For those of us who are experiencing a Kundalini awakening or those who are on a spiritual path, understanding what guidance is and how to utilize our intuition is vital. Although, we are born fully equipped with an internal guidance system, learning what it is and how to tune into it is an acquired skill.

As children most of us were not encouraged to listen to that subtle voice within. We weren’t taught to recognize our feelings and the sensations in our bodies that alert us if we are to take a wrong turn, or if somebody doesn’t feel right to us. Most of us were directed to listen to the louder voices outside of us, those of authority figures and society, rather than search internally for answers. Being young and dependent upon our parents, we internalized this directive in order to please them and gain the love and acceptance we needed in order to survive. Going against our bodies didn’t feel good, but going against the authority figures in our lives, or risk social starvation felt worse; it felt dangerous to us. It started most likely with our parents lacking that connection with their own intuition, and the understanding of their ‘feelings’ as well. Even if no one shamed us for feeling the way we did, we weren’t taught the importance of listening to our inner voices, and how to work with our feelings and interpret them. We weren’t encouraged to stay connected to our inner-selves as a compass. As a result, we have become alienated and far-removed from our inner voice to such an extent; we wouldn’t recognize it as our own even if it shouted at us. Furthermore, society today favors logical thinking and analysis over listening to our “gut” feelings. Taking action and problem-solving skills are awarded over quiet contemplation and inquiry when faced with decisions.

 Our ego’s voice which is comprised of our social and psychological conditioning took the place of our internal guidance system. We use it to help us navigate through the different choices presented to us in this world. It tells us who we should be, what we should like, what we should fear, want, and even feel in order to be accepted and “good”.

We travel through life abiding by the constant reruns of our programming, which are our thoughts and core beliefs. We feel afraid to stray from their ordinances so that we won’t be dimmed “bad” or unlovable. We identify with our thoughts and live disconnected from our inner truth. We miss out on living a genuinely authentic life until we come back home to our own wisdom until we learn to listen to the subtle voice of truth within. No one else’s voice can represent our truth in full, no matter how well-intended.

Our ego’s voice, which helped us survive or even thrive in society for years, can hurt us when we use it to overwrite our inner guidance. This can get us into difficult situations or cause inner fragmentation. Furthermore, it can cause us a great deal of confusion when we are experiencing a spiritual awakening, and are asked by the universe to start living from our internal guidance system. We can feel as if we are in complete obscurity as to what it is and how to use it.

 In a Kundalini awakening, this disconnect from our guidance becomes a tremendous hindrance for us. Kundalini flushes out our programs one by one, making it impossible for us to operate from our conditioned mind. The universal intelligence is trying to teach us to stop ignoring our inner truth via Kundalini. It delivers this message by knocking down all the false or pre-recorded voices in our minds. This forces us to seek a different voice, a different way of being and interacting with the world. Since we have become so dependent on operating from it, our mind can feel “shocked”, almost as if it has been short-circuited when the programing starts falling away. We can feel disoriented and frozen. Being oblivious to our inherent guidance system, we can feel utterly lost for a while without our programing to run our lives.

This immense transition, living from mind to intuition, can feel scary and overwhelming; the good news is that once we learn how to use our inherent guidance, life becomes much smoother. We then feel safer and less alone in dealing with life. Trust rather than fear and a need to control, is the currency earned by learning to use our internal guidance system.

What is spiritual guidance or intuition?

 Our internal guidance system communicates with us in many different ways. Each of us has a unique way in which we “tune in” to it. We each possess an internal or metaphysical sense that is slightly more acute or simply comes more naturally to us. Some of us can hear a subtle voice (clairaudience); Some of us get visions or dreams (clairvoyance); Some of us sense the truth in our bodies (clairsentience), others get a somatic feeling of a “yes” or a “no”. Some of us all of a sudden know something, without facts or a thought process preceding the knowing (Claircognizance).

 How to connect to your internal guidance:

Discovering how to best connect to your inner wisdom can be an exciting journey. Once you begin to learn how to connect with these senses it can actually be fun. Similarly, to a physical muscle - practice makes it stronger. Once your intuitive muscles develop and strengthen, there is so much more wisdom at your disposal. You no longer have to make decisions blindly or based on projections, fears, or old programming. Gradually you learn how to ask for guidance in the way you hear it best before reacting to life situations. You get to make choices based on what is truly right for you, on what resonates with your innermost precious being and with your soul.

There are many different tools available to help you connect to your inner guidance to explore; Angels, spirit animals, spirit guides, or ascended masters are some of them. They are available 24/7 as tools in your spiritual toolbox and serve as your avid support system. They can teach you how to hear or feel your guidance and help you receive it. These high vibrational energies or beings are unconditionally there for us and without any limitation. Their job is to help guide you on your sacred journey, regardless of religious affiliations or beliefs. You don’t have to walk this path on your own; in fact, you can’t do this on your own, no one can. It defeats the purpose of all of us being inter-connected, ethereal and earthly beings alike.

The different ways to cultivate a relationship with your guidance:  

•   Archangels and ascended masters: If you are unfamiliar with the different archangels and ascended masters available, you can easily research them online. Start small by focusing on one or two archangels or ascended masters. You can’t get this choice wrong; they are all-powerful and helpful so go with your initial inclination. In order to build a relationship with your chosen being, you can play a guided meditation to connect to them (search YouTube), or you can write them a prayer – a request to connect and work with them. Simply write how you feel and what your needs are and ask for help. You can meditate quietly calling on an archangel or an ascended master. Spend 5-10 minutes with your eyes closed and tune into their energy, anchor in your breath and stay open. Do you feel anything? Any subtle physical sensations? Do you see or hear anything?

  You may sense nothing at first, so keep at it for a week or two. Do not get discouraged. You are starting to work with your subtle body and senses and that takes time to develop. Furthermore, the specific relationship with a being grows stronger and stronger the more you call upon them and the more time and focus you dedicate towards tuning into their frequency.

  Even if you are naturally intuitive and are able to hear your intuition most of the time, when you are in fear, having a “heavyweight” in your corner can come in super handy. For example, if you don’t feel safe in the world, archangel Michael can be of great support in helping you to feel safer and eventually to embody the inner protector energy which he symbolizes.

• Angels and guides: We each have angels and spirit guides that we can connect with. The guides can be deceased loved ones or angels assigned to help and guide us through our incarnated lives. Similar to the previous paragraph, you can play a guided meditation to start connecting with your guides (search for angles and spirit guides meditations YouTube) or pray (meaning start an inner conversation with them).

  Ask them to show you how to connect with them in the best way for you, so they can guide you through ideas and inspiration. You can ask your guides to communicate with you in a clear “language” recognizable to you. For example, you can ask to be connected through dreams, songs, repetitive numbers (that show up in random places such as car plates or on the clock), or even physical signs such as feathers, butterflies etc. Don’t be too specific; suggest a method and see if it takes, be curious. Keep asking for help to hear them clearly and strongly.

  Keep an open mind and let this relationship build and strengthen. The key is to keep connecting and to keep asking your guides for help. If you don’t know what you need you can ask for signs that you are not alone or for help in gaining clarity as to what it is that you need help with. You can ask to help clear out fearful thoughts and create positive ones, ask for a greater perspective on a situation, or just for comfort if that’s all you need. Doing this helps strengthen your intuition, but it also helps you recognize your own needs and express your fears, which is healing in and of itself.

• Mindfulness: Sit with yourself every day if possible, even for a few minutes. Spend this time with your inner sensations; be present with whatever arises within you. Give your body permission to feel and learn how to tune into yourself. Build up to it slowly if it scares you, or if your tendency is to avoid difficult sensations. Do not judge yourself, this is perfectly natural. There may have been times in your childhood when you needed to escape how you were feeling because there was no way for you to process it or fix the situation.

  Take time to learn your inner self and that your body is a safe place for you to spend time in. You can set an alarm a few times a day just to take a breath and feel your body for a moment, check in with it, see if there is anything it needs from you. Notice if there are any feelings, emotions, or sensations you can be present with without trying to shift or fix them. Your feelings are a great tool to help you hear your guidance, your inner truth. Suppression is the quickest way to ignore your intuition. A feeling that’s painful for instance might be an indicator that a situation in life isn’t serving you anymore or that a relationship you are in is not right for you. You won’t know what it’s trying to tell you unless you listen to that feeling. Sit with it and let it deliver its messages to you. Your body communicates with you every moment of every day and in time this communication will become a great ally. The practice of mindfulness is the best way to tune into your feelings guidance system. Mind you these painful feelings may be old wounds coming up to the surface to heal and not an indicator of a current issue. The only way to know is to sit with the feeling with presence and compassion and let it show you what it is.

• Internal dialogue: Every morning or evening, ask your body, your Kundalini energy, and your inner child if there is anything they need from you. The response may not be necessarily verbal; it could just be a feeling. It could be that a certain body part is asking for more attention, a breath, a loving word, a few moments of presence. Dialoging with these three parts of yourself daily can make a big difference in learning to communicate with your internal guidance system and in the relationship with yourself and with life. You can include the divine or your soul/higher self in your inquiry if that feels right for you. You can include your heart center if you feel that you have lived more disconnected from it, more in mind. Just place your hand on your heart center when you wish to dialogue with it.

• Dream work: Dreams can be such a great tool for working with your guidance system and subconscious mind. Once again, this is a relationship you can develop and deepen exponentially. No matter how evolved or non-existent your dream world and dream recollection is, it can be improved greatly with practice. We each have a dream guide at our disposal. You can call on your dream guide before going to sleep. Ask your guide to include guidance in your dreams and to help you remember them. In the morning try to write down what you dreamed of. Don’t over analyzing your dreams, that’s a mental game, just feel if there are any massages for you. So if writing feels forced, spend a few minutes in meditation and tune into your dream guide, ask to bring the dream back into your awareness and help you decipher its messages. You can ask your dream guide for clarity when you need to make a big decision in life, to help you be certain that you are making a choice out of guidance rather than fear. You can place a note under your pillow with a question and ask to be shown the answer in your dreams. If you are unclear about the messages, ask for more details the next night or ask to be shown specific steps of how to deal with an issue. You can even learn how to lucid dream and practice it if you wish. There is no limit to how deep and far you can go with your dreams, just keep working and engaging. Some days you may have intense massages and vivid dreams and others none, and that’s okay.

• Spirit animals/ animal medicine: Spirit animals are another great tool at your disposal for support and guidance. You can research the different qualities that each animal possesses online or find a card deck that resonates with you. There is so much support offered to us from mother earth and all the sentinel creatures which we are unaware of, or don’t tap into often enough. You don’t have to have a specific animal you are drawn to in order to establish a relationship or a connection with spirit animals.

  You can ask any animal for help if you need one of their symbolic qualities or traits. For example, If you need help with grounding call upon or visualize a black rhino. You can also choose a protector animal that feels right to you if you are feeling unsafe during Kundalini. You can visualize this animal guarding your bedside every night for instance. The relief is usually instantaneous. In addition, you can utilize this tool when you are looking to embody a certain quality. Say, you wish for a sense of belonging however you don’t know what it truly feels like since you never experienced it in your life; You can invoke the energy of the Kangaroo. Bring this sense of being enveloped in a pouch of love quietly into your being to embody it. Let the animal bring in a feeling signature you have yet to experience. They are masterful in doing just that. You can work closely with one animal or work with as many as you wish. You can invite them into your dreams and search online to see which animal delivered what massage to you.

• Other tools: Tools such as oracle cards, pendulum, and muscle testing can help when you are unable to access your intuition directly due to of overwhelm or fear. The universe, much like a mirror, always matches your vibration. The cards or other divination tools simply help you get a “mirror image” of a question or a current vibrational state you are in. Oracle cards are a great tool to connect with your guides, angels or spirit animals when you are feeling confused. Ask for guidance or help and use a deck that appeals to you. Using oracle cards with the intention of getting support and guidance can be a healing experience, as they are gentle and can lift you out of fear or a low vibration.

  Tarot cards can mirror your fears as well as higher truth; hence I suggest avoiding them during a Kundalini awakening since what is required is gentler support. You can also use a pendulum or muscle testing to access the wisdom of your body; it can bypass fear and help you start building trust with your body’s wisdom. If using muscle testing I suggest finding a person you trust and who resonates with you to help you. The connection between yourself and that person is important in this case. The cleaner it feels, the more accurate the mirroring will be. In other words, if it the person’s energy feels off, don’t use their help.

• Intuitive/ psychics: There are many people out there who possess intuitive gifts and offer their services. Intuitives can be of great help especially if you need to make big decisions when Kundalini is intense or too “loud” for you to hear your guidance. I strongly suggest that you ask your guides and angels to direct you to the right person when choosing to do so. Trust how you feel around them, if they feel good and “clean” to you, go for it, if not, walk away. Gentleness is the key word since Kundalini can make us very vulnerable. Once you find the right person set an intention to receive all the information you need but know ultimately not to give your power away. Intuitives don’t know you better than you know yourself, they may sense things but true knowing is yours alone. They are but a channel to your guidance in this moment. Ask yourself: does what this person say resonate with you on a deep level or does it feel off? This is a good exercise in tuning into your internal guidance system since it will let you know. Just be brave enough to listen no matter how much you value the intuitive person’s opinion.

  Tip: Avoid readings about the future, since the “future” is a projection of your current energy state; it’s one possibility out of many. When you shift, or heal and your energy changes the future outcome will change as well – which would make this a waste of your money. Kundalini makes us shift internally so fast that there is no point in that.  

There are so many tools at your disposal along this journey, all you have to do is sense which one resonates with you at any given time. Explore your guidance channels with an open heart and mind and discover how much support you actually have available for you. Though it may feel so at times. You are not alone in this.