Picture this: You’re in the shower washing your hair and you’re immediately hit with an intuitive thought of inspiration.

Start that business. Take your project in this direction. Create this product to help people. Reach out to your friend to see how they are doing.

This is something I would venture to guess 98% of people have experienced (after all, our best ideas come to us in the shower)!

However, I would similarly guess that the percentage of people who actually act on these impulses or follow through with their intuitive guidance is drastically lower.

When we suppress our intuitive impulses, we are subconsciously teaching ourselves that they do not matter. Over time, the voice of our intuition gets quieter, and quieter, and quieter.

It never goes away, but becomes so small that we question ourselves if what we’re receiving is really our intuition or if we’re just thinking it from the voice in our head (ego).

The brain of a child until the age of seven is predominantly in the theta brainwave state.

This brainwave state, alongside delta, are some of the lowest wavelengths the brain produces from a frequency standpoint (measured in Hertz). Theta and Delta are associated with REM and NREM sleep (hence the need for baby’s regular nap times), as well as deep states of meditation and hypnosis. As children grow past adolescence, the brainwave state then begins to rise into alpha and beta, which is what most waking-state adults experience.

If you look at a small child, they are always responding to the immediate impulse and stimuli that is most alive for them. Whether that’s turning on music, playing with a doll, or hugging a dog.

Simply put, the child is listening to what is alive for them in that moment. There is no agenda, to-do list, worrying about something they said the other day, or anxiety about financial security. They are simply present living in the moment.

This essence of “listening to what’s alive” has often been lost as we get older.

In my own personal life, I am often struck with profound inspirational thoughts or things to write when I’m in the shower or going for a run. If I don’t act on the impulse, the immediate excitement of wanting to let the words flow from me is lost in less than 20 minutes. What usually happens is that I redirect my focus back to my to-do list and things I “need” to check off in order to have the semblance that my day is being productive.

The loss of flexibility or “flow” of listening to what’s alive can dampen our creative spirits. It can actually prevent us from bringing into being something even more impactful than we can imagine. Our to-do list is often rooted in our myopic view of what we think needs to be done for the sake of progress. Although beneficial, being too rigid can also be detrimental.

“Listening to what’s alive” is our joy and intuition directing us towards something deeper that we don’t fully understand why yet.

That being said, it’s important to discern which impulse is really your creative energy pulling you towards something, versus a habitual impulse of say, reaching for the chocolate chip cookie.

As we ascend into a species which is even more consciously aware of its true essence as the Creator power, I challenge you (and myself!) to lean into listening to what’s alive for you.

Next time you’re in the shower and hit with the inspiration to start a vegan skincare line or simply reach out to that friend from high school, take your ideation one step further than you otherwise would have, and listen to what’s alive for you.

It might just hold gifts you can hardly imagine.