“Ooh, my spider sense is tingling,” says your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
Surely, you’ve felt it, too—that prickling feeling on the back of your neck, a sudden shift in your gut, an inexplicable hunch that something’s going to happen.
The thing is, you don’t need to be a superhero to have spidey sense. This innate ability lies dormant within us all, waiting to be awakened.
The plus side? You don’t have to be bitten by a radioactive spider to harness this power.
What is “spidey sense” exactly?
The term, popularized by the web-slinging superhero, is similar to sixth sense, extrasensory perception, gut feeling, or intuition. Essentially, the “spidey sense” meaning boils down to this: a strong feeling of intuition, guiding you towards an advantageous choice or alerting you to a potential roadblock ahead.
While Spider-Man’s hyperawareness is made for the Marvel Universe, with all those dramatic precognitive visions and danger alerts, is spidey sense real? The simple answer is yes.
In the real world, it can manifest in more subtle ways. For example, you could have a sense of unease before entering a crowded room, a sudden urge to avoid a particular path, or an unexplained distrust when you meet someone.
Interestingly, research shows that those who tapped into their intuition made better decisions. One such study found that participants who trusted their gut instincts made faster and more accurate choices compared to those who relied solely on analysis. Another study showed that those who follow their hunches tend to experience greater happiness.
Learning to recognize these subtle nudges is the key to unlocking the power of your intuition.
What does Spider-Man’s spider sense do?
Spider-Man’s spidey sense is pretty amazing. It acts like an alarm bell. This sense tingles and warns him whenever danger is close, even if he can’t see it.
In Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, for instance, Peter Parker’s awareness heightens when Flash Thompson is about to pick a fight with him in the halls. The same goes when the Green Goblin attacks the festival. The greater the danger, the more intense the sensation he gets.
So how does spidey sense work?
Here are a few ways:
- Increases his ability to detect evil (and even clones)
- Helps him navigate if he is impaired (disoriented or unable to see or hear)
- Aids him in discovering secret passageways and hidden or lost objects
- Helps fire his web-shooters and swing instinctively (and impressively) safely through the city
Now, let’s think about how this idea works in real life. You might not have villains on every corner, but it’s like you’ve had those moments when something just doesn’t feel right.
This is your built-in safety feature, helping you to avoid bad situations or noticing opportunities that feel right. As Vishen, the founder of Mindvalley and trainer of The Silva Ultramind System Quest, says, “Extraordinary people allow their intuition to lead them to a vision that pulls them forward.”
And this is how your spidey sense can guide you in making better decisions and navigating your life more smoothly.
How to get spidey sense: 8 ways to tap into your intuition
Go ahead and ditch the guesswork. Instead, make like Spider-Man and embrace your spidey sense.
Here are eight ways to hone your intuitive powers:
1. Play the “I wonder” game
Leonardo Da Vinci was fascinating for many reasons, but did you know that he also used to have his students wonder 100 things out loud every single day?
That’s right, and there’s a good reason he did so.
Wondering invites your intuition to come out and play. It moves your brain from thinking mode into wondering mode.
When you wonder, you open yourself up to being more curious and intuitive. It creates space for new thoughts and ideas to flow.
So, rather than starting out with wondering 100 things a day, perhaps start out with 25 and work your way up from there (it will become much easier once you get on a roll with it).
Here’s a little help to get you started:
- I wonder what color the next bird that flies by will be…
- I wonder who will call me next…
- I wonder what the first laughter I hear today will be about…
- I wonder how many people in the world are drinking water right now…
- I wonder who’s also looking at the moon tonight…
2. Intuition-inducing affirmations
Many of us are familiar with the power of daily affirmations. If this is your groove, try testing out some of these intuition affirmations to sharpen your inner spidey sense:
- I am connected to my amazing potential futures
- My intuition can be trusted
- I have unlimited possibilities
- I am true to myself
- My spidey senses are always on point
3. Spend time alone
We live in a world riddled with overstimulation—information (and disinformation) overload, other people’s energies and opinions, media, and the list goes on. With all of this noise, it’s difficult to distinguish between your own intuitive inner voice and the cornucopia of outer voices shouting all around you.
Extraordinary minds, according to Vishen, are “truly at peace with themselves and the world around them.”
So here’s what you can do to combat the ruckus and strengthen that innate spidey sense: be alone.
That’s right, be alone.
For at least 30 minutes a day, with no distractions, no sounds, not even a book. Just you, with yourself, letting your thoughts flow and listening to your inner being.
You can journal your thoughts during this time. Or simply just meditate. Whichever helps you get a better sense of that real, inner you.
4. Flip a coin
Here’s a fun trick to access your intuition: When faced with a decision, flip a coin (heads or tails, it doesn’t matter). The key here is to pay attention to your immediate, gut reaction as the coin flips in the air.
Are you secretly hoping for a specific outcome? That initial reaction could be your intuition whispering its preference.
Of course, don’t blindly follow the coin—use it as a springboard for further reflection and tap into the underlying reasons for your gut feeling.
5. Capture your “aha!” moments
Ever notice how you get your best ideas at the most random times? That’s because intuition strikes when we get out of our own way. It comes quickly, in spontaneous bursts of “aha!” moments.
Here’s the catch: If you don’t capture them, you tend to lose them. So, for this reason, it’s important to keep a little notebook (physically or perhaps in a Notes app on your phone) with you to write down these bursts of insights.
You’ll notice, rather quickly, that your spidey senses will become more fine-tuned and begin rewarding you with more “aha!” moments.
6. Live in the now
Almost all of the time, we have one foot anticipating the future and one foot dwelling on the past, leaving us practically pooping on the present.
This is a sad case for many reasons (mainly, the present is all we really have). However, the case is the same when it comes to tapping into your intuition.
It can only truly speak to you if you are in the present.
Alas, your higher self, your truest self, your spidey sense self, has no concept of earthly time; it is only alive in the now. It becomes difficult for your intuition to speak to you if your mind is in the past or the future.
So be here, now.
7. Train your brainwaves
Vishen’s Mindvalley Quest, The Silva Ultramind System, offers a variety of techniques to enhance your spidey sense. One, in particular, is the centering exercise.
It involves a guided meditation to bring your brainwaves into a state conducive to accessing your intuition. And it’s in this state that you’ll listen to specifically designed “programming statements” that’s aimed at activating various mental abilities, like positive thinking, self-control, and even ESP.
“Every time you do these centering exercises,” Vishen explains, “you are training your mind to go deeper and to stay at deeper levels of mind.”
Explore the meditation:
8. Practice psychometry
“Pyschometry essentially means this: it’s being able to take an object by someone—in this case, say a watch,” Vishen explains, “to be able to hold that in the palm of your hand and get intuitive impulses on that person.”
Shamans, sages, and mystics have been doing it for ages. And while how it works is still a mystery, the fact of the matter is, it can be surprisingly effective.
In the Silva program, they do this exercise where you grab a buddy and swap some everyday stuff, like a watch or ring. The twist? It’s wrapped up, so it’s unseen.
Then, the person practicing psychometry relaxes, gets centered, and says what pops into their head—images, feelings, anything—while holding the object.
This practice is designed to show you how powerful your mind is and how strong your intuition can be. Psychometry can even be a stepping stone to having those spidey sense moments in real life, where your gut feeling guides you towards awesome experiences and insights.
Find your spiritual superpower
Even if you don’t swing into action with perfect intuition right away, the secret is to keep practicing. The more you do, the stronger your spidey sense will become.
If you want to take it further and unlock the full potential of your mind and intuition, check out Mindvalley’s The Silva Ultramind System Quest with Vishen. In just 15 minutes a day, you’ll learn powerful techniques to access hidden abilities and transform your reality—you don’t just marvel at superheroes; you become your own version of one.
Welcome in.
