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Have you ever had a moment where life felt like it was sending you a message?
Maybe it was a strange coincidence, a gut feeling you couldn’t ignore, or a chance encounter that changed everything. Most of us have brushed off those experiences, chalking them up to randomness… but what if they were actually guiding you?
My guest today has spent her life bridging science and what many consider the spiritual, and she’s here to show us how tuning into those unexplainable “signs” might be one of the most powerful tools we have for living a more aligned, fulfilling life.
Dr. Tara Swart is a neuroscientist with a PhD, a former Oxford-trained medical doctor, a Senior Advisor at MIT Sloan, Chief Science Officer at Dirtea, and the best-selling author of The Source, which has been translated into 38 languages. She’s advised high-level leaders across the globe, and this isn’t her first time on The Goal Digger Podcast!
Check out her interview from 2021 all about the neuroscience of manifestation!
What I love about Tara is that her work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, intuition, and human transformation, and today, we’re exploring how to reconnect with the deeper intelligence that’s always been within you.
Her new book, The Signs, is all about this very topic!
Whether you call it your gut, your inner knowing, or something greater, this conversation will give you a new lens on how to make decisions, overcome blocks, and open yourself to what’s possible.
So if you’ve ever wondered whether those “signs” you’ve been noticing are just coincidences or if they’re trying to tell you something, you’re in the right place!
Why We’ve Been Taught to Ignore Our Intuition
For so long, intuition wasn’t considered valid in work or life. You couldn’t tell your boss, “I just felt it in my gut,” and expect them to take you seriously.
Logic was safe, explainable, measurable. But ignoring our intuition comes at a cost: it keeps us disconnected from one of the most powerful forms of intelligence we have.
Tara explained that intuition isn’t “woo,” it’s rooted in the limbic system of the brain and the neurons in our gut. With new scanning technologies, science can now see what happens when we “feel” something.
That’s proof that your inner knowing is real, valuable, and worth listening to.
Practices to Strengthen Your Intuition
If you’re someone who overthinks everything (guilty!), you’re not alone. Tara shared that reconnecting with intuition often requires getting out of your head and into your body.
Some practices Dr. Tara recommends include:
- Movement and Gentle Exercise: Walking, yoga, or dancing help release stored patterns and trauma from the body, making space for intuition to surface.
- Creative Play: Art, music, and even childlike creativity can calm the nervous system and reconnect us to wisdom we’ve forgotten.
- Nature and Birdsong: Birds don’t sing if predators are near, so hearing them actually signals safety to our nervous system. Step outside for a reset.
- Breathwork: Simple breathing practices can shift you out of fight-or-flight and into rest-and-digest, where intuition becomes clearer.
Want to get better at this? Get your copy of Dr. Tara’s new book, The Signs, to go more in-depth!
Science Meets Signs: Angel Numbers, Senses, and Synchronicity
One of my favorite parts of our conversation? Going “woo woo” with science to back it up.
Dr. Tara shared that while we’re taught we only have five senses, research suggests we may have 30+ physiological senses: including balance, fullness, and even sensing oxygen levels in our blood.
So what if “sixth sense” intuition is simply one of those capacities we haven’t fully named yet? That means signs like angel numbers (hello, 11:11!) or visceral feelings might be valid ways our body processes information beyond logic.
The big question Tara posed: Do you have to be able to prove something scientifically for it to have value in your life?
If something like 11:11 or a white feather feels meaningful, it doesn’t matter if science has a perfect explanation, it matters that it helps you feel guided.
Holding Space for Both Logic and Magic
Entrepreneurship often conditions us to choose: strategy or surrender, logic or intuition. But as Tara explained, the real growth happens when we hold both. Logic keeps us safe, but intuition allows us to take risks, notice opportunities, and expand into who we’re meant to be.
We also talked about loosening our grip on outcomes. Like water slipping through your fingers, the tighter you hold, the less you can grasp.
When we trust ourselves and release the need to control, we make space for something bigger—the “magic tricks,” as Tara calls them—that shift our lives in ways logic never could .
Final Thoughts
This episode left me feeling grounded and inspired. I loved Tara’s mini meditation at the end; an exercise that helps you ask your head, your heart, and your gut for guidance.
For me, the answers were similar, but each gave me a different lens; logic gave me the “how,” my heart reminded me of the “why,” and my gut anchored me in what feels right.
If you’ve been craving a new way to make decisions, regulate your nervous system, and trust yourself more deeply, I’m sure you loved this episode.
And if you haven’t already, go back and listen to Tara’s first appearance on Goal Digger, where she walks us through the neuroscience of manifestation!
We’re not just brains making business decisions, we’re whole beings with wisdom in our bodies, our hearts, and our spirit. When we learn to trust all of it, that’s when we grow into who we’re truly meant to be!
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