Last week, I had the privilege of being a part of a unique, all day gathering at the Third Metric: Redefining Success Beyond Power and Money. In many different ways, the panelists and the attendees spoke about the struggles of leading and living in today’s 24/7 culture. It felt to me as though there was a consistent theme of ‘something is missing in my life’ and, more importantly, ‘is there any way to find it?’.
What is the ‘something’ that is missing? For women, and for men, the something may be our own wisdom and our own intuition. They aren’t actually missing, it is just that they get buried-by deadlines, projects, kids, parents, 24/7 connectivity, etc. And, even when they manage to break through all the confusion of the day, we often don’t trust them. After all, they aren’t based on the kind of thinking we were taught to develop and use for tough decisions, the thinking based on analysis.
Of course, we need our analytical mind but if all our choices are made without bringing our innate wisdom and our intuition into the picture, we begin to feel only partially here. We, in fact, are only partially here. It is only when we make conscious choices that use all of our capabilities that we begin to feel as though we are living our lives with excellence.
So, ‘is there any way to find it?’. For many of us, by choice or necessity, we aren’t going to make radical changes to our current way of life. But beginning to train ourselves to include our wisdom and our intuition doesn’t require that we quit our job, change our career, or neglect our families. It can begin with the simple step of forming an intention to make 10 minutes of the day for a mindfulness meditation practice. Just sitting still and bringing your attention to the sensations of the breath. And every time your busy mind pulls your attention away from feeling the breath, just bring it back. When you allow the mind and the body to settle into the present in this way, you may be amazed at how easily you begin to notice your wisdom and your intuition.
Give it a try…. you may begin to find what is missing.