Maybe you’ve had a thought come seemingly out of nowhere. A feeling you couldn’t explain. An image that flashed through your mind. A quiet sense that you should—or shouldn’t—do something.
And then comes the inevitable question:
The funny thing is, your intuition is part of you. Discernment isn’t necessarily about figuring out which thoughts belong to you and which came from somewhere else. It’s about becoming familiar with your own inner landscape—your thoughts, fears, hopes, habits, emotions, and expectations—so you can begin to recognize when something feels different.
There isn’t a foolproof formula. But there are things you can begin to notice.
We tend to imagine intuition as something unmistakable, but more often it’s remarkably ordinary—a thought, image, feeling, word, or sudden knowing that seems to arrive without you looking for it.
Someone unexpectedly comes to mind. You feel you should take a different route. An unrelated image appears while you’re talking with someone.
Often, it arrives before you’ve had time to make sense of it.
This can be one of the trickiest distinctions, especially when something matters deeply to us.
Intuition often arrives simply and directly: Don't go that way. Anxiety is more likely to take the thought and run with it: Why? Is something wrong? What if something happens?
When you’re unsure, go back to the beginning. Before the fear, explanation, or story took over, what did you actually notice?
The more we want a particular answer, the harder it can be to separate intuition from hope. We may look for signs that support what we want or give meaning to things that otherwise might not have it.
That doesn’t mean intuition isn’t there. It just means it’s worth asking:
“What did I actually receive, and what did I add afterward?”
Intuition and imagination don’t necessarily have to be opposites. An intuitive image may use the same mental space you use to picture something, while intuitive words may sound much like your own inner voice.
Rather than asking whether you could have imagined something (you probably could have), the more useful question may be: Did I intentionally create it, or did I notice it?
Sometimes an image, word, or knowing appears before you’ve consciously decided what to picture, say, or think. The difference may be less about what you experienced and more about how it arrived. That doesn’t automatically make it intuitive, but it makes it worth noticing.
Our brains are extraordinarily good at collecting information.
Tone of voice. Facial expression. Patterns of behavior. Tiny environmental changes. Things we've experienced before but aren't consciously thinking about now.
Sometimes a “gut feeling” may be your brain putting together clues faster than your conscious mind can explain them.
Discernment doesn't require proving that an impression came from somewhere mysterious. Sometimes the most useful question isn't “Where did this come from?”
It's “What is this asking me to notice?”
Suppose you’re talking with someone and suddenly see a red rose in your mind. The impression itself is simply a red rose. It means love. It must be their grandmother. Someone is sending me a sign. Everything after the rose is interpretation.
Discernment means leaving a little space between what you perceive and what you decide it means. Start with what you actually noticed. Meaning can come later.
Not every thought is intuition, every coincidence a sign, or every uncomfortable feeling a warning. Sometimes an impression that feels incredibly clear will simply be wrong—and that’s okay.
Discernment isn’t about becoming infallible. It’s about becoming more observant, curious, and honest about what you’re experiencing. When you don’t need every impression to mean something, you’re free to simply notice and see what unfolds.
Over time, you may begin to recognize your own patterns. Perhaps your clearest impressions arrive as images, a particular physical sensation, or a quiet knowing that disappears almost as quickly as it came. Your intuition may not look like anyone else’s.
Pay attention to what arrives, write it down before explaining it, and look back over time. Little by little, you may begin to recognize the difference between what you think, fear, or hope for—and those curious moments when something simply seems to arrive.
There may always be some uncertainty. Perhaps that’s part of the practice.
Images, words, feelings, knowing and more, explore the different ways intuitive information may make itself known.
Discover the Clairs
Explore how intuition shows up, learn to recognize its subtle signals, and begin understanding your own intuitive language.
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