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The Power of Intuition


Have you ever been in a situation where you are making a decision and you have a "gut" feeling that pushes you in one direction? Those gut feelings, that you often can't give an explanation for why you feel one way or the other, is your intuition. The power of intuition can be a great thing, yet it can also at times be misread. Many people believe that trusting your intuition, or the first response that your mind gives you, is usually the correct route to take. Yet there others that will argue the opposite and say that it makes no difference if you go with your first reaction or your third reaction. Psychologists believe that intuition is powerful, and that it can push people in the wrong direction.


According to the dictionary, intuition is quick and ready insight. The Greeks used intuition many years ago as information that came from the senses. It is part of the study of philosophy. Further, it's the power of having knowledge of something without evidence of rational thought. To a lot of people, intuition is seen as something of a sixth sense that people have. Many people find it to be a bit mystical in nature. There's no concrete reason for the feelings and notions that come from intuition. They can't be explained; it is merely like the mind's eye relaying information to you. While you might not know where the answers or knowledge have come from, you feel confident enough with the information.

Many experts believe that people sometimes place too much confidence in the ability of intuition, which can keep them from making effective decisions. The debate about the power of intuition is one that wages on. There are firm believers on one side of the issue who feel it should be followed and always taken into consideration. On the other side are those who believe it doesn't mean much at all, and should not be taken seriously. But there are a lot of psychologists over the years that have taken the power of intuition seriously and have studied, and continue to study, the phenomenon and its effects on people. Although it is an intangible method that lacks rationality, listening to what your gut instinct has to say can go a long way in helping you make the right choices.


Small children have a great intuitive ability. Possibly this is a defense mechanism that we are born with and the ultimate goal is to help keep us making good decisions, and ultimately to keep us safe. Young children will often shy away from certain adults and are drawn to others. Their sense of intuition tells them which ones they will feel comfortable trusting. Back in prehistoric times, intuition may have helped guide people as they learned what they could eat, who they could trust, and where they could safely travel.

Intuition is a form of unconscious thought that helps us make determinations about the realities around us. It even has an effect on how we deal with other people and the ethics that we live by. Under the right circumstances, intuition can be useful and help to lead us through the world.

Although intuition has a place in being able to read people, it is important to keep in mind that it can sometimes misfire. People often have stereotypes they believe, and as those thoughts about different races, genders, or other situations and people stay in our heads, they can lead us to feel as though it is intuition pushing us in one direction, when really it's our own biases. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine if your reaction is a gut instinct, or intuition, or, if you have come to the conclusion based on stereotypes that you believe about something.


Can you develop your intuition? Many people say yes! It is believed there are three parts to working on developing your intuition. Those who help people develop their intuition suggest you will need to understand the material from life experiences that intuition is based upon. Then you will need to practice using intuition, followed by developing archetypal images that your intuition will rely upon. You can also look within, by participating in meditation and journaling, especially by keeping a dream journal.

During ancient times, people worked on developing intuition through Tarot, I Ching, and Astrology. Developing your intuition can help you in your career and other aspects of life. There are books and life coaches that focus on helping you specifically do this. The Institute of HeartMath offers tools to help people develop their intuition. They list some of the benefits of developing intuition as:


Reading body language is related to your intuition. This is because, as you study how someone acts, or the cues they are displaying, your intuition may lead you to thoughts about what they are nonverbally saying. For example, you could be in a job interview and see the person conducting the interview rest his chin on his hand with his elbow on the desk. Your gut reaction may send you a message that what he or she is doing is something different than it actually is.

So while intuition can be a very powerful tool in being able to read people and situations, you have to keep in mind that it does have limitations. It is not an exact science and not usually based on rational reasons. But when your gut tells you something, certainly give it some thought. It just could be giving you the right answer.

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