My wonderful Mexican mom was a bit forgetful, which has led to plenty of laughs over the years. When she can’t find her keys or purse, we typically find them stashed in the freezer or fridge, right next to the gallon of milk. More recently, she lost her dentures, and after hours of searching, we finally found them tucked under a pile of socks and underwear in her dresser drawer.

But when it comes to her inner voice, my mom’s intuition is undeniably razor-sharp. Every time, without fail, she just knows. I remember when I was 10, I wanted to bring the new wallet she’d bought me from Avon to a classmate’s roller-skating birthday party. She kept insisting I leave it at home because she had a “bad feeling” it would get lost. I couldn’t understand what she was talking about; I took it anyway. Of course, it got stolen, and I was devastated. This experience and countless others taught me to pay more attention to her “bad feelings.”

Everyone has an inner voice, not just my mom. As we get older, hearing this voice and trusting it may get hard for any number of reasons. We might go through difficult experiences that lead us to question and doubt ourselves, or we might grow up in a family system that relies heavily on logic and not at all on intuition. In some cases, mentioning intuition and or feelings might be ridiculed or shamed, or it may be against the religious beliefs in which we have been raised.

As a result, the noise generated by our thinking brain often overwhelms and silences our inner voice, particularly during moments when we need its guidance the most. This phenomenon is especially common when people are attempting to navigate the complex and often challenging world of........

© Psychology Today