Keeping In Touch With Your Intuition: Janet Rae Orth On How To Get In Touch With Your Intuition And When To Trust Your Intuition When Making Decisions

An Interview With Maria Angelova

Be in touch with nature. Go outside. This typically slows us down. We go inward with our thoughts and our feelings. That inner space is where our intuition is. Feel your senses; smell the air, hear the birds, feel the wind. Intuition is another sense. It lies within, listen to it, feel it.

Intuition is defined as the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning. Where does intuition come from? Can it be trusted? How can someone tune in to their intuition? To address these questions, we are talking to business leaders, coaches, mental health experts, authors, and anyone who is an authority on “How to Get In Touch With Your Intuition And When To Trust Your Intuition When Making Decisions.” As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Janet Rae Orth.

Janet Rae Orth is a clairvoyant and consultant with more than 25 years of experience as an intuitive leader and decision maker to her lectures, and training in meditation, intuition and clairvoyant awareness. As a teacher and facilitator she specializes in the use of guided meditative imagery to help individuals validate their own intuitive information, release fear, and create change. Janet uses her gift of clairvoyance and her skills as a spiritual counselor to help others gain more insight, clarity and understanding in their own lives through her work in person at Miraval Life in Balance in Tucson, Arizona, or one-on-one by phone.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

I grew up in Minnesota. I spent a lot of time outdoors. I lived in a very small town near the South Dakota border until I was five, then we moved into the suburbs of Minneapolis. My Grandparents lived in northern Minnesota and my aunt and uncle lived on a farm. I grew up playing outdoors with many cousins in the barn and on the farm. In the summer we swam, fished and played outdoors all day long. In the winter, we did lots of ice skating, sledding (we called it sliding) and snowmobiling. I truly believe that all the time spent outdoors, and being in touch with nature, had much to do with my growing intuition. Animals are great teachers, they live by their instincts and feelings. They communicate telepathically through their senses. Being outdoors encourages us to be still, feel our senses and go within. Where our inner voice and intuition reside.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner,” Lao Tzu. This statement is so impactful. It is relevant because it directly corresponds to what I teach in my workshop on Anxiety and Psychic Protection. When we let other people’s viewpoints, judgements, or ideas into our space we become the effect of those judgements. We are controlled by them which is like being imprisoned. Sometimes we worry what others will think and it stops us from acting. As we don’t want to be judged or isolated. We all want to be accepted. But other people’s judgments are about competition and jealousy anyway. Not about acceptance. When I stopped being an accountant and decided to do something that fulfilled me more deeply, I am sure it looked to others like what I was doing was giving up security and stability. And to some, that made no sense since stability and security have value, but I was miserable inside and needed to make a change. If I had cared about what other people thought, I would have continued on a path that gave me no pleasure. Because I didn’t care what others thought, I now have endless joy in my daily life. I am deeply fulfilled in my work and I get to help others.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

I love books and movies. I could give you an endless list. But one that really spoke to me and the way in which I was beginning to view the world was an episode of Amazing Stories, called, The Mission. It was written and directed by Steven Spielberg, and starred Kevin Costner and Kiefer Sutherland. It takes place on a B-17 plane during WWll. When the plane is damaged and the landing gear doesn’t work, the gunner is trapped in the belly gun. He will surely be crushed when the plane lands without any landing gear. The young gunner is a cartoonist who is always drawing and has his sketch pad with him. Using only his imagination he draws the plane with landing gear down and miraculously the plane lands safely, with cartoon-ish landing gear attached. This ability to use your mind to alter reality, to use your imagination, which is something I had in abundance growing up, and affected me profoundly. On some very deep level this struck me as having some truth or possibility in it. For what are miracles really, what is energy work, what is quantum physics? If not the ability to alter reality in some unexpected or inexplicable way. This thought or question or possibility stayed with me. And it validated my growing interest, as I was already beginning to explore energy mechanics.

Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Let’s begin with a definition of terms so that each of us and our readers are on the same page. What exactly does intuition mean? Can you explain?

Intuition is an inner knowing. A feeling, a thought, something that you just know or feel without any explanation as to why you know it. For example, it may be a feeling that someone is insincere, yet you’ve only just met them, so how can you know that? It may be a feeling that something is wrong with your body, or right, when all medical evidence to date points in another direction.

How would you define common sense? Are intuition and common sense related?

Common sense to me is the ability to make a sound decision or judgment based on rational thought or experience. With it we can predict reasonable outcomes or courses of action based on what we know, have experienced or done before. It is practical, grounded in reality and the situation at hand. Common sense and intuition are not related.

How are they different from each other?

Intuition does not come from experience. It comes from within, it can be random or inexplicable. Common sense comes from knowledge, understanding and experience that is relevant to what is at hand. Intuition is arbitrary, it cannot be explained and is not related to experience. One comes from rational thought, while intuition may be a thought or a feeling, there is no explanation as to why we know it.

What are the positive aspects of being in touch with your intuition? Can you give a story or example to explain what you mean?

Intuition to me is similar to taking a short-cut. We don’t have to go through the experience of knowing someone will not be a good friend if we feel upon meeting them that something is not right and we act on it. If we trust that feeling and are friendly but don’t become close, we can save time, disappointment and pain. Intuition makes life easier. I often tell the story of how when I am driving home from Miraval, I come to a light where I would normally go left to go home. This time I felt I should go straight. So I did. As I was driving straight, my phone rang and it was my daughter. She was 15 at the time and went to buy some Christmas gifts but forgot the credit card. She was with a friend and realized she didn’t have the card when she was at the register. She said they were being so nice and were going to put everything aside so I could come and pay. When I turned, I was literally right in front of Target. When I got to the register they hadn’t even started moving things aside for her yet. If I had gone my usual way it would have taken me 15–20 minutes longer to get there. Learning to listen to our inner voice or intuition can make life magical, effortless, we are more prepared for what is coming our way. There is more synchronicity. We have more time and energy. As my example illustrates, we are in the right place at the right time. Using it we know what action to take and when.

Are there negative aspects to being guided by intuition? Can you give a story or example to explain what you mean?

For me personally, no, I have never experienced a negative when using my intuition. However, sometimes the thing our intuition tells us to do or is right for us, isn’t always the thing that others in our lives may feel is right for us. Or what our rational mind may think is right for us. A personal example of this was back in the 90’s, before the tech bubble crashed. Like I do now, I had lots of clients on Wall Street. They loved working with me and wanted to give me some advice, and universally they all said, “Janet you should get into tech stocks.” I knew they were phenomenal at what they did and they sincerely wanted to see me make money in stocks. My rational mind said to listen to them. They knew what they were doing. They did the research, if I did the research on stocks then (former accountant) my linear mind would have come to the same conclusion, buy tech stocks. But my gut told me no. Fortunately for me I listened to my intuition and didn’t get into tech stocks at that time. The tech bubble crashed badly shortly thereafter. So sometimes going against the grain, if your intuition tells you to, can be a challenge. It can feel like a risk. We all have people we love and trust who have opinions and feelings about things we do or things they feel we should do. But our intuition may have a different feeling about it.

Can you give some guidance about when one should make a decision based on their intuition and when one should use other methods to come to a decision?

I would say never ignore your intuition. There is a reason why you have a feeling about something. You may not know what the reason is but you need to listen to it. Our intuition is a survival mechanism. There are endless stories of people who didn’t get on that plane or didn’t walk through the lobby of the World Trade Center on the morning of 9/11. There are also endless stories of people who don’t listen to that feeling that says turn around, and then they get mugged or something similar. The book, The Gift of Fear, by Gavin De Becker, has examples of this. Our intuition isn’t just there to tell us to avoid bad things, it can tell us good things too. What job to take when we have two good offers, who to trust, when to go on vacation, or as my example above shows, it can just make life easier and more fluid.

From your experience or perspective, what are some of the common barriers that hold someone back from trusting their intuition?

Some of the most common barriers are fear of going against the grain. Fear of disappointing loved ones who want us to do something else. Fear of trusting that a feeling is a valid reason to do or not do something when our linear mind says something else. The inability to recognize what is our intuition can be a barrier. Not being able to tell the difference between anxiety, and intuition. Anxiety is not a premonition, it is not intuition. It is fear. For some the barrier is simply that they don’t know how to tune into it or hear it. Some of us need training to develop and recognize our intuition and accept it.

Here is the central question of our discussion. What are five methods that someone can use to become more in touch with their intuition? (Please share a story or example for each)

1 . Write in a journal. Write down short, simple observations, and feelings. I was happy today, as you look at why you were happy today you may have an intuitive knowingness or inspiration. Observe things around you. So/so seemed sad today. As you write this down you may not know why or even if they truly felt that way. But you sensed it. A month later when they tell you that their Mother has an illness and you realize they found out around the day you felt they were sad, it will help make it real for you that these feelings are accurate and intuitive. We all have so many intuitive hits in a day, if you hadn’t written this down, you may not remember a month later that you knew they were sad.

2 . Feel your body. Our body will tell us. For example, if you notice you hold your breath when you think of doing or saying something. Or meeting someone or going somewhere. That is an indication something is wrong. Stop and find out what it is. It may be subtle like this but your body will tell you. That headache while or after meeting someone for a drink or coffee may be your body telling you that you weren’t comfortable with them. Something was wrong. Check in with your body daily.

3 . Be in touch with nature. Go outside. This typically slows us down. We go inward with our thoughts and our feelings. That inner space is where our intuition is. Feel your senses; smell the air, hear the birds, feel the wind. Intuition is another sense. It lies within, listen to it, feel it.

4 . Be still, meditate. As we are quiet and still, our heart rate and breathing slow down. Our minds will stop racing and planning. That noise drowns out our inner voice and intuition. It distracts us. When we are still we can hear it.

5 . Take a class or a workshop. I teach many classes and workshops both in person and by phone. These help develop intuition as I show you how to feel it, and use it. Intuition is not linear, it isn’t something you can learn in a book. It is experiential so having someone show you how is very beneficial.

You are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Honestly I would show police officers, military personnel, EMT’s and people in those types of professions how to release energy. These professions have high rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, drug addiction, alcoholism, domestic violence and many off the things they protect or help others with. We all pick up the energy or emotions of the people around us. I teach tools to protect yourself from doing this and how to release it when it happens. Imagine if your last call of the day is a very intense domestic or violent situation where you are dealing with people that are very angry. What do you think happens when you go home with this energy or those emotions in your space? I would love to inspire a movement where learning to release this energy or other people’s emotions is part of their training.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why?

Elon Musk, he is incredibly smart. But he is also non-traditional and does things his own way. I have yet to meet an incredibly successful person who isn’t also aware of and using their gut instinct or intuition. I would love to discuss this with him. And imagine what he knows about quantum physics!

Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

My website is www.janetraeorth.com you can sign up for my newsletter there. Or you can follow me on Instagram @janet_rae_orth or find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetorth/

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.