Have you ever taken action on intuitive guidance – and nothing happened? You may have felt intensely drawn to a real estate listing, only to look at the home and leave disappointed. You may have excitedly applied for a job that felt like it was meant just for you, only to not even get an interview. Or gone out on a date with someone you were excited about, only to have a very boring experience. Sometimes we feel so guided in our actions, but the results don’t seem particularly positive. We are left questioning ourselves and our intuition. Are we just imagining our intuitive impulses?
Actually, our intuition may be working just fine! Here are a few reasons why it sometimes feels as if our intuition has let us down:
The intuitive impulse was accurate, but our mind assumed a specific outcome.
We may be looking for a new home. A real estate listing resonates with us and we receive the intuitive impulse to go and check it out. So far, so good. But now our mind attaches meaning and outcome to the intuitive guidance – that this is the house we will live in. In actuality, maybe our Spirit Guides just wanted us to check out that particular neighborhood. Because we’ve already created an expected outcome, the actual benefits of this intuitive guidance may go unnoticed.
The guidance serves to refine our intent.
Sometimes our intent is too general. For example, we may think we want a job in a particular field that pays a specific income. But when we go and interview with a large corporation, we realize that we also really want to work within a small company. Until we were guided towards this particular interview, we had no way of knowing this about ourselves. Our intuitive guidance assisted us in gaining clarity, so that we can manifest a job that truly serves us. If our expectation, however, was to find a job based on this particular interview, then we may be disappointed.
The guidance serves to expand our frame of reference.
Our Higher Self and Spirit Guides have to work within what we know. For example, I understand nothing about the stock market. If I tried to apply my intuition to buying stocks, I would be miserably inaccurate and lose a lot of money! The workings of the stock market are outside of my frame of reference. Every once in a while, we are sent into a direction that expands what we know of the world. In the examples I used previously, we may be sent to see a home for sale in order to create an accurate frame of references for current housing prices. Or maybe we are sent on a job interview so that we can have an accurate frame of reference for the types of benefits some companies offer.
The guidance serves to take us to the next step.
Maybe our Guides and Higher Self send us to check out a home for sale so that we would meet a particular realtor. Meeting a realtor that would truly serve our highest good in our search for a new home is the next step on our journey. Your Spirit Guides might nudge you to go out with someone so that you can end up with a referral to their massage therapist. You might be led to attend a workshop in order to meet a future business partner. If we are only focused on a specific end result, we may miss out on many of the resources that intuitive guidance provides for us along the way.
The next time you feel as if your intuition led you astray, ask yourself what you truly received from the experience of acting on guidance. Let go of your expectations, so that you can witness how beautifully supported you are – even though that support may come in unanticipated ways.
Blessings,
Andrea
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
We usually look at our life from a very limited point of view. What I hear you saying is that our guide’s views are much broader, more open than ours so don’t limit our world to our small view of it. So appropriate to where I am right now. Thanks.
Hello, Andrea! Here is a long overdue hello and comment. I hope all is well with you.
I like your idea that our helpers can only work with what they have, and that sometimes they simply nudge us in a particular direction. Sometimes a road-map to the universe would be above our heads!
Of course, as always, the key is to refine our consciousness through meditation and inner practice that we can better tune in to the inner guidance we receive.
Andrea, how so very right you are! I can hardly believe when I opened my inbox today, of all days, to this subject matter!!! I just got home from a healing center I need to tell you about. And my proof positive!
Just this week a friend called that I hadn’t spoken with in about a year. There were unresolved elements to our situation when we last we were in contact, the reason for the distance. So naturally I thought the opportunity was presenting itself to make things right, air out what had never been expressed. Although we did do some of that in the end, it was not my BIG reason.
This friend wanted me to go to a spiritual healing center for unspecified purpose. It felt odd, uncomfortable to say yes. I presumed it to be my uneasiness about the pending conversations about our differences.
We got to this center and I was really struggling with what seemed to be going on there. It definitely felt ‘cultish’ and weird. I, in fact, had fallen prey not too very long ago to cultish type behavior (and expense of all types) and was pretty unaware, before, during and for quite awhile after this involvement. I had a lot of learning to do as a result. Today proved I did in fact learn. When I got home and googled the center’s name, most everything that came up said ‘cult’. And that’s what my intuition was warning me about, not incomplete or uncomfortable conversations.
I was reminded just now as I wrote this comment of a saying I heard often in childhood, right church, wrong pew…Have to love that one’s guides have a sense of humor no less, never mind the spam word that was mine here today, wisdom.
Patricia – Exactly! We get the entire big picture in hindsight, but when we’re in the middle of things, we just see our limited perspective. It’s like being in a valley between two mountains – once we get to the next mountain top, all is revealed.
ReddyK – Hello!!! So nice to see you commenting here – we’ve missed your insights. Yes, yes, yes on refining consciousness. The more aware we are of the workings of our ego, the more we can tell apart what is guidance and what is just our Lower Self spinning its story.
Barbara – What a perfect story to share! Our minds do tend to grab at the most obvious “reasons” for any kind of intuitive nudge, be they discomfort or attraction. It’s a great idea to develop an attitude of curiosity rather than attaching meaning. I tend to follow my nudges and then wait to see what will reveal itself – this is an incredible way of spotting the little miracles that do happen to us every day.
Blessings,
Andrea
Your posts always have perfect timing for me, and this one is no exception. I’ve been worrying about this particular issue a lot lately, and, as you always seem to do, you came up with good advice at the best possible moment.
Thanks. Keep up the great posts and the great timing!
Thanks for this, Andrea – such a great way of looking at those puzzling moments where I wonder “what the…?!”
I’m quite familiar with the refining aspect – I think my guides have to do a lot of that for me sometimes! Your other reasons make a lot of sense as well and certainly explain some of my experiences!
Interestingly, we’ve just been through the whole house-hunting process, and have now found “our” house which will soon legally belong to us
I had a very clear idea of the energy that I wanted the house to have, but I also had a list of physical characteristics that I wanted. When we walked into the house that we’re now going to buy, we fell in love with it. It felt like home. It was a perfect energy match, but… it had very few of the physical characteristics that I wanted. I was trying to work this out and the next weekend, found myself drawn to looking at another house – turned out it had all the physical characteristics, but the energy was all wrong! Definitely a case of intuition and my guides helping me to clarify what I wanted, and to confirm that the energy level was important for me. Besides, after looking at “our” house again, we realised that we would be able to do a few fairly minor renovations to obtain most of the physical characteristics that we wanted anyway!
Hi Andrea,
Yes that resonated with me. In my words I would say that we cannot know what is in our highest interest, the best we can do is trust the guidance we are given and go with it. We only question whether the guidance we were given was ‘right’ when we have attached to an outcome which doesnt materialize in the way we expected. True surrendered living is living without outcomes. Life becomes one big guidance if you like. Though ultimately there is no need to go internally to find the guidance, as you ARE the guidance. Hope you are well,
Regards,
Andrew
Andrea,
I had a recent example of this that has stuck with me and really helped me keep my mind open to the possibilities instead of focusing on what I think I want from a situation.
I was reading a blog about creating information products one morning and there was a comment by a lady who said she had 2 projects underway but was ’stuck’ with them because she didn’t have the programming skills to complete them.
My Little Voice whispered, “You should contact her to see if you can help.”
I said, “Yeah right – like she’s going to think I’m anything but weird if I contact her out of the blue like that. Please!” (Yes, I talk back to my Little Voice. Sometimes out loud…LOL)
My Little Voice would not be ignored. It kept at me, growing louder and more insistent as the morning wore on. Finally, I couldn’t take the distraction anymore and said (outloud), “Allright already! I’m going back to look up her contact information. Will you be quiet now?”
Soon, we were on the phone and she was describing her projects to me. My heart sank because I was SO NOT interested in doing the kind of programming she would require. I said silently to my Little Voice, “See what I get when I listen to you? You were wrong.”
My Little Voice said (and I could see in my mind’s eye a smug look on it’s little face), “Tell her why you’re not interested in that kind of work.”
So, I took a deep breath and said, “I’m lost as to why I was so strongly led to contact you now, because while I could probably do those projects, I honestly, really don’t want to. Back-end programming like that is not what I enjoy and when I was working in Corporate America, I got my fill of that. What I love to do is build websites and help people bring their work to the online world. It’s a creative outlet for me, too, and now that I’m self-employed, I have promised myself I would only do work that I love. Do you understand?”
Low and behold, here is what she said: “I absolutely understand and completely agree with you! And now I know why you were so strongly led to contact me! I have a website that I really want to promote, but I don’t because it’s so ugly. I’ve been wanting to find someone who could overhaul it and make me proud to put my name on it – I think that person might be you!”
My Little Voice: “Neener, neener, neeeeeener! Told ya! Bet you’ll pay more attention to me now, huh?”
That was three months ago, and not only have I overhauled that site for her, I’ve built a second one for her and she has hired me to coach her, too! She is my IDEAL web client and since her, I’ve gained 3 more just like her!
Letting go of preconceived outcomes is still a challenge for me, but so much of what I want in life (that I am now blessed to HAVE in my life!) has come by unexpected, seemingly unrelated chains of events that I question my Little Voice far less these days. I am learning not only to trust those nudges, but actually seek them out, and to the extent that I do, my life improves and I am happier. And you, my dear Andrea, have been a BIG, positive influence in my ability to do that!
Thank you!
Suzanne
I like this approach to understanding how intuition works. It’s a process that goes its own way and leads us to our destinations at its own pace. Too often we expect that A will quickly lead to B and then C and so on when the process can be a lot more circuitous.
Interesting you mentioned the stock market. I’ve been working with my HS to do some trades the last few days (the market is down, which means this is the great time to buy!). Yesterday, my HS approved of purchasing a certain ETF, so I put limit order, only to find my order didn’t go through. I will refine my frame of reference and keep working!
Mags – Congratulations on your new home! Sounds like your Guides took you on a lovely intention-refining tour in the process. Sometimes we do have to get clear about what we want – best way to do that sometimes is to figure out what we DON’T want, right?
Andrew – I agree that being so attuned to guidance that we “are” guidance is the ideal – that knowing that just arises from our being …. yummy. Surrendering the outcome is huge – as long as we don’t surrender the responsibility of creating with intent. That’s the one thing that definitely remains our job.
Suzanne – GREAT story! Perfect example of how the guidance and the end result aren’t always linear or immediately obvious. Thank you for sharing this here!
Kirsten – Thank you! You’re totally right, it does go its own perfect way. The funny thing is that, while it all looks circuitous while we’re following our nudges from A to B to C (in a very non-linear way), when we get to an “outcome” we recognize how efficiently it all unfolded. It always seems miraculous to me!
Akemi – Oh yes, you need to a. know what you’re doing and b. the money must also have meaning. If it doesn’t add to your growth and learning, you may find that the guidance isn’t all that accurate. Your order not going through may be one of those little blessings in disguise!
Blessings,
Andrea
Hey Andrea, thanks for the reply, I hope its ok to follow up your response with questions. Why is it our job to take responsibility for creating with intent? What do you feel would happen if we surrendered that responsibility?
Regards,
Andrew
Andrew – Love that question. You know, it’s actually impossible for us NOT to be responsible for creating our lives. If we are here, we are creating through intent. We can do that unconsciously or consciously – totally up to us. But it’s not a responsibility we can surrender, ever.
In a nutshell – we are here to grow and evolve. That’s why our Soul decided to incarnate. The system we learn through here is really simple: choice and consequence. We can’t get out of that system. Even if we decide to not make choices or be responsible for them – that’s still a choice that will be reflected back to us. We are Divine beings, and we mirror the Divine in our ability to be Creators, whether we like it or not. We also can’t get out of intent – if we think, there’s an intent … even if that intent is total surrender, that’s still an intent, and we’re still responsible for our Creation that arises from that intent. Creating nothing in particular is still creating.
Part of the process of growth and evolution is becoming conscious of this perfect system of choice and consequence. The more conscious we are, the more aware we are of our intent and choices, and their consequences. This growing awareness makes us more powerful in the ability to create more of what we want. But we are each completely responsible for creating our human experience, whether we choose to be conscious of the process or not.
Let me know what you think!
Blessings,
Andrea
Andrea, I think your explanation to Andrew is phenomenal. The intent to create can be mulitiplied to whatever level you want to take it. Even saying you never intend, over and over. That makes oodles of sense and explains unconscious results to a tee.
Hi Andrea, thanks for the well thought out reply. I agree that we are always creating, whether consciously or unconsciously. It is part of what it is to be human, right? I also agree that those who are creating consciously have taken a conscious responsibility for what they are creating. However, this is where something very strange happens. If we want to create true joy, peace and ease in our lives, then what we need to do is to take responsibility for surrendering our responsibility to create! Surrendering this responsibility becomes the conscious choice. When we take responsibility for surrendering our responsibility to create, we become open to all possibilities, we become open to what the universe wants to give us. We become the universe. We become the creator and the created.
This is a very abstract debate! Hope what I said made sense.
Regards,
Andrew
Barbara, thank you. I’m glad that my response resonated with you!
Andrew, the question I would have for you is: What do you think we are surrendering our responsibility to? Where does it go?
If you think our responsibility is to surrender our responsibility to the Divine (or Spirit, or the Universe, or God, whichever terminology you prefer) then we’re right back to square one. Because the Divine is still YOU.
Love this debate – can’t wait to hear your response, I’m really curious. By the way, I think we already ARE the Universe, the Creator and Created. It’s not something we become – we are all that already, right now. It’s just a matter of whether we are conscious of it or not.
Blessings,
Andrea
Hi Andrea, I believe you are exactly right in that when we surrender our responsibility, it is to the Divine which is still us. And yes you could say that takes us right back to square one. But whats wrong with being at square one? In my experience square one is where the joy and the ease and the freedom is at. Its fear that takes us away from square one. The fear that who we are is not enough at square one. The fear that there is no purpose at square one. The fear that there is no meaning to square one. The fear that we wont exist at square one. The fear that square one is all there is. Being at square one requires releasing all our fears of what the Divine will ask us to do and who it will ask us to be. Consistent surrender isnt easy (for most of us). It requires facing all our fears. It requires looking at all that we are scared of losing. It requires a huge trust in the Divine.
Im only planning on sending this one once!
Andrew
Andrew, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with square One – that was a figure our speech! In fact, since it’s all One, is there any other place to be? But my point is that surrendering responsibility to the Divine STILL makes us responsible, since we ARE the Divine. So there is no surrendering responsibility possible.
When we talk about surrendering to the Divine, there’s still a bit of that overtone of the Divine being something outside of ourselves, an outside force that asks things of us. Simply not true. In fact, when we fully claim responsibility – “I am Creator” – isn’t that where we truly step into our Divinity? I agree that this takes immense courage and trust. Claiming responsibility for ALL of it is by far one of the scariest things we can do.
I really do think we’re talking about the same thing in different ways … two sides of the same coin. I do love discussing these things – thank you! Please let me know your thoughts!
Blessings,
Andrea
Fascisnating conversation between Andrea and Andrew. Most of society isn’t where you two are. Most of society seems to be deep under the control of their egoes. Ego doesn’t want us to surrender to anyone other than itself. Ego doesn’t want us surrendering to our Divine Self because Ego knows it is on the way out if we do that. That is why we still have wars. War is always about making one person/nation right and another one wrong. When we know there is no right or wrong, then we are being our Divine Self.
Surrender to the Divine is truly freedom from the ego. Surrender to the Divine is being responsible to who we really are—the Divine.
Patricia – I think what you write is so true! Our Divinity needs to run the show, not the ego. At the same time, the ego does have its part to play … just not the biggest part, as it does now!
Let’s see … f we identify with our egoic Self, then we need to surrender that to the Divine. If we identify as the Divine, then we are in a position to claim responsibility? Hmmm … I’m just thinking out loud now. I still don’t like the separation of ego and Divine, since all is One. Isn’t the ego also Divine?
Rambling …. much food for thought! Thank you, Patricia!
Blessings,
Andrea
Hi again! Oh dear this is hard!
Ok. Let me try it this way. Your whole argument is based on the assumption in the existance of an “I” which takes responsibility for creating. When we surrender to the Divine we lose the belief in the existance of an ‘I”. We lose the belief in the existance of God/Divine/Creator. The concept of existance becomes redundant. Its not even correct to say that ‘nothing’ exists, because to say there is ‘nothing’ implies a ’something’.
When we say ‘I am Creator’, we are actually in separation. Where there is the belief in the existance of an “I” there is separation. In the very act of identifying yourself as the Divine, you have separated yourself from it.
It seems the Divine is pushing me to push you Andrea, but your intelligence makes you extremely tricky to push. When we surrender there is no “I”, there is no meaning, there is no purpose, there is no nothing. There are no decisions to be made as there is no “I” to make them. There is just universal flow.
Thanks for the input by the way Patricia. Nice to meet you!
Regards,
Andrew
As long as we are having this discussion, let’s really stretch our thiking. As long as we have an ego, can be really be truly Divine. If you believe the separation from God theory (I call it a theory because can we really prove any of this—Must have been a scientist in a past life.), ego would have been invented at the moment we separated from God and came into physical being. Therefore, as long as we are in a physical body, can we completely do away with the ego. To me, learning to live with it and use it instead of ego using us would be a better way to go. Don’t ask me how to do that??? Like Andrea, I am thinking out loud. Nice to met you too Andrew. Don’t you love how Andrea makes us think??? I do.
Yes, without ego we would just be light. Our ego is the filter through which we can experience the joy of the illusion. It is the key to our awareness. It is a wonderful gift. Though a tricky little bastard sometimes!
Regards,
Andrew
Andrew, you are pushing me – I LOVE it! This is my preferred way of expanding my consciousness – I so appreciate your perspective.
So my sticking point is the idea that the “I” is an assumption that is not valid. I think the “I,” at least within the frame of reference of a physical incarnation, is absolutely essential. Why else have physical bodies that appear separate? Why distinct entities that are their own unique Souls? There is an individuality that I think is a necessary part of our journey, at least from this third-dimensional perspective from which we’re all working.
Here’s the best analogy I can come up with – it’s not great, but I think it’ll do: My body has a hand attached to it. The hand has its own functions and sensations, it’s own tasks – you might even say responsibilities. But every one of its actions is observed, reflected, felt in the rest of the body. If the hand is in pain, the rest of the body perceives that pain. The hand achieves something incredible and the rest of the body celebrates. But the hand is still a unique part of the body – not separate, but distinct. The hand is the body, but it is also just one part of the body. The will and the actions of the body affects the hand, but it assumes these as its own. And yet the hand has its own set of responsibilities within the actions of the body.
So that’s how I perceive the “I” within the Divine – not separate, but simply distinct. Each one of us is a unique expression of the greater Whole. Our intent is also the intent of the Divine. Our Soul’s expansion is the expansion of the Whole.
Having said that, I think this perspective is different from one that is experienced in upper-dimensional planes, which is probably more where you are coming from. But being incarnated here, we have all agreed to an “I”-ness, because we had to adopt an ego to manage our third-dimensional aspect. It’s illusion, but it’s one that we have to work with because that’s what we’ve chosen. So I’m not necessarily disagreeing with you, I am just choosing a different perspective.
Patricia – It’s a great question! Yes, we definitely agreed to the ego, but I think having an ego doesn’t separate us from God (see above comment). We can’t do away with it while incarnated and I agree with you – we have to work with it, not against it. It is an illusion that allows us to operate within this dimension, but it is a necessary one! I like to think of the ego as the third-dimensional operations manager!
Which is different from being the boss … that’s the role of our Higher Self. I like the way Andrew puts it – that it allows us to experience the “joy of the illusion.”
In the end, surely the ego is as Divinely created as everything else?
I so appreciate this conversation!!!! Thank you to you both!
Blessings,
Andrea
Hi Andrea, good to hear from you. You are exactly right I feel in that you are looking at this from more of a 3rd and 4th dimensional perspective. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I can see that it is a perspective that works for you. However, I am here to show you a 5th dimensional perspective. For no other reason than a 5th dimensional perspective is where the true joy and the ease is at. You may still choose to use 3rd and 4th dimensional perspectives in your work, believe me, there is no way I talk in the way that I have to you that I would do to my friends. But if the ascension stuff is true, and we are being pushed into the 5th dimension, then I feel it might be helpful for you to look at a 5th dimension perspective in which the “I” is seen as part of the story, part of the illusion. In the 5th dimension if there is a truth, then its that there is NO truth, and even this cannot be proved.!
This is tricky because there is more I want to say that is more specific to your model of the world but Im not sure how appropriate it is here. Let me know if you would like me to say more here, or on email, or not at all is fine too!
I just want to add that I LOVE your work, and it massively helped me to be more at ease. I feel the form of it might change as you shift, and I feel it would be to your benefit to be open to that. Im sure you are.
Take care,
Andrew
Hey Andrea,
Wow…the discussion at the end of this post is VERY interesting!
I see the ego as our vehicle to truth in this dimension…it is here as our guide so that we can experience the illusion of separateness and simultaneously the joy of awareness, consciousness and unity with the Divine. If we lovingly and consciously follow it, it will teach us all we need to know in order to evolve.
At least this is my view
Blessings of love and light!
PK
Andrew – I’ll reply in more detail via email …. here I’ll just say that all dimensional perspectives have their place and purpose. It actually serves us to pick and choose – sometimes we need to get grounded and “practical” and take a third-dimensional perspective. Sometimes the fifth dimensional perspective is what is needed to move us forward. Believe me, I’m no stranger to that perspective …. but I’ve not been guided to write about it here.
Paula – I love the idea of ego as teacher. I don’t think I’ve ever looked at that perspective … I’m going to have to try that one on for a day or so, and see where it leads me.
Thank you all again for this rockin’ discussion …
Blessings,
Andrea
Thanks, Andrea! I also agree with you in feeling that the ego is necessary here. I feel it helps us create a framework within our minds for the whole which I think would fry these 3rd dimensional brains of ours without this slowly opening process
PK
Hi Andrea,
I clicked on your site today and I was drawn once again to your question, the title of this article. I did not reread the post, so forgive me if you’ve already said this or someone else did in the comments. My answer to your question today is not that my intuition is ever wrong, it is really just my inability to interpret correctly, give an accurate read, understand fully. It is like learning another language. Maybe why writing exercises are so valuable in learning to hear what your intuition is telling you. To be able to read things over. Until one actually gets proficient in the language and can respond instantaneously and naturally. Maybe even the purpose for learning non-native languages.