The most recent topic that I have been pondering is the theory of intuition. People can call it many things. Some call it a "gut feeling", a "sixth sense", "the holy ghost", "the still small voice", or even just instinct. I talk about the definition of intuition because I think it has many different labels for different people and however you believe, it still seems to have the same characteristics.
The main thing that I have been wondering about it how much you can trust your intuition when there is fear involved. I have had several conversations and researched this and what I have come to find out is that most believe that fear and intuition are two separate things.
True intuition comes from a place of peace. There is no emotion wrapped up in the initial thought. Afterward--maybe. But in the moment, it is a thought that hits you (sometimes out of nowhere) and has no real logic to it. You can't really say where it came from and you aren't wrapped up in its outcome. You just have a feeling. That is it.
A good example I heard from a friend was about the time he broke his neck. He loved to go tubing and was what you might call an "avid" snow sledder. In fact, he often went with his friends tubing and such and loved it. One afternoon his friends asked him to go and as soon as the question was asked, he thought he shouldn't go. No reason to it, just instantly felt that way. But he didn't want to tell them no, so he agreed. Later on, he met his girlfriend for lunch and she mentioned to him that she didn't think he should go. She had no reason either, just thought he shouldn't. He ignored both intuitions and decided to go anyway. Even when he got there, he decided to just watch and not participate. He even had envisioned going down the hill on a tube and crashing into a snow bank head first. He thought that vision was silly but still hadn't gone down the hill. Finally, at the end of their time there, one of his friends talked him to going just once before he went home so his trip wasn't a waste. He conceded and decided to do just one trip. You guessed it...he went head first into a snow bank and broke his neck.
Now, he healed from that trip and is fine today but I believe that is a story of true intuition. He had absolutely no reason or no emotion wrapped up in not going. He wasn't mad at the friends that were inviting him. He didn't have anything else planned. He loved the activity and had gone many times before. He couldn't explain why he was having that thought...but he had it. And when they had the first initial thoughts, they had no outcome wrapped up in their mind. They didn't necessarily SEE anything bad happening to him, they just had a "gut feeling" that he shouldn't go.
Now, to the other side of things, when you have a feeling about something and you start to get emotional (i.e. fearful, angry, jealous, sad, etc.), in my opinion, that is not a true intuition. Usually with these emotions comes a certain outcome that you can foresee happening (usually you don't want it to). The most important thing to remember about a fear based thought is that it almost always comes from a memory. What that means, is the only reason you feel fear or another emotion about it is that your subconscious or conscious is remembering something from your past--some kind of experience that you didn't enjoy. So, in summary about the fear based thought. Again, in my opinion, it is not a true intuition if you are remembering something from the past, are tied to an outcome or can visualize it, and if you have strong emotions about it.
A good example of this is a story I heard in my research about a woman who was very upset about her daughter going to a birthday party. There were six girls who were going to go out to all these different activities in their local area. There was supposed to be a storm that night and she was greatly worried about her daughter getting lost and the chaperoning parents not keeping her safe as well as the daughter getting in a car wreck because of a storm that was supposed to hit that night.
Now, some might call this "mother's intuition" (which by the way, I do believe in) but in my opinion, this was just fear. I have experienced this fear before and it gets stronger when it is someone that you are close to or have an innate sense to protect. More than likely, her thoughts were all based in memories or experiences that have happened to her or to others (i.e. stories of car accidents, or children getting abducted or lost). Because she was so emotional about this and also so wrapped up in the specific outcomes, I don't believe this was actually intuition.
The real reason I wanted to know about this is because too often I believe we are told to trust our gut but I wanted to clarify how accurate that gut really is and honestly, when I should or shouldn't trust it. If you gut is telling you something but it is based out being afraid of something that MIGHT happen and you are overcome with anxiety and strong emotions, I don't know if that is something you should necessarily trust. It isn't something to be ignored by any means either. I just believe that that kind of feeling should let you know that you have some old memories that need some healing and resolve. Once those old issues are healed, that scenario based fear will leave. However, if you are at peace and aren't tied to any outcome, you are just being in the moment and you receive an intuition, I strongly believe you should follow it with everything you have. I believe that is something bigger letting you know of what to be careful of OR what to chase for your happiness. I should clarify that MANY intuitions are about great and wonderful things waiting for us in our life as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please share your thoughts!