No that was not me today as it already had started to rain before I left the house. But it is me some days!  Ugh don’t you hate it when you have this nagging feeling to do or not do something, you ignore the feeling and then realize uh I should have listened???  Or your at a restaurant and you are struggling with what to order.  Why do they put so many options on those damn menus? That was me before I started connecting more with myself on the inside.  Decisions were awful; painful even.  In the psychotherapy world we put a lot of weight on helping people gain insight.  But the way that generally occurs is by helping people think it out by talking it out. If you’ve ever been in therapy you probably know what I am speaking of. The “how do you feel about that”  “how does that make you feel”  “what do you think about that.”  This can often have people more confused and frustrated than ever.  Why is that?  And why is it that even if you do know the answers to those questions they don’t always lead you anywhere? It may be because the answers are not upstairs they are revealed on a deeper level.

So….drum roll please…..entering the room is the enteric nervous system (ENS), the other nervous system.  It gets little publicity but we are about to change that. It is what is responsible for our “gut instinct” and is known in some circles as our second brain that is often much smarter than the one that has been extensively scientifically researched.  It is comprised of a hundred million neurons and is embedded in the lining of the gut.  It communicates automatically with the para-sympathetic (relaxation response) and the sympathetic (fight/flight response) through the vagus nerve which goes from the brain stem all the way into the gut.  All this means that the ENS sends messages immediately throughout your body about what it’s reading from the information coming into your system.  Crazy, huh?  This is why the gut instincts are often right on because they bring information to the forefront without having to weight things out. Ever have a feeling about a job lead that everyone tells you is a long shot but you keep following it and it ends up leading you to your next career step?  That was you following your gut despite all rational information.  Your gut knows things on an intuitive feelings level that your brain can not pick up.  These gut level feelings are more connected to your soul’s desires.    Living from the truth of your feelings, your ENS, brings you deeper into the present moment, into your soul’s desires and living from the heart. What’s a crazier idea than love at times right?  Who we love and how we love sometimes doesn’t make sense but we are still compelled to love anyways, right?  Living from your truth means you have to take risks that are, at times, scary.  But the option of staying stuck and unsatisfied with life is not
so comfortable either, right?

There is a lot of wisdom within the body that is hard to access when only engaging the intellectual part of ourselves.  Talking things out and writing them down are very good skills to help you make sense of things. But they need to be used  in conjunction with connecting to your gut.  The first step is to tune in, the next step is to breathe…the rest unfolds moment by moment.  Insights often go by the wayside because we are tuned out rather than tuned in.  We leave them behind at the therapy office, at home or in a journal and go blindly into the world flying like a leaf blowing in the wind.  Having practices that help stay grounded such as using your breath on the go will help you incorporate those insights into every day living.  Since your gut is a window into your soul, connecting with it will bring you deeper into knowing yourself.  And isn’t this the purpose of therapy that Americans talk about all the time?  Finding one’s self.  This past year, I have come into a deeper understanding of my intuition.  I sought out intuitive guidance with tarot. astrology and stones.  This is long term interest which has progressively grown over the years. I used to think was my flaky side until more recently.  I now believe that I am most grounded when I am connected with my own spirit and those around me.  I connect with spirit in a variety of ways but meditation is always there for me wherever I am. Create your own practice of what works for you/ Bring your thoughts along for the ride, but don’t leave behind that gut; it will never steer you wrong!  So take the umbrella when you think it may rain, most likely you will use it!!

Cheers!