We have been conditioned by society to listen to reason, logic, and not trust our innate sense of truth that speaks to us through intuition.

This conditioning has built in every one of us an overreliance on what is called Ego-mind.

Usually, when we face a challenge or a decision that we must take, an internal struggle arises between the voice of our intuition and the voice of our ego-mind.

Before discussing, though, in depth this conflict and how to navigate through it to reach out to our intuition, I would like to emphasize that the ego is not the enemy as it is being portrayed by many in the spiritual community. The ego is a very integral part of our internal survival mechanism and our ability to integrate within society.

We have been conditioned by society to listen to reason, logic, and not trust our innate sense of truth that speaks to us through intuition.

Without the development of the mind, we wouldn’t have been able to function as rational beings or communicate with our fellow humans.

Having said that, we indeed must acknowledge that our minds, our ego, can prevent us from listening to our inner wisdom, and this is what we are going to explore in this article.

So, if I got your attention, let’s begin.

Before We Begin Though It’s Important to Understand the True Essence of Our Inner Guidance

Before I share with you my own insights on how to differentiate your intuition from your ego-mind, I would like to discuss first the dimension from where intuition originates from.

Listening to your intuition is not a sheer act of will, but the patient effort of realignment.

When trying to listen to the voice of your intuition, it is not about making the Ego-mind the “bad guy” that prevents us from hearing the voice of our intuition, but to study and realize from what place your ego-mind comes from too.

As I said in the introduction of this article, without developing your ego-mind in your first years of being alive on this planet, you wouldn’t be able to survive, for it is the Ego that helps us to learn the rules of how to function in society and also it protects us from getting harmed in any shape or form.

Listening to your intuition is not a sheer act of will, but the patient effort of realignment.

But there comes a point in your life where your ego-mind becomes such an established authoritative figure that it hinders you instead of helping you since it stands between you and your inner wise self that can take much further into your life’s journey.

People rarely realize that, and this is part of the fact that our society overvalues our mind’s importance, and views intuition as a mere function of the imagination, something not real.

But some people (like you) reach a point where they cannot avoid the fact that there’s something missing, and what is missing is the ability to tune into one’s inner compass can make your life more meaningful and richer. To do so, learn how to put your mind in its place in terms of your decision making, and how you navigate life.

5 Key Ways to Tell If You’re Listening to Intuition or Ego

Learning to trust your intuition, and distinguish it from your ego-mind, is a lifelong process and you have the expectation to be successful in your first few attempts at listening to the voice of your intuition.

I’m going to share with you 5 ways to achieve the above intent of distinguishing intuition and mind, but these are only starting points for you in doing so, so I would like to advise you to treat them as such and not as rules set in stone.

1. The Loudest Voice Isn’t Always the Wisest

One of the first things that I learned about how the ego-mind intercepts intuition from speaking up is the way it presents itself, which is with urgency, often loud, and also being followed by strong emotions.

But as I’ve learned when you act out of desperation, or hastily, you rarely end up in a good place.

If I want to describe how intuition comes forth, I would say it shows up in a gentler way. Your intuition doesn’t shout, and it even sometimes whispers its wisdom to you, that may come often not in words but in symbols and feelings.

2. The Voice of Fear vs. the Whisper of Peace

One of the prominent emotions that follows the appearance of your ego is the feeling of fear. This fear can be intense or subtle, in the form of anxiety and worry thoughts that can cause more stress.

This primitive, fight-or-flight reaction of your ego doesn’t have to be intercepted through resistance to it. The more you resist, the more you add negativity to an already tense state of mind.

One of the prominent emotions that follows the appearance of your ego is the feeling of fear.

What I would advise you to do is to embrace and accept your mind’s fears and just take a few breaths from your diaphragm to settle down.

The next thing you can do to elicit your intuition’s voice is to ask yourself, “what is the lesson here?” and then just wait and listen without trying to force any sort of answer.

3. Logic Isn’t Always Truth

How your mind is operating is through logic and reason. But the latter principles do not always lead you to on the right path.

Even now, when I overthink and over analyze a situation, I realize that this is not my truth and my inner wisdom that is coming forth, but the voice of my mind as it is trying to protect me again from the unknown that the intuition represents in its eyes.

How your mind is operating is through logic and reason. But the latter principles do not always lead you to on the right path.

In the past, I would have resisted it, in my efforts to listen to my intuition. But through experience, I realized that my mind is also part of myself and I need to honor it in its effort to help. So instead of resisting it, nowadays I just let it do its thing for a few moments and then say to myself something like “thank you for your help, but I would like to explore another way, would you like to be there and help me discern if what I get from this alternative way is he useful?” In this way, I’m giving my mind a role, so it doesn’t impede me from trying to listen to my intuition.

4. Follow the Feeling, Not the Brain

Another helpful practice for you to distinguish your ego-mind from your intuition is to observe how your body feels whenever either of them comes to the surface.

When the ego takes over, I witness that my body reacts in a stressful way. My stomach might tighten, my breathing gets shallow, and I experience a feeling of constriction.

Whenever my intuition prevails, what I am experiencing in my body is the exact opposite. My muscles are relaxed, my breathing gets deeper, and I feel calm.

Another helpful practice for you to distinguish your ego-mind from your intuition is to observe how your body feels whenever either of them comes to the surface.

This is a powerful way for you to distinguish these voices in a visceral way rather than an intellectual one.

5. Pause and Let the Deeper Voice Speak

Following the above point on the discussion about intuition versus ego, on how your body can tell you which of the two is taking over in your decision making, or when dealing with a challenging situation, you now know when your ego takes over.

And here’s something handy; as your body reacts to ego taking over by tensing up, you can reverse the situation, by influencing your body to let your intuition speak instead.

There are many ways to do so, and one of the easiest ones is just to take a few breaths from your abdomen, and if you can try to relax your body by mentally placing your awareness in each part of your body intending to release any tension that your ego brought up to your muscles.

In this way, you’re making space for your inner wisdom to shine and come forth.

Conclusion

As a closing note, and as I have stated above, I would like to re-emphasize that learning how to distinguish your intuition from your Ego is something that cannot be learned overnight. Just be kind to yourself whenever you “fail” to listen to your intuition and follow the loud voice of your ego instead. Just accept your misstep with awareness, “stand up and dust yourself off” and try again until you get it right.

Till next time, take care.