Song of the Week

Listen to this song as you read to help open you up. Dear Brother by Nahko And Medicine For the People and Xiuhtezcatl

Updates

Training our intuitions. People I love have been bringing this up and I feel a need to understand this better in my own body. The time is ripe. Have you walked on top of a mountain ridge, where the path you’re on gets so narrow that you can see both sides on your left and right turn almost completely vertical? It makes even those with the keenest of balance pause and, gulp. As the sides melt away and you realize how wide your body is, and how narrow the land has become, it makes sense in that moment to take a breathe. You warily look back at your companions and ask, “what do we do next?” Do we proceed? Find a new route? Backtrack?

This arises often when I hear wise people talk at events. Someone inevitably, and understandingly, asks for direction, how to navigate this political moment. What they are actually requesting underneath it all is— please tell us what to do! Just as inevitable as the question, so follows the answer. Some say it more poetically than others, but essentially we are told that we must train our intuitions. That there is no known correct path these elders can foretell, but rather we must figure it out together, using our collective intuition.

The origin of the word “intuition” has roots in “insight, direct or immediate cognition, spiritual perception”. Other definitions tend to define intuition as coming into an awareness with ease, little conscious deliberation, or conscious thought. There is a gut-feel here. The scientific research I read on intuition tells a different story— one where a lot of effort is initially required to be able to reach a level of expertise that then allows one to harness intuition in a easeful way. We put in this significant energy because we all have to make decisions that are risky. How many of us have recently thought about moving to other countries to improve our chances of survival under increasing fascism in the U.S.?

Research shows that training your intuition takes years to develop and it doesn’t seem to translate well from one field of expertise to another. For example, if I was a medical doctor who had never studied car mechanics, research shows that my lack of knowledge in this sphere would disable or greatly hinder my ability to have accurate intuition around how to diagnose an issue with my car. It would be difficult for me to come to the best possible choice, or decision point, around a conundrum in a easeful manner. Research shows that intuition becomes a trustworthy way of making decisions mostly when we have a high level of expertise in the ecosystem that our decision point lives within. So I would hedge my bets on a car mechanic using their intuition to diagnose my car, over a medical doctor. Let’s take that a step further. Research shows that people trust leaders who use their expertise to make decisions informed by both intuitive processes and in-depth analysis. Makes sense. We want people charged with representing us to move in a timely way and cross-check their work.

So you want to train your intuition? I know I do.

Start with research. Learn, study, listen, talk to people who have studied this for a long time who you respect. This is a kind of foraging and gathering. Once we establish more knowledge in all the different forms, that’s when the basal ganglia light up, which seems to be the area of the brain that gets really active when we reach an intuitive decision point that also provides a rewarding outcome. Basal ganglia are known for being responsible for how we experience emotion, motivation, habits, addiction, planning, and executing tasks. Isn’t that cool?

Science isn’t the end all be all, I love the mystery of the world. I also like positive and rewarding outcomes where there’s some mystery or serendipity involved. Simultaneously, when it come to decisions with BIG impact on my life, I like to use art, spirit, and science to guide me.

Back to training our intuitions. After you’ve spent years studying an area of your life you want to have more effective intuition around, whether to move or stay put, to ask that cutie out on a date, quit that job or stay, have that surgery, drug, or take that medical advice, it’s important to open your senses. 90% of our neurons are sensory neurons, with the other 10% being motor neurons. These neurons are what take us from feeling something to doing something. Use your eyes to look at the landscape or person in front of you. Listen to the birds or the wind. Feel the temperatures shifting metaphorically and literally. Use your heart to feel. Then let it lead you to action.

If trauma is getting in the way of you being able to accurately assess a situation with your senses, get some support to help with that.

Training your intuition is about pattern recognition over time. If your body’s pattern recognition system has been colonized by memories that speak louder than is actually happening in the present, healing these memories will help you. Somatic healing helps to heal memories, which are stored in the body’s tissues, to keep the wisdom they provide in your body’s library, without demanding to be the central character in every single chapter.

I want to end this reflection with a reminder to listen to spring time. The first prickly baby deep green nettles have emerged in my backyard. I dare you to touch them and feel the power of their buzzing needles. The maple sap is drip by drip pouring out of the maples on the boulevards of South Minneapolis streets. Such sweetness in the streets. The cormorants, herons, egrets, wood ducks, red wing black birds are here again. Spring cannot be contained, and nor can you. Here’s some wisdom from the Land Knows the Way.

Schedule With Me

OTR/L, BA, MHP, LMT,
she/they) Integrative Therapies

I offer trauma informed somatic informed therapeutic coaching, craniosacral therapy, Swedish massage, Thai bodywork, myofascial release, group workshops, and healing through art, play, and connecting to nature.

Community Events

Eiko Otake: What is War April 11th and 12th (this weekend). $15 at the Walker Art Center. Eiko’s work is described as “austere, haunting movement work has often commemorated death, time, and place.” Eiko’s pretty well known in the dancer community locally, and I feel lucky to share a name with a cool elder visiting artist.

McKnight Fiber Artist Exhibition at the Textile Center: Free event, closes this weekend. The fiber nerd in me is very excited to check it out! April 13th is the last day to see it!

Dungeons and Dragons for Adults: April 16th-June 4th, eight classes on Wednesdays. $99

Dungeons and Dragons for 3rd-5th graders: April 10th- May 15th, sliding scale and on Thursdays.

Affordable Waterproof Gear: CC Military Surplus in Maplewood. This place caters to U.S. military veterans. I went there recently because I didn’t want to pay $100-$200 for waterproof camo pants which I needed for a turkey hunting class I am enrolled in. I found some used ones for $39 that actually fit! One of the best parts of spring time is plopping yourself down on a thin layer of leaves, under which lies wet soil, and if you have the right pants you can stay there for a while!

Thanks for READING! xoxo Eiko