What is intuition?
Intuition is a form of intelligence that is beyond the rational mind. You know without knowing why you know. There is certainty without doubt. Courage is needed to access your intuition, but once accessed there is a knowingness where courage is no longer needed because fear and doubt don’t exist. There is only presence, certainty and inspired action
The Myths of Intuition
There is a lot of misconception, especially in the corporate world about what intuition is. It is perceived as something mystical or which exists only in a crazy mind. It is labelled as a right brain activity along with creative thinking. It is considered that there’s no place for this in business, where the left brain rational mind dominates and only empirical evidence should be used to make decisions.
In fact a lot of research has been done in the fields of quantum mechanics and neuroscience, which point to the power of intuitive intelligence. Whilst activities can usually be assigned to either the left or right brain, intuition is a whole brain activity. When you experience intuition, your pre-frontal cortex (the front part of the brain) lights up.
Research has been done on intuition in the business world as executives struggle to analyze more in less time. Successful business leaders such as Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates have stated that they rely on their intuition to make decisions.
“Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect. That’s had a big impact on my work.” – Steve Jobs
In 2014 the US Navy embarked on a $3.85m study over 4 years on the power of intuition, which has helped officers make quick decisions thus saving lives.
Scientists are only now discovering what the ancient mystics of the East revealed thousands of years ago: that there is an interconnectedness and interdependence between everything in the universe; that the whole and the parts are inseparable. Through our intuitive intelligence therefore we can draw from the mind of the universe.
This is beautifully illustrated in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy as Indra’s infinite net. At every node of the net is a jewel which reflects all the other jewels. It symbolizes that each entity in the universe contains within itself the entire universe.
It is the Universal Law of One and the Many. From the one comes the many and in the many, there is the one. We therefore have this intuition and insight within us.
How Intuition Can Give You the Edge
“The only real valuable thing is intuition”. – Einstein
Intuition can:
- replace stress and doubt in decision making with clarity and certainty.
- give you creative ideas that surface out of seemingly nowhere
- improve communication and relationships as you are able to read between the lines and pick up emotional intelligence levels. This can be important for recruiting the right person for a company which could otherwise end up being a costly mistake
- Be a more effective and empathic leader through a more enhanced and subtle awareness of your environment.
So here’s 7 things that intuitive people do that give them an edge:
1. They sit alone in silence
Intuitive people take time out to sit in solitude. They may or may not have a formal meditation practice,
Either way it allows them to dive deeper into their consciousness beyond the rational mind and get in touch with a depth of silence within. It creates the space to observe thoughts, feelings and sensations without attachment or identification.
It is through connecting with the silence and space that lie within the depths of our being that we access our intuition and deeper wisdom.
2. They listen to their inner voice
Everyone has at some point experienced a ‘gut feeling’ or a ‘hunch’ but are unsure of the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of it.
It takes courage to act on a gut feeling because the rational mind wants hard core evidence. Having trained and practiced in law, I know all too well the value of evidence in business.
3. They give equal importance to intuition and the rational mind
Intuitive people, especially in business don’t just discard logic. They use intuition and then back it up with empirical evidence wherever possible. It allows them to more fully utilize the resources of the brain. It’s an additional tool in their bag.
4. They dissolve strong emotional charges
Strong emotions cloud our ability to connect with our intuition.
Dissolving emotions is not to suppress them. We can easily suppress emotions with a strong mind but this can result in illness or unhealthy behaviours/addictions. What we suppress, the body expresses.
Intuitive people understand that emotions are a result of imbalanced perceptions. They therefore learn to balance their perceptions and neutralize emotional charges.
5. They know how to differentiate between emotions, instincts and intuition.
Knowing this and mastering their mind, they are anchored in an intuitive flow state and are therefore not at the mercy of emotions or instincts.
Emotions are as a result of imbalanced perceptions of the mind. Instinct is a tendency that’s hardwired in our brain in response to a stimuli which makes us respond usually with fear. It is a protection mechanism for our survival.
When we are emotional or acting on instinct, it is the reptilian brain that is activated. When we use our intuitive intelligence it’s the pre frontal cortex or executive centre of the brain, (the ‘CEO’ ) that lights up.
When we understand this we can see reacting from instinct or emotion isn’t always the best grounds to make decisions where we want maximum growth in our work and life.
6. They take time for their personal development
This is important in order to stay grounded, centered and certain. It’s otherwise all too easy to be swept away by our own insecurities and the opinions of others.
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice”
– Steve Jobs
7. They have an open and curious mind
This is essential for accessing intuition and learning anything new for that matter. If we believe something isn’t possible, then it won’t be. It’s our limiting beliefs about ourselves and life that are our real obstacle.; not anything outside of us.
An open and curious mind is important to be able to access deeper layers of our mind during meditation.