If we are paying attention, we are constantly receiving information from the level of our subconscious or intuition. Actually, we are receiving this information whether we are paying attention or not!
It can be very confusing. Our intuition slips us an idea or a feeling of 'knowing' - but because it's mixed in with all the rest of our everyday perceptions, we don't recognize it for what it is. If it doesn't come with a flash of light or ringing of bells, it floats by without our notice. Later we might remember it and say that we 'had a feeling' that something was true – alas, too late. This validation of our intuition comes from events as they occur in the future – a long or short time after we have had the intuitive thought.
What's the good of that? You might well wonder. I suspect it is part of the process of becoming more aware of our intuition. Intuitive thoughts do have a different 'feel' to them than our other thoughts, but until we can recognize them they aren't much use.
Meditation can help with this. When we meditate we are setting aside time to receive guidance. In a meditative state we are consciously asking to receive our highest knowing, which can come in the form of intuitive ideas. When we begin to notice how they feel we can better recognize them as they occur outside of our meditation times. When we can recognize our intuition we can act from it with more confidence.
When I was first practicing following my intuition consciously I often tested it out when I was driving. If my intuition suggested that I should turn left, right, or go straight ahead, I followed it. It might suggest that I should avoid a certain route, drive a different way. Often enough I would find that it was accurate – there would be road construction or a traffic jam in those areas – and I was pleased to have this validation.
But there were also times I would alter my route for no apparent reason. Once I followed my intuition and chose a different freeway for my travel. I listened to the traffic reports, expecting to hear of a delay on the other freeway. Nothing. I was mentally complaining of the bother of changing my route for no good reason. Then I heard a gentle Voice, “You will never know the things that didn't happen because you weren't there.” Oh.
I understood that my very presence could have altered events, had I been there, but since I wasn't, it didn't, if that makes sense? It made sense to me, and I didn't bother seeking external validation after that – at least not about my driving.
That was a turning point for me, following my intuition without being distracted by whether or not I would ever find out about the results. It isn't easy to remember this at all times, but it was an important part of my spiritual growth.
It has been my experience that whenever we are growing spiritually we often need external validation at each new level. This is very important to help us build our confidence that what we are experiencing is real. Then when we begin to grow more and have new experiences, again it is helpful to have these experiences validated - again we need to know and trust that they are real. Ideally this becomes less and less important as we come to know that the validation will be forthcoming whenever we need it.