Decoding Intuition

“The Intuitive Mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind a faithful servant.  We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift – Albert Einstein

The truth about Intuition is that because it cannot be backed by facts and figures, our society has mostly decided that it cannot exist because it cannot be proven. Our social conditioning has brainwashed us into believing that “if there is no fact, it does not exist”.

To Analyse or Be Intuitive? That is the Question!

Have you ever noticed how obsessed we are with analytical thinking? Terms such as “conclusions backed by data drive analysis” are the norm, and in fact we look for this reassurance to believe in the findings of a survey! We are so conditioned with Analytical thinking that Intuition does not stand a chance! 

It is not surprising therefore that this obsessive need for analytical thinking has killed intuition in teachers of our education system. Because their performance is heavily reliant on data (high scores versus low scores in tests or exams), teachers are under huge pressure to fix those low scores by resorting to a ‘quick fix’ and drilling students with more information as an attempt to up their scores rather than looking deeper in the root cause of what is really causing those low scores (learning or lack of). So whatever ounce of intuition that teachers might have is parked to give way to pursuing high scores and data, despite the fact that many of them probably know that there is something fundamentally wrong with this heavy reliance of facts and figures, and our children are suffering because of it. 

Analytical data works well when you are in a ‘controlled’ environment and you can use the facts to predict the outcome. But as we all know, life is full of unforeseen circumstances and curve balls! How well equipped are we then to make the right decisions when life throws us surprises and suddenly all the facts and figures in the world are made redundant in an instant?  

Because intuition was never allowed to be real and tangible, real insights are often dismissed as flukes or coincidences, denying the trust of intuitive sensations and doubting its credibility (Extract from EP7, Step 4 on Intuition)

A Scientific Fact About Intuition  

Because of our conditioning of heavy reliance on figures and statistics, I thought it important at this stage to talk about the findings of Dean Radin, a parapsychologist with a bachelors and master’s degree in electrical engineering and a PhD in educational psychology. He is known for a research he did entitle “science and the taboo of psi” where the main conclusion of the findings was:  

“The odds that we do not have ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) is 29 million trillion to 1”

I invite you to view his research below, if you have a chance, as it reveals some extraordinary findings! 

Characteristics of An Intuitive Person  

If we are all born with intuitive instincts, why do we do not use it in our everyday lives? The beauty of Intuition is that it can be improved and developed further with every experience we have in our lives as we become aware of the patterns and fully understand every aspect of each experience. 

We often hear Fortune 500 CEO’s and sport stars referring to their intuition when confronted with tough decisions to be made.   

• They use their intuition to find solutions, and do not over-analyze on the details 
• Facts and statistics are used as a supporting tool and not as the main basis to make the final decision 
• They are not scared of failure and are self-aware
• They are not scared of taking risks or experiencing new adventure   
• They are good at evaluating people by reading body language 
• They think ahead and can foresee potential problems    

In the past few years, we have seen companies dominated by analytical thinking failing   because of their resistance to the idea of re-inventing themselves and growing their business dynamically over time.  Many businesses led by over-analytical leaders are built to stay stagnant and not grow. The same applies to us.  

“In order for us to grow, and serve our true purpose, we need our intuition”

The same as our Imagination (See post on Step 3: Imagination), the main intuition killers are stress, over-analyzing, fear and attachment. 

Intuition Disciplines 

The best is to come up with your own disciplines that suit you best.  Choose any discipline of routine, repetitive like activity, or the repetitive cycles in nature such as flowing water, waves or drifting clouds. This induces you into stillness to allow the free flow of ideas and information. Some intuition disciplines listed in the EP7 program include deep steady breathing, meditation, focused walking, free writing or brain training (for those that are familiar with the EP7 program).

Podcast   

Tune in with myself and George Helou, Founder of EP7 Coaching Academy, in our podcast as we discuss “Intuition” :

Wishing you all good health!