Intuition

Intuition

Intuition is the ability to know things without consciously thinking about them. Different writers give the word “intuition” a wide range of meanings, including direct access to unconscious knowledge, unconscious cognition, inner sensing, inner insight, unconscious pattern recognition, and the ability to understand something without having to think about it.

The word intuition comes from the Latin word intueri, which means “to think about,” or from the late Middle English word intuit, which means “to think about.” Intuition is a type of knowledge that comes to mind without any obvious thought. It’s not magic, but rather a skill where the unconscious mind quickly sorts through past experiences and accumulated knowledge to come up with hunches.

Often called “gut feelings,” intuition tends to happen quickly and all at once, without the person being aware of how their mind is processing information. Scientists have shown many times that information can register in the brain without the person being aware of it and can have a positive effect on how they make decisions and act in other ways.

Where Intuition Comes From?

Psychologists believe that intuition relies on powers of pattern-matching, as the mind combs experience stored in long-term memory for similar situations and presents in-the-moment judgments based on them. The automatic information processing that underlies intuition can be seen in the everyday phenomenon known as “highway hypnosis,” which occurs when a driver travels for miles without a conscious thought about the activity of driving the car.

Is intuition the same as gut feelings?

Intuition is often referred to as “gut feelings,” as they seem to arise fully formed from some deep part of us. In fact, they are the product of brain processing that automatically compares swiftly perceived elements of current experience with past experience and knowledge, and they are delivered to awareness with considerable emotional certainty.

Intuition, like first impressions, serves the brain’s need to predict and prepare for what will happen next. First impressions are rapid, holistic assessments of people based on subtle perceptual cues and judgment of intent to help or harm. Both rely on automatic processes and, as rapid evaluation systems, both are subject to error, especially from biases we hold.

Here are 10 things that people in touch with their intuition do differently.

1. They listen to that inner voice

The No. 1 thing that distinguishes intuitive people is that they listen to, rather than ignore, the guidance of their intuitions and gut feelings.

“Everybody is connected to their intuition, but some people don’t pay attention to it as intuition,” Burnham say. “I have yet to meet a successful businessman that didn’t say, ‘I don’t know why I did that, it was just a hunch.’”

In order to make our best decisions, we need a balance of intuition which serves to bridge the gap between instinct and reasoning and rational thinking, according to Francis Cholle, author of The Intuitive Compass. But the cultural bias against following one’s instinct or intuition often leads to disregarding our hunches — to our own detriment.

If you want to get in touch with your intuition, a little time alone may be the most effective way. Just as solitude can help give rise to creative thinking, it can also help us connect to our deepest inner wisdom.

Intuitive people are often introverted, according to Burnham. But whether you’re an introvert or not, taking time for solitude can help you engage in deeper thought and reconnect with yourself.

3. They create

“Creativity does its best work when it functions intuitively,”.

In fact, creative people are highly intuitive, explains Burnham, and just as you can increase your creativity through practice, you can boost your intuition. In fact, practicing one may build up the other.

4. They practice mindfulness

Meditation and other practises that help you be more aware can be great ways to connect with your intuition. The Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute says, “Mindfulness can help you shut out mental chatter, weigh your options objectively, tune into your intuition, and make a decision that you can fully stand behind.”

Mindfulness can also help you connect to your intuition by making you more aware of yourself. A study from 2013 that was published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science found that “mindfulness,” which is defined as “paying attention to one’s current experience without judging it,” may help us understand ourselves better. And as Arianna Huffington says in her book Thrive, one of the best things about meditation is that it makes you more intuitive, compassionate, creative, and peaceful.

5. They observe everything

“The first thing to do is notice keep a little journal, and notice when odd things happen,” Burnham says. You’ll gain a keen sense for how often coincidences, surprising connections and on-the-dot intuitions occur in your daily life in other words, you’ll start to tap into your intuition.

6. They listen to their bodies

Intuitive people learn to tune into their bodies and heed their “gut feelings.”

If you’ve ever started feeling sick to your stomach when you knew something was wrong but couldn’t put your finger on what, you understand that intuitions can cause a physical sensation in the body. Our gut feelings are called gut feelings for a reason research suggests that emotion and intuition are very much rooted in the “second brain” in the gut.

7. They connect deeply with others

Mind reading may seem like the stuff of fantasy and pseudo-science, but it’s actually something we do everyday. It’s called empathic accuracy, a term in psychology that refers to the “seemingly magical ability to map someone’s mental terrain from their words, emotions and body language,” according to Psychology Today.

“When you see a spider crawling up someone’s leg, you feel a creepy sensation,” Marcia Reynolds writes in Psychology Today. “Similarly, when you observe someone reach out to a friend and they are pushed away, your brain registers the sensation of rejection. When you watch your team win or a couple embrace on television, you feel their emotions as if you are there. Social emotions like guilt, shame, pride, embarrassment, disgust and lust can all be experienced by watching others.”

8. They pay attention to their dreams

Burnham recommends paying attention to your dreams as a way to get in touch with your mind’s unconscious thinking processes. Both dreams and intuition spring from the unconscious, so you can begin to tap into this part of your mind by paying attention to your dreams.

“At night, when you’re dreaming, you’re receiving information from the unconscious or intuitive part of your brain,”. “If you’re attuned to your dreams, you can get a lot of information about how to live your life.”

9. They enjoy plenty of down time

Few things stifle intuition as easily as constant busyness, multitasking, connectivity to digital devices and stress and burnout. According to Huffington, we always have an intuitive sense about the people in our lives on a deep level, we know the good ones from the “flatterers and dissemblers” but we’re not always awake enough to our intuition to acknowledge the difference to ourselves. The problem is that we’re simply too busy.

10. They mindfully let go of negative emotions

Strong emotions particularly negative ones can cloud our intuition. Many of us know that we feel out of sorts or “not ourselves” when we’re upset, and it may be because we’re disconnected from our intuition.

“When you are very depressed, you may find your intuition fails,”. “When you’re angry or in a heightened emotional state … your intuition fail you completely.”