Intuition VS Imagination: 3 Ways To Test Your Intuition
Updated 2025.06.24
What if I’m making it up?
This is one of the most commonly asked questions when working in intuitive development, I thought it would be time to address it on the blog.
In our modern western world, with a civilization mostly based on numbers, logic and sensible decisions, we rely heavily on physical evidence to make a decision.
We look to balance things out, make sense of things, get the numbers right, do things that make financial sense and seek evidence in what is tangible, what can be recorded and measured.
The intuition, the voice of the inner Self and the voice of Spirit, however, works primarily in the non-physical realm.
This is the realm of energy, which often is where all that physical proof begins to materialize first.
The non-physical is the space of imagination, creativity and dreams.
It’s where energy becomes form, meaning you have to trust in it before you can see it, since it’s where form is in a state of becoming.
The intuitive mind is the seat of the third eye and it's centered in the part of the mind that also houses imagination.
Whether we are talking about using this space for daydreaming or psychic information, this type of information process and knowledge tends to be perceived as less serious that physically obtained proof, though it can be just as valid.
Using your inner insights, dream interpretations and hunches is something that you can do - it’s part of the faith process.
It's acceptable to make decisions just on intuition alone - as acceptable as it is to make decisions based on physical logic and reason.
Ideally though, they can work together - you can use your intuition to guide you towards material evidence. Y
ou can also use material evidence to support energy vibes.
Now that we’ve discussed that intuitive vibes can be very valid, it’s important to note that the mind can also create fantasies, wishful thinking scenarios or even worst case scenarios that aren’t true now and may never be.
So how do you know when it’s your true, non-physical intuition speaking to you versus your imagination?
3 ways to test your intuitive hits
3 ways to test your intuition text over railway ties in an autumn misty forest from Pixabay
#1. Pay attention to your heart’s messages and start having faith in yourself
You must start taking faith in your inner knowing seriously.
Yes, the intuitive journey is about finding love, laughter and happiness, and part of that is giving yourself some credit.
Too many times people don’t trust their intuition because someone else, usually in an attempt to create a smoke in mirrors diversion, tells them not to trust their intuition.
Sometimes people do mean well when taking you out of your fears or out of a bad decision, but other times, people will tell you not to trust yourself, because you can’t trust them.
Think twice before letting another person talk you out of listening to a persistent inner message.
As you develop faith in yourself and in Spirit, it gets easier to believe in yourself. You are the expert in you – in your own life.
While there is a time and place for listening to other’s wisdom, to begin trusting your intuition, you’ll also need to make space to listen to what your own wisdom is telling you.
Practice:
Every morning, before engaging with any outside sources of information, take a moment of quiet contemplation to connect with your inner being and Source energy.
Ask what is in your highest and greatest good to achieve today. Offer thoughts of appreciation for waking up for another day here on Earth.
This simple exercise will get you in the habit of listening to your inner voice, your intuition and your Higher Power first.
#2. Practice receiving intuitive messages and test them
A few common ways you might receive an intuitive message or nudge are seeing images in your mind’s eye, feeling a sensation or emotion in your heart, and hearing words, like a telepathic thought.
To begin trusting your intuition, you’ll want to start listening to this inner guidance.
Over time, you’ll notice what worked out, what didn’t, and it’ll help you fine tune your listening for the future.
Practice:
In your meditations to connect with your intuition and/or Spirit, ask for insights to guide you. Notice how you receive these insights.
If you receive intuitive guidance, act on this guidance. Take it slow to begin and act on little things only.
Once you see some intuitive moves work out and have learned to trust the small stuff to your intuition, then start trusting more to it.
#3. Create a journal for all the times you had an intuitive hit
This is called a validation journal - write down hunches you followed that turned out to be accurate, dreams you had that came to pass in the future, the time you thought to take a preventative measure and it turned out to be needed.
As you move through your journey, you’ll begin to see how right on the target you really were, and you’ll have a record to prove it.
Practice:
Consider an intuitive nudge that you followed in the past - you felt the inner guidance calling you to do something, you did and it worked out in your favor.
It could be as easy as feeling like you needed to go to a certain store, on a certain day and finding the exact item you’ve been searching for, for months.
It could be a concern you had one night, that was validated by actual happenings the following day.
The more you log the times you listened to your inner voice and it worked - the easier it is to retroactively notice trends in how your intuition speaks to you, making it easier to trust it in the future.
To recap, to start testing your intuition:
Begin a morning practice of listening to your inner widsom and Higher Power first
Ask for intuitive messages and begin to follow them, starting small
Log your intuitive hits to retroactively identify what techniques worked for improved accuracy over time
I also find it helps if I hold an intuition in my mind for a few days and wait to see what happens.
Other people who I’m close with may be able to pick up on this insight or tell me they received similar inner guidance.
It is often the case with intuition that similar messages may be shared with those in your soul group as we all are accessing these psychic insights from the same astral space.
So if it’s a true psychic hit, in some, but not all cases, others may have received the message too.
Start your 14-day free trial in The Membership!
A guided intuitive and spiritual growth program with rotating topics, at-home lessons, live workshops, meditations and more — anytime, anywhere, at your pace.
Other Articles You May Enjoy:
