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Judith Orloff MDAuthor, 'Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life'

GET UPDATES FROM Judith Orloff MD Like 219 How to Intuitively Make Smart Decisions Posted: 02/09/2013 1:20 am Follow

Happiness , Self Help , Video , Inner Wisdom , Positive Energy , Relationship Advice , Developing Intuition , Finding Inner Wisdom , Good Health , Gut Instincts , Inner Voice , Instincts , Intuition , Intuitive , Negative Vibes , Personal Development , Self Help Advice , Self-Awareness , Smart Decisions , Wisdom , Healthy Living News
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As an intuitive psychiatrist, I worship my high-octane intuitions: I owe the blessing of becoming a physician to one. However, at 20, when an unwavering inner voice told me I was going to medical school, it was the last thing I thought I wanted. This gut-centered voice committed to your happiness, health, and survival is, with practice, accessible to everyone. But when you deviate even a nano-fraction from your inner voice, energy wanes, whether a subtle seepage or radical bottoming-out. The more ferociously faithful you are to this truth, the more energized you'll be.

Intuition offers a direct line to your life force, and also, as I experience it, to a divine intelligence. We can't afford to remain deaf to intuition's messages. Its expertise is energy; its job is to know every nuance of what makes you tick. A master at reading vibes, intuition is constantly tallying: what gives positive energy, what dissipates it. Who you meet, where you go, your job, your family, current events, are all evaluated -- crucial data that you can learn to interpret and apply.

Here's a formula from my book Positive Energy to help you get started. First, listen to your body: There are positive and negative intuitions about relationships, which highlight compatible matches. Second, act on this information, which is often the hardest part. Let me walk you through the process.

Recognize Your Body's Intuitions About Vibes

A people-skill most of our parents didn't know or teach us is intuitively reading vibes. We've learned to draw conclusions from surface data: how nice someone seems, looks, education, or if a situation adds up on paper. But intuition goes deeper; to make it work for you, other ingredients must be considered, such as what positive vibes feel like -- for instance, a sense of heart, compassion, and nurturance. In contrast, negative people project prickly, draining vibes that put you on guard.

Here is a general guideline of body-based intuitions. Use this checklist at a first meeting, to troubleshoot problems if you're already involved, or to weigh "opportunities." Also, feel free to add to it. Being an intuitive, I know that a signature energy always accompanies situations or people. Remember the Lil' Abner jinxed cartoon character who always had a black cloud hanging over his head? Not a vibe that bodes well for auspicious outcomes. Instead, learn to gravitate toward brightness, a positive intuition your body's responses will affirm. When tuning into vibes, take a few quiet moments to go into sensing mode, not intellectual analysis. Look for these signs to determine attraction.

Positive Intuitions About Relationships or Situations

A feeling of comforting familiarity or brightness, you may sense you've known the person before, as with the experience of deja-vu You breathe easier, chest and shoulders are relaxed, gut is calmYou find yourself leaning forward, not defensively crossing your arms or edging away to keep a distance Your heart opens; you feel safe, peaceful, energized, expansive, or aliveYou're at ease with a person's touch, whether a handshake, hug, or during intimacy

Negative Intuitions About Relationships or Situations

A sick feeling in the pit of your stomach or increased stomach acid, which may prompt an unpalatable deja-vuYour skin starts crawling, you're jumpy, instinctively withdraw if touchedShoulder muscles are in knots, chest area or throat constricts; you notice aggravated aches or painsThe hair on the back of your neck creepily stands on endA sense of malaise, darkness, pressure, agitation, or being drained

Intuition helps you act from instinct, not impulse -- a look-before-you-leap wisdom that points you to positive energy. When it comes to who you love, where you work, or any important decision, the last thing you want to be is vague. Tuning in keeps you specific. Practice the next exercise to get this down.

With Intuition, Learn How to Pin Down and Act on Your Vibes

Now you're going to tune in, trust your body, and make choices based on the vibes you sense.

Tune In: Choose a relationship or situation that needs clarification about whether or not to go forward. Perhaps a friendship, vacation or move. Begin with an easier target before you take on higher stakes. Run it by this section's criteria for positive and negative intuitions -- or others you find reliable. It's helpful to make a "top five" list of the most killer indicators of positive attraction. For one of my patients, it includes feeling energized and safe. Another must register an increased aliveness and peaceful sense. Write your top five in a journal so they don't get hazy. See how they add up here.

Act on Vibes: This is where we must be warriors. I know personally and from patients how much easier it is to tune into than to act on vibes. Insecurity, ego, lust, stubbornness can obscure better judgment. Sometimes it takes succumbing to them all to realize you won't tolerate such battering again. But if you don't have to take such a bumpy route, try these options. If the vibes feel overall positive, go for it; explore possibilities. If the vibes are mixed or you're unsure, take a pass, or at least wait. If there's just negative, have the courage to walk away, no matter how tempting the option seems. Then observe how listening to energy in this way leads you to the juiciest opportunities.

Now I want you to start listening. Really listening. I guarantee you'll start making smarter choices. Why? You'll be operating from a spot inside that's juicy, core-felt, authentic -- not from an impulse to conform or disown your strength. You won't be seduced by what may look good, but betrays your gut. Intuition is a truth detector.

For more by Judith Orloff, M.D., click here.

For more on wisdom, click here.

This Blogger's Books from

Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself from Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life
by Judith Orloff

Dr. Judith Orloff's Guide to Intuitive Healing: 5 Steps to Physical, Emotional, and Sexual Wellness
by Judith Orloff

Follow Judith Orloff MD on Twitter:www.twitter.com/JudithOrloffMD

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View All Recency | Popularity Im2Left4U 7 Fans 2 minutes ago ( 8:41 AM)Read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. It is excellent and well researched.Im2Left4U: Read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. It is excellent and wellhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Im2Left4U/how-to-intuitively-make-s_b_2639083_228678572.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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Glidepath 0 Fans 3 hours ago ( 6:10 AM)Excellent article.
Would like to share a comment on "Common Sense" that probably says it all in the fewest words possible.

"If it walks, looks and quacks like a duck it's a duck. How often have you thrown common sense out the window because you wanted to believe that the duck was a swan? That's when most problems start and when people are left disappointed and sometimes devastated."

Judge Judy Sheindlin, Nov. 15, 2012 on her blog in regard to "Common Sense"Glidepath: Excellent article. Would like to share a comment on "Commonhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Glidepath/how-to-intuitively-make-s_b_2639083_228667658.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share it

Glidepath 0 Fans 1 hour ago ( 7:39 AM)Appears I had the cart ahead of the horse. The reason she talks about "Common Sense " and "Intuition" is the following:

On her last visit on the Larry King program before his retirement, right out of the box he asked her:

"What is the biggest attribute a person can have? Is it an education, morals, character or what?"

She responded: "Well Larry, over my long career on the bench I have met people with the most IMPRESSIVE academic credentials (As in Yale Phi Beta.....) but some of them didn't have an ounce of common sense. So I would have to say that COMMON SENSE is the biggest attribute a person can have."

Judge Judy on Larry King

(Laughed knowingly at her response; so true.)Glidepath: Appears I had the cart ahead of the horse. Thehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Glidepath/how-to-intuitively-make-s_b_2639083_228672664.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments…This comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

Loading comments… lizp33558 76 Fans 3 hours ago ( 5:44 AM)good information, i tend to be more intellectual in nature. I will definitly give this a shot,i can think of many times now that my body was giving me signals.lizp33558: good information, i tend to be more intellectual in nature.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/lizp33558/how-to-intuitively-make-s_b_2639083_228666591.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation.

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