learning to trust the creative process as you take bigger risks and decisions with your creative work you will also learn to trust that inner guidance in other areas of your life. 

Over time challenging yourself creatively this way leads to a strong relationship with your inner world.

And it is in this overspilling of trust, power, wisdom, knowing and inner truths that we can really benefit in other aeras of our life. 

Making it easier to problem solve, deal with the intricacies of relationships, to seek and act in such as way that you are more life is more aligned with your soul. You feel better and less tangled up and confused and overwhelmed. You will make better choices that support your overall health and well-being.

I can hear you saying, sounds easier that it really is to know how get sarted cultivating this kind of creative practice. And this is why I combine both soul-led wellness practices together with creative and art-making practices. 

When we settle ourselves into our creative sessions, by gently meeting ourselves where we are, taking the time to ground ourselves and meet ourselves with love. When we time to active our creative side by setting intentions and injecting positive energy into the moment we are more likely to experience less discomfort, fidgeting, restlessness and mental chatter as we embark on creative activies.

It is also important to turly give ourselves permission to play and explore with our creative selves before we force too many boundaries or too many goals for our creative work.

I often suggest a warm up exercise prior to launching in, where there is zero attachment to the outcome and we simply playing with our materials, ideas and techniques with childlike curiosity ready to throw out the finished experiment because we really have not attachment to it. We are in it plainly and purely for the creative process alone. This process is cathartic and freeing providing the perfect foundation for free expression and creative risk taking, free of judgement and worry.

Once we have set the scene for ourselves we will get more out of a goal orientated creative session and we will hold less attachment to the finished artwork as a result. Knowing we can always paint over, start again or throw it away, because we will have gained so much from showing up and particiaping in the creative process.

And last but not least,relfecting on our creative experiences, and our creative work. REally sitting with it and staring at it. absorbing it, immersing ourselves in it, will help us bring it all together and reflet on our intiutve decision, as well as our intiutve experiences and will help us get to know this truly powerful part of our inner world.

Take care, Sam x

 Sam Horton is a professional artist, passionate about the links between art, creativity and well-being.

Learn more about Holistic art practices for well-being

Sam's Art Studio and Studio Shop are based in Australia on the Sunshine Coast.

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