Intuition is the inherent ability to connect with our inner self. According to the dictionary, intuition is described as "the power of attaining direct knowledge without evident rational thought." It can be seen as having a "hunch", or a "feeling."

Using your hunches or inner voice can be applied to all areas of life. For example in business, people often trust their gut instincts about a particular job offer.

Perhaps intuition is more heightened when there's a strong pressing issue weighing on our minds. Certainly it can be invaluable when there's a threat or a sense of danger.

When I was last on holiday, I booked a diving course. But something was niggling at me about the dive master. I did the first dive and discovered he wasn't the best person for novice divers, as I felt he didn't focus enough on safety and putting you at your ease. I felt that my core value of security was being compromised and so I cancelled the rest of the classes.

How intuition can help within parenting

Within parenthood, intuition plays a key role too. New parents often read up on parenting skills and talk to plenty of friends for advice. Of course it's only natural to be trying to do the best for your child. However once the child is born it will often be a case of you feeling your way and learning what it is your child wants or needs. As the child's parent, you will share an incredible natural bond with your baby. You will begin to build and develop instincts about such things as why your child is crying and whether it is serious.

The important point to note with all of these examples is that we very rarely rely entirely on our intuition. It can be a good indication to help us in decision-making, but as the original dictionary quote said, intuition relies on not using "evident rational thought."

When trying to make a decision, it's good advice to therefore back up your instincts with research and facts even if your intuition may always be right. Depending on the situation and potential impact, you might decide to spend more or less time backing up your intuition.

For example, although you might have a specific feeling about your child attending a particular school, you would probably spend a reasonable amount of time and effort gathering information to back up your initial thoughts, in order to make a final decision.

Developing your intuition

The most common methods for learning to use our intuition more are known as meditation techniques. The aim is to simply quiet our mind of external chatter enough to tune into our inner voice.

Techniques vary and can range from yoga, to writing a personal diary or even to simply sit quietly beneath the stars. Many people experience intuitional thoughts but are not confident to rely on them. By paying more attention and consciously learning to quiet our thought process we can tap into our inner self to help our decision making.

You will often find that if something feels very "right" or very "wrong" it is because it is linked to your core values. Like with my diving example, something was "wrong" as it compromised something that was very important to me (safety). Don't fight these feelings and instead use them to guide you through your life experiences.

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