The only real valuable thing is intuition.
Albert Einstein
Intuition, the sixth sense (also known as gut feeling, hunches, dreamtongue, wahi), has always been the subject of much scepticism.
Intuition is defined as
Understanding without apparent effort, quick and ready insight seemingly independent of previous experiences or empirical knowledge.
or
A spontaneous impulse to take an immediate, unplanned action, which in retrospect, proves to be the most beneficial action to take in order to positively influence an unknown future event or situation.
“To the rationally minded, the mental processes of the intuitive appear to work backwards. His conclusions are reached before his premises,” wrote Frances Wickes in The Inner World of Childhood.
In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality indicator, Sensing and Intuition are the perceiving functions. They indicate how a person prefers to receive and process data.
The Sensing type prefers to receive data primarily from the five senses, and the Intuitive type prefers to receive data from the subconscious, or seeing relationships via insights or associations. Sensors see the trees, while Intuitives see the forest.
While Sensors tend to think in a linear fashion, one thought following the next, Intuitives frequently engage in intuitive leaps in thinking. Sensors tend to live in the moment, while Intuitives live in the past or future.
Sensors are also more likely to trust their experience, while Intuitives are able to see possibilities and alternatives that aren’t immediately apparent.
Note: No personality type is better or worse - they’re just a way of assessing different temperaments and helping us understand ourselves better.
For most of my life, I was ignorant of my intuitive nature. I didn’t understand, believe or trust my feelings and hunches. Influenced by the belief that intellect was superior to emotion, I thought intuition was an inferior way to see the world.
I believed that rational thinking and scientific reasoning were a better way to process data than feelings, and gravitated towards a career in science, which only served to strengthen my scepticism.
Embarrassed by my attraction to the paranormal, I sought to explain even that through logic and scientific reasoning. After all, Carl Sagan was my hero, and he spent most of his life trying to disprove paranormal phenomena!
I still love Sagan’s books, but realised that his arguments were flawed. Attempts to measure psychic phenomena using scientific criteria don’t work, because scientific observation is limited to the five senses. As Jad at the Book of Storms says, that would be like the Sun chasing the Moon.
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
Albert Einstein
Despite my denial of intuition, I did end up acting from gut feeling most of my life. If something didn’t feel right, I just wouldn’t do it. I have to thank my impulsive Aries traits for that.
It took me a (long) while to start trusting my intuition. But scoring as an INFJ in the MBTI personality typing, empowered me to look at the world in a whole new light. I was finally free of the compulsion to deny who I was.
As I continue to learn more about myself and my gifts, I appreciate the role that intuition has played in my life. It gave me the ability to express myself in writing, and to connect with people almost instantly.
Intuitive information can come through feelings, images, body sensations (gut feelings) or thoughts. Because of my sensitivity to energy, I get my information primarily through feelings and body sensations (clairsentience).
When I know something is wrong, or sense insincerity or incongruency in a person, I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, or a tightness in my chest, a dip in my energy levels and a general low feeling.
Sometimes I feel a chill down my spine or my hair standing up on end. With some people I’ve felt an instant “Ewww”, a repulsion that I’m unable to explain. When the feeling is strong, I feel physically ill, sick to my stomach.
When I trust my intuition, I am rarely wrong. It’s when I second-guess my hunches and rationalise my gut feelings about people and situations, that I end up learning hard lessons.
According to Intuition magazine online, “intuition is increasingly recognized as a natural mental faculty, a key element in the creative process, a means of discovery, problem solving, and decision making. Once considered the province of a gifted few, it is now recognized as an innate capacity available to everyone — not a rare, accidental talent, but a natural skill anyone can cultivate.”
Intuition is now an EQ competency; that is, it’s considered something necessary to successful living, and something to be respected and valued, writes Susan Dunn.
To develop your intuition, “Get centered. Quiet your thinking mind. Slow down and focus on one thing at a time. Listen. Practice,” she advises.
Sounds an awful lot like mindfulness practice or meditation to me. I can vouch for meditation, because it was responsible for helping me tap into my intuitive abilities.
Do share. I’d love to hear your experiences with discovering your intuitive and psychic abilities.
Resources to help develop intuition
A selection of articles on Intuition
Understanding Your Psychic Ability - 8 powerful ways to increase your awareness, and consequently your happiness with both your self and the world around you.
Developing Our Psychic Ability - Additional Benefits of Listening to Your Sixth Sense Podcast
Tags: psychic, paranormal, intuition
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