By Renee Brush, Ph.D.

Note: this post was originally posted 5/6/2023 and I am editing it and reposting it on 9/29/2024.

When I first wrote this post, my post on the fear of being seen had just gone live. This post talked about how to feel safe as a way to cope with that fear. But, as I was creating it, a little voice inside said, “People reading this post are a lot like me - they may not know what safety feels like.” And then I knew I had to write a post on recognizing your intuition. 

That “little voice inside” (which was in my head) was my own intuition, telling me what my next step needed to be. It was the inspiration for this post. When I hear that voice, I tend to follow it. But I have worked hard to hone that skill and it has taken some time. So, how did I get here? If you have read other posts of mine, you will know that I started in the New Age, so we won’t go into a lot of detail how I learned it initially. But, once I started following Jesus, I had to figure out how my intuition fit in with my new beliefs. The good news is that intuition is a gift from God. He always wants to talk to us if we are willing to listen. We just have to practice listening and then act on it.

The reason I wanted to write on this topic is because we all have intuition but it is NOT always that little voice in your head. Sometimes it is a feeling in your gut. I’m sure you have heard the phrase, “What does your gut say?” Or the phrase, “Follow your heart.” These phrases both suggest that there are physical sensations that can help guide our decisions. And that is great for people who can feel those physical sensations. For people like me, who have spent a lifetime disconnecting from their bodies, emotions, and physical sensations, tapping into those exact same sensations is not easy at all! 

The healing process includes us learning how to feel those sensations so we can begin to feel safe. We cannot feel safe if we cannot feel the sensations in our body. And, trust me, I know how scary that last statement is. That is why we are only going to start with feeling very simple sensations in our gut/heart. 

Those simple sensations are what I have heard others call “yes” or “no” energy. These are the feelings we get inside when we are drawn to or pushed away from something. And, if we pay attention to them, they can help us understand what deep down we may really want to do.

“No” energy

I find that “no” energies are way easier to notice. I remember when I was first on Instagram and had started really following content creators that had podcasts and sold services for building your business. One day, I received notice that one of these women that I followed was now following me. Then I received a message from her, saying that she wanted to offer me one of her services. I thought that was cool that I had just started following her and now she was reaching out to me. But my gut felt weird, like uncomfortable, and I was thinking it was strange that she was offering me this service. I also noticed some oddities about the page, like it said I was not following her (when I knew I was) and her page name was different than the original page. However, I was still interested in her services and so I said, “sure.” She gave me two ways to pay her and I chose one. She sent her email to send her the money and it was different than her name or her podcast name. Another red flag, but I felt committed to the process at the moment. I pulled up my bank account app to send her money, but I couldn’t log in! I tried three times. I had never had trouble with that app before, so I felt sure it was a sign. I told her I couldn’t log in so I was going to have to pass on the service. She offered the other payment option and I simply told her that my inability to log in was a sign that I was not supposed to obtain services from her, so I declined. A couple days later, the woman with the podcast posted on her Instagram page that impostors were imitating her account to offer people services. These impostors would get the money, but never provide the content. I was lucky that God protected me in the moment because I was not paying attention to the uncomfortable sensations in my gut and the thoughts in my brain. 

That is “no” energy. I remember another time when I had made plans to go out with a friend. I was excited about this night out, but, the day of the event, I had so much anxiety that I began thinking maybe I should not go. As I was driving home from work, I used all of the grounding tools I have come to know and trust to help myself feel safe and ready to go out. Nothing worked. I ended up bowing out of the night and my friend was so understanding! I cannot tell you why I was feeling the anxiety, but this was definitely “no” energy. 

Before we move on, take a moment when you had similar feelings - not wanting to do something or go somewhere. When all the thoughts in your head were telling you that something is not a good idea. Then I want you to notice the sensations that are in your body. Maybe your gut feels anxious or your heart feels heavy. Notice whatever it is - and then hit the “save” button. Try to keep a memory of THIS feeling so when it comes up for you in the future, you will remember. You will feel it and think, “Oh! This is ‘no’ energy!”

“Yes” energy

“Yes” energy comes when you are being called to something or something feels right for you. I told you about the night I backed out of an event with a friend. The very next morning, I had plans to go to a different event, where I knew there would be lots of people. Again, I could feel the anxiety in my gut, but I did not have the same heaviness in my body. In fact, I felt a bit lighter, like excitement at all of the new things I was going to learn that day. This is “yes” energy. In fact, as I’m writing this, I called the sensation in my gut as “anxiety” but it could also have been “excitement.” Sometimes these feelings are confusing, but that is why it is important to notice everything. This anxiety/excitement was combined with lightness and airiness and an eagerness to get ready to leave the house. 

I have talked about how difficult it was for me when starting this blog. I would have the inspiration to sit down and write a post on something “every once in awhile,” but there was no consistency in how I approached the writing. I had purchased this website one year prior to when I had actually launched it but had never done anything with it. When I thought of the blog, I felt stuck, like it was difficult to move on it. Then one day, I was in meditation considering how I wanted to use my skills to help a larger number of people than just those in my clinical practice. Among other things, I had a vision of this blog , which validated for me that it was meant to be. The next morning, in a different meditation, I had the same vision of my blog . That felt like more validation. Again, the “yes” energy felt like excitement and lightness and it was easy to do things to prepare for the blog. I instantly knew who I needed to reach out to get help with the set up and the research and it was all able to come together in a couple of months. And now, remaining consistent in getting the blogs ready and posted as well as posting on social media has been so much easier. As long as I am in that “yes” energy, I have found things to be easy. And, for a person who gets frustrated at herself for still being dissociated a lot of the time, that is pretty incredible to say!

So, let’s now take a moment for you to look inside yourself and figure out what your “yes” energy feels like! Think back to the last time you were excited about something or maybe craving your favorite food (for me, it would be a cookie or ice cream). Then scan your body to notice any sensations that are present. Maybe you are smiling or your heart feels light or you have a tingling sensation. Again, hit the “save” button so you can remember what this feels like. 

When can you use this?

I have shared some examples of how these have come up for me. You can use this anytime you need to make a decision. If someone suggests doing something, what do you notice internally as they have asked it?  It can also help you make decisions yourself, such as what you want to do that day or where you want to go. 

This is your intuition and it can help you figure out so much more, but this is a good start. I would love to hear how you noticed your “yes” and “no” energy! If you feel called, please feel free to share in the comments below!