Intuition is a judgment that leads to the solution of a given problem through a subconscious analysis of the situation when logical explanations are insufficient. Intuition is built on increased empathy, rich experience in the required field, and imagination. The meaning of the word “intuition” is based on the Latin language, and literally means “to look closely.” The mechanism of intuitive processes consists in combining multimodal features into a single necessary solution. This process is constantly dynamic and has an individual character of manifestation depending on the characteristics of the individual, the emotional sphere, the independence and impartiality of a person’s thinking, as well as the combination of factors from the perspective of which the problem is considered.
Intuitive answers usually come to a person instantly, perhaps with a lack of information and without a conscious process of moving towards obtaining the desired answer. These processes are not the opposite of logical ones; they are rather different sides, which in their totality form one whole - intellectual creative activity. An important role in the formation of intuitive guesses is the generalization of all information received by a person and a high level of knowledge and experience regarding the area of solving the assigned problems.
Intuition is closely related to inspiration or a state of increased mental, spiritual and physical energy. Against this background, the sensitivity of all organs of perception increases, the level of attention and memory increases. As a result of such changes, it is possible for consciousness to reach a new level, expanding the framework of perception, behind which lie intuitive discoveries. The conditions for the occurrence of such an expansion can be called: concentration on the task at hand, reasonable distraction from it (to allow the manifestation of the unconscious), avoidance of stereotyping and prejudice, periodic switching to the opposite type of activity, concern for one’s own health and comfortable state.
Intuition in Science
From the point of view of science, intuition was denied for a long time, considering it some kind of paranormal ability. Only in the middle of the last century, the American sociologist James Staunton decided to conduct research related to the sixth sense. He took as a basis about 250 accidents that occurred at different times on trains and planes. Staunton decided to compare data from flights that ended safely with information from trains and planes that were involved in an accident.
If the outcome of the trip is favorable, the transport is usually 76% full, and in case of disasters - 61%. In approximately 15% of cases, passengers rescheduled their trips or canceled them altogether for some reason. These 15% of people trusted their unconscious feelings, which saved their lives.
Perhaps they felt slightly unwell, or decided to reschedule their trip due to a sudden urgent matter. Intuition manifests itself in different forms. The rest of the people succumbed to a more logical and rational approach, which is why they suffered.
Later, American scientists conducted an experiment with maps. 16 people were given a winning card in advance, for which they gave a good cash prize. Then they were asked to blindly choose one card at a time. It was noted that the person who chose the desired card had a nervous system that worked as usual, while the losers began to worry even at the moment of choice. Thus, the nervous system gave alarm signals in advance.
Intuitives: recluses, scientists, philosophers
Intuitive personality types are often stereotyped as philosophers, scientists, artists, seers and sages, with their often unusual ideas. You can also meet esoteric eccentrics. Because intuitives are confident in analyzing the implications of the knowledge they have gathered, they are often insightful, especially in areas of interest, and usually tend to view the ideas of others with skepticism and scrutiny. They may perceive the intellectual contributions of others as deeply flawed or limited in scope.
Intuitives may devote a lot of time to their inner thoughts, but very little attention is likely to be given to tasks such as maintaining or keeping a clean household, as this is seen as a trivial matter not worthy of time or effort. What does an intuitive person value? Security, in many situations they tend to hesitate before taking any action or making important decisions. In some cases they may act very carefully. They may prefer to observe and collect data to understand the situation rather than actively participate.
Why doesn't a person use his sixth sense?
What is intuition based on? This feeling is made up of emotion, spirit and logic. It is these components that are the guide along the path of life. In most cases, we do not respond to internal cues. Man is designed in such a way that he constantly doubts, fears, worries, reasons, and this prevents him from hearing himself.
As an example, remember how you wanted to dance or sing, learn to play the guitar, or open your own business. But the thought flashed through your head, “what if it’s a failure,” and you didn’t even try to do anything. In the first case there was intuition, in the second - reason. As a rule, we all choose what is considered reasonable, that is, we refuse to take risks even when we essentially have nothing to lose.
The brain creates a barrier in the mind, trying to protect a person from the unknown and incomprehensible to him. He warns that there may be a negative result, thereby restraining his owner, not giving him the opportunity to try something that he cannot yet understand. And this approach is logical. Intuition, on the contrary, is a desire, a desire for the best, a passion that makes you not stop there and constantly move forward.
There are situations when it is worth giving feelings and sensations a chance, turning off common sense and logic for a while. You just need to do as your inner voice says, trust your body and soul. Despite everything, it is there and is desperately trying to reach the “control center” located in the head.
Jung's psychological types
Carl Jung describes four psychological functions that can be used by individuals mentally, but to varying degrees:
- Sensation is all perception through the senses.
- Intuition is perception through the unconscious or perception of unconscious events.
- Thinking (in socionics, logic) is the judgment of information based on reason.
- Feeling (in socionics, ethics) is a judgment about information based on feelings.
In addition to these four types, Jung identifies a polarity between introverted and extroverted personalities. This distinction is based on how people invest energy: either in their internal, subjective, psychic world, or in their external, objective, physical world. According to Jung, there are 16 psychological types, among which there are introverted and extroverted intuitives. For convenience, each type can be assigned a functional name, for example, an intuitive logical extrovert can be called an inventor.
How does intuition work and its signals, why is it needed?
People who have well-developed intuition can read various signals from their own body and understand whether they made the right decision or not. How does intuition manifest itself? Let me give you a few examples.
Many people report feelings of peace, calm and happiness, even if from a logical point of view the decision does not seem correct
Over time, people become convinced that they did the right thing by trusting their unconscious, rather than being guided solely by the rational.
For example, a person spends a lot of time on a job that he does not like. The office has a good team, a normal salary, but still something is wrong. Guided by common sense, a person continues to work in this place for the sake of money or a career, but every day he begins to hate his job more and more.
Intuition, with the help of an unreasonable feeling of dissatisfaction, tries to say that a person is in the wrong place . And when he nevertheless decides to change his occupation, he will feel relief and calmness.
When you do “your” business, you experience happiness and moral satisfaction. The same applies to the people who surround us. If you really don’t like a person, you feel uncomfortable in his presence for no logical reason, then perhaps this is the voice of intuition that is worth listening to.
With the help of dreams you can also read signs of intuition
When we sleep, our brain rests and digests all the information received and available. It is in a dream that you can find the answer to a question that has been haunting you for a long time. A striking example is Dmitry Mendeleev and his famous table of substances. It was in a dream that the scientist saw how substances should be placed and ordered correctly. Why people dream, as well as many interesting facts about this process can be found in a separate article.
But this does not mean at all that the good fairy magically came to the scientist in a dream and decided everything for him. This means that Mendeleev thought long and hard about the riddle, but in an alert state the brain is oversaturated with various information, it is simply not able to generate the entire flow of thoughts and facts.
In a dream, on the contrary, the unconscious has time to sort out the facts and come up with the right decision. The main thing is to be able to interpret your dreams, because everything is not always as literal as in Mendeleev’s dreams.
Unconsciously we can pay attention to external signs - this is also the work of intuition
For example, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Thousands of people worked in those magnificent buildings that were destroyed by the plane crash. A huge number of dead and injured from this terrible disaster.
But there were those who completely accidentally avoided the tragedy:
- someone was late for work due to traffic jams;
- someone was kept at home by a morning row with his wife;
- another dropped his child off at kindergarten and was delayed because of this;
- another person left the office to buy coffee.
People have told so many little things like this that saved their lives. After all, if it weren’t for them, people would most likely die in their offices. It is very important to be able to notice such signs of intuition in time, and not ignore them.
And also the body itself may hint that the plan should not be implemented.
Sometimes people get sick before an important meeting or trip. It could be a cold, poisoning, general malaise or something else.
One successful businessman said that on the eve of an important meeting with investors, he fell ill with a severe ARVI. He had a high fever, cough, and weakness. But he, as a responsible person, decided to travel 500 kilometers to this important meeting anyway.
Having arrived at his destination, the entrepreneur learned that his investors’ plane was delayed indefinitely due to weather conditions, and the meeting would not take place. He wasted his time, nerves and health. The businessman was hospitalized with complications of the disease, but learned to listen more to his own body.
Intuitive-logical introvert
A man who knows the world will not only do everything that he knows, but also a lot that he does not know. He will take more pleasure in his clever way of concealing his ignorance than in his clumsy attempt to demonstrate erudition. A person’s goal is to find his place in a continuous series of events, to realize his potential. It makes sense to act only when the optimal moment for applying effort has been found and established. The intuitive logician has the following features:
- He has a powerful intellectual imagination. From empirical observations of how a person acts at different times, he creates something like a functional model in his mind. In general, he usually knows everything in advance.
- Peace and restraint. He almost never expresses emotions and does not protect his family and friends from them. He sincerely believes that too strong passions will lead to his death.
- Deep Scan. He is convinced that it is impossible to live if one does not take into account the laws of nature that regulate the world. He who ignores reality is headed for the abyss.
- Kindness. Despite all his negativism, he is truly a very kind person. He likes strong people who know their way in life. He is capable of pouring a bucket of cold water on the head of an enthusiast, but on the other hand, he is also able to soften his despair when someone is unlucky, when everything goes wrong and fate seems hostile.
- Unacceptable and desirable. He is handsome and smart, with big and sad eyes, not talkative. He does not give compliments and thereby creates the impression of his inaccessibility. What attracts him is his sadness and seriousness. This is a vivid description of this type of personality who is constantly in his feelings, does not like adventure and desires the complete dependence of his demanding partner.
How to develop intuition
Is it possible to develop intuition? In fact, there is no mystical background to this concept. This is an experience that has accumulated over centuries and was passed on by previous generations. Therefore, regularly repeated actions are easily perceived.
Logical chains are not formed by the brain, since the problem is clear and the ways to solve it are known. The information is already displayed in the subconscious and is waiting for time to come out. Like any skill, intuition can and should be developed. Absolutely every person can do this by listening to their own “I”.
Trusting your intuition is a great achievement. But it needs to be developed. Then you will have a unique opportunity to use your sixth sense in practice, to trust your feelings, which will be an excellent help in many life situations.
Scientists say that only 2% of people on the planet have well-developed intuition. But this does not mean that each of us cannot try to develop a sixth sense. Swiss scientist Max Luscher identifies 4 qualities, the development of which will help acquire intuition:
- Self-knowledge, acceptance of your own feelings, respect and self-love - all this will help you get closer to your inner “I”;
- Confidence in yourself, your own strengths and aspirations is a very important component of the development of intuition. You can feel the signals, notice the signs, but ignore them, do not trust yourself. It is important to trust your own feelings even without a logical explanation of the situation;
- Inner satisfaction is a state of calm when intuition and thinking do not cause internal conflict. On the contrary, it is a fusion of thoughts and feelings;
- Inner freedom is complete acceptance of yourself, your feelings, the ability to hear and listen to your body.
Look for signals, signs
First, you need to learn to recognize this feeling. It manifests itself differently for each of us. Some experience a feeling of warmth in the body, others experience flashes in the form of visual images, visions, and others experience vivid dreams.
It could be an unformed thought that quickly flashed through your head, or a guess, lightness, peace. In some cases, this may be an understanding of the truth and confidence in the correctness of one’s actions, contrary to all the laws of nature and the opinions of society.
Science has proven that the subconscious mind stores a lot of information that is inaccessible and unknown to the conscious mind. Therefore, if the same sign appears again and again, you should not ignore it. It is thanks to him that you may become happy, successful, rich and healthy.
Meditate
A procedure useful for everyone living on planet Earth. Meditation, when the dialogue inside you subsides, allows you to switch off, reboot your mind and open the way to feelings and sensations, and be able to think positively.
During the session, a person opens himself to thoughts and feelings that he does not pay any attention to in everyday life. Follow the sensations and understand what you need to do and how to act.
Ask
The wisdom that intuition is trying to impart to you should not become a passive skill or experience.
To get an accurate answer, you need to ask clearly formulated questions. Only in this case will you learn the truth dictated by innate wisdom.
Write down the answer you receive
Don't rely on memory. The subconscious can subtly indicate to you the correctness of actions. The answer he gave is quickly erased from consciousness. Scientists have proven that if you don't capture an intuitive idea within 37 seconds, it may never happen again. How to improve memory is briefly and clearly discussed in a separate article.
Keep your diary. This is one of the best ways to talk to your intuition and receive its gifts. It is enough to devote just ten minutes a day, and the results will exceed your expectations. After a short time, you will see positive changes and inner growth in yourself.
Act quickly
The winner is the one who acts without delay. Intuition does just that. Instant response to information leads to the opening of a connecting channel between the mind and the subconscious.
Consequently, the information is received more accurately, and it becomes much easier to hear and respond to it.
Trust yourself
Learn to trust your gut instinct, and the results will follow. Thanks to this, you will have the opportunity to solve problems that arise, make plans, and make the right decisions much faster.
It is important to realize that intuition and you are one. The tool that leads to success and well-being.
Live in the moment
The past is already over, the future has not yet arrived. Living life now, focusing your attention and energy on the present is the best thing you can do. Worrying about what no longer exists or about what may not exist means clogging your mind with unnecessary information, experiencing pain, experiences that can significantly harm your nervous system, health, negatively affect relationships with loved ones and performance.
Try to get all unnecessary thoughts out of your head and focus on what is happening. This will bring you happiness, satisfaction and, accordingly, will allow you to develop your inner sense.
Focus on the emotions and thoughts you are experiencing now and stop worrying about what you cannot change. This is another reason for a bad mood and distortion of the perception of the world.
“If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you worry, you are living in the future. If you are in the world, you live in the present." Lao Tzu.
Introvert Consciousness
The consciousness of any introvert always works with internally constructed imaginary models. The external world for him serves only as the beginning for the development of internal images. Since the leading function is the intuition of time, it allows him to successfully model the evolution of processes over time. Consciousness easily covers any periods of time and perceives the world comprehensively and systematically. His ability to freely move along the axis of time allows him to see distant prospects, and therefore, few can match him in the field of strategic forecasts.
When something seems to suggest a solution to you
Have you ever in your life been tormented by a dilemma about which of two decisions to make, worried, nervous, hesitant, and then suddenly, literally out of nowhere, they give you a sign?
Intuition is a very intriguing thing. Therefore, this sign was not simply “given to you out of nowhere.” All this is more than a coincidence, even if it’s hard for you to believe it. You, imperceptibly, caught the things that were happening around and inside you, it is not surprising that everything fell into the right puzzle.
Always do this! Intuition will never leave you!
Exercise "Elevator"
There are a huge number of different exercises that allow you to develop intuition. For example, a technique called “Elevator” is popular. To perform it, you first need to imagine in as much detail as possible that our body is immersed in something pleasant that evokes positive emotions. For some it will be a strawberry smoothie, for others it will be freshly squeezed mango juice.
After this, you need to fantasize about a less pleasant topic - imagine that the body is immersed in something that, on the contrary, does not cause pleasure. For example, foam from milk, or cooled pasta. You need to remember your feelings and record them in as much detail as possible in your heart. Subsequently, when it is necessary to make a certain choice, you can recall them from memory. How does this or that option make you feel? How do we feel when we think about this topic: how does our body sink into nasty milk foam or into a strawberry smoothie?
By using this exercise on an ongoing basis, you can significantly develop your intuition.
Other views on the phenomenon of gut feeling
You can also give the following definition to inner instinct: intuition is knowledge that was forgotten by a person and passed by his attention. Everything that a person does not want to consciously remember turns into intuitive knowledge. In other words, the subconscious is a faithful friend that you can turn to in any difficult situation. Everything that a person did not want to remember consciously, over time, turned into his experience. Intuition is the result of collecting information that a person, consciously or not, has been doing throughout his life. Such information can be visual, auditory, sensory, or verbal.
We may not remember specific events that took place sometime in the past. However, this knowledge is still available to the sixth sense. Therefore, most definitions of intuition in psychology appeal to the unconscious. For example, certain words and facial expressions of a person preceded deception. Consciousness did not remember such information. However, it was deposited in the unconscious. And in the next similar situation, instinct will tell us that our next counterpart is a deceiver.
Another name for the sixth sense is intuition, and it is quite reasonable. Indeed, in the course of his life, a person uses the information that enters the brain through five channels of perception. However, intuition does not have an “organ” as such. Conventionally, it is “located” in the unconscious structures of the mind. Therefore, instinct can be attributed to the functions of the brain.
Possible career
Intuitives work great in areas where strategic forecasts are required: politics, finance, science, military research. They can lead a group of any size, especially with the help of a sensory type. They also have a developed taste for the humanities, that is, for philosophy and art. Career Opportunities:
- Computer programmer.
- Manager.
- Professor/teacher.
- Investment/Business Analyst/Mortgage Broker.
- Chemical/Biomedical/Aeronautical Engineer.
- Psychiatrist/neurologist/dentist/cardiologist/pathologist.
- Physicist/scientist/astronomer.
- Strategic Planner/City Manager.
- Artist/writer/architect.
- Lawyer/judge.
- News analyst.
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Definition
What is the sixth sense? Intuition is, first of all, human experience. The confirmations he has on a specific issue, which were received during his life, enter the unconscious memory. And in the right situation, this knowledge can become relevant. When a person encounters a phenomenon of the same nature several times, such experience is consolidated in the subconscious and becomes intuitive.
Intuition - what is it, and how does its mechanism work? This question has interested researchers of all times. Translated from Latin, this word means “close contemplation.” And in Russian, the word “flair” is closer to this concept, which is more likely associated with smell than with vision. In this regard, we can recall the fact that one of the oldest parts of the human brain is the olfactory brain. Thus, intuition is an archaic way of perceiving the world.
