Developing Intuition: Practical Guidance for Daily Life

by Shakti Gawain

If embraced and followed, intuition can be an accurate force that permeates all facets of life. Shakti Gawain teaches readers how to tap their innate inner knowledge and use it to enhance their lives and attain their goals. Chapters explore the role of intuition in health, creativity, work, and prosperity. Exercises based on Gawain’s workshops help readers listen to their inner guide but also evaluate the worthiness of such knowledge in the context of the real world. Stories from her clients and her own life illustrate the practical advice she gives.

Genres: Spirituality, Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology, Personal Development, New Age, Metaphysics

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 1987

About the author

Shakti Gawain is an author and proponent of what she calls "personal development". Her books have sold over 10 million copies, according to her website. Gawain's best known book is "Creative Visualization". She has also written "Living in the Light", "Awakening", "Meditations", "The Path of Transformation", "The Four Levels of Healing", "Creating True Prosperity" and "Developing Intuition". She is the co-founder, with Marc Allen, of New World Library Publishing Company and founder of Nataraj Publishing, a division of New World Library.

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a relatively easy to read kind of book, light and yet comprehensive enough for beginners. However, some meditation instructions are better if they are in audio than written. One needs to read the whole portion about meditation, try to remember it before practice. That's a little tough unless one commits that to memory. The practices are more suitable for beginners as they seem rather generic kind of instructions, such as relaxing your body parts and ignoring the thoughts that come to you.

Nevertheless, I do enjoy this book and find it easy to understand even for a novice like me. The physical book is quite light and small, easy to carry in a lady's handbag and I wish all books are this handy to carry around. I love the smooth cover with a non glossy lamination plus the layout of the text in the book. Text size is also easy to read for tired eyes on the train. Fortunately, this book was purchased at a discount because the usual retail price stated on fishpond is over priced for this book. I think paying around US$10 is reasonable for this book. Anything higher than that, I will consider getting the ebook although I still prefer the authentic paperback.

[Jess✧✵ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really interesting and provided some useful techniques and insights, but I was hoping for a bit more from it. Still really enjoyed it though!

[Pincitaperdida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Creative visualization is her best book. Period

[Lowrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

some good stuff to think about but overall didn't find it very helpful/instructive.

[Ned · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short book about what intuition is along with some meditation exercises to help you on the way of developing your intuition. I found the book more of a overview and quick introduction to the subject than a comprehensive guide. If you are looking for something more detailed better to use some other book.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author leads you through ways to improve your intuition with short exercises and some background to make you feel better when you just start out and think it's not working. I've noticed very subtle results, but I'd read the whole book before doing the exercises because it's a strange realm.

[Pat Jennings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Further understanding of meaning of intuition and the exercises made this book valuable to me. It is a simple short book that challenges us to rely on the heart messages which can allow for more meaningful spiritual life and also improve daily living decisions.

[Jennifer Ciotta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very quick read. Great exercises for the mind and to help you realize how important intuition is. I've always been intuitive, but this just enforces how important it is.

[Carolina Montague · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote a review of this book for ForeWord when I was a book reviewer there. The review is at: https://www.forewordreviews.com/revie...

Carolina

[Rick Bettencourt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't Do. Follow. Be.

If you let your core lead, doing the right things will follow. Shakti brilliantly describes this process in easy to understand ways.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I could read and re-read this book again and again and glean something new from it each time. I need to add this to my collection!

[Micha Goebig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick little read. A little too basic for my taste, but with some good meditation guidelines

[CA Ram Melam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is instead a spiritual one than just a self-help book. Various terms coined in the book really captivated me. There is much to learn from this concerning intuition and deep inner wisdom.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this again--forgot that I'd read it before until I checked here. I'm in a place to practice tuning in more and feeling the power of intuition and the Universe.

Second reading - Dec. 6, 2023
“Once we learn the habit of listening to our intuition and trusting our inner responses, we can develop a very different kind of relationship with teachers, doctors, or any kind of expert. If we need support or knowledge, we can follow our gut feelings about who to go to for help or advice. We can listen with respect and an open mind to what that person has to say, trusting that if we were drawn to them, there is likely to be value there for us. Then we can ponder what they have told us, paying attention to our intuitive feelings about what is right for us and what isn’t, and making our own decisions about what course of action to follow. In other words, we are open to learning and receiving guidance from others as needed, while not giving our power and authority away to anyone else.” pg. 43-44

“Try not to get caught up in needing to have an immediate answer. Life is an ongoing, unfolding process, and you may not be ready yet for a decision or a definite direction. You may be ‘in process.’ Inner guidance seldom gives us long-term information; it usually just lets us know what we need in the moment. Sometimes, inner guidance may be saying, ‘Just wait, don’t do anything, allow yourself to be in confusion.’ When clarity is meant to come, it will.” pg. 64

“To learn to follow your intuition accurately, you have to try acting on what you believe is your intuition, and then see what the results are. Take in feedback that life gives you, and learn from it.
Most often, when you are following your intuitive energy, you feel like you are ‘in the flow’ of life. Things unfold smoothly and easily, opportunities open up, and you feel like you’re in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. You may experience a sense of synchronicity with other people and events. Quite frequently things happen almost miraculously. You may even experience a profound sense of a higher power at work in the situation; it seems apparent that no individual human could have orchestrated things so perfectly.” pg. 79

“Our intuition is always trying to get us where we need to go in the best possible way. Sometimes this involves letting go of things that we are very attached to, and it may feel as if our life is falling apart. If we are pushed to let go of something, it may be because we no longer need it, or it’s time for it to change form.” pg. 83

“When we look back on our lives, we can often see in retrospect why we had to go through certain difficulties, and how they ultimately led to our higher good. It’s difficult to recognize this in the moment that something traumatic is happening, however. This is where the trust comes in. The more practice we have in following our intuition and seeing how things work out in the long run, the more trust in the process we develop.” pg. 83

“A great way to practice developing your intuition is to notice whether following a certain inner prompting brings you a feeling of greater aliveness. Also notice whether there are times when you don’t act on an intuitive feeling and you are left with a feeling of depression, numbness, loss of energy or power.” pg. 85

“Our culture conditions us to believe that we must always be doing something outwardly productive. Many of us are extremely driven and feel that we must be accomplishing something at every moment. We have lost the value of being—taking time to rest, relax, contemplate, explore the inner realm, and generally replenish ourselves. We are terribly out of balance in this respect. I believe this is one reason why so many people develop chronic fatigue syndrome and other related illnesses. Sometimes our bodies have to force us to stop driving ourselves.” pg. 87-88

“Our addictions are ways we unconsciously try to fill the emptiness we feel inside. This emptiness can only be filled by the things we truly need, such as a deep connection to our spiritual source, a close relationship with nature, loving contact with other humans, satisfying work, and a sense of making a contributions. In order to fill those needs we must allow ourselves to feel them.
An addiction is not something to be ashamed of, although most of us are. We all have them in one form or another. The great thing is that when our addictive behavior becomes painful and self-defeating enough, it forces us to begin or deepen our healing process.” pg. 101

“Learning to follow your intuition can sometimes feel a bit like ‘living on the edge.’ In a sense, it’s learning to live without the false sense of security that comes from trying to control everything that happens to us. It’s recognizing that as we follow our inner guidance, wonderful things are going to unfold for us, things that we may not yet even imagine.
Gradually we become less afraid and more comfortable with uncertainty. We can learn to enjoy not knowing! It’s actually a very exciting, alive feeling. We can learn to move into the unknown with the confidence that we have a guiding force within us that is showing us the way.” pg. 147-148

Book: borrowed from Grand Library

First reading - Jan. 20, 2017
A gentle and helpful guide to explore the intuition within ourselves. I've read another book about intuition which was a little more in depth, so I was already familiar with it but this book provided a slightly different perspective. It is a good introduction with simple practices to engage with. Truly about slowly developing the intuition that's already there, along with gentle reminders about how to live our lives more fully and that our lives are valuable.

"In general, when we follow a true intuitive feeling, thing tend to work out well (although sometimes in very unexpected and surprising ways), we feel energized and enlivened, and there's a sense of being 'in the flow' of life. When we don't follow our intuition, we often feel somewhat depleted, depressed, or numb, and there may be a sense of being blocked, having to push to make things happen, or being "out of the flow.'" pg. 37

"The problem is that we learn to look to the outside authority instead of paying attention to our own feelings and intuitive promptings. We come to believe that life's answers lie somewhere outside of us, and we develop a lifelong habit of looking to others. We think that somebody else knows better than we do about what's true for us. We learn not to trust ourselves and our own sense of truth, our own inner authority." pg. 40

"Once we learn the habit of listening to our intuition and trusting our inner responses, we can develop a very different kind of relationship with teachers, doctors, or any other kind of expert. If we need support or knowledge, we can follow our gut feelings about who to go to for help or advice. We can listen with respect and an open mind to what that person has to say, trusting that if we were drawn to them, there is likely to be value there for us. Then we can ponder what they have told us, paying attention to our intuitive feelings about what is right for us and what isn't, and making our own decisions about what course of action to follow. In other words, we are open to learning and receiving guidance from others as needed, while not giving our power and authority away to anyone else." pg. 43-44

"Our culture conditions us to believe that we must always be doing something outwardly productive. Many of us are extremely driven and feel that we must be accomplishing something at every moment. We have lost the value of being--taking time to rest, relax, contemplate, explore the inner realm, and generally replenish ourselves. We are terribly out of balance in this respect. I believe this is one reason why so many people develop chronic fatigue syndrome and other related illnesses. Sometimes our bodies have to force us to stop driving ourselves." pg. 87-88

"Once we surrender into a time of being--even if only for a few hours--and are replenished, our energy will again begin to move us into action often in a new creative direction." pg. 88

"Our addictions are ways we unconsciously try to fill the emptiness we feel inside. This emptiness can only be filled by the things we truly need, such as a deep connection to our spiritual source, a close relationship with nature, loving contact with other humans, satisfying work, and a sense of making a contribution. In order to fill those needs, we must allow ourselves to feel them." pg. 101

"Today, many of us do a number of things that come together in fascinating combinations. As you practice following your intuition, it may lead you in many directions. You may express yourself in a variety of areas, all of which will begin to synthesize in some surprising, interesting, and very new, creative ways. You'll be doing what you love, what you're good at, what comes easily to you and has an element of challenge and excitement to it. Whatever you do will feel satisfying and fulfilling to you. Everything you do becomes a contribution." pg. 135

"As you experiment and develop your intuitive skills, you will connect more deeply with your own soul and the energy of the universe. Your world view may begin to change and these changes may lead you on your own unique path to discover your purpose in life." pg. 138

"In the process of learning to trust intuition, some people go through a period of time where they feel like their life is falling apart. Relationships may end or change dramatically, you may move, change jobs, lose interest in familiar pastimes. These are indications that you are letting go of certain aspects of your old identity. If you tried to hold onto it, you would limit or imprison yourself. The forms in your life have to change because you are changing. It's a matter of trusting that even when things are not going exactly the way you expected, there is a deeper perfection in the process. New forms of relationship, creativity, work, and home will come into being and they will reflect your growth and development." pg. 146-147

Exercises for Discovering Your Passion
1. Follow any impulses you have in the direction of your true work/play/creative desires. Even if it seems totally unrealistic, follow the impulse anyway in the spirit of openness and adventure, and see what happens.

2. List any fantasies you've had around work, career, or creativity, and beside that list, make another list of the action steps you plan to take to explore these fantasies.

3. Write an "ideal scene"--a description of your perfect job or career exactly as you would like it to be. Write it in the present tense, as if it were already true. Put in enough description and details to make it seem very real. Put it away somewhere, and look at it again in a few months or even a year or two. Unless your fantasy has changed completely in that time, chances are you will find you have made significant progress in the direction of your dream.

4. Cut out pictures you come across or articles that pertain to your desires and collect them in a large envelope to help you develop a clearer picture of what you would like to create for yourself. This can be fun to look at every month or so, to see if you can see anything emerging or a clue about what direction to take. Alternatively, you can glue the pictures into a notebook, or onto a piece of poster board to create a collage to hang on your wall. Look at it often and let it inspire you.

Book: borrowed from SSF Main Library.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great at making it clear what intuition is. The below quotes were very helpful to me to recognize how I have felt my intuition and connected with it in the past. It will definitely help me connect with, honor, and use it more in the future.

A feeling of a lot of energy, enthusiasm, or ‘juice’ for a possible action, or conversely, a feeling of deadness or lack of energy in relation to a possible action.

When we follow a true intuitive feeling, things tend to work out well. We feel energized and enlivened, and there’s a sense of ‘being in the flow’ of life. When we don’t follow our intuition, we often feel somewhat depleted, depressed, numb, and there may be a sense of being blocked, having to push to make things happen, or being ‘out of the flow.’

It’s seldom a dramatic or mystical experience. It’s generally a natural and normal feeling - like ‘I WANT to do this’ or ‘I DON’T want to do this’. And it rarely feels like a ‘sure thing’. It’s more a magnetic thing; you’re pulled toward or away from something.

[Mihaela Negrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Am citit aceasta carte pentru ca intuitia joaca un rol important in luare deciziilor importante din viata. De mult ori am fost catalogata drept “gaina” de oameni carora nici macar nu le-am cerut parerea. Deciziile intuitive sunt greu de luat si asumat, dar asta nu ar trebui sa-ti stea in cale. S-a intamplat si sa o dau in bara de cateva ori pentru ca intuitia se exerseaza, sau cel putin asa cred eu...Insa in puncte cheile din viata mea nu am dat gres...Intuitia m-a ajutat in multe situatii cand era cazul sa-mi gestionez cat mai bine emotiile. Din fericire, familia ma accepta asa cum sunt si uneori mai tine cont si de perspectiva mea...care pare cel putin “ciudata” la o prima analiza...Mi-au placut experientele descrise si am inteles ca nu sunt in English man in NY...am un trib! Cel al intuitivilor!

[Li Or · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / 5

A quick, simple, common sense read. Very suitable for beginners, logical and easy to follow.
Whilst this is a good introduction into the subject of Intuition - what it is and how it comes up in life - I'm not sure there's much here for people who are more advanced in the subject.
Simple, easy meditations & journaling exercises given.

-
For a book that goes into more depth about developing intuition and psychic abilities, and which is more suitable for beginners and slightly more advanced intuitives too, I recommend the book, The Psychic Pathway: A Workbook for Reawakening the Voice of Your Soul by Sonia Choquette.

[Natasja Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simpel en praktisch boekje als je geïnteresseerd bent in je eigen intuïtie en het ontwikkelen ervan. Dat er wel meer bij komt kijken als je dat gaat doen stipt de schrijver aan maar gaat er verder in dit boek niet op in. Hoeft ook niet want het belangrijkste is is dat de schrijfster duidelijk maakt dat het in contact komen met je intuïtie niet moeilijk is en veel oplevert. Ze doet je simpele maar effectieve oefeningen aan de hand. Als je eenmaal aan de slag gaat zul je meer willen lezen, maar voor iemand die er voor het eerst mee in aanraking komt wordt het onderwerp simpel en enthousiasmerend uitgelegd. Ook als je al wat meer ervaring hebt is het interessant want het gaat weer even terug naar de kern én het is allemaal erg herkenbaar.

[Gabi Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gawain answered all the questions I ever could have about intuition; like how to determine what intuition really is versus the other voices in our heads that we might mistake for it. To put it simply, intuition is the life-giving, creative, and uplifting motive to go after something even when the outcome isn't clear. When something tugs at us and just feels right, even if we can't explain it logically. Intuition is always inspiring and uplifting, never motivated by fear or addiction. It's letting our inner wisdom be our guide, and being open to spirit leading us to our self-up-leveling. Gawain gives great exercises, personal stories, and reflections on this very important subject and it's one of the most important books anyone could read!

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had some great reminders: Your intuition is NOT that voice inside you telling you what you "should" be doing. It never critiques you or others, or judges, and it never asks you to do anything that will cause you harm.

The author points out that many of us are taught (from a very young age) to ignore our intuition and to instead listen solely to reason and logic, to our heads. As well as to outside influences for guidance - to parents, older relatives, teachers, bosses, etc. This book serves as a great reminder to look inward for answers at every turn and to listen to how your body responds. Intuition guides you in the moment. From moment to moment. It doesn't provide you with long-term answers.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Book about Intuition. Shakti writes in an easy to understand way, which I appreciate. Simple, useful, and to the point.

I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to a beginner wanting to follow their intuition. Only 150 pages, little book, so it was quick to read.

▪︎ "If you try too hard, you can't hear your intuition."
▪︎ "Our intuitive wisdom is always there, inside of us."
▪︎ "The more in touch we are with our emotional feelings, the easier it is to be in touch with our intuition."
▪︎ "As you experience & develop your intuition, you will connect more deeply with your own soul and the energy of the Universe."

[Jacob Petrossian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Developing Intuition is a pretty comprehensive guidebook to some of the techniques Shakti Gawain has found useful in regards to getting centred. I found the book easy to follow along to, straight to the point and rather practical.

The reason I have only given this book 3 stars is because I have read other books from her, such as Creative visualisation and Living in the light. If one were to read Creative Visualisation, that person would get most of the overall knowledge that this book offers. A decent read nonetheless, but doesn't add much new to what Gawain has already written.

[Rashmi Kamath · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the rudimentary concepts of intuition and related principles. I recommend this for beginners looking to explore this subject. Since the topic in itself is of an abstract nature, there is a chance of the book coming across as “just talk no guidance.” Unfortunately, in my opinion, this is as far as a book can take the reader.
Fortunately, though, it is an inherent quality in all of us and we need just hone it.

4 stars.

#bibliophilebookreview #developingintuition #shaktigawain #bookstagram #booklover #bookwitch #soulhavingahumanexperience #book27of2022

[Nancy Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was published nearly a decade after Creative Visualization, and delves into just what the title would suggest. Shakti Gawain defines intuition, distinguishes it from instinct, and explains how to go about developing one’s intuition. I love CV partly because it’s so accessible and easy to understand, and this is quite similar. She includes several meditative exercises to try activate our intuitive centers. For an absolute beginner, this is wonderful and it could be a good refresher for more intermediate students of the subject as well.

[Saleh Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once we start getting in touch with yourself through self help books, meditation, mindfulness and spirituality, we experience many things which we don’t really identify initially. This books informative in that regard, clarifies certain aspects of intuition and why it can be hard to follow initially.

The exercises within are effective at properly comprehending the whole experience and building trust in ourselves.

[Barbara Relles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enhancing your life

The author of many self-growth books, she continues on the theme of being in touch with your inner world and the improvement this brings to one’s quality of life. I liked the exercises she provides. The stories used to make her points are not too long and exhaustive like so many books of this type.

[Heather Larcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to use the malleability of your memory and confirmation bias to decide that you are a naturally intuitive person.

Despite having no basis in logic, and relying heavily on anecdotes, it is still a good collection of ways to trust yourself, and that is not a bad thing.

Quick listen, and Shakti has a clear, pleasing voice.

[Inka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book, I think it's great for beginners and people who wish to spiritually tap in from time to time but don't really know how to start. Has good tips, nice exercises. I feel like it references other books too much/recommends them instead of focusing more on explaining the concept in the book itself.

[Zarathustra Goertzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly straightforward book on working with intuition for practical guidance in life with some methods for querying one's bodily intuition on situations et cetera.

I appreciate the suggestion to edge slowly, not making major life decisions based on intuition. Good decisions receive support from multiple frames.

[Zazafraz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Confuses magical thinking with intuition. Declares that if the result of an insight was wrong it is not true intuition. This book LACKS the historical knowledge about how the patriarchal culture dismissed women´s powerful intuitive skills for thousands of years, declaring their inner wisdom is the result of a hormone process, calling them "emotional" reactions when making a decision.