What is intuition really? How do you recognize, invite, receive, and value guidance? I mean, especially, how do you hold those experiences that make no logical sense, or at least are darn hard to believe (even when you are the one who is having the experience)?
I was recently with a group of others in a workshop about nearing death awareness or near death experiences when this topic came up. A woman shared a story about an experience she had while in nursing school. A patient “coded” and after the patient had been resuscitated, the patient asked about the nurse she saw wearing red shoes. The supervisor this young woman was shadowing told the patient there had been no nurse wearing red shoes; it must have been an hallucination. Mind you, this was the day of white uniforms, hose and shoes, and starched white caps… but that young nursing student had also seen the nurse wearing the red shoes!
Another woman told of having received a phone call from the husband of a good friend asking her to come and sit with his wife (who was sick with cancer). He needed to go to work for a few hours. On the drive to her friends’ home, she saw a red fox. That was a very unusual sighting, so it caught her attention. Imagine her surprise when the patient sat up, pointing to a corner of the living room, and clearly said, “What is that red fox doing there?”
Many of my own experiences fit into the category of synchronicity, a term used by Carl Jung to acknowledge a significant coincidence, such as one person having seen a fox on the road and another having spoken of seeing one in the room. These events defy the odds, and are explained differently by the systems that speak of them.
In Jung’s view, these phenomena are related to archetypes—a larger structure of connection that pairs the objective reality of the physical world with the subjective experience in the psychological universe. In psychoanalysis, it is not uncommon for surprising coincidences of information to come via extra-sensorial ways, information that was not previously recognized and not generally known.
William James, the father of modern psychology, noted that cognition takes place both through slow, rational, thinking (requiring analytical effort) or fast, effortless, insight (intuition). It is common for individuals to desire greater insight and intuition without realizing they often do not come through our normal efforts. In fact, trying to be intuitive might just get in the way.
While intuitive types (think “personality types”) often are more likely to focus on the big picture, make helpful assumptions, and notice patterns, everyone can develop greater intuition. Is intuition related to psychic ability or extrasensory perception, or is greater awareness a skill we can all develop? And is one of the greatest areas of awareness available to us, awareness of the subtle energies?
In Healing with Energy (Bowman and Basham, p. 19-20), the correlation to higher sense perception (awareness of the energy) and intuition is made based on the senses we perceive the information through, and how we describe our awareness:
Some people perceive the energy primarily visually, while some perceive it auditorily and some kinesthetically. Some people can, for example, see the human aura, complete with colors, size, and shape. Others may hear sound vibrations emanating from the aura, while others may feel the aura kinesthetically. Still others may not see the aura in literal fashion but may visualize it, forming an internal visual representation, while others may hear words and phrases internally when in contact with a person’s energy field.
The following are typical examples of the vocabulary people use to describe their perception of the energy:
• Visual — Color: Specific colors, bright, dim, light, dark, transparent
— Images: Pictures, people, animals, symbols
— Movement: Still, moving slowly, moving quickly, direction• Auditory — Sounds: Tones, rhythms, music
— Information: Words, phrases• Kinesthetic — Density: Thick, heavy, thin, light
— Movement: Flowing, congested, blocked, tingling, vibrating, bubbly, bouncy, electric
— Temperature: Sweaty, clammy, cool, cold, wet, warm, hot, burning
— Disruptions: Hole, tear, leak, vacant, empty, bulging, gaping
After spending several days with Dr. Mary Jo Bulbrook while she was presenting here the first week of August, I am experiencing beginners’ mind. As aware as I am, I know she has greater awareness of some things than I. The first day of the weekend training I was wondering if I should give up working with people and send them all to her.
Ego can trigger that sort of thinking but it is not helpful, nor is it kind. You can always learn more. The first step is to notice there is a lot more to become aware of. The next step is to find someone you want to learn with/from. The third is to make a commitment to learn.
When I discovered Healing Touch™ back in the 90’s, what I became aware of quickly got me out of chronic pain and literally gave me my life back. (See Debra’s Story: Freedom from Pain.)
I remember the 4th of July weekend when the adult son of a client came to visit his mother in Michigan. He was scheduled for back surgery the following week. His mom sent him to have a session with me. He was able to go back home and cancel the surgery. His back pain has never returned.
Several years ago, our daughter was riding in the car with her dad and me. She had a horrible headache. I said to her dad, “Do a pain drain for her.” Having previously learned that technique, he did that and her headache cleared!
Many amazing healings have happened using energy medicine and intuition. Some of them have no logical explanation. I do not know what causes such wonderful results. What we do know is that our medical system is too costly (on lots of levels). Fortunately, we can do better.
We are exploring how to set up a mentoring program with Mary Jo for our community. I do not have a sense of what all I will learn, or what that will do for me personally or for those with whom I am able to share, but I am excited about the possibilities. Let me know if you are, too….