What do you do when you don’t know what to do?
Sure, you can hire someone like me (shameless plug!), but you can also use “The Force” inside yourself by developing your own intuition. (Go Yoda!)
I use a few tools for helping people develop their intuition, but the easiest is called “freewriting”. I’m going to teach you a very efficient way to use it.
I first officially learned about this practice from Julia Cameron’s famous book “The Artist’s Way”, which has transformed many lives. Her form of freewriting is called “Morning Pages”—a practice that taps you into your own intuition and creativity on a daily basis. I personally started doing this when I was 13 to vent my emotions–I just didn’t know it had a name.
I got even more excited about it–and you will too–when I watched the video with Vishen Lakhiani interviewing Patrick Grove on how he used journalling to become a millionaire. Seriously, watch it. Sooo good.
Over the years, I’ve found ways to optimize the power of freewriting, using intention. While there is great value in doing general freewriting sessions with no agenda (to work through emotions, for example), often I’m wanting a solution for a specific problem. So, over the past couple decades, I’ve adapted this practice to solve specific problems. I call it “Intentional Freewriting”.
Intentional Freewriting
Why Do It?
- It connects you with both your subconscious self and your higher self
- It removes your “inner critic” so you won’t sensor your thoughts or ideas
- It gives you a safe place to vent where you won’t hurt yourself or anyone else
- It is a form of taking action, so it feels empowering after you do it.
- It gives you insights into your thoughts and feelings
- It introduces you to new ideas and approaches to your situation.
How Do You Do It?
- Get some paper and a pen.
- Say out loud or write down your intention—e.g. “I intend to find a solution for problem X” or “How can I ……” (Really put effort into the best intention/question here.)
- Close your eyes and visualize yourself feeling more peaceful, as though you have already received the solution/intention. (Don’t skip this step! And it’s okay if you don’t really feel it, just try your best.)
- Set your alarm for 10-20 minutes
- Write whatever thoughts come through with no censoring. Even if they are totally unrelated, write them down. If you don’t know what to write, just write “I don’t know what to write” over and over until something else shows up. If you’re thinking “this is stupid and I don’t want to do this,” write that down too. The key here is DO NOT STOP writing for the whole time. And don’t censor what wants to be expressed. Don’t worry if it’s politically incorrect or irrational. Just let it flow. (You can throw it away later!)
- After the time is up, read through what you’ve written and circle anything that jumps out at you as a new insight. Be aware that you may only receive a small part of your answer in this first session. Acknowledge it and trust that more insights will come through over the next day or two (especially if you do this practice again and again).
- Write down any insights you receive around this problem over the following days. Why? Because whatever you give attention to, you’ll receive more of. And because a bunch of little clues may show up that all add up to something bigger that will solve your problem.
You can repeat this process every day if you want to. The more often you do it, the more insights you’ll receive, and the more connected you’ll be to receiving guidance from your own intuition/true self.
Have fun with it!
Shawn xo
