The Hidden Intelligence of Being Human

Life is incredible; think about how we are formed from a microscopic egg and sperm. A fully formed baby grows from that tiny beginning. When we truly sit with the magnitude of this intelligence in life, it’s awe-inspiring. Nearly everything in nature starts off as a small seed — from plants to animals to humans — guided by a greater intelligence that we have yet to fully understand. Science is constantly evolving, revealing new mysteries every day, and yet we still have not completely figured out how our bodies work.

As humans, we have an endless need to know ‘why’ and to dissect and analyze everything. In our constant seeking, we have lost touch with the simplicity and natural flow that other creatures seem to live by. Animals, for example, live simply and freely. They don’t have complex brains like ours, yet they instinctively know how to calm their emotions and adapt to their environment. We, supposedly the more intelligent species, face countless diseases and challenges. Perhaps, in our pursuit of knowledge, we have forgotten how to connect with our own inner wisdom. Could it be that our desire to understand has drawn us away from simply being? After all, we are called human beings.

We are born into this world equipped with this remarkable Human Body. Yet, somehow, we haven’t quite figured out how to use it to its fullest potential. There is no shortage of opinions on how to manage it, but true guidance on actually caring for it — the three levels of mind, body, and soul — is often missing. When we look at what’s happening around us, it seems that many things are going off-course. We are hyper-connected through technology, yet paradoxically more disconnected than ever from what truly matters: our Inner Selves.

In a world fixated on external events, little attention is given to what’s happening within us. Our emotions — the powerful drivers of our lives — are often overlooked, misunderstood, or even dismissed. In today’s fast-paced world, we’re encouraged to push through, stay strong, ignore or suppress what we feel, and deal with it later when there is more time.

Emotions are much more than we may realize; as a collective, we need to change the way we view them and see them as guides instead of obstacles. Imagine them as an Internal Guidance System, constantly recalibrating and helping us realign with our center whenever we veer off course. By truly listening to our emotions, we can unlock self-awareness and reconnect with our deepest truths.

When Did We Stop Listening to Ourselves?

From the moment we are born, we arrive with a deep, innate intelligence about how to have our needs met. Babies instinctively know that crying is their way of signalling hunger, discomfort, or the need for closeness. How do they understand this discomfort? Clearly, they come into the world with a natural detection system — a sensitivity to their own needs. They feel the wetness of a diaper and cry. They sense a rumbling in their stomach and cry. In navigating this new world, babies rely entirely on gut feeling as the simple expression of their needs. This act alone shows us that we are emotional beings first, born with a built-in guidance system that signals when something requires attention.

So, knowing this — where did it all go wrong? At what point did we stop tuning into the wisdom of our feelings? When did we begin to ignore the senses that are naturally built into our bodies, favouring thought alone? We turned to external resources or advice rather than tuning into ourselves and using our own common sense.

Babies cry when they’re hungry, instinctively tuning into their bodies’ need for nourishment. Yet, somewhere along the way, we began to overlook those natural cues, replacing them with rigid schedules and external rules about when, how often, or even what to eat. We stopped listening to our bodies, allowing the thinking mind to dictate what we “should” do, how we “should” feel and how we “should” live.

We started “shoulding” all over ourselves.

In a world where the only certainty is that our bodies keep us alive, we’ve grown increasingly disconnected from the wisdom they hold. We are taught to value rationality over intuition and to suppress our emotions rather than honour them as the guides they are. But what if we reclaimed that original intelligence? What if we recognized our emotions as essential signals — an internal guidance system persistently guiding us back to balance and alignment?

Some might argue, “But science has proven this or that,” and yes, science has provided valuable insights. But let’s consider where we are today: obesity is at an all-time high, and we are facing increasing levels of illness, mental health crises, depression, anxiety, anger, poverty, inflation, and wars. If research, science, and the medical community are so great, then what’s gone wrong?

We essentially have stopped trusting ourselves and stopped listening to our own needs. Science serves a purpose, but it has missed the mark here, and we have lost touch with the core wisdom we are born with that knows how to care for us, to keep us aligned and at peace.

1. Your Built-In GPS: How Emotions Guide You

Our emotions function like an Internal Guidance System, alerting us with varying degrees of urgency. Just as a monitor might signal minor issues with yellow light and critical ones with red, our emotions also request different levels of attention. A subtle feeling of discomfort may be a low alert, while intense anger or anxiety signals an urgent need for realignment.

Too often, we ignore these early signals, waiting until they escalate — like ignoring a smoke detector until the fire alarm blares. Just as we wouldn’t ignore a smoke detector, hoping it would quiet down on its own, we shouldn’t wait until our emotions reach a crisis point. By tuning into these alerts from the start, we can address our needs before they turn into emergencies, allowing us to stay balanced and aligned.

For instance, imagine walking down the street and catching a familiar scent — perhaps your mother’s cooking. This scent triggers a memory, and soon, a wave of sadness surfaces, reminding you of her passing. You brush it off and carry on, but the sadness lingers, affecting your mood because it has not been consciously acknowledged. Emotions don’t simply disappear; they remain within us, waiting to be witnessed and processed. To truly process them, they need to be felt and allowed to flow through our bodies.

When we experience a surge of anger, sadness, or anxiety, it’s our inner guidance system signalling that something within us needs attention. These emotional cues may reveal unprocessed feelings, unresolved memories, or unmet needs. Ignoring them deepens our disconnection, while — feeling and acknowledging these emotions brings us closer to inner truth and balance. Emotions are not obstacles; they are guides, persistently leading us toward healing and self-understanding.

Yet, instead of consciously sitting with them, we often numb or suppress our feelings, dismissing them as insignificant. Rather than accepting and understanding these emotions, we push them aside, only to have them build up over time. Like steam in a tea kettle, eventually demanding release — often as intense anger, overwhelming anxiety, or even severe depression. Recognizing emotions as part of our Internal Guidance System helps us see them as signals meant to steer us back on track.

Emotions call for our attention, inviting us to respond with care. Yet, we often look to others for validation instead of taking ownership of our feelings, hoping they will make us feel better or meet our needs. But our emotions reside within us, making it our responsibility to tend to them. Just as we wouldn’t wait for a friend to put out a fire in our home, we should not expect others to manage our emotions for us. Taking responsibility empowers us to support our own well-being actively. By treating these signals with the same attentiveness we would give to an important alert, we open ourselves to a more balanced and aligned way of living.

2. The Forgotten Language of Our Senses

In our modern world, sight often takes precedence, overshadowing other senses — especially touch, the foundational sense that allows us to feel and experience life at a profound level. While we can live without sight, sound, smell, or even taste, but without touch — we would be numb and disconnected from the essence of our humanity. Touch brings warmth, empathy, and connection, setting us apart from machines and allowing us to engage with life fully.

Our bodies are equipped with an intricate sensory system, constantly attuned to subtle signals from our environment. Like radar, our five senses — sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell — gather information beyond words. This input flows through our minds, where thought acts as an interpreter, translating sensory data into emotions and responses.

Through this translation, sensations become emotional cues that alert us to areas needing our attention. For instance:

• Anger may signal that a boundary has been crossed, highlighting the need to protect our values or space.

• Anxiety often emerges when we are ungrounded in the present, pulled into constant worry about the future.

• Sadness reflects a sense of loss or an unmet need, inviting us to pause, reflect, and reconnect with ourselves.

In this way, our senses transcend their physical functions and become part of an intricate emotional guidance system, illuminating where our alignment may be compromised. These sensory insights bring our awareness to areas of life that need growth or realignment, guiding us to live in harmony with our true nature.

3. Why Your Emotional Body Is Key to Feeling Alive

Emotions are at the core of what it means to be human. They colour our experiences, deepen our connections, and allow us to engage fully with life. Far from being inconvenient or unnecessary, emotions are integral to our journey — they are what make us truly alive and human. Without them, life would become a series of actions without depth, a checklist without meaning.

We are human beings, not human doings. Our greatest responsibility lies in how we show up in life and in our relationships with everyone and everything around us. ‘Being’ is reflected in the energy we bring into the world, shaped by our inner state. When we haven’t taken a moment to “look under the hood,” so to speak, we risk showing up in disarray — disconnected from ourselves and those around us, merely reacting to life rather than responding with intention.

We hold a fundamental responsibility to life itself, a responsibility derived from our ability to respond to each moment with presence and authenticity. In a world that often values productivity over presence, it’s easy to forget that our state of being profoundly impacts every interaction and decision we make. When we focus solely on doing, we lose touch with the richness that comes from being — from experiencing the full spectrum of our emotions.Emotions deepen our connection to ourselves, infusing life with meaning and making our relationships more genuine.

By embracing our emotional body, we allow ourselves to fully inhabit each moment. Emotions provide insight into what truly matters, guiding us in ways that logic and reason alone cannot. They are the language through which we experience love, joy, empathy, and even sorrow. They remind us that life is not merely something to be managed or optimized but something to be felt and fully lived.

4. Healing Beyond Medication: The Power of Emotional Awareness

The more we ignore our internal guidance system and suppress our emotions — rather than allowing them to flow — the more likely we are to face mental health challenges such as chronic stress, CPTSD, anger, anxiety, and depression. While medication can play a valuable role in managing certain conditions — providing stability and easing overwhelming symptoms; it is not a substitute for emotional awareness. Medication can help us find balance and relief in daily life, but true healing comes from tuning into and understanding our emotions.

Prolonged medication use can sometimes numb our emotional sensitivity, leading to a sense of detachment. If we were taught from an early age to tune into our bodies and emotions, many of these challenges might be less prevalent. By understanding the origins of our emotions and responding with compassion and curiosity, we create alignment and foster a deeper connection with ourselves. While medication provides temporary relief, engaging deeply with our emotions fosters lasting growth, helping us address the underlying patterns that shape our mental and emotional well-being.

Emotional awareness isn’t about rejecting support; it’s about embracing a deeper level of self-connection. By combining medication with emotional awareness, we create a pathway to both stability and lasting healing, allowing us to move forward in alignment with our true selves.

5. Emotional Intelligence in Action

Rather than viewing our emotions as disruptive, we can recognize them as profoundly intelligent signals from within. Emotions are not here to throw us off course; they are here to guide us, each carrying a message to help us align with our true selves. Later in this series, we will explore how to interpret these messages and understand what each emotion — whether anger, sadness, anxiety, or joy — can teach us about our needs, boundaries, and areas in need of healing.

To break the cycle of emotional suppression and cultivate true self-awareness, we must model these behaviours for future generations. Emotional intelligence should be foundational — a tool passed down to nurture self-awareness and healing. By teaching others to listen to and honour their emotions, we help build a world that values alignment, balance, and fulfillment. This is how we move forward — not just to survive but to thrive — guided by the wisdom within.

This work begins by teaching children that emotions are essential signals, not obstacles to be ignored. When a child expresses feelings of anger or sadness, rather than dismissing them, we can encourage exploration. Asking questions like, “What do you think this feeling is telling you?” or “What do you need right now?” helps them engage thoughtfully with their emotions, understanding the message behind each one.

When children learn to interpret their emotions, they build a foundation of self-awareness that doesn’t rely on external validation. They come to see their feelings as valid, understanding that acknowledging them supports balance and connection. This emotional resilience enables them to face life’s challenges with confidence, seeing emotions as allies, not adversaries.

By helping children tune into their inner guidance, we set the foundation for self-alignment, empathy, and resilience. This approach can transform how future generations relate to themselves and others, cultivating a world of authentic, respectful interactions and a deep understanding of emotions.

Conclusion: The Path Forward: Listening to Your Inner Voice

Our emotions are essential allies, guiding us back to our true selves. Each one carries a message, signalling areas in our lives that need attention, alignment, or healing. By embracing emotions as part of our inner guidance system, we come to see them not as burdens but as invaluable tools along our path.

Approaching our emotions with curiosity and compassion allows us to engage them with acceptance and intentionality rather than reacting out of habit or fear. This practice of emotional awareness brings us closer to self-understanding, empowering us to make choices that align with our authentic needs and desires.

By respecting and valuing our emotions, we reconnect with our humanity. Embracing emotions as allies opens the door to a more fulfilling, balanced, and conscious life. This journey of tuning into our emotions — of listening rather than ignoring — is a path toward deeper self-awareness and a more intentional, meaningful way of living.

In this series, we will dive deeply into understanding the nature of emotions like anxiety, depression, and anger, exploring the unique insights each one offers. I will provide practical tools, reflective prompts, and exercises to help you build emotional awareness and apply it in daily life. Together, we will learn how to interpret these inner signals, cultivating self-compassion, alignment, and resilience.

Stay connected and follow along for more insights on emotional awareness and personal growth. Follow me on Instagram: @evolvewithmonika