Intuition

The distracting noise of the outside Is tuning out the internal intuition that we need for survival. There are innate things that you just know. You "know" things. You don't even know how you know them, but you do. These feelings are real and very telling of things that are going on around and inside of you. Those that hone their gift and not ignore the signs, feelings, emotions that come up in life are much more prepared for what life throws our way at times. The gut itself literally feeds gut feelings; think of butterflies in the stomach when a decision is pending. The gut has millions of nerve cells and, through them, a "mind of its own," says Michael Gershon, author of The Second Brain and a professor at Columbia University. Still, gut feelings do not originate there, but in signals from the brain. Emotion guides how we learn from experience.

We need to listen more to the common sense emanating from our hearts. Writers, counselors and speakers galore offer to develop our sixth sense, harness our inner wisdom and unlock our subconscious mind. Books guide us toward intuitive healing, learning, spirituality, investing and managing. And all of this is very relevant to making sound decisions that not only seem good, but feel good, and are for the greater good. Intuition eludes the grasp of linear thinking, with its exclusive emphasis on cause and effect that are close in time and space. The result is that most of our intuitions don’t make ‘sense’ – that is, they can’t be explained in terms of linear logic. But they do not have to.

The ability to think, to reflect on ourselves and our behavior and to plan ahead, may be the feature that most defines us as humans, the crowning glory of evolution. But thinking is not an unmitigated blessing. There is no substitute for gathering information about any task, person or situation before us. But neither should we be afraid of not knowing every reason why we feel the way we do in every situation. Listen to yourself, trust yourself and know that how you feel is for a reason as the body never lies, yet we do. Be real with yourself and with others around you and watch how the world unfolds itself in a delight specifically for you. I promise to honor my intuition as I learn to trust myself more and not give in to the notion of giving the benefit of the doubt.

Intelligence and intuition are very different ways of knowing. We might think of them in opposing ways. Most people tend to default into operating from one or the other. When we blend intuition and intellect we can operate seamlessly and powerfully. Our communication opens up on a much more coherent level. When we integrate thinking/feeling we deepen our understanding and appreciation of one another and develop the ability to tap into a lost art: wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to better perceive the unintended consequences of both our actions and inactions. Listen to yourself, trust yourself, spend time by yourself and love yourself enough to know that you are equipped with all that you need, you just have to invoke the dormant gifts that are awaiting.