Intuition: Listen To, Trust and Follow Your Sixth Sense

You could probably tell countless stories about how your intuition lead you to the ‘right’ decision, alerted you to danger, and opened you up to endless ‘possibilities.’ But you can’t explain how or why, and you’re not even sure it it’s really real.

That’s because intuition doesn’t seem rational, it seems to go against reason, but it’s very real and always correct. You’ve probably said to yourself many times, ‘I should have gone with my gut.’

Intuition is that sixth sense, that inner knowing, which transcends reason, that flash of insight. It’s a survival skill that’s built into all of us, alerting us to both dangers and opportunities by giving us information.

Yet some people take their intuition for granted, others still don’t believe in it or trust it. This woman did, and it may have saved her life.

Kim and Doug, a Sacramento couple, invited their friend Gary over for drinks one night. Gary brought with him a young man who would regularly stop by his shop looking for work. He seemed nice enough, even brought a bottle of wine for the evening. But something didn’t feel right to Kim. It was nothing in particular that she could put her finger on, but something was just gnawing at her about this guy. It was her intuition speaking loudly. It told her she didn’t want this person in her house ever again. She couldn’t explain it to her husband but made him promise never to let him come around. Then they learned, that just one month later, the young man went berserk and killed his family.

A shocking story perhaps, but one that shows the power of this inner sense and that, without question, we should trust it.

Webster’s defines intuition as “immediate apprehension or cognition, the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought.”

Think of intuition like a lightning bolt – it comes in a flash, a key that unlocks a door and gives you information. , a puzzle piece that falls into perfect place. It’s as Oprah would say, “an A-ha moment!” Sometimes it’s obvious but sometimes it’s not.

Debbie Bermont, a professional speaker and published author, frequently gives programs on identifying and developing your intuition. Bermont says, “It’s something we all have, men and women alike, a powerful resource waiting to be unleashed, that can led us to endless possibilities.”

She herself learned the hard way about trusting it. Her intuition spoke loudly to her three times in one day and she ignored it all three times. Twice it told her to leave her new, expensive purse, with everything in it (of course), at home as she was walking out the door. She didn’t. Then it spoke again at the beach – leave it in the trunk of the car. Her boyfriend talked her out of it, saying it would be fine behind the seat under his coat. Sure enough, a short while later, the car alarm went off. Gone was the purse, the jacket left behind.

Typically, intuition speaks to us from our subconscious, we don’t necessarily ask for it; it just comes from that place of inner knowing. But it is something you can learn to develop, to ask for, to rely on, to trust and to listen to, to take control of your life.

Bermont says, “You can learn, with practice, to develop your intuition and to use it consciously.”

Carl Jung, the great psychologist, described intuition as one of the four major faculties of the psyche, along with thinking, feeling and sensation.
Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine, said the intuitive mind tells the thinking mind where to look next. Albert Einstein, who is well known for his use of intuition, acknowledged that it was a very important part of his work.

Even beck then the masters believed in intuition. But it’s only been with recent split-brain research that today there has been more awareness and appreciation of intuition. The research seems to show the left hemisphere of the brain being more oriented toward verbal and rational thinking, the right side being more oriented toward spatial relations and intuitive thinking.

Dr. Marcia Emery, an adjunct professor in the Masters in Management Program at Michigan College, teaches mid- and upper level managers how to develop and use their intuition in a logical and rational thinking environment – the workplace.

She uses an intuitive problem-solving formula that work for both professional and personal issues.

First, your logical mind poses the question/problem/issue. You should write it down because this really commits it. Then get centered and take the tension out of your mind. Relax the physical body with deep breathing. This allows you to let go of the physical stress and tension. Deeply relax. You’re in what’s called the alpha level. In the alpha level the mind expands and opens up. Then the logical min begins to recede and the intuitive mind comes forward. Ask your question again. Suddenly the subconscious mind sends you an image –most of these are metaphoric or symbolic. But don’t take the image on face value alone. You may need to unravel it and interpret the imagery by association. Let all the associations come in. One will lead you to the right answer.

Sometimes you won’t find the meaning of the image right away. You may need to take time out and leave it alone. Later, when you could be doing something else, all of a sudden – “a-ha,” you’ll know what it means.

You’ve heard it said, “You have all the answers within you,” Or, been asked, “What is that voice inside your head telling you?” It’s time we listen, believe it, trust it and discover where it leads us.

“You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself,” -- Galileo.

Copyright © 2006 Pichini Productions, All Rights Reserved
Resources and suggested websites:

Debbie Bermont: www.outrageousBusinessGrowth.com
www.intuition.org
www.intuita.com/index.html
www.intuitionmagazine.com
www.intuitionnetwork.com
www.practicalintuition.com
www.naturalgallery.com/inner-wisdom.shtml
www.dreamsalive.com/wisdom12.htm
www.wisdommagazine.com