Two sentences from 1977.
The one single, specific memory I have from the ninth grade
was during a math class. We were being introduced to Geometry
for the first time. The teacher whose name I can surprisingly
not remember, asked "What is intuition?"
I raised my hand (an unusual act for me at 15 years old) and
said, "It is having a hunch: sort of knowing or having an idea
of something out of the blue, like without really knowing you
somehow know."
In my mind's eye the picture is crystal clear. How the teacher
was poised, what his sport coat looked like, where in the room
he was standing, how his head was turned just so. I think his
name might have been Mr. Tennaro. I was in his class for
one week.
Yet that question and answer still calls out to me more than
twenty years later. Forever caught in freeze frame across
three thousand miles and countless other classrooms and a
huge number of hours and moments and conversations.
Intuition. An inkling.
Sharon Franquemont, former professor of Intuition at John
F. Kennedy University and author of "You Already Know What
to Do" makes an important distinction. Rather than using
intuition as one of many tools for living, she suggests that one
choose to make the practice of intuition a way of living everyday.
Some think, "That is all well and good and I know for a fact I
have no clue how to live intuitively. I don't even know for
sure if I believe in intuition in the first place." Before we
discuss that, lets point to some very interesting illustrations.
It may be surprising to learn that some of history's greatest
thinkers believed an intuitive lifestyle was very beneficial.
Albert Einstein said, "The only real valuable thing is
intuition."
Intuition is not just "women's intuition" and it is not only
for what might be called "artsy" people. For centuries
inventors, entrepreneurs, engineers, parents, children and yes,
artists, have all experienced intuitive flashes. These inklings
sometimes lead to something big. A positive growth situation
beyond our usual way of thinking or being.
An inkling may lead to a new invention or an improvement
upon an already existing product. Ralph Waldo Emerson
described it this way: "Man is a shrewd inventor, and is ever
taking the hint of a new machine from his own structure,
adapting some secret of his own anatomy in iron, wood, and
leather, to some required function in the work of the world."
Have you ever experienced a breakthrough time? An "A-ha"
or an "Epiphany" moment? Arthur Koestler, Hungarian born
writer, wrote "The moment of truth, the sudden emergence of
a new insight, is an act of intuition". Akin to a "sixth
sense", intuition brings pieces together. It gives the gift of
heightened awareness. One simple way to practice intuition and
make it real into our lives can make a remarkable difference.
You can start right now.
Here is how it works.
When you are faced with anything where the solution is not
immediately apparent, thoughtfully and mindfully ask yourself
one of these questions or a similar question of your own creation.
"What is the spark that is missing to make this into a fire?"
"Is something missing here? What is it?"
"How can I really make a difference in this situation?"
Quiet your mind, even for a millisecond. Breathe. For me,
sometimes it helps to get up and move.
And then, listen (and speak or write down) your very first
response.
Don't rationalize, categorize or intellectualize.
Simply let it be. Use your senses to flesh out the possibilities.
Perhaps you will not find an immediate connection. Later in the
day, another insight will flash through your brain which will
bring another answer or perhaps a more refined answer.
Listen or speak or write down this answer.
See where your intuition is wanting to take you. Decide that in
all you do, you express artistry. As Lao Tzu spoke so many
years ago, "A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever
it wants".
Where is it leading you? Go there. Live passionately. Today.
About the Author
Julie Jordan Scott is a Personal Success Coach who left her
career as a bureaucrat and built a successful business in less
than six months.
Visit http://www.5passions.com for free resources.
Call Julie at ph: 661.325.4116 or email: julie@5passions.com