You feel excited. He just called for the first time and left a message asking you to join him Saturday night to catch the latest act at a new club in town. You’re attracted to him, and a little nervous. You don’t know him that well. Can you trust him? Should you go out with him? Could he be the one? You don’t want to get your expectations up and be disappointed. You also want to be safe. How can you find out more about him? Call a psychic hotline? Talk to your best friend? Neither. Ask your intuition!

That still, quiet, inner voice has a wealth of information to share. You can learn about who to avoid, how and when to take the right steps toward love, and also when to say goodbye to a relationship. Intuition is quick and ready insight and when you learn to trust it, you’ll be guided toward the relationship of your dreams.

Many people describe intuition as “you know but you don’t know how you know.” It can provide information when you don’t have access to immediate facts or when you want an additional level of insight. It communicates through emotions, body sensation, (like a gut feeling), pictures in your mind, words, hunches, instincts and dreams.

Following are some ideas about how you can access and use this valuable resource to help you choose The One.

Is Your New Guy a “10?”

Your intuition can tell you! One of the primary ways you receive intuitive information is through symbolic images. The person who said “A picture is worth a thousand words” could have been speaking about intuition. Begin this exercise by grabbing a pen and paper and writing a list of qualities that are important to you in a relationship. To get you started, here are a few words that show up on most people’s lists: trustworthy, honest, sense of humor, communicates well, easy going, hard worker, kind, open, warm. You get the idea.

You’re going to use your sixth sense to see what it has to say about your new date. Look at your list and think of a scale from one to ten. Ten represents an absolute “yes” and one represents “no.” Bring to mind the person you’re dating. We’ll call him Tom. Close your eyes and ask your intuition a series of questions about Tom based on the qualities on your list.

You want to make sure you’ll be safe on your first date. Ask your intuition, “Is Tom trustworthy?” What number between 1 and 10 pops into your mind? Write it down.

Ask your intuition, “Does Tom have a good sense of humor?” Write the number that comes to you.

Ask your intuition, “Does Tom communicate well?” Write the number that represents your answer.

Repeat this exercise with each of the qualities on your list.

So how did your date do? If he scored between 7 and 10 for most of the qualities, your intuition is giving you the green light to go ahead. If there were a few too many that were between 4 and 6, your intuition is giving you a heads up to take it slow and give him a chance to prove himself. If you were writing 1 – 3, well, you don’t need me to interpret a message this clear!

How often have you heard someone who just ended a relationship say, “I had a funny feeling about him right from the beginning?” That was their intuition speaking! Trusting and honoring this inner wisdom is key to staying out of harm’s way, choosing the right person to date, and taking the right steps to create a successful committed relationship.

The Intuitive Path to More Love

You’ve met a wonderful guy and you’ve been dating for a few months and having a great time. Then . . . you have your first fight. It can feel like the beginning of the end. But hold on, it doesn’t have to be. Your intuition can come to the rescue.

Get out that pen and paper again and begin to write the answers to the following questions. Pay attention to any feelings, fleeting impressions, images or body sensations. Don’t worry about your grammar and punctuation. (That’s a sure way to shut your intuition down.) Write whatever comes to your heart and mind.

What’s upsetting him the most right now?

How does he perceive our relationship?

What does he need from me?

What would be the best “next step” toward resolving this?

What do I need and want?

What would be the best possible outcome?

If other questions form in your mind as you write, feel free to answer those as well. When you receive an accurate intuitive impression you’ll know it because you’ll experience an “ah ha!” moment followed by a sense of relief.

Should You Stay or Should You Go?

Ambivalence is awful. You wake up in the morning feeling convinced the relationship is over and you just have to end it and get on with your life. By the afternoon you’ve flip-flopped and decided to give him another chance. After all, he’s under a lot of stress right now. But is that the right thing to do? Can your intuition help you decide what’s right?

To avoid being overwhelmed, let’s pretend you have three choices. Take a few minutes and do a “gut check” on each of the following options. Don’t try to think about them, just feel your body’s response.

Option 1 — This is “the one.” I want to continue the relationship.

Option 2 — I’m going to give this relationship a few more months and see if it will work out.

Option 3 — I want to end the relationship.

Which option felt the best?

Whichever you choose, know this: your intuition doesn’t lie and it doesn’t mislead. If you’re open to its messages, you’ll make choices that are right for you. And here’s some more good news: you can expect it to do that not only in matters of love, but in all matters throughout all your life.

So if you’re thinking that your current companion may be a candidate for a permanent relationship, better ask your intuition before he asks The Big One. It could make the difference between living a major mistake . . . or living happily ever after.