What is intuition? The meaning of intuition is explained.
Is intuition a weird kooky ‘woo-woo’ concept made up by new-age hippies, or is there more to it than that?
You know yourself when you’ve had a strange feeling about something and followed that feeling, I bet you found out later on that you were right. What is intuition exactly, the meaning of intuition is explained more in this post, read on for more.
How about being able to tell if someone is lying, knowing if an event won’t go ahead, or responding to the ‘thought’ that you just must take your umbrella with you today or even that your old school friend Kate is going to contact you?
Has anything weird, unexplainable or synchronistic ever happened to you? The chances are if you are reading this then yes it has and you are not alone.
Who has intuition?
Every human alive near enough has the ability to be intuitive. For many, their lives are simply too fraught with busyness and do-ing running around they just aren’t quiet or still enough to listen to the more subtle language of intuition.
In my TEDx Talk, I share how our animal friends, a wild herd of mustangs are innately connected to their instincts, and some of the very behaviours they demonstrate could be explained as a sort of sixth sense comparable to our own intuition. As they are more connected to their environment and surroundings than humans, their minds are free from the clutter of money worries money, job security, ill health or impending war, they are able to remain connected to themselves, the heartbeat of the herd, vibrations of the earth and the ever-changing season which shape the landscape they dwell in.
Some may say that is a form of intuition and others say that is often confused with instinct.
So exactly what is intuition?
Some call it the sixth sense, others may have heard of it as a gut feeling, a hunch, knowing, inner guidance or sense, chance, something weird, empathy or even an intervention from god! So it is hardly surprising it is confusing!
For me, intuition is the inner knowing and guidance, of my own inner compass that guides me through life. Sometimes it is a strong and wild force and others times a whisper so quiet I can only feel it gently touch the hair on my face. I trust it implicitly, follow it with patience and have learned to trust it deeply. Although I haven’t always had this deep connection with my intuition. Let me explain more about the meaning of intuition.
What is intuition defined?
The Cambridge Dictionary definition of intuition means “ an ability to understand or know something without needing to think about it, or use reason to discover it, or a feeling that shows this ability”.
In eastern philosophy of Hinduism, where various attempts have been made to understand how Vedic and Esoteric scriptures look at intuition a type of second nature called “knowledge by identity” or Buddhism which approaches it more as “a mental process beyond conscious thinking”. Within western philosophy, it features more predominantly in the works of many philosophers rather than a different field of study.
In more ancient Philosophy traced back to Plato, who tries to define it as “a pre-existing knowledge within the ‘soul of eternity’’ and a process by which the person becomes conscious of this pre-existing knowledge, sometimes referred to as anamnesis.’
Psychologists also tried to define “What is intuition exactly?”. From the likes of Sigmund Freud who “rejected any other means of acquiring knowledge such as intuition” to Carl Jung who defined it as “irrational functions of thinking and feeling, a perception via the subconscious”, through to more modern psychologists who explain intuition encompasses the ability to know valid solutions and decision making through the recognition-primed decision (RPD) model. The RPD model explains how people under pressure, can intuitively choose solutions to the problem they are working on based on pattern matching.
In the 1970’s Yale University quantitively tested intuitive abilities, and subjects made decisions quickly without being able to identify their reasoning although their level of accuracy results did not differ from that of non-intuitive subjects.
As you can see the academic world has approached it from many angles and similar findings occur.
What we know is there are many different ways to describe what we ALL have inside of us! I describe Intuition as inner guidance that can be received in the form of thoughts, feelings, sounds, smells, physical or somatic experiences and dreams, signs, and messages that guide me to take a direction or action. I liken it to a compass within us to take the right path or make the right decision for us on mind, body and soul levels.
What now?
If you wish to learn more about developing your own intuition, then consider joining a group like my Inspired Intuition Circles where you can meet with others who have been or are where you are now. Know this though, you are not alone, and it isn’t freaky or weird to have intuition, it is quite normal!
Curious to know more then do book a complimentary call or book a Voxer day and improve yours!