"For the spiritual being, intuition is far more than a hunch. It is viewed as guidance or as God talking, and this inner insight is never taken lightly or ignored." ~ Wayne Dyer
MY own personal definition of a "nudge" is:
An inner (from the soul) interruption of whatever I am doing that brings consciousness to something going on around me, outside of myself, that requires my unselfish, non-judging, compassionate attention and action.
This is such an exciting and extremely special subject to me! I absolutely LOVE getting nudges because in that moment I feel so close to my God as it is one way he chooses to speak to me, I feel special for being chosen, and I feel worthy for being given a purpose. Thinking back on some of my nudges brings happy tears and swells my heart. I believe the secret to feeling good about oneself is in giving to others and my nudges help me to do this in such a profound way because my nudges always require some form of giving.
When I'm feeling down or insecure about myself or something, I've found my cure is in GIVING. Giving immediately takes away my self-pity and focuses my attention on someone else in a positive way. It gets me back on track and puts my self-esteem where it should be and my attitude in check. It let's me feel GRATEFUL for what I have and puts things in perspective. If I have a hard decision to make, giving of myself puts me in the right frame of mind to make the right decision. Deepok Chopra says "Giving connects two people, the giver and the receiver, and this connection gives birth to a new sense of belonging." How cool is that for all involved?!
I know that we all get nudges whether we are aware or not, or wether we chose to ignore them or not. I know that I have had nudges all my life starting as a little girl. I remember feeling them very clearly back then and I'm always working on getting back to that level of awareness. Life and it's hustle-bustle, stress, difficulty, and negativity tend to take that awareness away from us if we let it. I know that I feel my nudges more often now when I have an open, loving heart and mind. Living in the now and being in that space that is the present, also helps me to 'hear' these nudges. I believe we all are getting them throughout our busy days. I KNOW that these are Gods way of asking us to pass along a gift that has once been passed to us.
I haven't always acted on my nudges because of some excuse or another. Every day I'm getting better at recognizing them and I'm more and more thankful for the joy I feel from responding. I'm learning that when I do, it is such a huge blessing and I'm also reminded that giving back to someone is much more rewarding than keeping it to myself. Nudges can ask us to sacrifice of ourselves in big ways or small and some require more time and energy than others. They can also be as simple as an encouraging word, a story of hope, a hug, a meal, an acknowledgement, seeing someone in need and anonymously giving to them, (I love finding creative ways to be anonymous) a smile to a stranger (who knows, they may be feeling alone or unloved), forgiveness to someone we feel is undeserving remembering that our God forgives us when we are so undeserving, feeling compassion to those that are difficult to feel compassionate for, Etc etc. When I am in the mental state that I need to be in, I don't need to look for ways to give, my nudges just make me aware.
Sometimes I feel a nudge and I second guess it. I have to remember that acting on my nudge without judgement is my part, the rest is up to God. Helping a stranger or giving cash to a homeless person because of a nudge, is what I'm called to do without trying to judge if that person will use the money appropriately. God is the one who will judge, and who knows....maybe if they use the money inappropriately, it will eventually lead them to something amazing and I contributed to that path. Maybe that's part of the plan. Who's to say?! I believe that once I've done my part with an open heart, I am to move on without questioning my actions.
My hope for my children is that they listen to their nudges and respond with kindness and compassion. I want them to know that the more we give, the more we receive and by receiving I don't necessarily mean monetarily. We can be rich in so many ways. I want them to know that being grateful is the answer to a JOY-FILLED life and being grateful is directly proportionate to giving and THAT... I know for sure. :)
