Some Reflections on the Mystery of Intuition

The gut instinct proves the mind-body connection

Photo by Aravind Reddy Tarugu on Unsplash

“I believe in intuitions and inspirations…I sometimes FEEL that I am right. I do not KNOW that I am.” ― **Albert Einstein**

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The more I read and think about intuition, the more fascinating and mysterious it seems.

Albert Einstein made a fine distinction between “feeling” and “thinking.”

Intuitiveness or insight is spontaneous; we cannot “think” it into existence.

Intuition means different things to different people.

Carl Jung believed that intuition originated from the unconscious mind.

“Intuition (is) perception via the unconscious.”

Some have even spiritualised intuition:

“For the spiritual being, intuition is far more than a hunch. It is viewed as guidance or as God talking, and this inner insight is never taken lightly or ignored.” — **Wayne Dyer**

A common theme pervades the different perceptions about intuition: it bypasses reason.

According to my layperson’s understanding, intuition reflects the body’s intelligence.

It proves the body-mind connection.

The body seems to keep the score of all our experiences, especially the negative ones.

We also call intuition as the “gut instinct.” Te gut primarily involves the stomach and the intestines.

The gut is a “second brain.” There is a constant two-way communication between the gut and the brain. This is called the gut-brain axis. When something feels off, don’t we get an uneasy feeling in the stomach?

I ignored the voice of intuition when I sold a property a few years ago. When the buyer first met me, I felt uneasy. I couldn’t explain the reason. I decided to proceed anyway because he talked in a convincing manner. I faced a lot of problems with the buyer later.

The gut contains nearly 70 % of the body’s immune cells. It houses trillions of microorganisms, collectively called the microbiome. Poor gut health cause reduce mental clarity, affect mood, and cause anxiety and depression.

May I make a daring but plausible hypothesis, from a layperson’s perspective? The gut is the seat of the subconscious (unconscious) mind.

Can we trust our intuition?

Intuition is also referred to as the “sixth sense.”

We must heed our intuition when it speaks through bodily sensations and conditions, according to this verywellmind.com article:

• You may have tension in your body or have a gnawing thought that won’t go away.
• You feel like you have a pit in your stomach.
• The hairs on the back of your neck stand up just before a frightening experience.
• You feel like you should avoid a certain area, not knowing why, only to discover you would have been in danger if you were there.

When we are in an uncomfortable relationship, we may experience migraines or digestive problems. If so, it is time to examine underlying problems, if any.

The main purpose of intuition is to protect us from danger, so we must never ignore it when it comes to our safety.

We must not mistake fear or overthinking as intuition.

Intuition is not intrusive; it does not command, but only suggests a course of action or avoid one.

Janet Conrad, writing for mindnix.com, says that expertise and experience help intuition work effectively. A firefighter instinctively knows when a burning building is going to collapse.

Intuition also works well in familiar environments.

“Intuition is like reading a word without having to spell it out. A child can’t do that because it has had so little experience. A grown-up person knows the word because they’ve seen it often before.”-Agatha Christie

Janet Conrad says we must be careful when we rely on intuition to make decisions in high stakes or dangerous situations.

Intuition will not work when we are feeling stressful or emotionally overwhelmed. Cognitive biases can also distort intuition.

How to hone our intuitive skills? We can journal and keep a record of experiences. Mindfulness practices also help us slow down and listen to the voice of intuition.

According to Janet Conrad,

“The key is knowing when your intuition is serving you… and when it’s fooling you. Like any skill, intuitive thinking gets better with practice, self-awareness, and a pinch of scepticism.

The next time your gut speaks up, don’t ignore it — but don’t follow it blindly, either. Ask yourself: “Where is this feeling coming from?” And then, make your move.Because the smartest decisions? They come from both the heart and the head.”

I wish to propose another hypothesis: The quality of our intuition is directly liked to our gut health. For example, poor digestion can weaken our intuition. A compromised gut disrupts the gut-brain axis. Emotional regulation is not possible when we are stressed, anxious or depressed. Intuition will not work in these circumstances.

It seems we will have to learn how to tap into our intuition through repetitive practices.

Intuition is context-specific and personal. Some, like highly sensitive people, are more intuitive than others.

Fora detailed account of the gut instinct, please refer to the following story that I wrote on Medium about five years ago:

**The Gut Instinct Is Not a Wild Guess | by Mukundarajan V N | Curated Newsletters | Medium**

Thanks for staying with me till the end!