How much of your day is filled with intentional sensory “input”? How much time do you spend reading, listening, watching, conversing, and how much time do you spend in what we might call sensory spaciousness, where you are in an open, receptive state?

A little while ago I started to notice that aside from when working and a few other specific activities, I had gotten into the habit of filling any downtime in my day with “input.” I was always reading, watching, or listening to something, always taking in “information.” Even while strolling in the woods, I would listen to a podcast. It might be something edifying or inspiring, but still, I realized that I was missing many small opportunities throughout my day for real presence and awareness, where intuition and inspiration can arise. Any intuitive message that may have been trying to get through was going to get a busy signal! My receptive channels were full.

Once I became aware of this habit I began to incorporate more intentional “quiet” into my day. I would leave my headphones at home when walking the dog, eat breakfast without reading the news or playing word puzzles, shower without a podcast playing. While I wasn’t specifically aiming to make my time more productive, I did find that I was able to be more self-reflective, more in touch with my own needs and desires, and had more access to creative inspiration and deep thinking. It even felt like I had more time.

If your mind is feeling a bit noisy and cramped these days, or if you’re seeking inspiration or guidance and wondering why it hasn’t shown up, consider where in your day you might reclaim some pockets of time where you are not overloading your senses with someone else’s thoughts and ideas. Try driving, walking, or cooking without audiobooks and podcasts. Eat without talking, reading, or scrolling. If you find that quiet can send you into a ruminative loop, try “turning the channel” and opening your curiosity to your surroundings — pay attention to bodily sensations, ambient sounds and smells, interesting visuals in your environment. Open your senses so that your own creativity, inspiration, and intuition can get a word in edgewise.

To explore more intuition-supporting practices, I hope you will join me next week for my intuition workshop. Details here.