How to Trust Your Inner Voice: The Art of Intuitive Decision Making (Ep. 7)

Have you ever had that gut feeling that turned out to be right? In this episode, Nicole Mixdorf explores the art of intuitive decision making — how to quiet the noise of the mind, tune into your heart, and trust the inner voice that always knows the truth.

Nicole opens up about the profound moment she began trusting her intuition completely — and how a seemingly ordinary encounter with her 92-year-old neighbor became the spark that redirected her destiny and awakened her soul’s true calling.

You’ll learn:

• How to distinguish intuition from ego and fear
• A simple 3-question practice from Deepak Chopra to access your soul’s wisdom
• The “yes and no” body test to feel your intuitive guidance
• How emotions act as signposts from your higher self
• The magic that unfolds when you say yes to what lights you up

This episode will inspire you to trust your inner knowing, follow the signs, and let your life unfold with divine flow. 🌟

🎧 Tune in to remember that the answers you seek already live within you.

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Transcript

Welcome back, beautiful soul. This is Nicole Mixdorf, your host. Today we're diving into the topic of intuitive decision-making. You've probably heard of intuition — that gut feeling you get sometimes. Intuition can be defined as your ability to know something without evidence or proof. You just know it. Has that ever happened to you?

I’ve had so many experiences where my intuition guided me 100% of the way. At this point on my path, every single decision I make all day long is based on my intuition. I trust it implicitly. Whenever an intuitive nudge comes forward, I listen. Every time I do, it guides me in the right direction. Any time I don’t listen, I wind up regretting it.

You’ve probably had those experiences before: you’re driving, about to make a right turn, but something tells you not to go that way. Then the logical mind takes over — “No, this is the street I’m supposed to turn on” — so you turn. Suddenly you come upon a big accident. The lanes are closed. You can’t get by. Now you’re stuck in traffic thinking, “I knew it! I shouldn’t have turned that way.”

Where does that knowing come from? How do we distinguish a true knowing — the voice of our highest self — from the noise in our mind? A big part of tapping into and trusting your intuition, especially in decision-making, is learning to shift out of the mind space (where the ego rules) and into the heart space (where the truth lives).

It’s not the easiest thing at first, but the more you listen to that little voice and take action on it, the louder it gets — and the more you hear it. Eventually, your entire life can be guided, and you allow yourself to flow into the most magical experiences.

I’ve been on a spiritual path for the last 25 years — beginning when I discovered bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion. My longtime teacher, Govind Das, would play the harmonium and lead call-and-response chanting. It opened my heart in a way I had never felt before.

When I began breathwork and deep breathing, I dropped into my center for the first time. It quieted the noise in my head. Scientists say we have over 60,000 thoughts a day — a constant stream that distracts us and scatters our focus. Breathwork is one of the fastest ways to quiet the mind and drop into the body — more specifically, into the heart space — creating coherence between the brain and the heart. When they’re coherent, we access higher levels of consciousness, deeper self-connection, and greater concentration and focus.

For me, this work connects me to spirit — the place where truth comes in. The more I practiced breathwork on and off the mat, the more intuitive downloads arrived. For 15-plus years I’ve had inspired moments where I could channel a whole business plan or receive magnificent ideas. They don’t feel like “mine” — I’m a channel.

Another practice that pairs beautifully with breathwork is gratitude. When you truly feel appreciation — for the roof over your head, the food in your fridge, the people you love, the bed you sleep in — you elevate your vibration. Every emotion has a frequency. Low-vibration emotions (anger, rage, frustration, disappointment, fear, powerlessness, depression) feel heavy and constricting. As you climb the emotional ladder into higher vibrations (excitement, joy, bliss, happiness, appreciation, love), everything feels possible. Gratitude is a powerful way to move into those higher frequencies. When you calm the mind, settle into the body, and elevate your vibration, you open to greater inspiration. To be “inspired” is to be “in spirit.”

Connecting to your intuition is about starting a dialogue with yourself, because all the answers you seek already live within you. I’m now an Akashic healer. I can elevate into higher consciousness and access the Akashic Records to ask questions directly to my soul — or to a client’s soul — and receive answers. I didn’t always have that skill consciously. Earlier on, when I was simply practicing listening, my Records would spontaneously open. That can happen for you, too. You don’t have to be an Akashic healer to receive your own truth.

Let me share a story of how I really began trusting my intuition. Years ago, I was working in the corporate world, and I became very sick with colitis. My dad had cancer, and the stress of work plus family made me ill. After forcing my way through for about a year, I finally took a leave of absence — something my doctor had begged me to do. A dear friend said, “Find a retreat. We’re going.” We ended up at Deepak Chopra’s center in Carlsbad, California. One of the most impactful practices I learned there is what he calls “the three questions.” It changed my life and connected me to who I really am.

Here’s the practice. Bring your awareness into your body. Lower your gaze or close your eyes if that’s comfortable. Take three deep breaths in and out through the nose.

Now ask yourself the first question: Who am I? Not your name or job — who are you, truly, at the level of the soul? Breathe the question into your heart, then let it go.

Second question: What do I want? If you could be totally happy and fulfilled, what do you want? Breathe it in, then let it go.

Third question: What is my purpose? Why did I come here? How can I help? How can I serve? Breathe it in, then let it go.

Take three final breaths. Then return to your day. If you meditate, ask these questions before meditation, but you don’t need a meditation practice to use this. Here’s the key: ask these questions every day. Today, tomorrow, and the next day. Ask with a true yearning for the answer. Over days and weeks, the answers begin to flow. Inspiration arrives in conversations, in ideas, and in synchronicities. Even as ideas arrive, keep asking. Paint a picture in your mind of what you want, feel it fully, then let it go. Move on to purpose. In my experience, your purpose is always connected to your greatest passions — the things you love so much you lose track of time, the gifts you’d share for free because they light you up. If you can identify your unique gifts and use them to serve others, that’s your purpose. It can be your work, but it doesn’t have to be. When you know who you are, what you want, and what your purpose is — and you align with that — life becomes magnetic and magical.

You can use this same practice for any big decision. Close your eyes. Breathe. Ask the three questions, then ask your burning question: “What should I do about this situation?” Breathe it in, let it go. Ask again tomorrow. Keep asking daily. In a matter of days or weeks, answers and signs begin to appear.

Pay attention to signs. What we call “coincidences” are often synchronicities. When the same topic shows up repeatedly — the third time someone mentions it, a phrase you see again and again — pay attention. One of the most powerful signs I ever received came after that retreat. It was the first time I put into words my desire to start my corporate wellness company, Balance by Nature. I had a high-powered job with good money, but it was making me sick. A competitor wanted to recruit me as VP of Sales with more pay and work-from-home flexibility — very tempting. Or I could throw it all to the wind and start a business from scratch. I was at a crossroads.

One day in 2012, I went for a walk. My neighbor Jack, who was 92 then, sat in front of his house as he often did. He knew nothing about my situation. He looked me in the eye and said, “If there’s something you want to do, do it now. Don’t wait, because opportunities won’t last forever. One day you’ll stand here like an old man, looking back at your life, thinking about the things you did — and the things you didn’t.”

It was the sign I had prayed for. I thanked him, walked home, and told my husband, “That’s it. I’m quitting my job and starting this business.” It was the biggest leap of faith of my life. I had no business plan and plenty of fear — about losing income, status, security — but I knew in my heart it was right.

Some people close to me were terrified by that choice. Thankfully, my husband supported me immediately. My advice: when you have a dream, hold it close and share it first with those who will lift you. People often project their fears onto your vision. I had to say to someone I loved, “Please don’t project your fears onto me. All I need from you right now is your belief, love, and support.” Standing in that power changed everything. Were there hardships? Absolutely. But every challenge taught me something my soul needed to learn. When you trust the guidance you receive and say yes to what lights you up, it leads you in the right direction every time. Trust yourself. Believe in yourself. When you say yes to you, anything is possible. Miracles flow in. The more you light yourself up, the more you light up others. If you don’t yet know what lights you up, start with those three questions. Let them be your roadmap to the blueprint of your soul.

Let’s talk about intuitive senses — the ways intuition speaks to us. I’m very claircognizant (clear knowing). In the Akashic Records, I ask a question, clear my mind, and the answer lands — I speak it out loud as it comes. If you often think, “I just know this,” claircognizance may be one of your strongest “clairs.” We usually have one or two stronger clairs, but all can be developed.

Another is clairsentience (clear feeling): feeling guidance in the body. I often use a “body yes/no.” I state the option: “I’m going to do this.” Then I tune in. If I feel excitement, a spontaneous smile, lightness, expansion — that’s a yes. If I feel tension, a clenched stomach, a scrunched face, restriction — that’s a no. Learn what yes and no feel like in your body.

If you’re more claircognizant, ask, “Should I do this?” Trust the first yes or no that pops in. If unsure, ask repeatedly. If I get three yeses (or three noes) in a row, I trust it — and take immediate action. When I take immediate action on inspiration, I’m rewarded quickly.

I’ve said yes to things that made no logical sense. Years ago, an opportunity came up: a $13,000 investment for significant press and visibility. I wanted it, but it didn’t make financial sense. I began writing a “no, thank you” email — and my whole body clenched. It felt awful. I deleted it and started a “yes” email — and my whole body expanded with joy. I said yes. Two days later, a brand-new client appeared out of the blue and more than covered the investment — and then some. When you say yes to aligned intuition, the universe rearranges to support you. The money, opportunities, and support arrive after you decide and act — not before. The outer reflects the inner. The magic begins the moment you commit.

Other clairs include clairvoyance (clear seeing: mental images or scenes), clairaudience (clear hearing: a whisper, a loved one’s voice, a message on the wind), clairsentience (clear feeling), clairolfaction/clairalience (clear smelling), clairgustance (clear tasting), and clairempathy (feeling others’ emotions or the energy in a room). Sometimes I feel intuitive energy in my body before the information lands in my mind.

Another way intuition guides us is through emotion. We can’t track 60,000 daily thoughts, but we can notice how we feel. Your intuition speaks through emotion. When your thoughts, words, or actions align with your highest good, you’re rewarded with high-frequency feelings: excitement, joy, happiness, bliss, love, appreciation. That’s a green light — keep going. If you’re feeling anger, frustration, disappointment, irritation, sadness, fear — that’s guidance that something is out of alignment. Pause, tweak, or pivot. Emotions are information.

Don’t run from lower-vibration emotions. They’re not “bad.” Part of being human is feeling everything. Triggers are signs that something inside needs to be felt and released. Ask yourself, “What is this reminding me of? When was the first time I felt this way?” If you allow yourself to feel an emotion fully — even imagining becoming the fireball of anger until it peaks — the energy often drops and dissolves. We should be taught how to process emotions; most of us weren’t. Let yourself feel, and let emotions guide you.

I’ll do a full episode on angels — I’m deeply connected with mine and I know their names. I ask them for guidance all day long. In Akashic healing journeys, I often introduce clients to their angels and spirit team, share their names, how long they’ve been with them, and what to ask for. You can ask your Creator, your higher self, your angels, your spirit team, and loved ones who’ve passed for guidance. You can also journal. I like to write at the top of a page: “I am now receiving the highest good from the highest source.” Then I write my question — “What do I need to know about this?” “Why is this showing up?” — and I free-write without editing until the page is full. Something meaningful always comes through. Sometimes my handwriting even changes as I channel.

Oracle cards are another beautiful tool. I hold the deck to my heart, ask, “What is the most important message I need right now?” and draw a card. For you listening now, I pulled: “Choosing Your Path — All is possible.” If you were standing on a mountaintop, looking in every direction, knowing all is possible, which path would you choose? What lights you up? You create your reality. Decide what brings you joy. And remember Jack’s words: if there’s something you want to do, do it now. Don’t wait. Opportunities won’t last forever.

Say yes to you. Say yes to what lights you up. You don’t need to know the whole path — that’s not your job. Your job is to decide what you want and take the first step. As you step, the next step appears. Keep the vision alive. Ask daily, “What do I want?” Hold the vision, feel it in your heart as if it’s already yours, and claim it. If a desire was placed in your heart, it’s there for a reason.

Keep asking for guidance and for signs. Stay open to be guided — to receive — to be a clear channel. Magic will flow when you keep saying yes. The path will reveal itself. It’s not about the destination; it’s about how much fun you have getting there.

Years ago, I realized the reason behind every goal was the same: “Because it would make me happy.” So I chose to be happy now. My definition of success is how much joy I experience on the path to my goals. I bring fun into everything: conversations, meetings, projects, days. I’ve faced plenty of adversity, pain, loss, illness — and I still chose joy. Nothing gets to define me. I choose how I feel, every day — and so can you.

I hope these tools help you tap into your inner wisdom. The answers you seek already exist within you. Breathe. Ask your questions. Be grateful for what flows into your life. Pay attention to the signs. Trust the guidance you receive. Say yes to you, and take action. You will be rewarded every time.