Centering Yourself to Connect to the Wisdom Within

Centering Yourself to Connect to the Wisdom Within

When I was younger, I was desperate to connect to my own intuition.  I knew it was there. It felt like a word on the tip of my tongue or a memory too fuzzy to clearly identify. I tried every practice that seemed relevant in order to find it. I remember being in a yoga class once in the early days of my exploration.

I was told to “ground and center” myself. I had no idea what that meant.  

Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to look as serene as possible in spite of the chorus of “WTF am I doing?” that was swelling within me. It was an unproductive 5 minutes to say the least. Fast forward a decade or two, and here I am, living a life guided fully by my own inner knowing. 

I’m writing this series of articles because I know that you are out there, somewhere, like I was. Quietly searching for your internal compass. Seeking a way to support your own emotional regulation, irritability, distractibility, decision making, situational awareness, etc. Suspecting that there is a path with greater ease, joy and fulfillment available to you.

Hi there. If you’re looking for access to the wisdom within you, read on. 

 What Does it Mean to Center Yourself? 

Centering, like grounding, is a crucial part of this process.  It is often mentioned though rarely defined. It can mean different things to different people. It can take on different meanings in different contexts. For our purposes, getting centered involves directing your energetic focus onto the primary physical centers of your own intuition.  Below I’ll explain how to do this by refining the subtle sensing skills you’ve been utilizing in your grounding practice.

What is Intuition?

The origin of the word "intuition" is the Latin verb intueri, which is usually translated as to look at, upon or towards. It is a word that is used often, and seldom defined. Intuition is commonly thought of as nonconscious information coming from the body or brain. It is emotionally charged and can be subconsciously perceived. It is frequently dismissed in favor of linear thought, often to our detriment. 

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." ~ Albert Einstein

There are many definitions of intuition. For our purposes here, we will discuss 3 different types. 

1. Implicit Knowledge:

 This refers to knowledge we’ve previously acquired and either forgot or didn't realize we had learned. It involves rapid cognition, decision making, and action. It all happens in your head. Your brain matches new problems or challenges with relevant implicit memories based on your prior experiences. When you know the answer to something without knowing how you know, implicit knowledge is often responsible. 

2. Energetic Sensitivity: 

This refers to the ability to detect and respond to energetic environmental signals . When you walk into a public place and you just know that someone is staring at you, energetic sensitivity is at play. When animals in California flee an hour before the earthquake hits, that is energetic sensitivity. Intuition based on energetic sensitivity starts with a perception of external factors so quick or subtle that you aren’t consciously aware that you’ve noticed them at all.

3. Non Local Intuition: 

This refers to the knowledge or sense of something that cannot be explained by subconsciously remembering forgotten knowledge or by sensing energetic signals in the environment.  When you’re in need of a friend, and your bestie calls to check in because she ‘had a feeling ’, that’s non local intuition. When something tells you to take I-95 instead of The Turnpike on your way home from work, and you find out you missed a massive accident that you otherwise would have been a part of, thank your non-local intuition. 

Is There Science to Support Centering as a Means to Connect to Intuition?

In short, yes. The science of intuition, like the practice of centering to connect to it, largely involves 3 regions of the body.  These different regions house the organs and nerves which help attune us to our implicit knowledge, energetic sensing, and non-local intuition.  

We refer to the brain, gut, and heart as separate entities; but they are intimately related.

In addition to studying these 3 specific regions the science of intuition looks at interoception. This is our ability to sense the subtle signals our body is sending from within.  While the study of intuition isn’t new, it has gained popularity in recent years. Science is still striving to explain how it all works. Here’s a summary of what we know so far:

The Brain

Consisting of over 86 billion neurons, your brain is the seat of language, cognition, consciousness, and creativity. It has a penchant for pattern recognition. This is how we tap into our  intuition based on implicit knowledge. When presented with a new challenge the brain conducts a rapid search of previous knowledge and selects the best solution for the condition at hand.

Want to get specific? It may well be the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) that is responsible for collecting the statistics of your experiences, and using them to nudge your behavior in a particular direction. The VMPFC is part of a system that stores information about past rewards and punishments. It triggers the non-conscious emotional responses that normal people register as intuition or a "hunch." Studies have found that patients with damage to the VMPFC are insensitive to future consequences, both positive and negative, and are therefore primarily guided by immediate gains only.

It was previously thought that the brain governs the body through a top down approach. The brain collects and processes information. Then it tells the body what to do. This is true -  sometimes. More recently we have learned that the body is collecting to inform the brain as well. 

The vagus nerve has been known to send parasympathetic (rest, digest & recover) signals from the brain to the body. That’s not all it does. This tenth cranial nerve also brings information from your viscera (organs) to the brain. This plays a significant role in allowing you to become consciously aware of the information you’re sensing beneath your skin. When your brain is tuned to your bodily sensations, it allows you to take action based on the wisdom flowing within you.

The Gut

Most living beings on earth are guided by what we often call “gut instinct”. Your gut evolved before your heart, or your brain. It guides you to move towards nourishment and away from danger. An argument could be made that the heart and the brain both evolved as a means to help the gut with these tasks. 

I briefly discussed your “second brain” in my previous article. Your enteric nervous system is made of over 100 million neurons interwoven throughout the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. It is the largest component of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). It’s equipped with intrinsic microcircuits that enable it to manage gastrointestinal function independent from the central nervous system (CNS). Magnificent as it is, it isn’t the only component of your gut that sends information to your brain. 

“In many ways, your gut bacteria are as vast and mysterious as the Milky Way.”

Trillions of bacteria live within your digestive system. There are about 1,000 different species, and about 5,000 distinct bacterial strains.  As a group, they're known as the gut microbiota. We are still learning about the many ways that these little critters effect and inform us. An overview:

• Your microbiome begins developing the moment you are born. By the time you reach adolescence you have more than 100 trillion microorganisms living on or inside of you.

• Your microbiome is unique. It is impacted by the location and method of your birth, your genes, gender, age, diet, personal hygiene, environment, medications, stress, sleep-habits and life experiences.

• Your microbiome affects nearly every aspect of your life: mood, stress, energy, sleep, skin, the immune system, and more.

• Your microbiome produces and/or consumes a wide range of neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Manipulation of these neurotransmitters by bacteria has an impact on your physiology. Studies are showing that microbiota-based interventions can also alter neurotransmitter levels.

• Your microbiome has an important role in bidirectional communication between the gut and the central nervous system. It regulates brain chemistry and influences the neuro-endocrine systems associated with stress response, anxiety and memory function.

When you feel a pit in your stomach upon meeting the new guy at work, and he turns out to be a total creeper, you can thank your gut for the heads up.  Trusting visceral sensations like these will help you to more regularly tap into your own inner wisdom. 

The Heart

Throughout history many civilizations, both ancient and modern, speak of the heart as harboring intelligence. This is why we have expressions like “listen to your heart” and "speak from the heart." It is known for handling emotional processing, expression of values, and interpersonal connections. 

Modern science has largely tended to consider the wisdom of the heart as metaphorical, but that is slowly beginning to change. Science has started to reveal the roles the heart plays out-side of circulation.  Below are some the the fascinating things that we’ve learned so far:

• The heart communicates neurologically. It sends information to the brain and the rest of the body. It contains a complex intrinsic neural network which consists of over 40,000 neurons that can operate independently from the Central Nervous System (CNS). This network has been labeled by researchers as a functional “brain”. This heart-brain influences neural structures in the head–brain deeply involved in cognitive, affective, and autonomic regulation.

• The heart communicates through pressure via the pulse. Changes in the electrical activity of brain cells occur in relation to the changes in the blood pressure wave. 

• The heart communicates biochemically, releasing hormones which regulate fluid balance, influence motivation, affect social bonding, and inhibit the release of some stress hormones. 

• The heart communicates electromagnetically. It produces the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field of any of the body’s organs. The magnetic field produced by the heart is more than 100 times greater in strength than the field generated by the brain and can be detected up to 3 feet away from the body, in all directions. 

  • This blew me away. The heart produces a measurable electromagnetic field around the body. Practitioners of energetic techniques have long been ridiculed for referring to the “aura” of energy that permeates and surrounds the body. Turns out, they were on to something!

• The patterns of our heart-rate variability respond to electromagnetic changes both in the sun and on the planet.   For example, an increase in solar wind intensity was correlated with increases in heart rate, which we interpret as a biological stress response.  

  • Um. whoa. Well, we are made of star stuff and part of this living breathing planet, so I can kind of cognitively handle this one. But still, the fact that an organ in my chest is responding to a solar event that I can’t consciously perceive is pretty mind-blowing. 

• The physical heart is likely coupled to a field of information not bound by the classical limits of time and space, and can perceive events that haven’t happened yet. The heart and brain have been shown to respond physiologically to emotionally significant stimuli seconds BEFORE the actual stimulus occurs. The heart receives the pre-stimulus information about 1.5 seconds before the brain. ,

  •  WHAAAAT?!? Yeah, go ahead and reread that as many times as you need to. Our hearts (ladies more than men it seems, sorry guys) and brains are in tune with emotionally significant future events. 

The heart is clearly responsible for a whole heck of a lot more than pumping blood through our vessels. Science is still working to understand it fully, but it is clear that the heart plays a significant role in both energetic sensing and non-local intuition.  If the fact that your heart can predict the future doesn’t motivate you to double down on your interoceptive subtle-sensing practices, I’m not sure what will. 

Your Interoceptive Skills

The head brain has language so we tend to listen to it, but signals from the heart and gut can be way more informative than rational analytical cognition alone.  Why? Because these physiological ‘knowings’ exist outside of cognitive thought. 

Our thinking brain is distractible. Even when our implicit knowledge produces accurate instincts, we worry. We wallow in fear. We second guess ourselves. We get derailed by our own expectations or thoughts of how others might judge us. 

It turns out that when we can tune into the subtle signals coming from our gut and our heart we can combine intuition with analytical cognition and make better decisions. Studies have found that folks with a greater interoceptive sense of their hearts can better utilize intuition when gambling. People with a greater ability to sense their gut make for more successful financial traders, an industry which requires a keen intuition.  

We just have to practice tuning into internal sensations and trusting what we receive. 

 If you’re used to using your head-brain for all decision making purposes, practicing interoception elsewhere may be challenging at first.  The head, the heart and the gut are neural networks. Like all neural networks, they become easier to use the more we use them.

Practice Getting Centered to Connect to Your Intuition

Step One: Get Grounded 

I could write 4,000 words about the practice of grounding. In fact, I did. You can check it out here. To get grounded find a comfortable position. Close your eyes and feel deeply into your body. 

Set your intention. This is a phrase that helps to remind you and the universe what it is you’re up to. Something as simple as “I’m going to ground my energy” will do just fine. Speak it silently to yourself, or out loud if you’d like. Thoughts will arise. Let them go. 

Picture yourself as a tree. Inhale deeply and exhale slowly. On each exhale, think “down”. You can focus on a downward movement of the energy and awareness within your body, or the sensation of your physical body softening down towards the Earth beneath you.  

Visualize roots growing down from the bottoms of your feet, or the base of your spine.   Allow your roots descend through the floor into the Earth below. Keep sending them down on each exhale. 

Eventually, your roots may begin to intertwine with the roots of other plants or trees growing nearby. Picture your energy as light following your roots down into the Earth. Let your body feel heavy. Keep this up for a few minutes. 

Step Two: Find Physiological Coherence

Bring your awareness to the space around your heart. Visualize a small flickering light emanating from this space. Imagine this light getting bigger and shining brighter with each inhale. Imagine pulling energy up through your roots from the Earth to feed this flame. Keep focusing on expanding this light as you breathe in. 

Begin to visualize something or someone that fills you with a feeling of love, gratitude or appreciation. Allow your whole body to resonate with that feeling. If you’re smiling, you’re doing it right! Continue to focus on the space around your heart as you bask in this joyful feeling. 

Step Three: Explore Interoception

Think of something fundamentally true for you. Choose something undeniably positive.  Notice the emotions that arise within you. Focus on your heart-space again and notice how this area feels.  Do you feel a softening in your chest? A sense of opening? A wave of warmth? How is your body responding to truth and positivity?

Now think of something categorically untrue. Something negative or unpleasant.  Again, notice the emotions that come up. Then, the sensations that arise in your heart-space. Do you feel tension? Contracture? A pulling away? Become familiar with the sensations your body uses to send you signals about negative experiences. 

Next, think of a safe and comforting situation. Bring your awareness to your gut and notice the emotions and subtle sensations that arise. Do you feel a wave of relaxation? A letting go? An unwinding? Become aware of how your gut responds and informs you about safe situations. 

Repeat this process focused on your gut, but thinking of an unsafe situation. Notice how you feel emotionally and physically. Do you feel tightening? Constriction? Strain? Again, notice the subtle ways that your gut responds to danger. 

Your body thinks in feelings. Becoming familiar helps you decode your body’s language.

That’s it! Your energy is centered in the physical homes of your intuition. You’re ready to tap more deeply into the wisdom within you. Please try these practices on your own. Let me know how it goes. Thank you for taking the time to connect more deeply to yourself, and to the wisdom of the universe that resides within you. 

Please share this article with anyone in your life who you think may benefit from reading it. You’re also welcome to visit my website for more ideas and information that facilitate connection to your embodied senses.