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Intuition and concepts constitute the
elements of all our knowledge, so that neither concepts without an intuition in
some way corresponding to them, nor intuition without concepts, can yield
knowledge.
Immanuel Kant
Intuition is a means of acquiring information by an inner process
other than rational analysis that would use logic to process data from our
facts, memories, physical senses, and other input.
It is a process by which the conscious mind is aware of the dynamics of
spirit and matter in a situation. In any situation, intuition discerns all
dynamic factors.
Intuition has also been called insight, revelation, inspiration, direct
apprehension, gut instinct, a flash, a hunch, a premonition, "Eureka"
or "Aha," a sixth sense, an inner voice, vibes, a feeling, reading
between the lines, red flags, a nagging feeling, sensitivity, ringing true, an
educated guess, inner radar, a light coming on and so on.
Intuition communicates with us in various ways.
The four main modes are, mental, emotional, visual, and physical. As we read about these modes,
we can ask ourselves whether we experience intuition in some of these ways, we
may discover that a sensation that we had ignored is actually one means by which
our intuition was relaying messages. These modes correspond to the techniques of
design-work: mental intuition corresponds to affirmations, emotional intuition
corresponds to energy toning, visual intuition corresponds to directed
imagination, physical intuition corresponds to modeling at least to the extent
that they both are related to our physical existence.
 | Mental intuition. In mental intuition, we receive input through
thoughts. These thoughts can be expressed as individual ideas, or as a
recognition of conceptual patterns or relationships as when a concept clicks
into place. We experience this type of intuition as a thought that comes out
of nowhere, from an intuitive leap. |
| Emotional intuition. The difference between instinct and emotional
intuition is that the cause is not on a physical level such as a reflex
reaction. Instead we must interpret the emotion or feeling. We wonder, Why am
I uncomfortable? or Why do I have a strange feeling about him? In emotional
intuition, we may feel nervousness, emotional turmoil, excitement or
depression such as attraction or repulsion, or a sense of vibes regarding a
person or object or situation. |
| Visual intuition. We may experience these images as visions, or sleep
time dreams, or daydreams and fantasies, or simple imagination. The images can
be literal or symbolic. Visual intuition is particularly important to
painters, sculptors, architects, and people like Albert Einstein who developed
many of his theories by visualizing light beams and other images. |
| Physical intuition. The message is perceived in bodily sensations: a
headache or stomach ache, muscular tension or relaxation, a change in
heartbeat or respiration, warmth or chills, goose bumps or a shiver, lightness
or heaviness, tingling perhaps in our ears, a distortion in our senses such as
a darkening or dulling in our eyesight, or sympathy pains as though we are
sensing someone else's pain inside of our own body. When we are experiencing
physical intuition, we use expressions such as gut instinct and "I feel
it in my bones." |
Intuition is always accurate.
By definition, intuition is the part
of us that perceives our surroundings, as such, this instrument is infallible,
just as our eyes are infallible in seeing unless they have a defect. If we
receive a message that seems to have originated in our intuition but is
incorrect, we will discover that the message actually came from a different
source, the possibilities include the following:
| We used analytical thinking instead of intuition. This is a
fundamental error. We used one instrument, the intellect when we believed that
we were using another, the intuition. |
| The source was a dysfunctional design element that had asserted its
preferences as in wishful thinking. |
| We misinterpreted the message. A vision of the Grim Reaper could be
translated as an omen of our impending death, when it instead was referring to
the death of someone else, or simply the ending such as a metaphorical death
of an aspect of our life such as our marriage. |
The source of intuition.
Intuition is the energy that constitutes the infinite intelligence or
consciousness of the universe.
| It is awareness. Intuition considers all relevant factors in a situation,
even the factors that we do not know consciously. |
| It is balance. Intuition is impersonal, it does not
favor our advantage
at the expense of people around us. If we follow its guidance, we discover that
the result is for the best of all. We achieve a win-win situation in which we
all gain what is possible and proper for us to gain considering our needs, the
available resources, and any limitations that have been created by dysfunctional
design elements. Intuition's balance allows us to perform our activities without
creating undue animosity and other friction. This type of detached, egoless
action has always been recommended by spiritual leaders. The ego is still
present as a legitimate representative of our human self and needs, but it does
not dominate. |
| It is benevolence and love. When our actions are balanced, or
non-aggressive, our behavior becomes that of kindness, good heartedness, and
harmony. These qualities attract the people and situations in our life that
cooperate with us, and support us in our endeavors. |
The dynamics of intuition:
Intuition presents realizations without having used individual stages of
analysis. These can be used for rational analysis or for the information base
from which further intuitive messages arise.
| Intuition is not the product of rational analysis. In that linear, step
by step analysis, we examine various aspects of a problem. We advance from one
point to the next, toward a conclusion. In intuition, the conclusion arises
without being preceded by these logical steps. We may have analyzed the problem
previously, but the intuition derived idea does not appear as the next step in
the analysis. There is an unexplainable leap into a new insight, as the idea
comes to us out of the blue, spontaneously, instantly, involuntarily, and
effortlessly knowing without knowing how we know, sometimes as if the idea has
always existed in its own right and we merely discovered it. The intuition
process differs from that of the analysis process, and is non-rational. Our
decision to rely on intuition is eminently rational, when we realize that
intuition is a way of sensing and deriving a strategy based upon all relevant
factors in a given situation. We would be irrational to rely only on logic and
reason, because they have limitations. Sometimes our intuition tells us to do
something that seems irrational, but the proposal seems irrational only because
it is based upon a consideration of factors of which we are unaware. If we
comply with intuition's guidance, we discover that the problem is resolved
impeccably and to the satisfaction of our rational function. Indeed, intuition
and intellect can work in a partnership. Each system contributes, in its own
way, to our knowledge and efficiency. |
| Intuition is a process of communication. It is an accurate representation
of infinite intelligence. Intuition is a communication system from the true self
to the conscious mind, it communicates in a format that can be understood by our
mind. This process is necessary in order for the information to be usable in the
human milieu. Intuition is the message that tells mind where to focus its narrow
attention, and how to respond to the design situations that it perceives. |
Next topic: The Persona |
