Very often we hear 'just listen to your heart' or 'trust your intuition' but how do we know if it is our feeling or our mind telling us what to do? It can be difficult to know the difference between heart and head, metaphorically speaking.
To me it becomes more and more clear that we have to listen to our heart and less to the rational voice in our head. The problem is that this voice, our mind and thoughts are most likely conditioned by false believes and limiting ideas about how we and the world should be. You can't trust those thoughts as they are created by ego and are not aligned with your own truth. The mind tends to overthink and puts us into a very low vibration which often leads us away from living a fulfilling life. It creates fear and worry and causes us to stay where we are when we deep down know that we want something else, that we want to move forward.
All animals have the tendency to stick to what we know. We are creatures of habit and the mind doesn't like the unknown. Now, if we grew up being neglected or abused it is very likely that we keep seeking abusive relationships when we are adults. The subconscious mind wants to keep what is familiar, no matter if it is good or bad for us. It can be so hard to get out of a situation that is unhealthy because our mind will always find reasons to make you stay and not move into a future that seems uncertain. In extreme cases this can be even dangerous. The more important it is to become aware of our wounds, triggers and thought patterns and also to become aware that uncertainty is nothing bad at all.
Your true self or your heart doesn't want to stay in a relationship or situation that constantly causes you pain and suffering, where you always fight and feel misunderstood. It is your mind and ego that want to stay with something or someone familiar. The heart wants you to be true to yourself and to be with someone who lets you be who you are. If we stay with the example of relationships, as I see this very often, the mind will give you many reasons why you should stay with a person that is not good for you - and maybe also where you are not good for them, as it always goes both ways. The longer we are with a person, the more we get used to them, to our routines and merged lives. If it is a very toxic relationship we also get used to the pain and the misery it causes us. Your heart already feels that you have to leave but the mind will tell you that if you change or if you can change the other person it will get better. The mind always finds excuses and explanations for your suffering, it can justify everything. Of course it is not only relationships, really any situation where you deep down know that it is not aligned with your true self will give you the opportunity to practice listening to your heart. In the end they are all lessons where you can either learn from and grow or stay put and not evolve.
Coming back to the question of how to know if it is intuition or the mind. I think it takes practice to be able to notice the difference between fear driven motivation and inner guidance. Sometimes it is very clear but other times we can't really point it out. One reason why it can be hard to listen to your intuition is simply because you are not able to hear it - the thoughts in your head are just too loud. If you tend to overthink and make decisions based on your rational thoughts your intuition might be very subtle and quiet. If you feel your intuition but keep ignoring it, it will also get more quiet and less clear. Both, mind and intuition are like a muscle that gets stronger the more active it is, so the question is which one do you want to build up?
It is necessary to create space and silence within and also outside in your life. Meditation is the greatest practice to quiet the mind and become able to listen to your heart and connect to your inner wisdom. I believe that more people are following their hearts and dare to live a life that makes them happy. Slowly we are moving towards a heart centred way of being. Of course sometimes it is perfectly fine to be rational. We just have to know when it is time to use our emotional intelligence and when to use the mind. With both, the most important thing is to be aware - be aware of our feelings and thoughts and observe them both. Emotional intelligence doesn't mean to blindly follow every feeling you have, it means being conscious about them and to know when and how to use your wisdom in order to let it lead you to your higher truth.
Intuition for me, if you know yourself well, is very clear. There are no doubts or thoughts connected to it, it is a sure feeling or knowing. The tricky part comes after this knowing, which are most likely your thoughts, the 'buts' and the arguments in your head that find reasons why you shouldn't trust that feeling. Here again the best you can do is to create silence and space.
We really do have all the answers within us, we just have to become able to hear them and to tap into our own knowledge. In many ways we are also guided and protected by the universe and higher forces. A lot of people keep asking for signs about what to do - we look outside and search anywhere but within. Yes, often we do get signs and that can be beautiful and helpful but in the end it is up to us. In some cases it seems to me that all those signs are just a test whether you finally trust your self or if you still search for answers outside. I had a few situations where I got clear signs from the universe but my feeling told me to go in another direction and it took me very long to finally realize that the only guidance I have to trust is my own. In many cases it is not even that important which way we decide to go, what is important is if we make decisions based on fear or based on trust, in our selves and life. I know that I can trust my heart and that I can tap into my higher wisdom that lies within me. It takes some time to get to know yourself and, like I mentioned to clearly feel the difference between heart and head space but we all can and eventually will get there as it is the only true way of living a life that is aligned with your self and your purpose. It is our true nature to follow our heart and what is our truth will always rise to the surface.
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