Each one of us has ‘intuition’ —the ability to know or understand something instinctively rather than through conscious reasoning. However, even though that inner voice is whispering to us most of the time, we fail to hear it, because of all the inner and outer noise. Sometimes we do hear it faintly but ignore it and fail to act on it. However, in a world that is increasingly noisy, there has never been a time when our ability to hear our inner voice, our intuition, has been more needed. We need to find ways to amplify, to turn it up, so that we can hear it, especially when we most need it, at those pivotal moments in life.
There are many ways we can do this. In my experience the two most powerful ways are through a consistent and regular practice of meditation and to remain grounded. Two stories that in a sense ‘bookend’ a 13-year-long experience may illustrate the point. Before the experience began and when it needed to end, I heard and acted on my intuition. The beginning was on New Year’s Day, 2006. I was in the last day of a seven-day silence retreat. I was reviewing the year that had gone, by reading through my journal entries. As I closed the book, I quietly thought, ‘So, what’s going to happen in 2006?’ Like a flash of lightning, with crystal clarity, the thought came, ‘You are going to quit your job and work outside of Australia’. My reaction was quite calm, even though I was loving the best job I had ever had. I was intrigued.
In February of that year, I was travelling in Sri Lanka, giving talks on the power of meditation, in banks, tea plantations, corporate settings. All the time quietly aware that some change was to happen, and looking for signs. From there I moved on to the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University headquarters in Mount Abu. There is a hospital there. My background of administrative roles in health care had meant that I had visited the hospital often during the previous eight years, and knew many of the personnel. One of them approached me and asked what I was going to do in 2006. When they went on to ask if I could join them for a period of 12 months, I knew that it was the sign, and said yes. I stayed for 13 years.
Towards the end of the 13-year period, I was in Australia, on a visit to my family. The year was 2019. I was taking a walk on a deserted beach when a sudden storm began. I decided to move a bit further inland for some protection against the elements. I found myself beyond the sand dunes in a beautiful tea tree forest. I walked beneath this beautiful canopy on a sandy path, where small patches of crystal-clear water reflected the light and the leaves. I could hear the ocean behind me, and I felt so grounded and serene, in the pure joy of the raindrops falling on my head. Then, like a sudden flash of light, the thought came, ‘something big is going to happen—you have to come home’. It took me by surprise. But by now I knew to take this voice seriously. I listened, I heard, and left Australia with an empty bag. I gave the hospital plenty of notice and returned to Australia. Although there had been murmurings of a new virus in the world, it was only later that year that the ‘something big’ became a reality.
When I look back on those moments, I understand that they did not come out of the blue. I had the practice of meditating every morning and evening. In meditation we cultivate silence, which is essential if we want to hear our intuition. There is the constant reflection process of refining the impact of meditation on our relationships and interactions, to remaining ever more peaceful. At the same time, as in the second story, I remain grounded. In other words, I am present in the moment. In the forest, I was really connected to the earth. When you really are fully aware of your five senses, it enables the sixth sense, or intuition to be more alive and awake.
Meditation practised regularly, daily, is the most powerful way to create the silence needed to listen for, hear and act on what our intuition is telling us. With ever-increasing noise in the world and in our minds, what better time could there be to perfect the art of meditation?
Stephen Berkeley is Director Global Business, Flyntrok Consulting. He lives in the Brahma Kumaris Centre, Brisbane, Australia.