Eccentric Life Advice #19 – How to Locate Your Instinct

Each week Astrid Crossland provides instructions on how to improve your life in some small but important ways.

In advanced studies of the self, you may occasionally notice an unusual sensation within yourself, usually when you are thinking very deeply. It may manifest as a tingling feeling, or a twang deep inside yourself, or a brightness spreading across your mind. That feeling is your instinct. Instincts can, of course, be wrong. They are fallible and flighty and sometimes cannot be roused when you could use them most. I think it would be reductive to tell you to trust your instinct, so I shan’t. Instead, I will tell you that your instinct cannot be ignored, least it overcome you entirely one full moon’s eve.

Nevertheless, there will come a time when you feel an immeasurable pull towards a particular decision – that is your instinct. While you have that feeling, take note of your surroundings. Instinct is beyond bodily, it is the feeling of knowing, of knowing what is right for you. If you maintain a holistic approach to the world, an omen may present itself to you, further narrowing your instinctive response. Everybody has different omens, so I will not elaborate much further here, save to detail that things which make you smile are good omens.

If you have continued trouble locating your instinct, you may find divination a useful tool. Depending on your personality, you may find card, tile, or weather patterns amplify the resonance of your instinct. I use a set of tarot I bought years ago although I have also had success staring deeply into the ocean. Practicing refocusing your mind will make it easier to both identify when your instinct is at large as well as to determine some of the subtler aspects between fight, flight, and freeze. With regular practice, you ought to have continued success finding your instinct and putting it to better use.