How to listen to your intuition: head versus heart
In this mini series, I’m sharing how you can listen to your intuition with a few simple steps. I've already shown you how to pay attention to what your body is telling you as a way of listening to your intuition. As that post mentioned, your body may indicate an intuitive response which, at times, may be at odds with what your mind is telling you. Thus, the battle of heart versus head, which we’ll explore in this article.
What is the role of your head and heart in intuition?
We have both the head and heart for a reason — we need both. But each plays a different role when it comes to intuition. Let’s look at the role of the head, then the role of the heart. How do you know which is which and what they’re saying?
1. The heart
When I say heart, I mean your spiritual heart or centre, not your emotional heart, which actually can complicate matters further. You may find it easier to think of it as your true self, your spirit. Many people, myself included, feel this located in their heart/chest area.
To be honest, it really doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as you recognise there is a part of your which is pure, open, loving, non-judgmental, spacious, free, flexible – this is who/what you really are when you peel back the physical, mental and emotional bodies.
2. The head
If your heart is your spiritual body, the head then is most definitely your mental body. When I refer to the head, I mean the thinking, rational, logical home. The head is also home to the ego – and not necessarily the arrogant, cockiness you may think of when someone is described as egotistical, or self-centred.
Rather, the ego I refer to is that part of you which bombards you with constant mind chatter. That chatter is usually focused on facts and figures, pros and cons, is judgmental, spends a lot of time wondering “what if?” and tends to be limited in its viewpoint, as it doesn’t know all the answers. The mind and its thinking is indeed an important, useful tool, but it’s not who you really are, nor is it connected to that bigger element that connects us all – that is reserved for the heart.
Is it your head or your heart?
One of the best ways to decipher the difference between your head and heart is by how it feels. Because the heart is connect to the part of you that knows your path and purpose, it is geared towards your growth, lessons and expansion. When you are truly connected to your heart’s wisdom and guidance, it will feel loving and expansive. It may still push you outside your comfort zone, but it will do so from a place of love.
On the other hand, the head feels like fear. The head’s guidance is usually about keeping you safe, or small. It’s about minimising and perceived damage. The head is less likely to want you outside your comfort zone.
Another great tip for telling the difference between intuition and logic, or your had and heart is to catch yourself thinking. As you notice yourself thinking, consider which part of you is doing the thinking and which part of you caught it? Generally, the head is thinking and the heart caught it.
Which wins: the heart or the head?
That is your decision – you have free will (a whole other post!) but I urge you to follow your heart.
As your true self, your spiritual core, your heart is connected to something much bigger than the knowledge your mind is privy to. It is energy, it flows and knows where you’re meant to go, even if it doesn’t lay out the steps (as the head will beg it to do).
The head, in its more logical, step-by-step approach is not aware of the bigger picture and panics when it cannot see the process or map laid out ahead of it. It doesn’t know what your soul is here to do, what you’re meant to learn. The head is fearful and often convinces you to stay where it knows how to be in control. It works hard to convince you to listen to and follow it, rather than your heart.
Typically, I will ask my heart for guidance, then task my head with helping to make it happen.
How to follow your heart
Wouldn’t you prefer to trust in something that knows the bigger life path for you, then relying on a very limited understanding of your path? This is not an easy thing to master, yet, it is at the core of being able to follow your intuition and its the reason I wrote Follow Your Heart.
Remember, intuition is not meant to be logical. It simply gives you gentle nudges in a particular direction and your job is to trust that something bigger is at play. In following this, you will end up where you need to be and only in looking back and you see your way forward. For this to happen, you must be centred in your heart, not your head.
What do you think? Do you end up relying on your head, because it leads you somewhere safe or ‘reliable’ or are you able to leap out from your heart?
