Intuition
We have intuitive thoughts all the time, although some of us have a mind set against accepting thoughts we can't know logically. Our problem is that we program it out. We actually set up defenses to not trust it.
It is a skill that all human beings really have, and when we vacillate towards pure logic as our solution, we screen it out; we don't let the intuitive mind speak to us. It comes through the same part of the brain, the creative side that is also responsible for imagination, which is why we mistrust it.
The biggest teaching tool that is used in sharpening your intuition and becoming more in tune with your body, your health and your world is to notice cause and effects of what is happening and take the lesson from that.
It is actually that we are awakening to potentials that are really within us. It does have to do with a new style of thinking which at first may seem a little bit more complicated and philosophical, but it really is part of our survival mechanism that has been trained out of us. We should be using our intuition more in integrating it with our logic instead of having logic be dominant over it.
The only way one makes good decisions is through experience, and the only way we benefit from experience is by noticing cause and effect or trial and error from an action. We then go through a process of feedback and reflection to learn from what just happened.
A whole half of our brain, our whole right brain, is where we are able to see more than the sum of the parts, the whole, and the bigger-than. You need the linear side, or the left brain to sort out and give you information, which is needed in any decision; yet you also need the feeling, the intuitive, and the authentic sense of self-knowing side. You know then that all mistakes are just fuel for becoming more aware. This is one of those instances where taking what appears to be a negative and use that information as a guideline to bring you closer to what works better. Process of elimination is another way to look at that experience. So part of the challenge of creativity is to try this and to try that, as thoughtfully as you can muster, of course; but when it doesn't work, instead of feeling bad because something didn’t work, you can realize that can also be good information. It will sharpen your skill towards recognizing how you need to fine tune your creative abilities to have it work.
When you open yourself up to intuitive thought, the creative mind can alert you that the resolve you are looking for could require more than linear thought. Critical thinking abilities are being able to access both the left and right brain which is a form of being ambidextrous. Cultivating this skill can bring up opportunities and ideas that could not possibly be imagined by linear thinking alone. This can be compared, somewhat, to what some would call creative thinking. There is the similarity in that, again, they both stem from the same part of the brain. Often while one is doing a mundane task or chore where the mind is allowed to wander or daydream is when that creative or intuitive thought or idea can seem to come out of nowhere. Intuition can hit like a bucket of water.
Recognizing exactly what is an intuitive response is important. Intuition can show itself quickly and without forethought. It seems to come out of nowhere. When it happens, you almost don’t recognize it as something you had knowledge of. In order to honor it, and not dismiss it, the importance of knowing that intuition is always correct is crucial. It can feel like a “light bulb” moment. Most often it will happen when you are in a more relaxed mindset. Some will say that you will do best when you “get slow.” Acknowledge the thoughts that come to you first and quickly. Once you learn to recognize intuitive thought, through experience, you will realize it is never wrong. We tend to discount our intuition by second guessing ourselves, by factoring in other people’s opinions, our fears and a lot of the disinformation in the media. It may also involve you having to reconsider general information that due to your unique bio-individuality does not really apply to you.
Intuition lies in the middle of your body, with your digestion and has been referred to as a “gut feeling.” It turns out that both our gut and our brain originate early in embryogenesis from the same clump of tissue which divides during fetal development. While one section turns into the central nervous system, another piece migrates to become the enteric nervous system. Later the two nervous systems connect via a cable called the Vagus nerve -- the longest of all the cranial nerves whose name is derived from Latin, meaning "wandering." The Vagus nerve meanders from the brain stem through the neck and finally ends up in the abdomen. There's the brain-gut connection.
One example of how the brain, body and mind can communicate to you is something that has occurred to everyone. It is at those times when you go to your refrigerator and have to decide exactly which foods you are going to eat at that moment. Since it is your refrigerator, all available choices are items that you normally would consider consuming. However, at that very moment, automatically as you decide from 4 different choices you immediately and without question eliminate 2 of those choices. At that moment you do not “feel” like eating them. You then go on to debate which of the remaining two items you want. Where it could be commonly referred to as what you want, some would call it what you “feel for”. There are two things happening that are worth taking note of. First is that the body is letting you know, on a nutritional level, what its needs are at that moment. The second is that information is also coming from a feeling place, right brained, intuitive. Exactly how we sabotage the intuitive process and talk ourselves out of the correct choice is by concluding that we would be better off from a health perspective to eat something different or since your partner likes that best, out of kindness you will eat something else that you don’t really “feel” for as much, if at all. When you deny that pull towards certain foods is when an unhealthy craving can be created. That all stems from a need, whether it is nutritional or the reward mechanism in the brain. Through education and learning to be able to understand the language your body uses to communicate with, you will be a healthier person on every front. Have you ever ordered the salad with chicken, no dressing in a restaurant while every part of you was screaming for the burger? If your issue is the quality of the meat or the other ingredients, then that can be and should be met in a healthier form, so that craving or nutritional need can be put to rest. The same example can be used for those that can’t open a bag of cashews without finishing them. The conclusion is that you have no willpower and that you should never be in the same room as a bag of cashews, but again there is a valid communication process occurring. These are all strategies and skills that can be learned. No denial is necessary and is actually the wrong way to approach your decisions. The truth is that it is not about the burger or the cashews or your willpower.
Another example has been referred to as “mother’s intuition”. You have heard stories of woman that intuitively knew something was different. They would always say something did not “feel” right at a time when there was no outward cause for concern and they were not woman that insinuate unfounded fear as part of their usual reasoning process. Some will give credence to this phenomenon as it has happened, in some form to all of us at different times in our lives and played out to be useful. Let that open the door and the consideration that you have natural innate abilities that are going untapped. Intuition is like a muscle. The more it is acknowledged and used the sharper it will become. When using intuition in any area, wether it is in the area of keeping oneself safe or choosing foods, paying attention to that “gut feeling” instead of what is standard information, socially correct or polite is key. This also brings focus on the fact that we are aware of more than we give ourselves credit for.
Cultivating and fine tuning, through experience, the ability to rely on the practical application of those intuitive responses will empower you and strengthen your self-reliance as well as enhance your self-worth. Finally it can also make for a healthier, happier, more balanced version of you. This is a skill that can be applied to many areas of your life. Without realizing it, some are already doing this.