Whether you call it god, your intuition, your higher self, your gut..
Do you listen? Do you take head?
I remember watching at T.V program in which a man was talking about intuition/gut.
Can’t remember his name. He was saying that humans, are the only animals on the planet; that don’t listen to their gut.
He then went onto explain that If a deer is in the woods and his “intuition/gut” feels there is danger lurking near. He will bolt. No if’s, no buts. He is GONE!
So why is it when we get that feeling we don’t listen. We are prepared to open the door to a complete STRANGER and possibly let them in. All the while our gut is telling us “NO DANGER”. I think the main reason we do that is because we don’t want to offend. Well bugger that, I say!
My point is we all have an in-built inner voice, which sadly, we stifle.
If it wasn’t for my “inner voice” The Imperfect Mum would not exist. It would have been drowned out by the “other” one the one that told me “you’re not good enough” Why do you think you could achieve that” “You’re hopeless” – But let’s leave that for another blog post..
Today I want to talk about teaching your kids about their inner voice.
Take some time out to explain to them what their inner voice is. Try to use “real life” examples .
Also go on to talk about the feeling they get in their tummy, explain that it’s important to tell Mummy or Daddy if they get a funny feeling in their belly..
It could even be little things like “don’t push me high on the swing because it makes me feel funny in the belly”. It doesn’t matter what it is.. It’s just teaching them the language of their feelings.
Always keep those communication lines open. They should want to/be able to tell you that this person or that situation makes/made them feel funny in the belly.
One thing that is imperative is that they should be able to say ‘no’ that might even come down to saying no about small things. Like “no I don’t want to wear that shirt” – Obviously within reason .
Try to encourage them to talk about how things make them feel.
Say do you feel like you’re ready to? or how did that make you feel? or how would you feel if we?
For those kids that don’t like the word feeling use the word think as in ” What do you think about this? or do you think you may like to? It’s still their feelings they are just using different wording.
Teach them that it’s very important to tell you when they feel a certain way. Kids obviously cant name certain feeling because they haven’t learnt the words to explain exactly how they feel but that’s ok. As long as they try to explain how they feel or what they think.
This will not happen overnight, it’s something that will take a while and it’s something you need to persist with.. Try to use this language at least once a day.
In finishing I want to say the BEST way for you, to teach your kids about intuition is for you to practice it yourself, I want you to start to listen . Prick up those ears. Start to practice listening to your inner voice. Don’t just ignore.. really listen and take head. It is “inbuilt” for a reason.
Has there been a time in your life that you have stifled your inner voice and regretted it?
9 Replies
How very true! I met someone once, through an ex-boyfriend, and immediately got that feeling that I just didn't like her. Couldn't explain why. And I've worked really hard to combat it as she was the wife of a good friend of my now-husband.
That woman has caused me so much grief and heartache! Unfortunately, I don't think listening to my inner voice would have done me any good back then as my husband has taken a long, long time to come to a point where he has finally acknowledged the grief this woman has caused for me and is ready to let his relationship with them go also. If I had said I want nothing to do with her because my 'inner voice' tells me so, I wouldn't have ended up with my husband!
Thanks for the post - it's a good one. I'm going to start working on this with my kids.
Pleasure Jane. See there you go, your gut was telling you that she was not going to be good for you.. Thanks for sharing your story X
I have not listened so many times. When the bells r ringing i have just ignored or found some excuse to go forward in the same situation. I think as a younger person it may of come down to lack of confidence. I came from a very strong mum who was always right and i was always wrong. I think that also contributes to second guessing yourself when your finally out on your own. I still now struggle at 27 years of age with it. Its not that im not perceptive, i know in the back of my mind, but am always out to give second chances and help others that i know r abusing my love and trust. I was always the friend who gave my whole trust to someone fairly quickly and got hurt alot as apposed to having people gain my trust over time. Its a double edged sword for me... My instinct is to love everyone who is nice to me, but i know deep down i know i cant as i have kids to protect. I will def be teaching my kids to trust there instincts and thats its ok to feel good bad and ugly about others ans situations. Thx for this has given me the kick up the bum i needed!! X
Thanks for sharing your story, very interesting that the strength of your mother had a negative impact on your intuition.. Great to hear that you are working on it.. Sending you loveXX
This is essential to the health and wellbeing of our children and an important life skill. When my kids were younger we would make it a game to name our feelings. Ask them about any emotion--happy, sad, angry, excited--and ask them to picture it in their body. Where is it? What colour or shape is it? How does it move? This allows them to connect with their emotions and where they are in their body. Using their imagination you can also ask them to visualize a happy or safe image such as playing with their favourite pet or having a hug with mom or dad. How do they feel and where do they feel it in their body? This is their "safe" feeling. Now ask them to visualize an image where there is danger present. Obviously make this age appropriate. How do they feel and where do they feel it in their body? This is their "danger" feeling. As parents we can nurture this inner wisdom by respecting and listening to our children as they share their gut feelings with us. Gavin De Becker has a wonderful book, Protecting The Gift, which focuses on child safety and how we all can reconnect to our instincts of self preservation.
Some fantastic ideas there! - Thanks so much! XX
Gavin de Becker has written 2 books on the subject of intuition. The Gift of Fear - written for adults. And Protecting the Gift - for adults on teaching their children about intuition and ways of keeping their children safe. Both of these books have helped me learn to 'listen to my gut' after I was sexually assulted about 18 years ago (which could have so easily escalated to rape), and now that I'm a mum of two daughters.
I think that he was the guy I was referring to, Thanks for letting me know his name.
X
As a life-coach and a mamma, I rely on my intuition and love the idea of nurturing this in our kids. There lies no logic in the voice of intuition but more often than not, it serves us well x