“Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next.” ~ Jonas Salk
Lately, I have been marveling over the wonder that is the internet. My kids called me “ancient” when I explained that when I was a student, doing a research paper entailed spending hours in a library poring over books and periodicals to get the required information. They can’t imagine what a world without the internet would be like. And frankly, now that I think about it, neither can I. The vast amount of data available at our fingertips at any given moment is truly amazing. Most of us don’t really think all that much about it anymore. We just expect it.
After musing a little more about it, it hit me that the logical mind is to the library as intuition (or gut instinct) is to the internet. When we are in our heads, using logical, analytical thought, it’s a lot like only being able to read the books on a bookshelf, or using a computer that is off line. We only have access to the data that is stored in the immediate vicinity, which can be largely outdated or even obsolete. And living in our heads often requires quite a bit of time and energy to try to figure stuff out and make things happen just the way we think they should. When it doesn’t, we often get frustrated, try harder to get everything to work, and ultimately feel like we just keep hitting walls. The frustration can lead us to cut ourselves off from our intuition, which, like the internet, has access to far greater things than we might realize.
Accessing our intuition allows us to connect to knowledge that surpasses what we can directly see, feel, hear, touch, or taste. We plug into information that allows us to feel connected to others-to hear beyond the words they are speaking to what they are not saying but feeling. We tap into the realm of possibilities and opportunities and begin to discern what we can do to leverage and act on them. We can also pick up warnings about options that are not in our best interest. When we are in our heads, we miss these things or are inclined to resist them because they are seemingly irrational or inexplicable.
Connecting to something bigger in this way allows us not only to receive data but also to send it-in a similar fashion to the way we do a search on the internet. When you want to learn about something on the internet, you enter a keyword and then receive a variety of links that will take you to more information on the subject. Similarly, when you set your intention on something you want in your life-peace, clarity, or a satisfying resolution in some conflict or challenge-you send a signal to the vast field beyond what is in your head that gathers information and energy aligned with that intention and brings it into your awareness. You access an infinite field of creativity and wisdom from which the greatest inventions, discoveries, and creations of our time originated.
We all access intuition in our own way. For some, it is visual-like seeing a picture or words on a screen or in the mind. Others can get it through audio, perhaps picking up words in a song or conversation, or even hearing words in their heads. And many of us get a feeling or a strong prompting to do one thing or another. Sometimes our experiences themselves take on increased significance when we begin to recognize that what is taking place has some relation to our inquiry or intention. When we act on these inklings, things have a way of falling into place in such a way that our intention comes to pass.
Unlike the internet, our connection to this greater field is always accessible. When we consciously rely on it, keeping our thoughts focused on what we want most in life, we will experience a sense of flow, peace, and deep satisfaction that mirrors our state of mind. When we allow our connections to become interrupted with frustration, doubt, anxiety, and fear we tend to draw to ourselves experiences that match those thoughts.
So the next time you catch yourself feeling anxious or stressed-frustrated about not being able to solve a problem, resolve a conflict, tackle a challenge-make a conscious decision to move from your head to your gut, and then balance the two. Choose what you want to experience and allow that to be your guiding intention. Your intuition will allow you access to ideas and possibilities that are just outside the boundaries of your mind, and your head will help you process and act on that information in a way that brings you what you want.
Image credit: Kenny Louie
About Diane Bolden
