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INTUITION’S RULES
Dr. Pinkie Feinstein
About the Author
Dr. Pinkie Feinstein is a psychiatrist, author, and creator of the Psycho-Creative approach, a unique path that combines psychology and creativity as tools for healing and personal growth. Over the past three decades, he has guided individuals and groups through processes of transformation, helping people reconnect with their inner resources, release destructive patterns, and discover the power of self-expression.
He is the founder of the Psycho-Creative Institute, where intuitive drawing, emotional transformation, and creative training programs are taught as practical methods for expanding awareness and cultivating well-being. His work integrates professional knowledge with a deep humanistic vision: that every person carries within them the potential for love, creativity, and abundance.
Dr. Feinstein has published numerous books on self-love, creativity, addiction recovery, and the cultivation of intuitive awareness. His teachings emphasize the importance of listening to inner truth and daring to live authentically.
Through his writings, workshops, and community projects, he continues to invite readers and participants into a living dialogue between emotion and creation, logic and intuition—opening the way to a fuller, freer, and more meaningful life.
Table of content
Chapter 1: Knowing Without Understanding How
Chapter 2: The Illogical Logic
Chapter 3: The place in which feelings become a reliable source of information.
Chapter 4: Act now; understand later
Chapter 5: Collision with Left Brain – Are We Ready for This?
Chapter 6: Wait, think, hesitate and lose.
Chapter 7: Do not believe. Fear and learn from experience.
Chapter 8: Your “gut” knows way before your brain does.
Chapter 9: Impulsivity in service of intuition
Chapter 10: Intuition is scary, and that is how it should be
Chapter 11: What’s really dangerous
Chapter 12: Grow or stay stuck; your choice
Chapter 13: Create reality, now
Chapter 14: Enjoy the process; trust the result
Chapter 15: Be “silly” and connect better to intuition
Chapter 16: If you don’t make mistakes you lose your intuition
Chapter 17: Investigating intuition’s efficacy – a harmful approach
Chapter 18: Life is a kind of a special game
Chapter 19: Facing the self-critic: Intuition has never been reasonable
Chapter 20: Self-critic shows the already known; intuition is what is still unknown
Chapter 21: Honor the self-critic, but recognize the price
Chapter 22: Practical Faith
Chapter 23: Life Is beyond Our Understanding; And We Are All Aware of This
Chapter 24: Who is expressing himself through you as your intuition?
Chapter 25: If you settle for only feeling and not acting, then you won’t get anywhere.
Introduction
Intuition has always been one of life’s deepest mysteries. We all know it exists—we feel it in moments of clarity, sudden insights, or inner whispers that arrive before any logic has been formed—yet we rarely understand how it works or how to trust it.
This book invites you to take a different kind of journey: not into theories or abstract definitions, but into lived experience. Each chapter presents a “rule” of intuition—an observation drawn from years of practice, research, and real human struggles. These rules are not meant to be rigid formulas but gentle guides, reminders of how intuition moves through us when we dare to listen.
You will discover that intuition is not opposed to logic, but it does play by different laws. It is faster, less predictable, often uncomfortable, and sometimes frightening. At the same time, it can be astonishingly accurate, profoundly creative, and life-changing when we choose to follow it.
This book is written to help you recognize the language of intuition, to distinguish it from fear or wishful thinking, and most importantly, to learn how to act on it. By doing so, you will find yourself entering a partnership between your logical mind and your intuitive mind—a partnership that can open doors to knowledge, creativity, healing, and freedom that conventional approaches cannot provide.
Let this be your invitation to step into a different way of knowing. As you read, notice not only the ideas but also the quiet responses inside you—the feelings, images, and impulses that rise while turning the pages. These may be your own intuition already speaking, reminding you that this mysterious companion has been with you all along, waiting to be trusted.
Dr. Pinkie Feinstein
Chapter 1: Knowing Without Understanding How
If you look deeply enough and explore this topic thoroughly, you will likely find that there is nothing more interesting in our world than our intuition. Of course, being interested in something is a very personal issue, and a matter of taste, and each person will be mostly intrigued by what he finds most exciting and fascinating. Yet, I do believe that in the core of many people’s true curiosity exists something like what Albert Einstein said: “The only real valuable thing is intuition.”
And what can possibly be more interesting and fascinating than an endless source of information that always precedes its time, and that is in everyone’s possession, with no need for any kind of computer or learning process? What can be more stimulating for the thinking, feeling and open-minded person who asks to learn about life’s mysteries than this stream of brilliant ideas that comes from nowhere and is able to ignite revolutions and change courses, both consciously and practically, in all of life’s aspects?
Despite all of these and many more reasons, which I believe make intuition the most attractive concept intellectually and emotionally, I encourage each individual to ask himself these questions: What subject do I passionately want to learn more about? What do I want to explore more deeply? About what concept can I uncover more secrets and travel unpredicted, uncharted paths? In most cases, we will eventually get to the same place. We will meet, after some trial and error, at the road that responds to modern-day man’s wish to understand what he knows exists yet finds hard to grasp, even in small bits.
I have been blessed with a combination of innate abilities and life events that lead most of my mental resources to the task of getting as close as possible to intuition, to its rules and modes of action. I collaborate with my intuition, investigate it, make a living out of it, write books about almost every topic through its guidance, develop means to improve people’s lives with it and lead people in full partnership with my intuition. My intuition is my closest friend, my most reliable and accurate mentor, my primary source of knowledge, my inspiration and hope in life that force me to cope with some of the greatest struggles imaginable.
Intuition is a hard thing to describe or define, especially because it doesn’t fit into any common logical platform. Its rules and laws are different from any other system we are used to, and its mode of action includes a serious amount of mystery, surprise and uncertainty. We cannot control intuition nor predict its messages in advance.
Still, we’re here. In this book we’re going to follow, as much as possible, the roots of intuition, its logical and emotional connections and most importantly – the way to make it handy, practical, friendly and easy to connect with. This is what we’re here for. This is what I am here for, at your service: to explain the unexplainable.
Intuition is a way to know things without understanding how we came to know them. What we have used to acknowledge, learn and meet about the concept of “knowing” is usually related to what we have experienced through learning, internalization and actual experience. Usually, when someone claims to “know” something we can assume that this individual has gone a long way in studying, exploring and diving well into this topic, and that is what has made him someone who “knows.”
But this is not how it works with intuition. Intuition is a state of knowing what is based on no research, learning, consulting, reading or discussion. Intuition has no reference or back up. Intuition is not dependent on other peoples’ quotes or on what other people have claimed, discovered, proven or spoken about.
As we begin, though, we immediately encounter some conceptual problems related to definitions and conventions. Many people will wonder how I use the concept of “knowing” in my description of intuition, which, in fact, is regarded as a state that cannot be perceived as “true” as long as it is not clearly proven that its claims are absolutely correct. How can I address a gut feeling with such certainty? Is this certainty supposed to be reserved only for things where there are no questions or doubts about their validity?
Well, many of these kinds of problems await us along the way, because, as mentioned above, intuition works in a different framework than what we are accustomed to think, assume and deduce. We have become programmed by what is currently known as “scientific” information that rejects all claims and concepts that do not follow its terms for being valid, truthful or realistic. We will address this faulty phenomenon later, but for now we need to make some substantial inroads so that our minds are ready to deal with this collision of ideas and standards.
I do wish for readers of this book to go through some questionable moments about such problems that will surely arise. I also hope that these readers will keep walking this path despite the given obstacles, because there is no way to dive into the depths of intuition without challenging the current concepts of knowledge and knowing. These contemporary concepts limit the individual’s ability to listen to his intuition and get the precious help and advice that will naturally evolve.
There is no way one can describe how intuition works and plays its role without using what may be the most important yet controversial word that makes all the difference – “knowing.”
When we connect well to our intuition, when it actually happens, we are in a state of “knowing.” When we are intuitive, we know what we know and all doubts and confusion disappear. This is a state of knowing without understanding how we came to know what reached our mind, and what we’ve realized we suddenly know. Yet if we start doubting, our connection to intuition suddenly stops.
I am afraid these words may imply that we are treading on very fine grounds for a serious intellectual discussion. This may cause some of you to lose hope at this very early stage of our journey and you may become too skeptical about developing a better understanding of intuition.
Yet, I have no intention of making even the slightest deviation of the readers’ journey, the only one I believe will deliver the keys to open the doors to intuition’s laws and secrets. For us to get closer to this kingdom of endless knowledge, we must change paradigms and start speaking a different language. This means, giving rise to a language in which there is no compulsive need to prove everything and no over-reliance on old concepts of human intelligence that reflect a non-flexible and non-creative world. We need to move into a world where we can acquire depth, and maintain it in a dynamic state.
Those of you readers who feel, even if it’s not that clear quite yet, that I might lead you to some interesting places where your intuition becomes a friend and ally, will eventually win treasures of knowledge without understanding how it came to your consciousness. It will be yours, in time, because it is your private and exclusive asset, which you have learned to forget and neglect over time. Once you free yourself from old restrictive beliefs and assumptions and become ready to play, explore and try, it will happen.
On the other hand, those of you who feel this is a loose and poorly established process, will remain in shelters, in which knowledge and knowing are exclusively dependent on outside sources that are regarded as “clever” or “reliable.”
Intuition is not something we prove, although its validity is pretty easy to demonstrate over time. I face intuition’s accuracy a few times per day and am not so amazed by this, because I know. I know that I know. Those of you who deep in your heart know, or at least believe, that knowing without understanding how we came to know is possible, are warmly welcomed to join me and find out how this strange option becomes our everyday reality.
Chapter 2: The Illogical Logic
One of the most fascinating aspects of intuition is its accuracy and relevance. Despite being illogical, intuition is, in fact, the illogical logic. Understanding this point is essential, although difficult, on our quest towards having access to intuition’s space and recognizing how it operates.
One of the most unusual features of intuition is that it always precedes its time. Our logic, which we use regularly, does not deal with things that have not yet happened or with what allegedly does not exist. This logic, the one we share and communicate with, is built on observation, experience and learning. We draw our conclusions from all these, and, in this way, shape our reality and lives. In fact, this logic contains all that we have managed to uncover and reason with from our very beginnings until this very moment.
As far as what is to happen next or what is best to do later or in the future, it is our logic that deals with that, but in a framework of uncertainty. From there, according to past experience, our logic makes a statistical assessment about what may happen and what is possibly the right thing to do in order to get better results. This is how we make (or hope to make) fewer mistakes. As far as future certainty, our logic is limited as well as limiting, cautious and doubtful. What’s coming tomorrow can be appreciated only in terms of probability and reliance on past precedents and life lessons. But these manifests can work for us or against us. It is precisely here that intuition can step in and fill the gaps that logic creates.
As far as our common logic, one should never follow only his feelings. It may be irresponsible or wrong to make decisions based on information that has no backup or has not been verified as useful or relevant. Feelings and emotions, based on our usual logic, are not connected to an organized, methodological way of thinking. In fact, one should be very cautious when addressing ideas or forming decisions in this mindset.
Yet intuition comes and expresses itself only via channels of feelings and emotions. Intuition is a “felt knowledge.” For many people, the idea that intuition is about “feeling the knowing” serves as grounds for rejection of and disagreement with this part of the human mind and its role in our lives. For these people, one cannot mix the two terms – “information” and “emotions.” Intuition for them will remain strange, remote and almost fictional.
This is why I must repeat the following statement over and over again: Intuition is information that we can get through our feelings only. The person who connects with his intuition, learns how to trust his feelings based on his intuition and how to draw valuable data from this — data that is essential for better management of life’s challenges. He learns to “know” from what he “feels.” He learns to trust the information that reaches his mind, despite the information being illogical.
Intuition always precedes its time, otherwise it is not intuition. Intuition is the conclusion without the journey needed to get there. This is what makes it illogical. Intuition expresses the opposite of our familiar platform, that is – to know before and explore (or investigate) later. Does knowing before learning sound confusing? Hope so. Intuition is indeed confusing and should be kept this way, or it loses its inherent definition.
Another interesting factor about intuition as an illogical logic, is its adventurous nature. What does that mean? Intuition tells us something interesting that may be the opposite of what we’re used to thinking, and invites us, even tempts us, to follow and explore new worlds. If we’re adventurous enough and willing to take some risks, we will arrive, in time, where intuition has guided us. These places would always be the ones that we would never have visited had we not followed our intuition.
In many ways, adventure contradicts reason. Adventure asks to challenge the familiar, the certain, the usual and the routine. Adventure is the opposite of static conservativism. It is neither secure nor validated. Adventurous people, who are sometimes happier and more successful than others, are often labeled as “crazy” or “deviant.” Many times, their actions are regarded as illogical or unreasonable.
Many important parts of modern life are based on the results of research and development. For example, the advanced technology that we enjoy today, that has gone through extraordinary acceleration in the last decades, is based on meticulous, detailed experiments, exact sciences, planning, analyzing, improving and correcting. All these reflect the great achievements of the logic/reason that we are familiar with. Yet, as you probably know, most people cannot understand scientific and technological logic. All we can do is to enjoy the fruits of these sciences and remain foggy about the actual mechanics.
When we get closer to intuition and become more skillful in using it, we find that our level of patience and connection to prolonged research processes gradually diminishes. Intuition acts as a bridge between us and a ready knowledge that can lead to immediate action and that is directly related to our lives, without us being inferior to the “experts” or “scholars.” The only research we do have is based on the bold actions we take following our intuition’s advice, which we embrace without any guaranteed results.
Now, let’s see: Is it reasonable to act this way? Is it logical to trust something that was never studied and checked properly? Is it logical to follow something we feel, but cannot explain, even if we’re certain it is right? Sounds pretty illogical, right?
Those of you who wish to become more intuitive must remember this statement: Intuition is information we feel. Intuition is the illogical logic. All logical things are not intuitive because intuition comes before the understanding. In fact, it comes before all mental activities in which we relate to common logic.
And this is what is going to happen in the future: We will recognize intuitive information because of its “illogical” characteristics. We will feel it, know inside us that it is true, and at the same time hear that voice that warns us about this strange and unreasonable idea. In time, we will learn that these signs, these fearful reactions coming from our logical mind, are in fact the evidence that intuition works better for us. We will learn to sense our intuition’s onset once new, exciting and even practical ideas surface in our minds. Be aware, though, that at the same time these ideas will be judged as far-fetched, illogical, and unlikely to be accepted and adopted by us.
Many times, if we are interested in a healthy connection to our intuition, we will have to temporarily shut down the common logic’s stream and say to ourselves: “I cannot explain it, yet I have a pretty strong feeling that I should follow this challenging idea soon.”
When we get used to activating this part of our brain in the right way, we will get closer to the understanding that inside us does exist an illogical logic. In some mysterious way, this will connect us to means of intensifying change and developing new paths. This fresh kind of logic will be within our reach and service once we learn how to be… illogical!
Chapter 3: The place in which feelings become a reliable source of information.
If we want to get as close as possible to intuition and cope with most of the doubts and resistance that come our way, we must face a vital question that is relevant to all sources of information: How credible is this information? This question is critical in the way we connect to intuition, in the way we acknowledge it, and how we make the best use of it in everyday life.
As humans, we have a constant need for certainty. We want to know what is “right” and prefer, as much as possible, to have no doubts, conflicts or misunderstandings about this. To this end, we have developed mechanisms that assist us in improving the level of credibility in information we receive. For example – the more people testify that a given phenomenon exists, the more we tend to believe that the claim is valid.
Before the fake news era, we used to trust journalists and news media to provide us with authentic reports about what’s going on in our lives. We also choose trustworthy authority or inner circles figures, including family, friends, bosses, authors, scientists and even total strangers, to relay something they have seen or experienced in the street.
But what we usually don’t tell ourselves is that phrases like “truth” or “objectivity” do not really resonate uniformly. The absolute and unquestionable truth for one person often does not equal the absolute and unquestionable truth for another. What one individual may swear he saw or experienced may be described totally differently by someone else, with equal credibility and conviction. When we all face a certain drama, we may not argue about what we have just seen. Yet when we try to evaluate the circumstances or envision potential consequences, we likely will come up with different versions of that same event that are not necessarily compatible. In that case, who would be “right” or “wrong”? Who’s telling the real and ultimate truth?
When we look for a broader involvement of intuition in our lives we learn to let go of such questions, and not because we don’t care about the truth. In fact, the truth is our most desired goal in this quest. Yet the truth we’re looking for here is not the one that people are arguing so fiercely about, and that sometimes even fight about due to not reaching a common ground.
Intuition is a matter of choice. We can choose to explore this channel and study it. In such a case, we have a good chance of opening our minds and of adding a most valuable skill to our tool box. But we can also choose not to pursue our intuition. We can decide to ignore this part of our intelligence and rely solely on what the common logic, the left-brain, is telling us. This is our free choice – i.e., to go beyond the path most people follow. And out of this choice, and only from it, can we learn all about the credibility of intuition and the way to identify its higher and solid truth.
On this road of creating a credible framework around our intuition, we do what can be perceived as the impossible. We turn the things we feel (emotions, reactions, etc.) into a reliable source of information. It’s not simple to reach this state and not always possible. But we’re here in order to practice this skill. In this course, the more we persist the more we will realize the clarity and practicality of this action. In one sentence: We will learn to turn what we feel into a channel of information, even though our common logic denies this is even possible.
And how do we know whether to believe this idea or to reject it? What would provide us with the confidence that our intuition’s advice to do something will really lead to a better place, and not to a worse or harmful one? Where would we get the confirmation that confirms it is okay to follow this gut feeling?
The only place that can provide any reassurance comes from within us, and it will come only when it comes. We cannot control the strength of our certainty when we deal with intuition.
When we deal with information coming through the left-brain’s common logic, doubt comes forward with an important role in searching for the truth and investigating “facts.” Yet when we deal with information that comes from the right-brain, the side that is in charge of intuition, doubt is not useful. In fact, doubt becomes a major distraction, blocking data that cannot reach our consciousness in any other way.
When we happen to know, in a very strong way, that something is right only because we feel it (intuitively) through our body and soul, and when this experience repeats itself despite our many attempts to ignore it, we deduce that we have encountered reliable and important information. As long as we are in doubt (and we’re always entitled to doubt), we will remain distant from and unfamiliar with intuition.
The sooner we release ourselves from the need to have a thorough explanation so as to increase certainty before following our intuition, the sooner we won’t need it. When we will free ourselves, we will find that our old and scary uncertainty will turn into a new kind of exciting certainty that will enable us to see things that the ordinary eye cannot see as long as it maintains its old ways.
And what is most fascinating is the future collaboration between the common left-brain logic and the illogical intuitive side. The more intuition becomes an integral part of our lives the more it will be defined, even by the parts in us that struggle to access the “unquestionable objective and factual truth.” It will become an important aid and source of information that will inherently possess critical value.
This will always be the way. No matter how far we get in learning to trace and rely on what we feel, which is a revolutionary change in the way we think and make decisions, all will remain under the authority of our logical left-brain. What we do here, in this training, is in many ways almost impossible to achieve, yet can be done successfully in the framework of the wonderful complexity of human consciousness. We can learn to trust, in a rational and responsible way, that which we previously did not consider in its seriousness or validity.
Moreover, this new kind of information, to which our common logical mind will eventually attribute more validity and which we will use more while facing life’s challenges, will also become handier and more feasible to use. Intuition reaches our mind way before we start thinking. No effort needed. It has always been here with us, yet we weren’t capable of noticing it. We were too busy trying to make absolute sense of everything, thus complicating our own reality. In fact, now we know that intuition is the most accessible and immediate tool of our mind. We need to learn how to listen to it and bravely turn away from its false reputation of being unreliable.
There were many good reasons to focus on the intellectual efforts of clearing stigmas, prejudices and misinformation about knowledge and facts. We’re here not to oppose this work that has led to so many achievements and discoveries, but we’re here to start the next step.
We have a long way to go before we can restore our innate, free connection with intuition. That we know. But we need to expand our mental skills, so that a good partnership will be created between the new intuitive kind of knowledge that comes from our feelings, and the already developing left- brain logical knowledge that is in charge of research, studying, doubting and debating. This “marriage” between these two mental superpowers in our mind is the miracle we’re preparing here. This way, and only via this way, will intuition flourish and become a friendly and indispensable tool in our lives.
Chapter 4: Act now; understand later
One of the most fascinating, intriguing yet frightening aspects of intuition, which we will discuss and consider many times during this journey, is the way intuition points us to new roads without giving us any clue about the benefits of embarking on these new roads. One may almost address this phenomenon as a contract between a person and his intuition. In order to keep his part of this contract, a person must agree to go through a risky experience.
In fact — most of the time our fears will not allow us the luxury of saying something like: “Well, I’ll give it a try, what can possibly happen? I can always fix things in case I realize I was mistaken.” Our fears will create a mini drama with exaggerated negative scenarios in case we don’t study the next step before taking it. Our fears will color the intuitive decision we’ve made, as one that leads to irreversible situations or to radical life changes. They will warn us that we will regret our decision, and we will surely suffer the damage.
The irony is that our logical left-brain suddenly becomes less smart. Surprisingly, it ignores all precedents in which intuition did advise us well, and it especially forgot the fact that almost every decision we make, except for very rare ones, can be corrected, reversed and handled with little pain or effort. During these moments, the accumulated wisdom of our common logic disappears and is replaced by a primitive fear that reflects the difficulty of forfeiting the massive control we have created on our lives.
So, whoever tells you that he doesn’t trust intuition because it is “not rational” or because it is not based on “proper logic,” is in fact lying to you without knowing so. The truth is that exaggerated fear of following intuition’s recommendations is not based on logic but on fear of the uncertain and probably of all unexplainable gifts coming from our right-brain – imagination, creativity, emotions and, of course, intuition. When we test and investigate intuition deeply enough we eventually realize that following its whispers is in fact the most reasonable, mature and courageous thing to do.
And this is what intuition continuously asks of us, while reminding us of the contract that establishes our collaboration.
Act now; understand later!
Intuition gives us signs. It pushes us to a course we’re not familiar with and invites us to move from our present position without giving us reason to do so. Intuition asks us to trust its messages and act accordingly even though we are not programmed to initiate anything before we are pretty sure of a positive outcome. Intuition will always leave us a bit puzzled. This is a part of the contract. If we refuse to follow the contract, we’ll have to get along without intuition.
The more we dive into this process, the more we realize that becoming intuitive means connecting better with a new and refreshing stream of knowledge. What we’re facing here is more than just a means of improving our understanding of life.
When we take a broader look at the idea of having intuition ally more closely, we learn, sooner or later, that we’re about to experience a deep, emotional and spiritual change – one that has the potential of making us more conscious, healthy and flexible. The individual who connects better with intuition and who makes more decisions based on it becomes, with time, more satisfied, knows himself better, and enjoys a greater abundance of opportunities and successes. This kind of person is less controlled by his fears and needs less often to run from the emotional truth of his life.
And all we need to do, if we want to get a bit closer to this place, the place that was always ours, is to agree to follow the contract.
Act now; understand later!
Another important thing to stress is that what intuition delivers is always a suggestion, and nothing more. This suggestion may be repeated, even if we reject it many times. We can always refuse to follow our intuition and to decide that we’re not ready to take the risk, and then to act in uncertainty. The dialogue with intuition is not based on coercion or on absence of choice. Intuition advises us. We make the decision on whether we accept the advice and on how far to follow it practically. There is no harm in choosing other options, though. In any case intuition will not abandon us.
But when we do decide this is a time to take the chance and ask for our intuition’s help, we must accept and follow the contract. And that means we follow the footsteps of intuition with no preliminary preparations or explanations and only later, after some time and some experiences, will we be able to look back and realize how things were orchestrated. We will be able to see the logic that put everything together in a reasonable way.
It is important to note that there is no attempt to remove our common logic from its important role or to question its vital place in our life. We can make no move without our common logic and we’re going to need its action later, when we reexamine our intuitive decisions and actions. In fact, as mentioned many times here, no real progression will be made without cooperation between these two major mental resources.
What may be even more important and surprising is that becoming better with intuition also means becoming better with logic.
And this is how it works:
When things operate correctly, intuition precedes logic. Intuition is an immediate sensation that reaches our minds way before we manage to generate some understanding of what is going on. When we try to rely solely on ordered thinking while having less data than we need we become stressed and sometimes get stuck or become doubtful. Some of us become anxious or obsessive because we don’t receive the full input needed while turning to common logic.
And this is the major problem that brings us here. It is not the common logic’s duty to provide quick answers. This is not a part of its skill set and such demand only damages its performance and contribution.
Only intuition is able to give us quick information. By the way, this is in fact the only way intuition communicates with us – through immediate knowledge. Our common logic’s true role is to wait a while, to let intuition in, and to decide first which of its urges to follow (while taking a risk when doing so). The need to understand is postponed for later.
This is how it is supposed to work and this is what will take our common logic to a whole new level of functioning and awareness. Once our common logic is set in its proper place and not forced to do what it can’t, then it would be easier to give us the green light so we can follow the basic contract of intuition.
Act now; understand later!
Chapter 5: Collision with Left Brain – Are We Ready for This?
Left brain is the part of our mind that enables us to communicate and shape our understanding about our lives. It enables us to make decisions, to choose and to exist. It is also, however, the part that will ask us to veto many of the ways that intuition can make us happier and more satisfied. This book is directed to help left brain soften these built in resistances and offer it a way to feel more comfortable with the idea of cooperating with right brain and its main output, among which is intuition.
In this journey, where we ask to explore intuition’s mode of action and contribution to all of life’s aspects, some collisions with left brain’s principles will occur. These overt collisions will externalize the backstage drama that continuously happens between different parts of human consciousness.
One important collision that was mentioned in the previous chapter is the one left brain will address as “foretelling,” a property that it will regard as impossible, not reasonable and not in congruence with basic assumptions that build the way we think of and understand reality. For left brain, this aspect of intuition is definitely non-realistic, illogical and therefore not trustworthy.
Left brain generally addresses the future from a statistics point of view, while keeping in mind that surprises that deviate from the expected scenarios are part of what may happen along the road. When it makes plans, left brain asks to reduce unwanted surprises as much as possible. It will make all the preparations it can in the face of inevitable uncertainty. For left brain, future will always remain a mystery and an unapproachable space. All we know, according to left brain, is what is happening now and has happened until this very moment. Whatever will happen later can be assessed through precedents, evaluations and speculations.
Indeed, one of the most important and exciting aspects of intuition is its reference to the future. The more we learn to work with our intuition, the more we realize it “knows” stuff about the future – stuff we cannot explain logically, stuff that often precedes its actual time and connection to all things that have happened so far, and the ability to assemble all our knowledge into a one coherent story.
These capacities will never be accepted by left brain. There is no way our logic will approve the alleged “knowing about the future” without solid and substantial references that connect this intuitive input with what we know today. There is no way that the phrase “knowing,” that is usually reserved for what we know exists, will be used in a totally different way – in a way that turns the uncertain part of life, i.e., the future, into something not that blurred and not as “unknown” as we thought. How can we allow ourselves to assume that some strong impulse which we address as “intuitive” actually has good reason to direct us to a very specific point?
We are about to provide some explanations that will ease left brain a little bit. But first, let us start by checking to see how our own minds connect to the goals of this process.
Are we ready to spend some time in blurred and even confusing space, and still hope that something good will happen despite the fact that we have no tools to explain what’s going on?
Are we ready to bear the primary reactions coming from left brain – actions that will range from cynicism and skepticism to total rejection?
Do we have the resources to cope with this recurrent conflict that will surely re-appear not only during this course, but also in other instances where we will consider giving intuition a wider forum?
Are we ready for the struggle between the faithful and the thinking part in us?
As was pointed out before and will be pointed out again later, our higher goal is to progress from a state of significant debate to a place of better cooperation between different parts of our consciousness. Until we get there, however, until we create this special connection, we will have to go through scenarios where old habits will fight to maintain the status quo, where intuition is not so present in our life. We are going to need every tool possible to surpass these obstacles, so we can earn the gifts of our intuition.
Let us examine this question: What can be perceived as the foretelling property of intuition? If we don’t rely on right brain’s tools as much as we do on left brain’s, our ability to see the whole reality is limited. When we connect more strongly to our intuition and give it a broader span of influence, the data in our consciousness becomes more extended. This collaborates with our ability to recognize things that couldn’t be spotted by left brain when it was the sole manager of our “reality” understanding.
In other words, intuition is a kind of new and improved lens through which previously unseen things can now clearly appear to the eye. Intuition is like an improved telescope that allows us to view an object in space, that couldn’t be identified any other way. Intuition is like a new window cleaner, enabling us to suddenly see things that we never knew existed.
The net message here is that intuition is not about connecting to things that are beyond our life, that are too esoteric, mystical or detached from reality. Not at all! Intuition is about all parts of life, from the small and boring to the most dramatic and life-changing details. Intuition can show us the same reality we’re used to, but with greater insight and clarity and better resolution then the way it is presented to us through left brain screen only.
When we manage to partner more comfortably with intuition, all that happens is an expansion of our reality perception to places we couldn’t reach before. This richer reality was always there, but we couldn’t notice it and remained ignorant to it.
So, what can be regarded as the “foretelling” property of intuition? It is a time when we get a strong feeling about something we need to take some sort of action without reason or understanding, only later to realize this was a very good move; or when we have a strong feeling that something is about to happen and then it truly does. We’re are not becoming “prophets” when we become more intuitive; all that happens is a change in our ability to perceive what exists and then a realization of where things are likely going or what is better to do next.
Intuition is not telling us definitively what is going to happen. It cannot do so because the future will be determined by the choices people make, and these cannot be known in advance. All intuition does is inform us about things it sees, while our regular left brain systems are not yet able to recognize or identify these things. Those things which intuition is able to observe are routes that may serve our highest good, if we choose to follow them. Are we ready to receive these presents or will we choose to maintain our narrower vision?
Chapter 6: Wait, think, hesitate and lose.
No one has to be intuitive; one can have a pretty satisfying life without knowing this part of human skills at all. There is no punishment for giving up intuition, for ignoring it or for rejecting the possibility it exists or being important element in human consciousness.
On the other hand, living without intuition is like staying in a small and closed house without knowing that beyond its walls exists a much wider, more fruitful, creative and rich life. Intuition is like a giant and abundant library that once you connect to it you understand life much better and receive tools for a more effective coping with challenges as well as for turning fantasies and passions into a practical, simple and detailed plan.
Bottom line – intuition is a matter of choice and commitment. We may choose to join intuition and may decide we skip this option. There is nothing wrong in preferring not to dive into this unclear and certain space. We must choose this path and then to devote ourselves and take responsibility for this choice. This responsibility will lead to commitment that will make sure we practice, investigate, try and make our life course to a one in which intuition is a central goal in.
If we’re still here it is probably a sign we do choose intuition. And if we do we must acknowledge that if we wait for too long we lose our intuition. We must also realize that if we think too much intuition will disappear and also if we over hesitate we remain detached from this part of our mental skills. These understandings are important parts of our work, a part of the plan we must embrace, sooner or later, once we realize, deeply, that this is the path we prefer.
We must reduce the waiting times, sometimes. We need to learn about the moments in life in which waiting is not working for us any more, on the contrary! Especially we should pay attention to the distortions made by our habits that push us to stick only to left brain’s way, without the ability to have a better look on some other options available for us, regarding all aspects of the way we address the act of waiting.
Many times we get the message or the feeling that being mature and responsible means not to be impulsive. We also learn in many places that we better think a little more before making the next step. Indeed, there are times and places in which we better wait a little before responding and these are usually the moments in which we’re less connected to ourselves and are too controlled by the situation’s stimulations.
However, there are many other times in which any additional waiting instead of immediate reaction hurts us, pushes us away from the focus and the better course and only intensifies our fears and helplessness. Intuitions presents its data in a snap. Much faster than we can ever calculate. It is here way before we can measure its appearance. Furthermore – intuition grants us with temporary opportunity to act in a way that will lead for a positive change. But if we ask for some time to “think it over” and to check it thoroughly before we move on the magic will fade and disappear in the same speed and manner it has reached us.
And this is how it works – if we are really interested in our intuition (remember I told you we are not compelled to do so!) we need to teach ourselves to sometimes shorten the waiting period significantly even if we’re not sure we are given all the info needed to make a best decision. Intuition will always come with some sense of uncertainty and fogginess about what’s coming next. These are the conditions it needs to work in and there in nothing we can do to change this because intuition always precedes its time and always shows us what we’re not ready to see.
But what may not be so vague or slippery is that bodily urge and the internal call for action we will feel that will push us to move, to make a decision and start acting, with no delay. If we still ignore this temporary peak in mental energy that comes with the strong intuitive message, the sweet opportunity will vanish and intuition will stop broadcasting for some time.
Many times a quick decision is wrapped with a drama that has nothing to do with the true situation and is wrongly perceived as a moment in which irreversible and powerful changes are about to happen next. Most of the time we can make corrections and even change our mind totally if we like. We can update and improve our decision later, along the way in a much more extensive way than we may feel, a moment before we make the intuitive step in which we need to do without much thinking.
Yes, we will be able to think it over, a lot, later, yet this part of the deal is usually missed due to anxiety and disinformation we have about being intuitive. The real drama is our fear of losing our control of the wheel and even of the extensive liberation that will follow. Our left brain feels it is taken from thrown because it doesn’t get the chance to think in its usual pace so it sends MAYDAY messages hysterically. The true result of quick decision is not so final and irreversible as we may feel but we fail to acknowledge this fact while being stuck in the dilemma whether to follow our inner whisper or to wait until we’re certain it is the right call.
And the same as we shouldn’t wait too much and sometimes just go ahead and make a move, we also need to hesitate less, especially at times in which we have to make decisions or initiate changes.
The same as with over waiting, there times when hesitation is valuable and a part of the mature and responsible way to cope with complex situations. Sometimes we stand in a crossroad and realizing there is more than one avenue we can to go to and that it is hard to determine which would be the best one for us. We then find ourselves hesitating and there is no wonder about it.
But not always does hesitating serve our true needs and may even weaken our ability to creatively maneuver the situation in the best way for us. The more we hesitate the less confident we feel about our ability to choose and the more we detach from our ability to stay tuned to our inner messages that are trying to guide us about better channels to explore. The more we hesitate the more we dwell in obsessive thoughts that further intensify the confusion and the sense that we’re not ready to make a proper and valuable decision.
Hesitation will always be a part of who we are, as intelligent and thinking creatures. Yet if the gifts of intuition are important to us we will have to sometimes stop hesitating and take a risk knowing there is a possibility we may make mistakes. The more we give up this option the less we get to feel involved in determining our destiny. We need to coach ourselves how to decide a moment before we start hesitating and this will open the doors to intuition’s support and generous guidance.
And I will say it again to make it loud and clear: most decisions are reversible. Our main fear is not really about mistaking but from the liberation coming from better devotion to intuition.
Intuition has a strong connection to speed. Intuition comes very quickly and leaves soon after. Once we manage to grasp the intuitive opportunity and walk its footsteps without too much thinking or hesitating, that is, moving with no delay, we realize that such quick decisions are not something we need to take that often, say once or twice per day or even less. At the rest of the time we will be busy doing all the work related to our quick intuitive decision. We will then be in the motion and in life creation and without even noticing we will even take some more intuitive decisions naturally and easily without making that fuss about it.
Sometimes it is better to be slower, to reflect and doubt. But there are times in which paradigm change is the right call and we have to give up the waiting, the hesitation and over thinking and just take the next step forward. There are situations in which the slightest delay means further pain and damage. If we can improve ourselves even a bit in this skill, we will soon notice that our intuition “muscles” get gradually stronger and enable us to stop wasting valuable resources and instead find more creative ways to cope with contemporary conflicts.
Chapter 7: Do not believe. Fear and learn from experience.
The further we progress into the intuitive truth, submerged deep in the soul, the more we elevate our relationship with the idea of “faith.” Since we are in the first steps of this journey, when some of the concepts may sound reasonable while others may be blurred or strange, it is essential to start coping with this popular and important theme of faith. It is also critical to address the prejudices that confuse us and veer us away from making better use of the unique skills our brain is gifted with.
Indeed, connecting to intuition involves some sort of faith. But this kind of faith has nothing to do with religion or anything related to it. This is not about believing there is a God, a superpower or an intangible mysterious truth. All these have nothing to do with the kind of faith associated with intuition. In fact, the kind of faith we need to adopt here will be explained in detail later, in Chapter 22. It is too early in the journey for us to get there right now.
In order to ease and direct ourselves into the place in our soul where intuition becomes clearer, we need to stress that sometimes it is alright and even better not to believe. We do not want to force ourselves into some kind of faith just because we have to. This is not the right state of mind for us, since doing so, will definitely keep us more distant from intuition.
There are so many situations in life that evoke our interest, sometimes even our skeptical interest. Let’s look at that part of us that is reluctant to have faith or confidence in certain issues, and that insists on keeping the sense of control that comes with logical, orderly and factual thinking. This part has a significant role in the positive shaping of our personality and in making us special individuals who have unique opinions and lifestyles. This also moves us away from relying on external influence, prejudices and temporary trends.
We would like to go beyond just curiosity about intuition. The process needs to contain the non-believing aspect of our mind, the one that does its best to prove that all these ambiguous things are baseless. This is an important part of our personality – one that will not let us take things for granted. We will need this contribution in our quest and should embrace it rather than fight it.
So, it’s okay not to believe. It is also perfectly alright to reject someone else’s “absolute truth.” There is nothing wrong with declining odd and unreasonable ideas if they don’t sound right to us. In fact, it is the right thing to do. If we wish to reach a point of pure and clear faith that could lead us to a better intuitive connection, it would be wise not to become too devoted to maintain the right to refuse, and to keep up some walls that will prevent us from being carried away.
At the same time, we need to support that part in us that fears intuition. This is the part that feels that connecting to intuition and every similar state of mind can be complicated and puzzling. At this stage of the journey, be assured that it is okay to fear intuition and that it is alright to doubt. Having this state of mind yet continuing along this path will bring us later to a moment when we will choose to lessen the doubts and let go of the fear. But we’re not there yet. Right now, let’s honor the current state of mind, exactly as it is.
It would be quite natural to fear the unknown. It is normal to fear uncertainty. There is no way we would not feel uncomfortable with these circumstances in life. We cannot walk blindfolded without being scared, even if we are certain that there are no obstacles ahead. Taking a risk always has some fear about it. If we are not connected to our fears, it means we are ignoring our emotional truth and this will definitely keep us distant from intuition.
Many people make major changes in life this way. At first, they have great doubts and cannot believe in anything that is not clear and straightforward. They fear the unfamiliar and feel awkward about embracing what they perceive as strange ideas, beliefs or sets of rules. Sometimes this stubborn, persistent state of mind is the perfect place to begin to rebuild when we aim at having a solid and powerful presence of intuition later in our lives.
So, if currently some fear from intuition or from what it represents does exist, let us give it space, legitimacy and confirmation as it is an important part of the trip. It will not be in our favor to try to expel the fear, to erase the doubt or to disregard lack of faith, since these likely characterize our current state of mind, or will arise later.
Being here proves that we are ready to explore the subject, and this is all we need for now. This type of self-investigation and search for intuitive avenues in our mind will not be hurt if our curiosity is mixed with some fear or disbelief. In fact, this is the best state of mind for our purpose. When we move from a contemporary truth into another truth, sometimes issues are not that clear at first.
I started my own journey into my deep truth about 25 years ago. At that time, my attitude toward spirituality or anything like that was dominated by doubt or even contempt. But one day, I had an insight that provided a practical and reasonable bridge to my future association between my logic and intuition.
The fact that I cannot explain or understand something is not evidence that this thing doesn’t exist!
The rational person, who is willing to judge reality bravely and with clarity, who has some fear from the unknown and is not ready to start believing in things he finds hard to believe, is also the person we can expect will learn from experience. He will learn that life is also made of spaces where logic cannot be helpful, but that these spaces keep on existing.
There is nothing wrong in disbelieving or in accepting anything that has a whiff of spirituality or the esoteric. It is perfectly okay to rely on logic and facts. Yet, when this reliance ignores endless evidence that a huge part of life will never pass logic’s threshold but will still affect us significantly, then we reach a kind of mental blindness for the bigger reality. Fear and disbelief sometimes protect us. But this should never prevent us from learning from all kinds of experience. Otherwise, we end up too scared and cannot have a full life. This is definitely not what we are here for.
Chapter 8: Your “gut” knows way before your brain does.
We have all probably experienced situations when we slept for a very short time yet remembered having a pretty long and detailed dream that we were sure lasted the full period of our “long” nap.
For the left brain to capture a story with many important details there needs to be a considerable length of time in which to process and put together all the information of the drama. Yet in the world of emotions and experiences, the right brain’s arena, things can happen much faster and even in parallel. In this space contradictions co-exist as if there is no real conflict between them.
The bizarre and impossible become the acceptable and usual experience.
This is what happens when we are under the greater dominance of the right brain. The rules of thinking and data processing work differently and the tools we generally use to analyze and evaluate reality are not as effective as when we are under the management of our linear and logical left brain.
This is how it works with intuition: Its means of expression and presentation differ completely from the way our minds are trained to function. For us to understand intuition we must first realize that it is too hard for us to be in synchrony with its ways. Only when we truly acknowledge that our conventional tools are not effective for this mission can we start opening our mind to intuition’s existence and modes of action.
One great example is the way we relate to the speed in which intuition delivers its information. The left brain finds it hard to accept this phenomenon and will always remain skeptical about it. For the left brain there is only a linear and gradual way to process knowledge, to substantiate, evaluate, internalize, digest and discuss it properly. All these processes work completely differently with intuition, and the right- left-brain gaps will always find this too difficult to accept.
Working together with these two parts of our brain will never be an easy task, and this is exactly what we are trying to improve here. Our goal is to spark a
change that will lead to a new kind of co-existence and cooperation between these two opposite yet complementary parts of our sophisticated minds.
Intuition comes in a snap. We know before we know that we know. It’s confusing and not reasonable, yet it works. This is our intuition and this is exactly what makes it so special, beautiful and important. Intuition always comes first, before everything else. It is the one that checks what is going on in an orderly way, before we start processing reality. Intuition can identify in less than a second, what may take us months or even years to put together.
As mentioned above and will be repeated many times – intuition is knowledge that we feel. We know through our heart, we know through our body, we know, so they say, through our gut.
Emotions come and go at all times. Emotions are part of the things we experience and are important aspects of how we perceive reality, even if we’re not aware of this. Emotions shape our points of view over what we are involved with, doing so with immediacy. It is up to us to improve how we tune into our interpretation of what’s going on, as the information resonates through our body, way before we formulate a true understanding of the real picture.
But since we’re so well programmed to think before we act, to take precautions, to delay our reactions, to postpone gratification and not to trust our senses, we become programmed to lose synchrony with the natural order of the mind. This synchrony is what helps animals survive in the jungle, and is more effective, creative and efficient. First we feel, sense and even know in a deep way, and only later do we form rationale and logic about the situation or issue.
Intuition will always be associated with speed. It is already here before we can even imagine that it has arrived. Connecting to this concept of speed and immediacy will help us grasp the inherent fabric of intuition. Any delay will enhance its slipperiness and ultimate disappearance. Speed will assist us in overcoming the barriers we have built around our wise intuition, while holding back will only strengthen the walls, the hesitation, the cynicism and mistrust.
Furthermore, what makes adapting to intuition’s characteristics of being precise, credible and life changing even more complex is the need to become aware of what it is not easy for us to be aware of – that we already know. It’s difficult to open our minds to the possibility that many of our troubling and nagging questions and frustrations are already answerable through our gut, while other parts of our mind insist on not letting us access these spaces in which information processing works completely differently. We have trained ourselves, unwittingly, to shut out our minds from the things our gut already knows and from the important stories our heart is trying to tell us long before we can completely understand that anything exists.
There are many ways to address the phenomenon of intuition’s speedy onset and of the fact that we know something significantly before we even know that we do.
One way of recognizing this is through intuition’s connection to our body. What we usually call our “gut feelings” is the result of accumulated evolutionary knowledge that is passed from generation to generation through our genes. Parts of this knowledge are more specific and unique while other parts are more general and common. This information is stored in our cells and is an inherent piece of our development as we evolve into intelligent and thinking creatures. The more we develop our sciences and learning methods the more deeply we can access the bodily sensation related to our wisdom.
However, it may be encouraging to know that proper awareness and training can reconnect us to real life’s truths and facts.
Another way to address this phenomenon is through the understanding that no matter how hard we try to think and assemble a rational structure of how the right brain works, we will either fail or acquire only a fraction of the mechanism. It’s too hard for us, sophisticated well-developed left-brain based thinking people, to imagine how fast the right brain scans reality to inform us, on a survival pre-historic level, about imminent dangers, or how to react quickly to hunt down the predator. If we were to rely solely on the left brain, we would probably fail to make it through all the evolutionary challenges life has put in our way. We are simply too slow for nature’s demands.
Since we have reached a state when we no longer need to rely on such deep instincts to survive dangers, we have become dependent on what gives us the sense of security, like door locks, alarms and insurance policies. And of course, we no longer hunt animals to have meat on our table. These changes, although they have made life more comfortable and have provided many new activities and pleasures, have also detached us from important and valuable gut feelings.
This is the price for our progress – losing the connection to a knowledge that stretches reality to a bigger, more creative and abundant place to be in. Our goal here is to access this old wisdom once again – a wisdom that is metaphorically stored in our bellies, a wisdom that precedes all other modes of thinking, understanding and the need to be heard in a better and, of course, quicker manner.
Chapter 9: Impulsivity in service of intuition
In many ways, one can conclude that significant connection with intuition requires some detachment from the many things we usually rely on. The reason for this is simple: Intuition and all things related to it work in a different way, sometimes totally opposite from the way we usually work with our mental tools.
For example, a nice exercise to focus our mind on intuition is saying the words – “I cannot explain why but I have the feeling that…” many times repeatedly. Orderly thinking will lead to some new intuition, especially if we repeat this phrase over and over until we no longer care about how we complete the thought.
And this is how it works: First we must give up the need and habit to explain (“I cannot explain why…”). Only after doing so, after commencing with a notion that is not being connected to an explanation, can we continue with the rest of the sentence – “but I have the feeling that…” Only after removing some of the basic principles (the need to explain, for example), can we open our minds to other deeper and more hidden principles, those which connect us better to the presence of intuition.
The same works with impulsivity. Usually, impulsivity is perceived as annoying and distracting. When we address someone as impulsive we usually mean he tends to respond too quickly, doesn’t think before he acts, and relies too much on his impulses instead of planning accordingly before moving. Many times we also believe this kind of person may act out and be aggressive. We train our children to be less impulsive and give them the message that they need to wait in line, restrain themselves, and calm down before reacting even when the situation is stressful.
Indeed, there are many good reasons for an individual to become less impulsive and less immediate with his reactions. We do not live in a jungle, and if we want to have a progressing and functioning society we must consider the other party’s needs, listen patiently to other opinions, argue without fighting and often postpone responses to frustrations. Otherwise, we’ll get to places that will harm us and destroy what we have achieved.
On the other hand, if our goal is having more intuition in our lives, then we must re-evaluate our relationship with the word “impulsivity” and with what it represents. What are we gaining and what are we losing with the contemporary definition of impulsivity?
In other words – if we wish to be able to listen better to intuition, then we had better address impulsivity as a phenomenon that can have two manifestations: the positive and the negative.
Negative impulsivity is what we should be careful of, since is related to reactions that are not in place. Impulsivity lacks mature judgement and actions that ignore past lessons and repeat behaviors that lead to harm and damage. Negative impulsivity’s results are mostly ones we regret and suffer from, and we will do all we can to prevent them in future. Negative impulsivity is indeed sometimes dangerous and it may prevent people from coming forward with healthy and creative solutions to problems. It also preserves and even intensifies conflicts and is associated with disappointment and regret.
But if we get stuck with only one way to address impulsivity, we do ourselves wrong. We remain too guarded, become too restrained, overly self-critical, cannot take risks and move on, are not adventurous, and become self-righteous and obsessed with being right, with being mature and being responsible. This commonly leads to some serious mistakes. We actually become irresponsible because there are times when the absence of a quick decision or initiation means potentially significant damage. Abusing impulsivity ends up with poor use of positive impulsivity, which is so needed in many important situations in life.
Positive impulsivity is a vital part of the developing, growing and coping individual. It is the essential force that pushes us to go out there, to initiate and to act even before we have all the necessary tools and information to succeed. Positive impulsivity is the only support and guidance we may rely on to break down old barriers that falsely say that our reality is not ripe for change, creativity and initiation.
And why are we calling this important force “impulsivity”?
Because this is the only way to really understand how it works. Like negative impulsivity, we’re talking about something that drives us to act with no plan or delay, to make an immediate change without too much consideration of consequences. Without this, our most valuable passions and wishes will remain poorly understood, realized or manifested. Our frustrations about not improving our lives will remain the same while we hold back from hitting the road now, in a very (positive) impulsive way, while we’re still not completely organized and ready. The moment this becomes the only route for the right thing to happen, and as long as we keep all kinds of impulsivity out of our spectrum, we end up getting hurt.
How does this fit with intuition? In many ways. But for now we’ll focus only one of them – speed. As was mentioned before and will be repeated later, intuition is tightly related to speed. Intuition comes quickly, before everything else, while logical thinking comes more slowly and can hurt if we try to rush it. Intuition provides new and even unusual information, yet if we fail to embrace it quickly, before logic arrives and makes its heavy claims, we will lose it.
If we wish to get used to intuition, we need to train ourselves to become a little more positively impulsive, as often as we can. We have to learn how to make better use of the short spaces that exist in the experience of being immediate, the short intervals we tend to overlook when we are too scared of being impulsive.
Impulsivity and intuition is about the NOW. I cannot be impulsive or intuitive later or plan to be impulsive or intuitive. Both give a boost of energy that intensifies the options of the present, in this very moment. Yet, if we don’t make good use of this gift it will decay until the next opportunity when it comes forward again. We cannot be gradual about impulsivity and cannot negotiate with our positive impulsivity the same way we do with intuition. We have exactly two options: follow our positive impulsivity or intuition now, or to give up their services, for the time being.
Intuition and positive impulsivity are intertwined, both in the day-to-day small issues as well as in the highest creative level. One cannot hold and wait with intuition for too long. It comes for a short while and then disappears. One cannot maintain impulsivity either for a long period of time. This is a burst of action and initiation that pushes its way now but will not be there for us always. We either take it when it’s there for us or lose the opportunity.
There are numerous stories about people who delayed acting on many important changes in their lives, until one day, surprisingly and sharply, they acted impulsively in a good way. They did so while following their intuition, without the hesitation they had for so many years. These people hadn’t used their positive impulsivity before, but one day, at a very specific hour, it became their driving force that enacted the change they had been waiting for, for so long.
But things will not always need to be that dramatic. We can make use of our positive impulsivity to ignite things, and no one but us will even notice that something has changed. Intuition will point us to a direction where we will suddenly decide not to wait any longer, to get positive impulsivity and make some small yet important change. When we do so, with the satisfaction of overcoming an old obstacle, we will have the great pleasure of successfully connecting to intuition, a precious experience we may never have unless we are positively impulsive.
Chapter 10: Intuition is scary, and that is how it should be
If we wish to be more intuitive, we must carefully check our personal relationship with our fears. As long as we fail to respond properly to our fears, as long as we don’t understand their actual role, and as long as we fool ourselves into believing that we are stronger than the fears themselves, then we won’t be able to approach our intuition naturally. If we have not removed our fears through the right emotional work, our intuition will be outside of our reach.
Bravery always begins by addressing our real fears. These fears are the reasons for closed doors, for a narrow reality perception, for prejudices and a behavioral style that keeps us from development and progress. Being unaware of these fears is a main growth blockage and a significant source of confusion.
Whenever we have a will coming together with a sense of impotence, fear is involved. Helplessness is mostly created by fears. Whenever we have a serious gap between what we have and what we need to get from life, an unconscious fear stands behind this.
In fact, we can truly say that all our lives we cope with layers and levels of fear. Personal development means stripping off some of our fears and becoming free of them. But no matter how far we get, some layers of fear, which we haven’t managed to cross yet, will remain. They will determine what we can do, determine our level of success, and define our self-image, our reality perception and the amount of pleasure we can extract from life.
It seems, therefore, that a major challenge constantly faces the individual: to improve awareness of the vital role of fear in all life aspects, from the simple to the most complex. Many times, premature attempts to overcome our fears are not successful, and may even intensify them. First, we must recognize our fears more clearly, and only then start learning about the real tools that can lessen fear’s effects. It is more important to have a good look at what we’re dealing with, and this is usually the hardest part of the process.
Most people will find it hard to admit that they are afraid, mainly because they are not fully aware that they actually are. We prefer to assume that life’s consequences have led us to the place we are now. Family, neighborhood, school, friends, teachers and state of life all influence us to some level, but are mostly over-valued. As such, they each play a major role in determining what we do today, tomorrow, at home, at work and everywhere else. These forces are strongly related to our fears yet are so embedded in our reality perception. We find it hard to push them aside and realize how great a part they have in making us directly dependent on our fears.
All this promo is essential in the journey toward a deeper relationship with intuition. This topic represents a major wall that lies between the person who is ready to become more intuitive and his future accomplishments. Understanding our fears and successfully negotiating with them form a necessary building block that creates a strong connection with intuition.
The intuitive person is the one who identifies his fears more easily, is able to sense them, lets them be in him and most important – does not rush to escape them. The less intuitive individual is the one who has major difficulties looking at his fears and is in fact more affected by them. Fear is there, in all of us. Some people accept the fears, contain them, listen to them and get out there to do some major work with them, while others cannot or do not do any of these steps.
The things intuition provides us with are constantly, and without exception, intimidating. This is a rule that cannot be changed. Following intuition is always like taking a step beyond the edge of the cliff, and it will always be this way. This is the way we are built and this is an important part of our emotional dialogue with intuition. It will always mark our routes and roads with significant fear.
For us, the most important issue about the connection between fear and intuition is that fear stands as one of the most reliable markers of intuition’s strong presence. It also provides the push to do something we used to think we could or should not do.
One of the tools that will help us recognize that intuition is talking to us is the fact that its message scares us. If we are afraid, there is a chance that our intuition has paid us a visit and, at this very frightening moment, is telling us something that is too hard to listen to. A deep passion to move to a new place in life is guided by our wise compass, intuition, but will always be coupled with a strong fear of the consequence that will follow once we take the step.
Some will justifiably warn us that there are times in which fear is not a sign of what we should do, but it is a means for our senses to try to prevent us from getting hurt or assuming damage. There are times, indeed, that this warning is true and mandatory. Failure to follow this kind of message coming from our fear will then take us to most undesirable places.
And this is why we are here. This is not always simple work. With time, learning and experience may help us differentiate between different kinds of fears – the ones that accompany intuition mark us with the better, yet the fearful way to follow. There are other fears, however, that will remind us about our limitations and will guide us to stop, wait and gather more information before moving on. We will further elaborate about this in the next chapter.
At this stage we would like to expand our awareness to the important connection between fear and intuition. Intuition represents whatever is beyond our regular perception and beyond our understanding. Intuition represents detachment from what exists and loosening connections with what makes us feel stable, secure, in control or confident. No wonder that following intuition will be accompanied with fear and apprehension. It cannot be any other way.
This fact can assist us in sensing intuition. Many times the only thing we will feel will be a mix of fear and the urge to move somewhere. Often, this fear will be the clearest and most reliable marker that intuition is involved and worth paying attention to. And as was mentioned above, sometimes the fear will have other roles as well.
Intuition will scare us, at least part of time. Our job will be to embrace the fear, acknowledge it and stop running away from it. Then, together, we can take the unbelievable step, the step that intuition has long advised us to take. Our fear can become our ally and partner as we learn how to work with it properly.
Chapter 11: What’s really dangerous
Modern society is characterized by, among other things, a greater awareness of the need for people’s safety. We are always doing our best to reduce exposure to all kinds of violence and improve security measures, both physically and virtually. We no longer fear dangerous animals, as people used to, since they are no longer in our civilized urban areas. When we sense danger we call the police or security personnel in our area and usually get a quick response.
However, despite these and other ways to keep us safer, we remain exposed to nameless fears which no police or security measures can help us face or help us feel less threatened.
Many of us are frequently forced to deal with all kinds of worries, pressures, fears and tensions. These evoke one mode of expression that uphold such unpleasant feelings – anxiety. The modern Western individual is routinely compelled to deal with various anxieties, while being either unaware or ignorant of what is behind the anxiety. Eventually, these anxieties direct a huge part of people’s decisions and weaken the natural ability to sustain a more satisfying, comfortable and full life.
One common theory about this behavior is about the correlation between mankind’s growing distance from his primal animal nature. This is a direct result of technological and industrial development, and the level of anxiety people experience deep inside. The allegedly peaceful spaces that are void of threats are always accompanied by some kind of blurred fear. This makes the individual feel weaker and more vulnerable, while his surroundings are supposed to make him feel the opposite.
Interestingly, the same goes for our connection with intuition. The more our life becomes certain, planned and understood, the greater our fear of the unknown and the surprise. Intuition is a mental component likely related to our basic, animal nature that in the past had to receive immediate valuable information about the environment in order for people to survive. The increased fear and uncertainty represent, in a very pointed way, what we have abandoned and forgotten during our development, as well as being the price we pay for this.
So what is really dangerous for us?
What have we come to, along with all the modernization and stunning scientific tools that have grown so rapidly and extensively? We have definitely become more afraid and distant from the treasures we hold inside us. The most dangerous agent is what lies in our hearts and what constantly tries to communicate with us in language and codes we no longer recognize. These are the tools we so cleverly created to feel safer, to think we’re smarter and to be more accepted by society.
A concept such as “intuition anxiety” may not be expressed by many. We may be more familiar with anxieties related to our impulses, to our sexuality or aggressiveness, to loss of control, to becoming crazy, to fulfilling unaccepted fantasies, and so on.
Yet fear from intuition is probably why we are meeting here. One of the main reasons too many Western people estrange themselves from or reject their intuition is that deep inside they are afraid of it. They are afraid of the possibility that they possess some unexplainable knowledge that has always been there, since childhood. They are afraid of intuition in the same way that they are afraid of things they cannot control or predict. They may also be afraid of their own creativity, spontaneity, their urge to make changes and, sadly, they may also fear many of the gifts they can get from their right brain.
And this is where we are now. With enormous struggle, and facing all imaginable harmful sources, we have closed ourselves inside a bubble, in which control became a top value. Without us being aware of it, this has caused ever-growing anxieties toward important parts of life that are perceived as foggy or unattainable. This creates a sense of loss of control, as in our feeling toward intuition, for example.
The most important message at this stage is the paradox that we so often tend to overlook. While we seek more certainty, control and order, we make our lives more deficient of exactly these things. No authentic control can grow without a better connection to our unconsciousness, imagination and creativity. It may be worthwhile to add another relevant quote from Albert Einstein: “The most important asset for the scientist is not his credentials, years of studies, or his experience, but his intuition.” If science is meant to help us control life better but it ignores intuition, the result may be the total opposite, and sometimes even dangerous.
Without our intuition, all our efforts to establish, build, create and connect, will never really bear fruit. Without better connection to intuition we remain terrified of the puzzling parts of life, as we try to avoid uncertainty as much as possible. Big parts of our truths, of our authentic abilities, our original spirit and our best direction to fulfillment are stored exclusively there, in places we’re sure we cannot access or that we fear.
Bottom line: What is really dangerous for us today is not recognized at first glance. We may think we have to protect ourselves from things that can hurt us, such as accidents, violence, disease or stressful situations, yet what may be no less dangerous is distancing ourselves from our natural senses and from our ability to perceive reality in a broader way. Our connection to all is regarded as unknown, unconscious, unordered, unplanned and unclear. The further we get from our intuitive sense, the more we create unpredicted disharmonies that expose us more and more to difficulties.
We may address intuition as a place where an individual is given the best means to realize what’s good for him and what will help him develop and enjoy a healthier and more satisfying life. The greater the anxiety from intuition, the more people over-rely on external sources that further confuse them and keep them away from precious input about the real needs.
Our remoteness from intuition is no less dangerous than any other threat. Getting closer to intuition may, therefore, make life not only happier and more satisfying, but also much safer, balanced and in control. Only those who do not fear uncertainty or loss of control can truly have a good sense about how to manage life.
Chapter 12: Grow or stay stuck; your choice
One of the most fascinating yet frustrating aspects of a person’s life, and also the source of significant misunderstanding, is choice. We have discussed this subject briefly in Chapter 3, and will now extend our observations about this vital and slippery part of our consciousness. Choice has several faces: It may seem, in certain situations, cruel and inconsiderate, while, in reality, choice provides the opportunity for life having a higher value with space for learning, growth, changes and never-ending improvement. While we seek a deeper comfort with intuition, at the same time we need to examine the way we address choice, and how our choices affect everything in our life’s journey.
Almost every moment in our lives is a moment of choice, sometimes even a historical one. At any given moment, our choice to follow or not to follow will strongly determine the events we experience and witness. It is pretty difficult for each person to grasp the enormous significance of every choice taken, in each second of life. How will that choice affect the shape and manner of things to come later on? What will be available, doable or reachable in the near and distant future? We construct our lives on the foundations of our choices that provide a remarkable set of options, more than we can imagine, to shape our future.
As was previously mentioned, it remains difficult to perceive or implement the relationship of our choices to our future, despite this being a vital part of our reality. Sometimes it takes us years to realize the consequence of our decisions, and how certain choices tailored the route for so many other things to happen, desired or undesired.
As we get closer to a lifestyle in which intuition is more involved, we are given the opportunity to refresh our concepts and tools used for our choices, instead of learning about them only retroactively.
We may never be ready to capture intuition totally, although we can improve our ability to experience it in almost every single moment, with a new chance for growth, healing, renewal and dramatic life improvement. The more tools we acquire to remove obstructions from the information coming from our deepest soul, and as our fear of the unknown lessens, the easier it will be to choose a better path to follow. The ultimate result will be the enjoyment of a sweeter life.
If we take a step further, we can also understand that the art of connecting and implementing intuition in life is strongly related to the ability to choose. This includes situations in which the immediate choice will be totally different from previous ones, or will deviate from the norms and preferences of most other people.
This type of choice presents an essential challenge that, like no other thing, determines the way we perceive reality and shapes our ability to cope with all things we bump into. It may be hard to imagine how this can work, given our twisted feeling that life is forcing itself on us and allows for almost no space to determine what’s next.
The sense of being a victim is far more embedded than we can admit. It makes us feel that life is mainly a result of other people’s actions, and that we have an inflexible destiny with a reality that cannot be influenced. In our world, these are factors that determine everything that exists in us, annoys and shapes us.
A huge part of pain, problems, conflict, violence and misunderstandings start with this very point. The choices we make, whether conscious or not, turn the world and make it, in each and every moment, what it is. Our role, here, is to improve awareness of this situation and later, through the guidance of our intuition, to take advantage of it as a strong leverage for a much better reality.
Grow or stay stuck; your choice.
For the sake of learning, we can try to use our imagination and envision this statement: “Grow or stay stuck; your choice.” Imagine our intuition repeating this loudly and clearly. This is not an impatient or demanding message. Instead, it flows into the space around us and keeps offering to make the road for us or a better one, and to ignore the current and familiar one.
Avoiding the path that renews and refreshes our lives is never a real mistake but it is a part of life’s program. We will dive into this concept in greater detail later on, when we deal with the role of self-criticism as we become more intuitive.
The skill of making better choices is internalized only through a long process of learning, practicing and coping with deeply rooted old habits. It would never be wise to judge or condemn ourselves (or others) for having difficulties in making higher choices. In fact, the more compassion and understanding we have for this current state, the sooner we can make a change.
The main message to pay attention to a little more nowadays, is that learning to be intuitive is in many ways, the art of learning to choose, or to choose better. The further we get from those challenging moments that ask for new decisions the harder it becomes to listen to our intuition. The more we are overwhelmed by the illusion that life is mainly a result of an outer reality and not our personal choices, the more we are convinced of our helplessness in making an impact on most things that are happening in our lives. And the further this goes, the less we can trust our intuition and enjoy its wisdom.
Grow or stay stuck; your choice.
This silent voice keeps on broadcasting deep down. It grants us the freedom of choice because this is how it works here, in this place. Whatever we choose determines how our lives evolve. As long as we don’t learn to make better choices we will face harder roads and the inevitable challenges that come along with them. The objective here is not to paint a dark picture, but to recognize that we have a chance to learn how to make things better and avoid the pain involved in not making the higher and more intuitive choice.
Grow or stay stuck; your choice.
Growth and development depend on the ability to keep following a path that is waiting for us – a path which intuition has marked for us to pursue. All we need to do is choose, right now, or in the next few moments, in a way that will connect us with this direction. As long as we don’t grow, we stay stuck. Development is delayed to the next opportunity of choosing to follow our heart despite the absence of a guaranteed positive outcome. This small risk, this exciting choice that always involves some sort of uncertainty, will always be on the path of growth.
We are here in order to learn how to choose, each in his or her own way – a way that involves passion, uncertainty and inexplicable affinity to a certain direction. This is all provided and produced by our intuition that waits for us patiently, until we become freer and braver to make the better and the higher choices that will turn our lives onto a sweeter and more rewarding road.
Chapter 13: Create reality, now
This chapter, and the two that follow, focus on one of the lesser acknowledged aspects of intuition – its direct relation to human creativity. As long as this aspect is not clearly understood, and as long as it is not implemented regularly, no significant connection to intuition can be established.
Creativity is hard to define conceptually, as is intuition. Both are strongly related to an experience that cannot be fully conveyed through logical explanation. Both intuition and creativity are associated with mental functions that go beyond the familiar. Both are known parts of the human being’s makeup, yet they will always remain somewhat obscure. Furthermore, both intuition and creativity have a poor reputation among many people and are often said to be unreliable or not worth too much attention.
In many ways, creativity reflects a person’s special, deep and exciting parts. Creativity is the expression of an individual’s ability and urge to seek, initiate, redefine, wonder, research, play and change. Creativity, an innate facet that exists in all people, becomes rare and poorly expressed as we mature. This is because we do not know how to cultivate it, use it, and make it the most important aspect of human behavior that one should learn about. The absence of creativity in one’s life often leads to a lifestyle empty of happiness and satisfaction.
One of the reasons that creativity is such a neglected topic and so poorly understood is because its origin is mainly right brain, thus involving imagination, fantasy and unpredictability. Generally, we are trained to be less creative, less original and less surprising. These are the habits that society plants in us – that is, to maintain a low profile, not to swim against the current, not to question conventions and not to invent things that may shake up contemporary structures (systems, ideologies, patterns, etc.). Living a non-creative life is so critical, that in time we become certain we are not unique and really have not much to offer the world in terms of innovation or change.
When we ask to give intuition a higher priority and when we are interested in becoming more familiar and comfortable with it, we have to pay attention to intuition’s creative expression even if, at first, this task sounds impractical.
In many ways, one can say that intuition’s spirit is a very creative one. Intuition always leads us to renewing and making choices that in the end are a creative way of addressing life. Intuition, as mentioned before, does not deal with the known and familiar parts of reality. Intuition pushes us to the next challenge, to the hidden option, to the opportunity that is capable of moving life into a new and better place.
When we study this more deeply we learn about a very important and interesting phenomenon that is associated with intuition and with the way we perceive life and its choices. Intuition is tightly connected to our ability to create our lives, or, put differently, to invent our life over and over again. Yet, this ability, that exists in all people, is rarely manifested.
Yes, we can change the course of our lives in any given moment, even if this change is expressed very subtly. This option, as well as the tools to activate it, is always on the table. However, what is not that abundant is the awareness, motivation or passion to change or re-shape our lives. The illusion of strength and security is always associated with conserving what we have in our hands, even if that is not functional or rewarding. Change, despite being tempting and fascinating, frightens us. The same goes for intuition – it attracts us to get closer to it, yet it may sound too scary, and for some people, acting on it may even be irresponsible.
On the other hand, there are exciting times and windows of opportunity in which an individual manages to make holes in his walls of fear. He manages to shake the current concepts and realizes that other interesting ways are available for him. When this happens a flood of creativity is naturally awakened. The individual may wonder what in the past prevented him from embracing these lively routes; what made him actually ignore what was suggested many times by his intuition’s whispers.
This point is critical in understanding intuition’s place and in expanding the ability to observe the role of creativity in people’s daily drama.
In many ways, intuition’s role is to awaken us to the more creative ways of life – ways that are healthier, more satisfying and more productive. This is my claim. I have no doubt about it. Yet I find it wrong to try and prove it at this point. Not because proof isn’t important. On the contrary, I have no doubt that the only valuable proof needed here comes from real life, from every person’s experience. Can you connect to this claim without giving your left brain complete explanation? Can you feel this statement in your bones?
I believe that intuition has some agenda. It is not just about handing us some interesting “good ideas.” Intuition marks the creative routes that will renew and improve our lives, while it also gives us recommendations on how to do so. Intuition shows us, in its unique way, what is the immediate next step, the doable action that will lead to change. It will show us how to become more creative and prevent us from staying stuck for too long.
People are seeking a healthier, longer life – a life of greater quality, with more satisfaction and greater worth. We want more energy to pursue our dreams and to have valuable, more meaningful relationships. We want a physical life with the best nutrition, the right activity, relaxing yoga, an intuitive healer, and more.
Yet, as long as the creative way to live life, the one that brings change, re-evaluation and brave decisions, is not clear, then the individual remains in a state of relative sickness. Many important parts of the personality remain stuck, resulting in many negative consequences in terms of health and quality of life.
And this is where intuition steps in. Intuition is the signpost, communicating through repetitive whispers, surprises and coincidence, through strange ideas that suddenly appear, through attraction as well as through repulsion. All of these intuitive influences are there for a reason. Their purpose is defined clearly – to lead the individual to a higher and better form of life, in which creativity turns from a rare and remote option to a handy, healthy and nurturing way of existence. And this is why, in the coming chapters, we are about to dive even deeper into the creativity-intuition connection.
Chapter 14: Enjoy the process; trust the result
The connection between intuition and creativity becomes clearer as we observe the constant tension between the process and result. This is something we all encounter from time to time. Yet nowadays, awareness of the importance of improving the quality of the process while reducing the necessity for always having good results has certainly increased. In some scenarios, people have begun to notice that many of their mistakes and misses result from an over-emphasis on what they wish to achieve, while many important parts of the process, as a primary goal, have been neglected
As will be later explained, this phenomenon is directly related to exaggerated self-criticism, which is very common in human consciousness, and is also preventing us from having better connection to our intuition. This overactive self-critic makes people believe that they must reach certain achievements, at all costs. More so, this state of mind can easily turn into obsession and pressure that prevent people from enjoying the process, or will cause them to settle for other achievements they managed to acquire along the way.
Anxiety of failure, intensified by this self-critic, often hurts performance, and impedes flexibility and judgment needed when trying to complete a task. It is not surprising, at the end of the day, that the same self-criticism that demands certain results and creates disappointment, is also what affects us most not to succeed. This behavior creates massive tension which most of the time is useless, to say the least.
Intuition is a great example of the importance of giving attention to this. As mentioned earlier and will be restated again many times, intuition is not related to “later.” Intuition is a tool that is available in the “now” and most of the day we tend to miss its presence and offers simply because of our difficulty in giving better attention to things that are happening to us in this specific moment, now.
If you take a good look you will understand why it is so hard for us to rely on intuition and to be confident that it will guide us to the right place. Intuition’s impact is so strong on the “now,” that it does not give any option of checking out the direction in which it is sending us – no option of planning or considering another avenue.
The same goes for human creativity. Proper connection to creativity means being in the rhythm of the very present and having no idea where this will take us. If we want to get into this flow, we need to reduce resistance to surprise and know that unplanned things will occur and that we will be taken to places we could never imagine exist. Creativity is a motion that changes reality and updates itself each moment. This is what makes it special, exciting and even frightening.
People who wish for more creativity in their lives must get used to this idea that it is a precise reflection of reality – almost anything can happen in a few moments. More so, we have a poor control over this. Yet, if we connect better to life’s flow, then we can have a clearer influence on what will happen and, more importantly, be able to cope better with changes to come. This kind of navigation helps people enjoy their lives better, succeed more often and be able to smile more throughout the day.
The same goes for our intuition, that is nothing but a part of the extended human creative expression. We can connect better to it when we try to decrease control of our actions and when we learn how to join up with the unexpected flow. This flow, that will never reveal its full plans for us in advance, will definitely guide us to the best places for our growth and change. Are we willing to trust this?
In other words – our job is to find pleasure in the process of connecting to intuition and to develop faith that the result, whenever it comes, will be really good. The combination of these two – enjoying the process and trusting the result – will be worthwhile, and will ensure that we make significant progress in our ability to have intuition on our side.
For some people, the phrase “enjoy your intuition” may sound new or strange, yet it expresses an important milestone on a person’s path to higher consciousness. When this subject becomes clearer we will be able to re-evaluate the way we address the information coming from intuition as well the way we can make use of it.
And this is how it works: Although intuition is mostly about “information,” access to it has nothing to do with the thinking process. This principle was mentioned earlier, but it certainly bears repeating. Although intuition is related to an important type of knowledge, accessibility to this stream of intelligence has nothing to do with the way we are trained and are used to think. This is why so many people find it hard to connect to intuition or even to believe that it exists. It provides us with valuable data through a channel that understanding is never part of.
So how does it work? You may find it surprising to learn that intuition penetrates consciousness through channels of pleasure. When we have the courage to follow intuition we cannot receive formal confirmation for doing the “right” thing. Yet what may guide us with great precision, telling us that we are on a good path, is a special sense of pleasure that follows the response to intuition’s voice while ignoring the conventional logical road.
This is how the classic intuitive artist operates, the one whose works precede their time. This is also how the intuitive person will operate as he takes a step before others will even understand that this is the better way to go. Both will take risks by acting according to a vague impulse that marks a new yet unsure road. Both will have pleasure doing so and will learn in time that receiving this unique pleasure is in fact the internal approval coming from the soul, stating that a healthy and proper action has taken place.
There is a very sweet pleasure that grants the individual power and energy to go on while making a courageous creative or intuitive move. (“Creative” and “intuitive” moves are pretty similar, yet because of our thought limitations they can be viewed as distinct but connected phenomena.) This particular pleasure can be felt only when we jump in, only when we do take that unusual step. This one-of-a-kind pleasure that in time becomes more familiar, makes intuitive acts easier and less scary.
For now, while the logical parts in us demand their share, and will surely not accept any sense of pleasure as the reason to deviate from the acceptable, we can recruit another important tool from our right brain. This may not completely satisfy our left brain’s requests but it can surely put things into better proportion. After learning to enjoy the intuitive act, we will tell ourselves that the final results will be evident only in the future, and that we trust and believe that this decision will lead to a good result although we don’t yet have the tools to explain how it will all work.
This is the creative-intuitive combination we will internalize with time, that will give us more power to follow this new way. We will acquire pleasure from the intuitive act, backed up by faith that we’re doing the right thing. We can never guarantee an exact result, and, in fact, we shouldn’t because doing so will only fuel our exaggerated self-critic. We will sense the pleasure and cultivate our trust, and in time other parts of our brain will get used to this new habit and will support following it.
Chapter 15: Be “silly” and connect better to intuition
Each of us wishes to do silly things once in a while. Well, at least most of us want this, to be more precise. I believe that an individual who reads a book about intuition allows himself, here and there, to become a little silly or at least to consider this option more readily, while deepening the process of connecting to the language and tools associated with intuition.
Silliness, or nonsense, is usually identified as something we had better get rid of as much and as quickly as possible. Silly people are likely stupid people, we may tell ourselves. We will probably find it difficult to appreciate a person who acts silly, and we will wonder about his mental health or maturity.
Yet when we ask for the gift of intuition, we should consider re-checking our definition of “silliness” and all related concepts. We will surely realize that we misunderstand the role of silliness in its capacity to accelerate or liberate creativity. This “silliness” can open doors to opportunities, help us make important changes, and direct us to question the dominance of logical thinking, which is the one that provides a lifestyle with poor intuition.
If I ask you now to let yourself have more silliness or nonsense in your life, nothing will change for you. We cannot make a sharp deviation from the familiar and from your habit to control your thoughts and behaviors. We are surrounded by so many fears from whatever appears to be silly. We are so remote from this healthy route that we may end up doing drugs, getting drunk or spending money on workshops that will legitimize our becoming a little silly. Perhaps we will even deviate from our seriousness for a little while. We may also find it amusing to observe others become sillier, or watch a comedy where we ourselves wish to experience the silliness we see on the screen.
But if I convince you that there is a tight connection between silliness and intuition, and even between success and having more nonsense in life, then we may be able to move towards a richer lifestyle that may be viewed as “stupid” now but is healthier and happier in the long run.
If we try to define what a silly deed is, we might find that it is not a simple thing to do. How can we describe such a phrase? Do we not realize that silliness is something we address from a very critical, intolerant point of view? When someone says, “I was so silly when I did this…” he is on fact reproaching himself and knows that he should never act this way again. Silliness, for such a person, is a complete mistake, maybe even a serious one.
On the other hand, a comedian or a friend that gets pretty silly may make us laugh our heads off and allow us some moments of real joy. Experiencing these silly things will not bring up negative feelings and may arouse some gratitude for being able to release some real feelings. We can now address life from a lighter and funnier perspective.
Connecting to intuition is regularly blocked by boundaries of common logic. The intuitive sensation, which is nothing but a sort of “feeling,” reaches our mind much before logical thinking does. That is because, over time, we have trained ourselves, culturally and otherwise, to ignore the initial intuitive signals and to rely more on the rational thinking that appears a few moments later. During a long process of over-developing our left brain logic we have buried intuition deep inside and even marked it as part of the things we should not trust or rely on.
If we wish to unleash intuition from this maze and learn to trust it, we may decide to become better acquainted with the silliness of our lives; with the moments where we need to loosen up and appreciate things with more humor.
Thinking and feeling do not happen at the same time. We can switch from one to the other quickly, but both cannot be active concurrently. So if we wish to be a bit more intuitive we have to acquire all the various tools that help us stop thinking. Otherwise, intuition that comes through the channels of feelings, has no room to step in.
When we allow ourselves some moments of silliness, we grant our busy minds the abstinence of logical and orderly thinking. Beyond the sense of release and joy that follow such moments, this as a strategy that restores a deep and forgotten tool that answers complex questions which the logical mind cannot address.
The great irony here is that what seems to be not smart or even stupid may show us a rich and unprecedented source of wisdom that will help us make important decisions in a much better way than we did before. In fact, the silly act can function as the ticket to a new kind of library of knowledge which no lecture or research can provide.
Silliness may be frightening. Same as intuition. Silliness holds no responsibility over its actions or dialogue. Same as intuition. Silliness questions the common conventions of what’s right or wrong, similar to what intuition tries to do. Under certain conditions, silliness can lead us to surprising insights and to novel creative outlets which wouldn’t be evident to us otherwise. This is exactly the way intuition operates. We need the legitimization to be silly once in a while to remember that logic, seriousness and knowledge that is based on past experience represent only a fraction of the important information available to us.
For a few moments, one can move objects from their usual place and position them where they aren’t supposed to be. Is this a silly thing to do? We can make some really strange faces while staring into the mirror. We can lie on the floor for a few minutes while we are with friends. We may leave the cinema a few minutes after the movie has begun just because we don’t feel like staying even for a second longer. We can paint our car a weird color if we have always dreamed to do so. Nothing disastrous will happen in any of these scenarios.
There are numerous ways to perform silly acts that will never harm us or that will distract our daily lives. These acts will not affect things we may have done in the past, yet they will offer us a passage to new places in our minds. Intuition can now be given another chance to be heard, to be considered and hopefully – to be followed through actions and decisions.
So, seriously: What would your next silly move be?
Chapter 16: If you don’t make mistakes you lose your intuition
Normally, we address the concept of “mistake” through left brain’s perspective. In fact, ”mistake” represents principal ways in which we are used to thinking and evaluating, assessing what is “right” and what is “wrong,” and looking through a lens that we have created for ourselves.
On a behavioral level, our rational thinking pushes us to perceive mistakes as something we must avoid as much as possible. Unconsciously, we have become programmed to fear doing everything that might sound “wrong.” In many situations we find ourselves controlled by a state of mind that keeps messaging us, saying that mistakes equal danger, and all efforts to prevent mistakes should be taken, even if the price is negligible.
On the other hand, right brain’s view of mistakes is different. According to this way of thinking, a method that is also associated with intuition, mistakes can be an opportunity, a kind of passage toward something that is better, more creative, and even faster in terms of achieving what we are wishing for.
It is not an exaggeration to say that whatever a person does not manage to get in his life, despite repeated attempts, will remain distant from him as long as his approach to mistakes remains unchanged. Even common logic, the left brain’s one, will assume that if we fail repeatedly, despite all the work we do, something must be wrong with our methodology.
Many times, the factor responsible for this disharmony will not be detected through regular thinking. Only a fresh approach to mistakes will take us where we normally cannot go. What we may need is to follow right brain’s understanding that asserts that “good mistakes” exist. Many times, all we need in order to get on the right track is a mistake that will shake our current state of mind.
As far as intuition is concerned, the discussion can be presented as follows: Generally, when relying on logical thinking, a person is equipped with knowledge sources, ideas, and means to handle a given challenge. When things repeatedly don’t work well, one can deduce that the current resources are not correct or appropriate for the major problem at hand. However, when this person can move to a new level of consciousness, where the connection to intuition improves, the ideas and ways to deal with a given challenge broaden significantly. Similarly, the tools for identifying the cracks in the wall of failure increase dramatically.
If we follow this idea, we soon realize that being less intuitive means being relatively blind and being obstructed from parts of reality. We are also uncomfortable by the incompetence of the well-developed and nurtured tools supplied by left brain, which may be sufficient for other people but, in some cases, are not adequate for us.
At some point, everyone faces a situation where a mistake has led them to a place they would otherwise not have landed. Some mistakes hurt us, sabotage processes and disturb carefully laid-out plans. Yet there are times, especially when we are more open minded, when some mistakes we have made, due to fatigue, confusion or other reasons, have enabled us to find treasures that otherwise may have remained hidden from us.
Intuition always reveals the unseen and undetectable information. Whatever is already known is stored in our usual and approachable resources, even if it takes some process of retrieval to bring them back to our awareness. Intuition, on the other hand, is not about refreshing our memory about something we had already learned or captured. Intuition is here to give us something else – something we can get only if we learn to listen to it and follow its lead.
And this is where the intimate connection between intuition and mistakes lies. This is something that even our left brain can understand. Most times we view whatever is not congruent with what we know and what is familiar as “mistake.” Intuition, similarly, asks for information that doesn’t fit with what is regarded as acceptable or right. So it is pretty reasonable to conclude that one reason to reject intuition, that essentially comes from nowhere and has no backup reference, is the fear of mistake. Indeed, no one can assure us that intuition is right. We either follow it, taking the risk of making mistakes, or we stay in the same place, remaining confident in our safe, “correct” ideas.
This is one of the most fascinating paradoxes in the journey towards having more intuition in our lives and making it a close and significant advisor in all issues where we guard ourselves from the “wrong” things. This means, allowing intuition to enter our most precious and important places. At the exact place where we are forced to make mistakes due to some temporary weakness, lack of attention or emotional load, there exists a great opportunity that can evolve as “non-mistaken” but also as a platform for change and profound growth.
Here, while trying to shift to a right brain state of mind, we want to widen our perspective about the value of what we used to address as “mistakes.” We would like to update the role of mistakes in making life more creative and meaningful. We would like to learn how to play with our mistakes and even to reach a state of mind in which we realize we cannot go any further without them. We would like to deepen our understanding about the concept of “good mistakes” and from there, to soften the fear and prejudice about deviating from the familiar path – a deviation that many times, with miraculous accuracy, directs us to the real path we need take.
Therefore, on our trip to the land of intuition, we must check where we are, and not be intimidated about making the wrong move. We must acknowledge the restraints we have built that suppress our actions that prevents us from repeating past mistakes.
There will always be some wrong things we should not do again. We learn, with time and experience, how not to get into trouble and how to bypass stress and loss. But at the same time, there is a different kind of mistake, one where the fear of its consequence creates a major wall between us and our intuition. These types of mistakes are, in fact, our small miracles – they are the funny coincidences that recreate our illusion of being in control of our lives.
Most people who become successful go through significant phases of failure and crashes. But we all know that part of a successful person’s growth is his making some profound mistakes that lead back to the bottom, maybe even to a collapse and having no place to turn. It seems like there is no other way to make great achievements. Other people who make almost no mistakes and hold on to a safer lifestyle without risk, have a more constricted potential to develop and acquire tools for coping with life’s challenges.
It is not easy to be the one that continually makes mistakes, the one who fails and falls more often, or the one who must begin from scratch over and over again. It is not simple to be the one that steps out of the mainstream to look for alternative ways and is ready to pay the price for it, a price that may include social rejection or condemnation.
Intuition calls us to re-examine our relationship with the concept of “mistake” and to explore the good mistakes that are waiting for us, the mistakes that will open the doors to abundant ideas and opportunities.
It is our job to make mistakes, to value their importance, to initiate some new ones and to release ourselves from logic’s control, the same logic that has numbed us to a state of mind that is fearful of the unfamiliar, and that has blocked us from the beauty and deep wisdom of our intuition.
Chapter 17: Investigating intuition’s efficacy – a harmful approach
What we are trying to do here may seem impossible by its very nature – that is, to understand the non-understandable.
There are certain important things in life that many of us would instinctively want to connect to and understand. In some cases, however, the opposite is true. Only people who are open to the idea of bypassing this need to understand can truly enjoy intuition’s rich contribution to life. Only those who are able to temporarily minimize logic’s needs and accept the fact that there is another way, as odd as it may be, can grasp what we’re talking about here, and recognize the magic that is often perceived as genius.
The phrase “understand without understanding” reveals the source of intuition’s fascinating story, in which we create and simultaneously listen to our consciousness. This is the key to intuition’s mode of action; this is also what makes this quest confusing and slippery.
Intuition represents a system of knowledge and intelligence that is operated in a manner that is foreign to common logic. This is right brain’s wisdom, in which learning, internalization and knowledge expansion are handled in a manner that is totally different from the way we learned about it in school or through other sources of knowledge.
The intuitive person feels that he knows. This feeling clarifies and strengthens with time. This kind of knowing can be felt but not understood because what we’re used to relying on as our system of understanding and approval is not useful in right brain’s and intuition’s zones.
This makes many people doubt intuition and underestimate its value, since they were trained to think that their feelings are not reliable, nor do they serve as an acceptable guide for life’s situations. This is also related to people’s detachment from their creative and spiritual natures, and from many other valuable tools that are derived from the special intelligence of right brain. The code for right-brain intelligence does include understanding, but not in the way we are used to appreciate and apply it.
We will never be able to be creative as long as we try to understand creativity. In fact, this will only make creativity harder to achieve or connect to. Creativity begins at the point where we connect to it without understanding it. We will not make any progress in avenues that require emotional or spiritual involvement for the exact same reason. If we truly are interested in improving in these important fields we must get the training that will help us reconnect to what we have lost over the years; that is, to understand without understanding.
This is the reason that we must be very careful when attempting to apply preliminary tests of intuition’s accuracy or efficacy. Intuition is never “wrong.” This possibility does not exist. Intuition views reality from a wider perspective than what we normally use. Whatever intuition is telling us already exists, and is real and alive. Yet as long as we insist on first understanding this new piece of knowledge, the way to act better will remain hidden, and may even regarded as rubbish.
Worse – sometimes we do retrospectively realize that intuition was right and did lead us to important places, that it saved us unnecessary efforts and actually enabled a happier, richer life. Yet, with all this, we still find it hard to follow intuition’s next idea because we’re stuck in a place where our old-fashioned understanding must precede any initiative or decision.
The desire or attempt to investigate intuition’s effectiveness is understandable. We all need proofs, references or something solid to rely on when we approach a new challenge. We may, however, wish to be more confident about intuition before talking about it with our friends or colleagues. We may ask for “solid proofs” that will reveal the unequivocal fact showing that intuition does exist, and there is no doubt about its validity.
Yet, as tempting as this approach may sound, this will only push us farther away from intuition. Once we focus our investigating attention towards intuition, then it has already moved to another place. As long as we keep forcing ourselves to assume that whatever is not provable does not exist, we close ourselves off from intuition, as well as from many other beautiful senses. These include creativity, spontaneity, deep spiritual connection, imagination and a passion to grow.
The need to prove is important, sometimes critical, in many places of life. Growth and progress in so many areas provide us with the rich technology that expands our lives. We rely on research tools that are based on proven evidence that remains totally substantiated, until new research comes forward with more cutting-edge information.
Thanks to active research lives are being saved and many vital, positive revolutions in so many areas of our world become possible. This progress reflects the improvement we have made in using left brain’s resources and in focusing on facts which are recognized by all.
Intuition, which is a more personal and private zone, operates in a place where no proof is needed to substantiate the existence or non-existence of ideas, knowledge or things. Once we connect well to intuition no proof is needed because being intuitive means knowing. Whoever asks for proof doubts his own ability to feel that he knows things, despite the fact that he can’t explain or prove them.
This point is not easy to accept. On one hand, we don’t want to be inaccurate or irresponsible about things we say or do. Usually, when we feel confident about our deeds and ideas, we have no objection to proofs or research that will only strengthen and validate our choices.
On the other hand, left brain’s tools to prove intuition’s correctness and relevance are limited because of the tools it uses, that have nothing to do with measuring, assessing or evaluating intuition. Generally, we cannot understand how intuition will take us to a place of higher service. Sometimes things may look like they are going south when we follow our gut feelings. Will it be wise, then, to conclude that intuition is wrong?
It might be tempting to try to prove that “heaven does exist,” that feelings are genuine, that there is life after death, and so on. Yet all this effort to try and grab onto left brain’s capacity only further detaches us from the tools needed to get closer to these extraordinary facets of life. These fascinating things do exist, yet the space in which they operate is different, and no current left- brain process will be able to show us this space. And yes, sadly, this fact will frustrate or even stop some of us from continuing forward.
Intuition is connected to us only via feeling channels. This is how the process begins. But if we mix this early acquaintance with intuition with a compulsive need to prove or investigate, then we will surely disturb our tenuous connection and remain hesitant and skeptical.
There is nothing wrong with being doubtful and insisting on proof. Many people maintain this position and are nonetheless accepted in society. Skepticism may represent sharp intelligence and a curious mind. Yet doubtfulness has its price with becoming more intuitive and realizing what intuition is about.
One can be very “smart” and logical, yet remain blind and unaware to crucial parts of reality that can be seen only through the lens of intuition. It’s for you to grab onto this twist and open your mind to the fact that wisdom has many faces. One of the faces, intuition, works in a totally different arena, where IQ results don’t count, where traditional proofs don’t work, and where knowledge and assurance come only from the place where we feel.
Chapter 18: Life is a kind of a special game
Playing a game is an act everyone is familiar with. This is one of the happier, more stimulating and more challenging things people do. There are serious games and there are lighter games. There are childish games and there are adult games. A game takes place in a state of mind and consciousness that is hard to explain. Yet there is almost no person who cannot actually recognize that a game is taking place, nor is there almost any person who cannot, under certain conditions, help himself from joining into a game.
One of the reasons it is difficult to explain the state of “playing” is that it occurs, as experience indicates, in right brain, even though almost every game requires logical thinking, strategy, practicing and improving. We may all agree that the most important part in a game is the unique experience involved, and the excitement and the surprises that come along with it. These factors, that make a game desired and interesting, are related to right brain’s functioning – the same right brain that produces the language of intuition and the means to use it.
People tend to underestimate the importance of having games in their lives, and by that get caught up in a lifestyle that is predictable and that lacks excitement. They tend to think that they have no time for playing games and that games are nothing but an unnecessary activity that only provides some amusement and nothing else.
This gap between man and games represents the big drama that exists in the human mind – the same drama that keeps us away from intuition, makes us too heavy, not spontaneous, not creative, and pretty similar to many community members.
For children, this problem exists only minimally. Playing is a way of living, expressing, and dialoguing with what they see around them. The boundary between imagination and reality is less rigid, allowing children to shift into playing mode more easily and quickly. Children like to play and don’t like to be interrupted while playing. The game gives them significance, things to think about, a means to create and grow. Through these games, children experience excitement, joy, expectation and growth.
If, as adults, we want to be more intuitive, we may need to refresh our attitude to the concepts of “playing” and to “games.” We need to try our best to implement them into our lives and experiences, our means of coping, our future planning, decision making, etc. Intuition is, in fact, a kind of game, and as long as we underestimate the central role that playing has in our lives, intuition will remain a rare and slippery phenomenon.
When a person becomes more intuitive, he will also begin to realize that life itself is a kind of game, sometimes an uneasy, difficult and frustrating game. When our point of view becomes more intuition driven, and when we learn to trust our gut feelings more freely, many of the building blocks we use to understand our reality start falling to the side and are replaced by a new state of mind. We can still experience hardships and obstacles as before, but now we manage to contain them in a new internal space that constantly reminds us of an important fact: that life, as a whole, is nothing but a type of game.
One of the differences between people who integrate more of a “play” attitude into their lives than those who don’t is how over-seriousness affects decision making, response to stimuli, internal dialogue and handling challenge. In other words, there two kinds of seriousness: the healthier one, where playing and intuition play a major role; and the less effective one, that forces people to be more rigid and less creative, hence, bottom line – weaker.
If we want to learn more about intuition and how it can provide more power, knowledge and a deeper understanding of our surroundings, we must do a thorough self-analysis about how we perceive playing, the experience of playing and the role creative expression takes in our lives and thoughts.
When we’re in a playing state of mind, the most pleasurable thing we may get out of it is the actual experience of the game. There are games in which we focus only on having fun on our own or with friends. There are other kinds of games that are more related to competition and achievement. Nevertheless, even if we find ourselves losing, the most important and satisfying gift we get is the opportunity to be part of the game, with all the excitement, with the release of an overly-serious state of mind and with the ability to be more creative than we usually are.
The same goes for intuition, and this is the fact that takes time to recognize and implement. In the midst of the ongoing pressure coming from left brain to achieve “good” results or to obtain the “accurate information,” intuition is showing us a totally different approach. The main message here is that far before being a great source of guidance and wisdom, intuition is an enjoyable kind of game, of which the most important part is the actual being in it. This happens way before we demand intuition’s reliability or relevance.
The most important part of connecting to intuition is the realization of the special experience it provides, which is the experience of participating in a stimulating, fascinating and enthusiastic game that provides opportunities for more fulfilling and deeper ways of being. If, on the other hand, we try to force intuition into our lives without first experiencing a state of “game,” then we will miss the whole story.
Moreover, when we connect all the dots and learn how to approach our consciousness so that it activates intuition in a more effective way, then we will certainly get this loud and clear message from our new ally – life is nothing but a big game, a game that sometimes gets too hard or serious, but still a game. These fundamentals are not that different from the state of mind and drama we used to experience as kids while playing hide and seek.
Intuition can lead us to very profound changes and to decisions that will move our lives to a much better place. This promise may sound exciting and even presumptuous. We may take such a statement lightly and with no responsibility, yet we need to believe that it may truly hold real possibility.
This conflict represents the beauty and challenge that come with being intuitive people. Intuition’s strength and intensity when dealing with routine and ordinary issues, as well as when facing heavy and significant problems, will always be associated with the lack of seriousness we used to know. Instead of this, other modes of seriousness are revealed, that are more similar to our ability to stick to the experience of a game, to enjoy the liberating playful action and to embrace the growing passion to improve our skills.
Intuition is an adventure, a surprising cruise, or sailing in a boat through a charming river whose end is hard to see. As such, and only as such, intuition can become most accurate, life changing and a reliable guide towards a better place. And if we like to have this kind of intuition in our arsenal, we must find enough courage to deal with the possibility that life is truly a game, not a simple one, but still a game, that has the potential of taking us to most interesting and significant places.
Chapter 19: Facing the self-critic: Intuition has never been reasonable
This chapter and the two that follow, focus on the link between exaggerated self-criticism and one’s limited capacity to connect to intuition. The main obstacle to man uncovering his own deep forces is the cultural tendency to over-rely on common logic. This leads to over self-testing in a harsh and strict manner, and doing so without any supportive reasoning, thereby restricting creative, spiritual and intuitive expression.
Most people believe that self-criticism represents an intelligent, calculated and responsible facet of man’s personality. This individual has learned life’s lessons and knows how to avoid unnecessary future mistakes. Self-criticism is allegedly a mechanism that protects us, that keeps our lives in order, and helps us avoid embarrassment, confusion and unsuccessful endeavors.
In many circumstances, self-criticism is clearly needed. This is the criticism that assists us in understanding how our actions have harmed others or ourselves. It is there to teach us about the common social codes that uphold the moral and responsible behaviors in our communities. We need self-criticism to identify and shape our behaviors and to protect us from states that may harm our health, social status and even life itself.
But the exact same self-criticism, when exaggeratedly directed to parts in our soul that are responsible for our unique, creative expression, turns from a being a useful protector and facilitator into a harmful and untrustworthy resource. We must remember that hyper self-criticism is the main architect of walls that exist between us and the stream of knowledge that is part of what we call intuition.
Self-criticism asks us, for example, not to do anything “irrational.” It will alarm us if we decide to take a risk or if we make a move without planning or being totally prepared. Its messages, especially the way they are delivered to our awareness, will provoke some anxiety and a general feeling that there is something wrong with what we’re about to do. It will generate obsessive doubts and intensive fear of failure or loss, even if these results are almost impossible.
Self-criticism that tries to keep us part of society and a community will shout against everything that may seem “abnormal.” “Normal,” as we understand it, reflects what most people do, think or refrain from doing. But what are the things that people avoid engaging in? Well, you know the answer – being creative, spontaneous, original, brave or intuitive.
Our job here is to refresh our relationship with our overactive and relentless self-critic so that we can bypass it more frequently. This will help us make way for some illogical, unpredictable streams that are not explainable and that come from the depth of our unconsciousness, expressing the language of our intuition.
In the process of changing this relationship with our self-critic the first thing we can do is acknowledge it in a way that will leave no doubt that intuition is indeed an “illogical’ phenomenon.
There is no disagreement here with the self-critic. Yet we have a different perspective of this. The self-critic tries to discredit intuition because, according to its agenda, all things should follow only one mode of thinking. No deviation is ever possible or deserves serious attention. If something is “illogical” it should be withdrawn from any decision-making process, from change and initiative, and from the way we understand reality.
This may be crucial for our emerging connection with this valuable part of our mind. Intuition has nothing to do with our familiar logic, a fact that was mentioned here many times. Furthermore, intuition often stands in complete opposition to what may seem as reasonable logic. It signals us to follow some trails without offering any reference. It doesn’t offer any connection to precedents and does not over-value previous failures. Intuition, as will be shown later on, operates differently and marks ways that lead to a better life. We cannot understand how and why. Clearly, this is illogical. But are we sure about that?
We can lift ourselves higher in this debate and try to offer our self-critic and our suspicious left-brain some explanation to ease them, at least temporarily, so they might consider cooperating with some unusual initiatives. We may try to ease their resistance by telling them that despite being illogical intuition may still evoke a chance to be heard and to exist.
We’ll try to show our intelligent and scholarly mind, which has been trained to examine, measure, and question, that there may be, in the possession of human consciousness, some other logic in addition to the one we all know. This “other” logic is almost inactive and unrecognized.
We will present to ourselves a hypothesis that claims that there is an organized and well-structured system within the language of intuition that has its own goals, direction, style, rules and boundaries. We will agree that intuition does work in a different manner than the way our logical mind works, but that doesn’t mean it is too difficult to track its codes and methods of connecting to it more fluidly.
The story we may offer to our self-critic (hence, to ourselves), which is one of the main reasons for writing this book, is that intuition, despite being elusive, can create clear, less esoteric human scenery. In fact, intuition may become a very valuable tool for people, providing new kinds of help and fresh advice. Reaching it is not complicated.
We have been trained to think that knowing before learning, experiencing and testing is not possible. Are we ready to challenge this deep-rooted concept? Are we ready to admit that there are places in our lives that, even though they are not foolproof, provide an inner voice that leads us forward to a better place? If we can admit to this, then what about the possibility that this inner voice does have its own logic? Is it possible that we are equipped with more than one kind of logic? Wouldn’t it better if all logics in our mind cooperated with each other rather than remain exclusive?
Intuition, like love and spirituality, cannot be identified or quantified. No microscope can trace it and its energy cannot be contained in a box. A substantial part of our lives takes place outside the walls of research laboratories and common logic. This part has its own rules, framework and boundaries that make it definable independent of conventional thought.
This is the story we may try to tell our self-critic next time it tries to restrain us from going a different way, a way that for a long time may have been offered by our intuition but was ignored for being irrational. Many times, common logic leads us nowhere, causing us to remain the same as before. So, we are excited to try some new routes that work through different platforms of logic, and that may succeed in leading us to blessed changes that no other mode of logic could.
Wouldn’t this approach seem logical, even to our self-critic? Well, it should, but this change may take some time to evolve. It is a gradual process, and we need the time to prepare all parts of our mind for this intuitive revolution.
Chapter 20: Self-critic shows the already known; intuition is what is still unknown
Many times the main difference between the “ordinary” person and the “pretty smart” or even “genius” person is the ability to know, see and comprehend things that most other people cannot. What may go unnoticed is that these unique individuals characterized by their tendency to recognize realities that others cannot, are also the ones whose relationship with their self-criticism is different. They experience a better communication with their internal sources of knowledge that feeds them insights and perspectives which most people are not aware of and therefore cannot enjoy.
One of the significant limitations created by excess self-criticism is the illusion that the only source of knowledge available is related to things that are certain and that reflect events that have already happened. The illusion also exists in the conclusions that are drawn from life experiences and knowledge drawn from people who influence an individual and feed him ideas and information.
When someone is in a creative state of mind, he may feel that the final creation is already there, waiting to be found. In many ways we can assume that a person whose mind is open to its creative nature and to creativity in general, realizes that this has a life of its own and that his duty is to connect to it, to sense its unique language and to enable its delivery and growth.
This description may also enhance our appreciation of intuition’s nature that is tightly connected, always, to our inborn creativity. In contrast to self-criticism and to our common logic, intuition looks forward to the future, to what we call the “unknown.” This is what our self-criticism has taught us to think – that everything that is not totally certain cannot be reliable or trustworthy.
Indeed, the future will always be unpredictable. The future always “awaits” us with new insights, surprises and findings. We will never be able to address the future as we do the present. The future will always be a bit foggy, but we have to move forward toward it, even if we don’t like it. We may try to deny that this huge part of our lives is so out of our control, and this will only make us run faster to the warm and cozy hands of our alleged confidant and never to uncertainty or self-criticism.
Our self-critic will always try, albeit unsuccessfully, to maintain our focus mostly on what exists and what has been, while inducing overwhelming caution towards whatever has not yet happened. Self-criticism will allow us to relate to the future and to other uncertain issues through over reliance on precedents and common knowledge. Self-criticism will attempt to make us feel more in control while facing the inevitable uncertainty that characterizes the future and all other things that are beyond our comprehension.
Intuition does ask to reduce the level of uncertainty that exists about things that have not yet surfaced, and does provide guidance and directives in places where we find ourselves more confused and without solid answers. Intuition addresses that which has not yet reached our understating and knowledge, and presents them as things we can explore and learn about, but not through our usual learning tools that are normally based on research, observation and past precedents.
Intuition opens a door to the untouchable, to areas which our left brain marks as beyond the limit of knowledge or comprehension. Intuition, in complete contrast to our criticism’s behavior, invites us to review the parts of our lives that precede their time, and provides directions to do or choose despite lack of sufficient tools that will show the right thing for us.
In fact, contrary to what we’re used to thinking, intuition is here to make the fog clearer, to produce a new kind of certainty that is based on a different rule set than our common logic provides. These new functional tools that are inside us, may be in our possession and be routinely used, but only when we learn how to reduce self-criticism’s role in our thinking, decision making and our reality.
Isn’t this the most glorious paradox? We are discovering that our self-criticism that claims to hold us in a safer and clearer state of mind, actually deludes us into feeling that our mind is too narrow, and that we cannot manage things that are important or crucial to our existence. Instead of allowing us a wider perspective and certainty, we have imprisoned ourselves in a place where we have to close our eyes in fear of seeing what we cannot immediately explain. This way, what we currently judge as wisdom and intelligence has become our strongest deterrent from living a better life.
Furthermore – the state we have evolved to, as a progressive culture, particularly in the field of technology, is characterized by even greater detachment from the important skills we have. There is growing anxiety about the future. We are getting used to over-reliance on one exclusive mode of thinking that has zero tolerance and openness to other kinds of logic, and to ways of thinking that do not follow its directives.
This state will remain the same and may even worsen until we learn how to combine intuition, imagination and creativity in our lives, not just as amusements, but as central and essential parts of the way we perceive reality and act upon it.
As long as these “left brain” tools remain dominant, in a space where hyper- criticism is strengthened, our anxiety about what’s next, about fear of losing control, about death, about all things we don’t want to encounter, the new and different will remain the same. No growth will take place.
Intuition is here to give us the unique impetus to initiate new directions. It changes our perception of the future’s uncertainty by using tools we cannot explain. All attempts to explain intuitive decision through common logic will be aborted by the exaggerated self-criticism and will be marked as unreasonable.
If we choose to maintain the dominance of self-criticism in our mind, we will prevent the creative activities’ wings from entering our lives. Sadly, this deterrent will also create a false confidence that in fact will only intensify anxiety and insecurity.
This is our choice and path of learning. We can reduce self-criticism and at the same time allow ourselves to follow our gut feeling a little more. In time, we will realize that this way only makes us sharper, safer, clearer and more enabled to create, develop and change.
Chapter 21: Honor the self-critic, but recognize the price
The original goals of self-criticism hold great importance in shaping modern man. Self-criticism creates the potential to doubt new ideas and information, to learn lessons from past mistakes, and to research, wonder and debate about things that don’t seem right. This state of mind, driven by healthy self-criticism, promotes an interpersonal environment that encourages development, growth and change.
A person with weak self-criticism may be overly influenced by various ideas that will try to make him follow a unidirectional doctrine and distort life’s facts. He may obey whatever he is ordered to do or to think and will find it hard to take responsibility of his deeds or choices.
Self-criticism has a played a great role in many of the revolutions we have witnessed through decades and centuries. It is a major player in research and technological development in an expanding world of science, enabling a much better understanding of life’s mysteries. It is also a facilitator in making challenges of the past easier to handle. Science, that depends heavily on criticism and assessment, provides the tools and knowledge to cure diseases, alleviate suffering and improve the quality of life.
These are a few reasons to have deep respect for our self-criticism.
It is important for us to acknowledge the part of us that checks and suggests fixing what’s not working correctly, to learn from experience, and prevent failures, damage and pain. This part of us is crucial in our personal and social lives. It is a part of everyone’s conscience and a part of the internalized guidance needed for proper behavior, acting within norms, and recognition of morals, values and ideals. Self-criticism is important for our very existence. Without our own criticism, substantial elements of our lives, as we currently know them, will vanish.
Criticism promotes preservation and progress. Yet when its role exceeds its primary goals and definitions, and when its influence becomes exaggerated and overwhelming, then the tool turns, in a snap, into a source that can cause hurt, damage, illness, isolation, fear of change, fear of renewal, and of course – fear of intuition.
This is the point where we must acknowledge the two faces of self-criticism, otherwise we will never be able to cope with it or cooperate with it in a way that not only bypasses its limitations but also intensifies its connection with intuition.
The first face of self-criticism is associated with the outstanding growth mankind has made in recent times. The second face is associated with the damage caused when the self-critic becomes a hostile source for self-punishment, depression, anxiety and addiction.
As long as we try to ignore or overlook our self-critic’s influence, we will fail in connecting to intuition. We cannot stop thinking logically and shut out all doubts or warnings about unfamiliar or unproven issues. We will create parallel ways to connect to intuition, while the latter will keep on making its regular noise because we will never be able to erase it. In time, as intuition gets stronger and becomes more available, it will partner with our common logic, enrich it, and empower and improve its performance. When this takes place, the self-critic will have to learn the new rules regarding information that comes from unpredicted sources. Our smart logical mind will acknowledge, at least partially, the validity and importance of intuition, as long as we keep on practicing and strengthening it.
It is only a matter of time until our thinking brain agrees to team up with intuition. Yet this is where we’re headed. But until this union does take place, and until a significant portion of our consciousness makes serious room for unproven intuitive whispers, we must keep on reminding ourselves that we possess this strong criticism. Together with its critical contribution, self-criticism’s exaggerated presence takes much of the wisdom we are truly blessed with and creates a dangerous illusion of common logic’s dominance in knowledge, understanding and everyday life.
We usually pay attention to the inner critic, to its guidance, comments and reminders, all based on past experience. Yet, if we want more from life and if we want to discover the things that are beyond the familiar, that lead to a fuller, more harmonic, creative and happier life, then we will have to step forward and move ahead of the place where many people are stuck, blind to sights that the naked eye cannot see.
If we want more from life, we will have to thank our self-critic for its magnificent service and at the same time restrain it and show it who is the real boss. Our self-critic should maintain its original status as advisor and nothing more. This advisor’s suggestions may sometimes be valuable, while at other times be wrong or harmful, especially when we are involved with experiences that require a more spiritual-emotional approach, such as when using intuition, creativity, passion, etc. In these times the role of self-critic may be less profound while its advice may be confusing.
When we wish to take responsibility over our decisions and wish to improve and fix what we’ve done, then we may choose to pay more attention to our self-critic. We need also to keep in mind that no self-condemnation or other negative attitude will be tolerated. But when we wish to create a new life, to expand our consciousness, to explore love, to understand our emotional world and the deep secrets of life, then we will begin this process by asking our self-critic to take a temporary vacation. In this way, we can dive into spaces where logic changes, where the order is not as it usually is, and where flow is far more important than planning or delaying.
This is the relationship we will develop and cultivate with our self-critic – a relationship that combines respect and suspicion; a relationship in which, in time, it becomes clearer that the self-critic has no leadership role, is not the one who makes the decisions and is not the one that should evaluate our thoughts or decisions. Our self-critic is nothing but an advisor and our job is to keep it as such. It should not take control of other roles, such as education or surveillance, and should not become a source of pain or a device that detaches us from the beautiful and genius stuff that exists inside us – stuff that is channeled through the wires of intuition.
Life contains huge amounts of information, knowledge and insights that come from “nowhere.” When we dare to embrace these gifts and trust them more sincerely, then we will have a much better understanding of why we must put the self-critic aside from time to time. After that, we can bravely take a step on the path whose destination is unclear, but a path that will eventually lead us to change in a way we have always dreamed about but never knew how to implement.
Chapter 22: Practical Faith
This chapter and the two that follow deal with the connection between what we tend to relate to as “spirituality” and intuition. The interplay between spirituality and intuition is actually of great importance. It facilitates the understanding of the association between humans and the unique information that wishes to pass through them via intuition. In this chapter, we will focus on a central aspect of spirituality – faith.
Before delving more deeply into the place that binds faith and intuition, we need to pay some attention to how we address and perceive the term “faith.”
What does “to have faith in” or “believe in something” mean?
Commonly, we use this word to describe something significant in our lives. We may agree that faith is the sum of attitudes towards what a person feels exists, or wants to think exists, yet cannot be certain about it logically. There are people for whom faith is a more private and personal matter. Others relate to it as a more social or community associated issue, especially in connection to religion, where a group of people share similar concepts and beliefs about things that are beyond understanding yet still seem to exist one way or another.
Faith, or belief, begins where an individual feels that he has no chance of understanding something, yet still needs answers or information. This relates to matters of life, death and beyond that, to the reason certain things happen or do not, and so on. Some people are certain that faith is a sign of human weakness and mental incompetence when facing uncertain aspects of life. Others view faith as a direct continuation of logical thought, of an important way to address life, to cope with reality and to have a sincere dialogue with it.
Intuition is a typical example of a phenomenon that many people agree exists, despite the inability to prove its validity in ordinary situations. Intuition can remain something that we can relate to or work with, only when we allow some faith to envelop it. When addressing intuition, faith may “ask” the person to let go of the need to understand and control everything and sometimes to let feelings in. There is no proof available, to take the lead or to offer new stories and points of view about reality.
I want to make it as clear as possible: When I connect “faith” and intuition, I do not wish to associate theological concepts and the human’s ability to be intuitive, nor do I suggest that you make broad use of intuition everywhere. Furthermore, I am afraid that many people avoid making a significant leap in their development as long as they associate faith only with ideas related to the existence of God and all that comes along with that.
A very practical way to address faith is to consider it a basic human skill, a factor that is very important in certain situations, and is sometimes the necessary bridge for people to find what they are looking for.
When someone struggles and faces significant obstacles, he may need a considerable amount of faith to maintain his chance for success, despite the many reasons that exist for failure. When facing disease, loss or the feeling that everything is falling apart, active faith may be the only reason to live and to fight.
But as far as intuition is concerned, faith has a role that goes beyond these scenarios. When we wish to enjoy new knowledge that comes from places we can never trace in our consciousness, we must recruit faith in order to make real progress. What we may need, in this case, is what I call “practical faith.”
Practical faith is the place where belief becomes a basic and strong ingredient of day-to-day life, of the routines and basic elements of our existence. There are aspects of faith that are an inseparable part of all the things we engage in, even if we don’t notice it. You may agree with this or be skeptical and try to separate, as much as possible, from the type of faith that you encounter in your daily activities.
Practical faith implies a person’s ability to assume that good things may happen in the near or distant future, and in very ordinary situations, even if no explanation of how these will evolve is available. Practical faith is what we use when trying to cook something totally new and different and still think that there is a possibility that the food might be delicious. Practical faith may be the extra mental force that pushes us to keep looking for the dream apartment even when all signs show that the current available housing is not appealing.
Many individuals who accomplish significant achievements have done so thanks to profound faith that supports them as they face challenges along the way. Many times, without persistent and stubborn belief, nothing will happen and our lives remain unchanged.
So, faith doesn’t always have to be linked to matters of religion or Divinity, although there is nothing wrong with this option. Faith can assist people in many of life’s situations, from the simplest to the most complicated, where ordinary logic and knowledge are not enough to address the challenge at hand.
Practical faith is therefore an inseparable part of a person’s life. Many of us find it hard to accept this, and some even resist it. This is normal. But practical faith cannot be taken for granted, and if used wrongly, the person may face failure or disappointment.
Practical faith is everything but human weakness. On the contrary! Having practical faith means finding inner strength and connecting to what makes us so special and able reach places we never imagined we could. This mental “muscle,” when properly used, helps people continue their journey even when things may seem hopeless. What initially appears impossible, can become a reality. A few decades ago, who would have dreamt that a small handheld device could provide so much information with some simple finger motions, and ease our lives in so many ways? I guess there were a few people who did understand this, and the rest is history.
As many authors before me, I could have written a detailed and fascinating book about the great strength of faith, but here we are focusing on intuition. Intuition can exist only in a place where we can assume it does exist. We need to allow ourselves to believe and to have faith, because there is no other way to meet this part of our being. Logic will never give us a full green light for intuition. Without faith, we will have to give up this idea and abandon intuition. So, for our path to keep on taking us where we ask it to in the first place, we will have to make sure that our tool box contains this necessary mental device – practical faith.
Chapter 23: Life Is beyond Our Understanding. And We Are All Aware of This
This chapter’s title represents one of the most important reasons for our meeting here to discuss topics related to intuition. The title also alludes to the progress we may experience, which is quite exceptional, once better connection with the language of intuition is set, and also once we recognize the new places that only intuition can help us reach.
In many ways, the fact that life has always been and will forever be beyond our ability to grasp, constitutes grounds for the development of human spirituality. People today, as many years ago, have the ability to realize that despite human cognitive development, there will always be parts in life that escape our understanding. We do understand that we don’t understand. For many people, this important concept, along with a person’s emotional and intellectual needs, serves as the principle motive to search for spiritual answers within a spiritual framework.
There are several approaches to this phenomenon. Most of them are related to an ongoing conflict between left-brain people and right-brain people.
Left-brain people define what they perceive as “unknown” as something to research, decode and break into basic elements. They try to create as many technologies as possible to be able to crack its mystery so that they can understand and control this “unknown.” The motivation to decode this is a big piece behind scientific research, state-of-the-art technological development, academic expansion and most progressive changes that propel the humankind experience.
Right-brain people relate to what they perceive as “unknown” as an existing fact that contains no need for much debate or extensive common sense explanations involvement. For them, an important aspect of existence and reality perception is being able to spend time in a space of uncertainty, where imagination, creativity, inspiration, and most strange ideas exist and develop.
For left-brain people, whatever is regarded as “not existing,” cannot be related to as fact or discussed as a valid data in a serious discussion. For right-brain people, however, the concept of “non-existence” represents the zone in which the soul can flourish, thrive and recognize all that is special.
For left-brain people empty space contains nothing. For right-brain people empty space is rich with all kinds of things that the naked eye cannot identify. Physically, a place of nothing may represent the majority of space which all things are made of. Atoms, the building blocks of all matter, are made especially of a space in which nothing visible exists. In fact, we all share the illusion of having dense material around us and inside us.
The truth is that we are made, almost entirely, of empty space. Are we able to grasp this phenomenon? Theoretically, yes. Practically, no. We remain caught in this illusion as in other illusions that make us feel as if we are in control, that we understand everything and we have significant influence over our lives. The truth, in fact, is totally different.
This reality and metaphor of the things we are made of bring us back to the same complex fact: Life is far bigger than that which comprises our understanding of it. We can try to ignore this by committing ourselves to “rational thinking only.” We can also redirect this awkwardness into some spiritual concept that may help us feel better through some models and explanations that most people would reject. In both cases, we try to escape into some undisputable, extreme concepts to avoid having to deal with the constant uncertainty of our lives – an uncertainty that has no intention of ever leaving us.
This challenge is something we’ll never be able to bypass. We will never reach a state of total control of our lives. Yet there is something very helpful we can do with our intuition – something that will lead us into a state of mind where current confusion made of this uncertainty may lessen and be easier to deal with.
In this sense, intuition will no longer function just as a channel for valuable information. Intuition is about to receive a grander role – to provide us with significance and tools to deal better with the most troublesome parts of our lives. This is where intuition changes from being just a good advisor into becoming a healing source that assists in one of the hardest tasks – to live better with the things we don’t understand or control, but that exist and demand our attention.
So from now on, this journey, aimed at creating a deeper and stronger connection with intuition, will also be about putting ourselves emotionally in a place where life is more comfortable, flows better and is friendlier.
In time, intuition may become our close friend, with one hand touching the unknown and unusual, and with the other hand speaking in coherent language as it deals with the present and all that is relevant to our ongoing challenges.
This is how it works: Intuition comes from nowhere. At least, this is how we perceive it. Some may claim that intuition expresses deep knowledge that we have acquired somewhere in the past. Others will argue that intuition is not related to experience or to learning, but reflects sources of knowledge that have nothing to do with what we are accustomed to – such as studying or being involved in other ways. No matter what, intuition will always be a surprise, a refreshing renewal and a way to broaden our potential. The more intimate we become with intuition the more closely tied we will become to some puzzling parts of our lives, even if at first this connection will go unnoticed.
Intuition comes from nowhere. This is the way we experience it. The more we manage to relate to it as an accepted part of us, the more this “nowhere” becomes comfortable and homey. This is the same concept as the fact that we will always be built of almost no substance in our atoms. “Nowhere,” which is in fact a grand part of all existence, becomes a more interesting and stimulating place to be and to investigate.
But beyond its role as the “representative of nowhere,” intuition is not that far from real life and its most basic issues. Intuition, in this sense, may enrich us with precious ideas about work, family, health, our house or whatever else occupies our routines. Of course, if we’re ready to listen and move forward, intuition will also be here for us as a guide for growth, change and development.
Bottom line – wherever we are, whether in the most boring or casual context, or in the most challenging and extraordinary drama, intuition will be there for us, reminding us that all parts of life are equally important. So intuition is “here,” although it is always “somewhere there.” It may not always be that clear to us, but we will always deal clearly with immediate aspects of life.
Intuition and all that accompanies it can become a practical and rewarding tool to help us cope with the things that we have to face. These things include the fact that life isn’t always clear to us, that our control is limited, that surprises are not always of the good kind, that despite all our plans we don’t really know what is going to happen tomorrow, and so on.
Researching intuition and getting closer to it is not possible if we ignore the spiritual aspects of life, because intuition will always be unpredictable and a few steps ahead of us. Our logical mind will never fully accept this part of our intellectual skills because it makes it feel uncomfortable.
On the other hand, through the process we are engaged in here, there is a chance that our logical mind will be wise and flexible enough to realize that there are avenues to take even when things seem stuck, with no meaning or visible solution. When we will have the maturity to ask for intuition’s help, then we will enjoy a healthier, more creative and happier lifestyle. And this is exactly where our path is directing us. This is our journey.
Chapter 24: Who is expressing himself through you as your intuition?
The best answer to this question is, “It really doesn’t matter.” Yet the discussion about this question and all that follows constitutes an important step towards a better connection to intuition.
Intuition, as the people who are comfortable with it will testify, is a kind of “voice,” even though there is no audible sound. The more we pay attention to intuition and the more its messages become an essential part of our lives, the more we will trust it and diminish the doubts around it. As a result, we will have more opportunities to “hear” intuition’s voice, and actually hear it “speak” to us. In time, we will be able to distinguish it from other voices that share the space inside our minds.
When we connect the concept of “spirituality” to the quest for intuition we can temporarily release ourselves from the need to be logical and correct. If we reach this point it may be a good sign of our readiness to open our hearts to “strange” or even unacceptable things.
Indeed, the idea that intuition is a kind of “voice” with its own features, a calm, confident and stable voice that is not really heard but can be sensed through emotional channels, may sound strange. These feelings, that are pretty common, are the result of fear – fear to address strange things inside us, fear of the unusual and unfamiliar, fear of losing control, and eventually – fear of losing our minds.
If we do a serious self-check and filter the usual noises that occupy our minds we will surely find that the worst thing that we fear is to lose our sanity, become fragile and unstable, and basically lose the reality that is part of us. There is no greater fear than the thought of losing our mind and experiencing the subsequent losses that accompany it.
Why is this so important now?
It’s important because so many people find it hard to accept the idea that intuition does exist and is an accessible, abundant source of information that comes from undefined places and whose ideas are not channeled through a logical process. Despite the universal agreement that such a phenomenon is a part of us, why is that that many people still disregard intuition, make fun of it and relate to it as “not serious” or worse?
The reason for this may be both simple and complex. Connectedness to intuition, being freed from the boundaries of this internal, confident voice that already knows what our logic does not realize, may trigger serious anxiety for many people. Intuition represents something that exists, yet is unexpected and does not follow any logical code or sequence. So it may not be a surprise that in some places being intuitive, that means being illogical and strange, may also be associated with being senseless, even insane.
Indeed, mentally ill people sometimes suffer from auditory hallucinations that contain troubling voices that distort reality. These people truly hear voices that seem real, although no one is actually speaking to them. Most of the time, these voices are negative, hostile, judgmental and intimidating. No shred of connection exists between these ill voices that cause great suffering and the voice we refer to as the “voice of intuition.”
Indeed, we may address intuition as a “spiritual” phenomenon because of its slippery nature and the inability to control it. Intuition is free, comes and goes at its own will and delivers its messages without asking permission or considering our ideas.
So, on our long journey towards acknowledging intuition we need to take a good look at our attitude towards spiritual and esoteric issues. Are we open- minded to the fact that life is greater than our ability to understand it? Are we ready to accept the possibility that there are things in our lives that make an impact on us, yet whose existence will never be proven or explained scientifically?
Viewing a challenge from a totally different perspective reveals potential advantages of walking intuition’s path. Connecting to intuition may in fact aid us in reducing the negative price we pay for fearing insanity.
This common anxiety also forces us to keep a distance from freedom, creativity, spontaneity and a deviation from the current norms – the things that make life sweeter, richer and stronger. Extended fear of losing control of our lives constricts our persona and wastes important resources as we run away from everything that smacks of a liberating experience or engagement with the unfamiliar. Fear of losing their mind makes people become less ready to deal with life’s unexpected events, and when these do happen they find themselves confused and helpless.
This is why it is so important to stick to the concept of “intuition’s voice,” that at first may sound controversial and even be associated with mental illness. It is important to keep such terms alive so that we can remind ourselves that intuition will always have spiritual roots that represent what needs to be addressed, and so that we can eradicate the monsters we create when panicking about losing our minds. Addressing intuition’s “voice” as a spiritual act, will in fact strengthen our mind and remove many of the unneeded and disturbing fears.
An “internal voice” addresses intuition’s mode of action because it represents the autonomy of intuition and teaches us not to be afraid of it. Despite its significant freedom and endless options, intuition will never guide us to harmful pathways. It is not designed to do so. Just the contrary.
The “internal voice” allows us to differentiate between the familiar, legitimate voice and another kind of mental streaming that brings ideas through different tools and orientation. Intuition’s voice speaks through us and we’re not supposed to control it. It has its own voice. Our main job is to learn to listen to it and to develop some courage to occasionally follow the new adventures that intuition is trying to bring to us.
The “internal voice” can be addressed from a psychological point as well. For us, any option is fine. It doesn’t really matter who or what is speaking to us through intuition, where it comes from or what it represents.
From the spiritual point of view that tends to see causality and a grander reason for everything that may seem odd, we can learn to see that in the long run intuition always leads us to a better place. We need simply to be ready to let it get involved in our lives. The logical mind will not accept such a deterministic approach and will likely prefer not to blindly believe all intuition’s messages as valuable and safe.
This conflict, between spirituality and common logic, is important for us to recognize. It will remain a place of challenge in almost all places where we give intuition a chance. It is a strong part of our work and will remain as such. It is our duty to exercise patience and to make sure we don’t give up the hope that from time to time an inner peace will be formed between the two forces, and that they will co-exist and thrive.
Chapter 25: If you settle for only feeling and not acting, then you won’t get anywhere.
These next three chapters, 25-28, are about implementing intuition, about turning the vague and slippery knowledge one can sense and connect to via intuition into sustainable reality, true change, initiative, brave moves, trials, and errors.
The theoretical vocabulary used for these discussions will indicate a passage from the focus on what I relate to as “feminine energy” to the way intuition partners with “masculine energy.”
In short, I will make a distinction in a way similar to what several other philosophies do, based on the understanding that life is made of continuous interplay between two major forces: the “feminine” (parallel to the “yin” in Chinese medicine) and the “masculine” (parallel to the “yang” in Chinese medicine). In this sense, logically, women in general represent the feminine force in life, and men generally the masculine.
These two central, polar forces have their unique roles. Yet, if they do not reach a cooperative and effective partnership with each other, each remains only partially fulfilled. In this case, a systematic imbalance is created that leads to potential challenges and, in extreme situations, even pathologies.
The feminine energy is responsible for more of the “internal” senses. This includes intuition, which is usually perceived as something that grows inside us and emerges from within. The ability to tune into one’s intuition is therefore a “feminine energy” skill both in women and men. The notion of women’s intuition is therefore not just a myth. Women, whose main essence is obviously feminine, may identify their own internal intuition more easily and connect to it through their own senses, even if no explanation or validation is realistically available.
But this does not mean that men cannot connect to their intuition or to the feminine energy that exists inside them as well. They can. But it may be more difficult for them because they tend to rely more on their masculine tools that draw them to a more logical, rational, and practical approach. This may even end up in total mistrust and complete invalidation of intuition.
Yet the story doesn’t stop here. As long as men do not connect well to their feminine energy, and do not manage to get in touch with their intuition and other feminine tools like imagination, passion, spirituality, and readiness for change, they remain stuck in their masculine energy and impotent as far as manifesting its full capacity. Connecting between these feminine and masculine forces may be one of the most important challenges that people need to address.
Of course, the same goes for connection the other way – and this is the topic of this chapter: If you settle on feeling only, then you won’t get anywhere. Even if you develop a deep connection to intuition and give it generous space in your mind allowing for new and unpredictable ideas, no change in growth will occur as long as you remain at the level of only feeling and experiencing intuition.
More clearly stated: As long as intuition remains inside and is not implemented practically it has no value and may be regarded as something that has never existed. Even if you acknowledge all the secrets of life in your mind, there is no significance to this as long as this new knowledge doesn’t incorporate the tools and means of the masculine energy. In turn, this will move imagination to reality, a dream to fulfillment, and fantasy to action.
Intuition operates in a state of flowing. It comes and it goes. It is more available to us when we are more flexible and less stuck. When we move, communicate, make love, are washing dishes, fixing appliances, drawing, running, walking, writing – when we are in a state of relative flow and less under the dominion of our logic systems, that is when intuition can penetrate our consciousness more easily.
If we do not allow the information that comes from intuition to cross the boundaries of the mental interior space (the feminine energy), if we fail to move it from the more spiritual, emotional territory to an actual deed, initiative, change, or new zone, we actually reduce or even wipe out the value of intuition and its flow. Once intuition has been given our attention, then its direction must be poised outward, to life, to the opportunity for new things or a different approach, an upgrade, and healing. If we do not assist intuition to manifest this way, then we keep it locked in our emotional world. This way, nothing will happen or change. Intuition will have no reason to enrich us with valuable data.
Intuition may be regarded as a sense that requires a light push. It is a deep wisdom that has the capability to see what we are currently being restricted from because of the significant role our logical thinking plays in our minds. This logical mindset keeps us on the same old, familiar track. Intuition, on the other hand, asks us gently and patiently to try other avenues that at first may seem daunting, but will later provide bridges to places we have always wished to reach yet had no tools or knowledge of how to get there.
As long as we miss this “push” that intuition brings with its messages, as long as we don’t recognize that intuition tries to open a chain reaction towards a real and practical space, we are not only missing great opportunities to improve our lives but also a chance to understand what intuition is about, both emotionally and logically. As long as we refuse to play the game intuition is inviting us into, we will never be able to have a serious discussion about intuition and about its role and contribution to mankind.
This message is challenging and not easy to follow, yet no other choice is available for us unless we prefer staying behind with no meaningful connection to intuition. It is not easy to acknowledge that intuition’s main role is to awaken us and to point out things that will help us move forward and do, by initiating, changing, or enabling. It is far from simple to recognize this contract we have with intuition. Intuition will tell us stories about new things and we will use these stories as templates for new deeds and new attempts. This is the contract and it is not about to change. If we cannot follow the rules of this game, even sporadically, intuition’s presence will decline because we are not providing the basic platform for its action, the platform of flowing from inside out, from feminine energy to masculine, and vice versa.
It is also important to stress that there is no need to stay tuned into intuition or to engage in its recommendations at all times. All we have to do is to give these feelings an opportunity for tangible fulfillment while taking some small risks along the way. This way our connection to intuition will improve and grow. Intuition will flow better inside us, and it will continue its gentle prompting.
If we find enough strength, and acquire a sense of adventure that, from time to time, we allow to flow inside us, then move from our feminine mental modality to our masculine practical modality, there will be ground for a gratifying relationship between polar parts inside us. At that point, we will be established as more intuitive people in more aspects of our lives.