{"id":783,"date":"2010-05-18T14:43:52","date_gmt":"2010-05-18T13:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/?p=783"},"modified":"2010-05-18T14:43:52","modified_gmt":"2010-05-18T13:43:52","slug":"what-is-intuition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/2010\/05\/what-is-intuition\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Intuition?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Intuition\u00a0is something we all use yet few understand. Science often ignores the subject as an\u00a0inconvenient\u00a0truth and new-age nonsense moves in in its place. So exactly what is\u00a0intuition?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Intuition is something that I rely upon in my own training business and life in general (working in\u00a0conflicted\u00a0countries a few years back it saved my life a number of times) and is a topic that often arises when working with the body in leadership<\/a>. Recently I’ve lead a session on intuition for Brighton social\u00a0entrepreneurs\u00a0group BScene <\/a>and been on an Edgewalkers <\/a>workshop to further my own study. Thanks to Joolz “the corporate hippy<\/a>” for hosting and co-leading a great day.\u00a0Intuition is an\u00a0interesting\u00a0subject to figure out as most people who can do it well aren’t into analysing it! Happily I’m a logical, no-nonsense guy who’s been forced to (re)learn it, so here’s one perspective on the intuitive:<\/p>\n

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What Intuition Is an is not<\/h2>\n

Think of the human psyche as an iceberg. The small part above the water is the conscious mind that likes to think it’s in charge and with a little education uses logic and reason step by step to work things out. The subconscious however can process data in a non-linear fashion, very very quickly and taking far more into account. We are all geniuses at this – bringing our entire life experience to bare in a single moment (hence the title of Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Blink”). Think of a simple act such as walking or choosing what to say next in light conversation, it would be impossible to work out all the variable and come up with a logical plan in time, hence we use\u00a0intuition. The unconscious mind processes vast\u00a0amounts\u00a0of past experience and gives you the best option. Experienced nurses, mechanics and stock-brokers all rely upon this. The way in which the\u00a0unconscious\u00a0communicates to the conscious differ from person to person – some for example feel a direction, some images, some sounds – but the body as the\u00a0repository\u00a0of the\u00a0unconscious\u00a0is always key – hence “gut instinct” and similar phrases about intuitive intelligence. It is much easier to have an\u00a0intuition\u00a0about another person when we can see them or even better feel them. \u00a0Bodies mimic each other\u00a0unconsciously\u00a0and we are constantly “leaking” ourselves and “absorbing” others through this process. This subtle \u00a0unconscious\u00a0communication is why businesses will fly people around the world for a face-to-face meeting,\u00a0militaries\u00a0march and courting couples dance in very known culture in one form or another.<\/p>\n

Note that intuition is not simply habit. Simply\u00a0scratching\u00a0an itch is not using intuition.\u00a0Intuition\u00a0can be used in novel circumstances where there is little\u00a0habit. It is also not working things out logically (which is also fine and very useful and the domain of the conscious mind).<\/p>\n

Transpersonal intuition is knowing beyond the personal unconscious – to stay with the metaphor it is like all the icebergs joining up deep down in big collective unconscious\/morphogenic quantum energy field\/ synchronistic divine love fest! I’m mocking the new-age writers on the subject of course and most intuitive\u00a0phenomena\u00a0does not <\/strong>rely upon this explanation and can be\u00a0explained\u00a0at a\u00a0subconscious\u00a0level. That being said I do believe there is something<\/em> in these explanations as there is a growing evidence base on non-localisation and perhaps intuition will always have an element of the magic and\u00a0mysterious\u00a0to it.<\/p>\n

Advantages of Using Intuition?<\/h2>\n

Intuition\u00a0is:<\/p>\n