As human’s we all have the ability to learn and gain knowledge. We are very fortunate that in our country we have access to schools, books, the internet and many other sources of ways to learn. In our society and culture we tend to think of knowledge only in terms of something we have gained by our studies. However, from the yogic perspective and the 8 elements of excellence, knowledge is much more than just what we study, this type of knowledge is referring to a deep sense of knowing, an internal knowledge that a person can say, “I know this is right”. This type of knowledge comes from a life time of experiences, observations of your environment blended with intuition and perception, and applied over time.

By nature, we are ever changing and evolving beings. Whether we are aware of it or not, we go through various rhythms and cycles of change that propel our desire for growth and expansion consciously, energetically, and intellectually. During these changes of cycles is when we often set new goals for ourselves, improving on how we live, how we treat each other and how we contribute to our community. By obtaining and using knowledge through intuition and perception, we gain a deep inner knowing and can access the information necessary to move towards and substantiate these goals. We learn and understand our reality, as well as how to approach our vision. Using knowledge in this way, we consciously use our experiences from past events and apply our creative and analytical intelligence to further our understanding and gain the new knowledge that is required to manifest what it is that we are creating.

With access to information with the click of a button, we have grown to rely more on what is outside us to guide our actions rather than following what we already know. The more we do this the less access we have to our intuition. We train ourselves to doubt instead of trust ourselves. Like the old saying goes “if you don’t use it, you lose it”. When I take a moment to reflect on my past, I can see that when I was making decisions of significance or during any crisis I encountered, I always really KNEW what to do. Deep down I truthfully knew that what I was doing was going to be for the better or for the worse; the outcome was going to feel good or bad, right or wrong. My intuition was always there, I just sought outside approval or attention that contributed to my confusion and lack of trust for my innate sense of knowledge.

Fortunately each and every one of us has the ability to develop our inner knowing. With commitment and discipline our sensitivity returns, and we can achieve what we originally set out to do. In the right mindset, the application of intuition and the resources that we hold from our memories, we all can tap into our steady stream of intelligence and pick the actions that will best support our journey towards every day excellence.

Here are a few suggestions to get started;

1.Learn to meditate – by taking the time to still your mind and pay attention to your thoughts you start to understand your thinking and are able to connect with a more subtle part of you.

2.Learn to ask yourself the right questions- by asking the right questions of yourself and sitting in meditation, you open up to receiving the correct information that will help guide you. Be as clear and precise as possible and be open to receiving answers in ways that you may not expect.

3.Listen deeply so you can decipher between your doubts and your truth – learning to listen deeply during your meditation will help sort through all the excess thoughts that are there that often create confusion. You will know when you are hearing truth because truth never creates fear or doubt.

4.Never say “I don’t know”. Saying I don’t know shuts down the flow of information that we are always connected to. This can add to more lack of trust for what comes next.

Knowledge is all around us and within us. If we choose, we can become a clear channel of this information and build a strong intuitive capacity to make decisions that will best serve our ultimate goal, our vision, and our purpose.

Sat Nam & Namaste

Paula