GUT FEELINGS!

Gut feeling, intuition or sixth sense. They mean the same: the ability to sense or know something that seems true without being able to reason or explain why. In recent years there’s been a great deal of research into the subject and it appears that we definitely have some kind of sixth sense, which is based in our ancestral heritage.

When he lived by his instincts man had to be constantly aware of the possibility of danger and what was happening around him. Those who were able to read a situation accurately and act on it quickly were more likely to survive. We are all born with intuition and as children we use it freely, but unfortunately, as we grow up, our minds become constrained by preconceptions and we lose this ability.

Most of our everyday thinking, feeling and acting happen outside our conscious awareness. Think how many things we do automatically: eating, speaking, driving, listening, running…..the list is endless. Our intuition is also automatic. It’s information that emerges from our subconscious in a similar way to a computer searching for files. A quarter of a second of information enters our brains, like a keyword, and pulls up anything we know from past experience or knowledge.

This is when we have a ‘gut feeling’. It’s not imagined - it’s real. The subconscious mind works ten times faster than the conscious mind so we just don’t process the information in our normal way. It’s a kind of unconscious association process.

The good news is that you can practise using your intuition and get in touch with your gut feelings. Begin by writing down any thoughts you have when you’re relaxed, ideas that suddenly pop into your head or bits of your dreams that stick in your mind. Try to give your physical hearing a rest for half an hour every day. Sit and think or meditate and sit in silence for a while. Have a notepad handy and jot down thoughts that go through your mind. (It’s no coincidence that some solutions to major inventions have happened while the inventor was dreaming, or out walking, or in the bath!).

Start to listen to what your instincts tell you. It may seem difficult to begin with, but the more you follow your gut feelings the easier it becomes. Remember though: intuition is fantastic for some things, but not to be relied upon for others. For example, it’s excellent for judging people or for using along with creativity and expertise…..but not so good for what numbers will win the lottery! Ideally you should use your sixth sense together with what you know in your conscious mind.

Your gut feelings can help you enormously in dealing with people, in meeting the person you love, in buying material possessions, such as a house, or a car, or taking a new job, because all these things are subjective. Our brains absorb many clues from our surroundings, but too often we ignore the inner voice urging us in the right direction. If you learn to use intuition wisely it will prove a very useful tool in your life. However, always bear in mind that it’s to replace the unknown, not to replace what you already know.