When Reiki clients and students ask me how they can tap into their inner wisdom, I teach them to start small. In addition to keeping track of intuitive messages and the results of heeding or ignoring them, this is an essential building block for accessing intuition.

It can be difficult to make leaps of faith into the great unknown without first developing trust. It’s natural to desire guidance when facing major life choices. Who doesn’t wish to have clear signals pointing them in the direction of joy, peace, prosperity, and health? Yet if the gateway to inner wisdom has become rusty from disuse, it’s easy to doubt even the most obvious messages.  

Begin to build your confidence by feeling out simple issues such as which coat to wear if the weather looks unpredictable or what to order for lunch. When you find yourself warm and dry while everyone else is sopping wet, or well-nourished while your companions have food poisoning, you’re one step closer to trusting your inner voice. 

When you’re able to look back upon dozens of positive intuitive interactions that benefited you on the mundane level, you’ll begin to believe that this inner voice has your back. Starting small takes the sense of urgency out of the equation and makes it easier to learn a new skill. Taking off the pressure and keeping the risk factor low makes guidance much more accessible. 

If you think of intuition like a friend, it might make more sense. You don’t ask someone you’ve just met if you should quit your job or get a divorce. People need to earn their way up the trust ladder as you grow to respect their advice. So you begin with easier concerns like curtains or hairstyles. If they steer you right on the simple stuff, you might consider advancing them to more meaningful conversations about where to go on vacation. Those who eventually reach the inner circle might be consulted on major issues.

It’s the same with intuition. Start small. Keep track of your experiences for learning purposes. Build your confidence. One day you’ll easily recognize its voice and KNOW that it is guiding you in the direction you want to go. And then when you really need some important input, it will feel familiar and all your practice will have been worth the effort.