First, let's clear up some of the confusion about intuition. It's not a gift. It's not about a spiritual journey. It's not some New Age mumbo jumbo that involves crystals and candles. It doesn't involve a vegetarian diet and practicing yoga. Simply put, it's a skill and it's one that we all have.

Intuition is instinct, it's a gut feeling. It's when you know something but your rational mind can't figure out how you know that. It's about being able to see the complete picture in a flash.
It's your inner voice. All of us have intuition. You can see it in children. They can sense right away if they don't like someone or something and they say so because they don't have the polite barriers that we develop as adults.
Animals have intuition too. How many times have you come home from a tough day at work and your dog trots up to you and licks your face? Don't you feel….hey…my dog understands me. Animals sense when they're needed and respond….that's intuition. Animals in the wild know intuitively when danger is approaching. It's a survival skill for them.

In her book, Awakening Intuition, Dr Mona Lisa Schulz, a neuropsychiatrist and neuroscientist, writes about a hospital where she was on duty in the ICU. One day she walked up to the nurses' station where there was a monitor board with all kinds of patient alarms and buzzers. Most of the time the nurses just ignored the buzzers but every once in a voice they'd just drop what they were doing and run to attend to a patient. There was no separate buzzer to tell them that some patients were in more need of urgent help. When Dr Schulz asked them how they knew, they were puzzled and didn't know how to explain it. They said they just knew.
You might have experienced less dramatic occasions of intuition in your own life. There's mother's intuition which tells you when your child is unwell or in danger.

The Aboriginals and Native Americans, who live close to the land, have an ability to read the natural elements for signs, which is a type of intuition.

As you practice your intuitive skills, you'll find yourself paying attention not just to your own inner thoughts but to that of others. You begin to read between the lines. Intuition warns you when something is off kilter but it can also guide you in the correct direction if you learn to listen to it.

Intuition is a natural sense that we all have but you have to be careful how you use it.

Let me tell you about something that happened to me a while ago. I went to the blood bank to donate blood and I was sitting next to a woman. A total stranger. Now…wait for this….. I did something I don't do in the normal course of things. Instead of saying how are you, how's the weather…..you know….the kind of stuff you say when you first meet somebody…instead, I felt this light bulb go off in my head and I said to her.. this total stranger: I said..
'Are you intuitive?'
Then I held my breath and thought…oops…why did I say that?
And the woman turns to me and says:
'You know, as a matter of fact… I am.'
Phew….I was right.
We went on to talk about intuition and she told me that her intuition helps her to read people.

Now, I don't ever recommend you do this and I wouldn't ever do it again. Intuition is not about blurting out the first insight you have about someone else. It's about knowing when to hold back. You may get a flash of insight about yourself or someone else. When you do, take a deep breath and let it settle down in your mind. Then ask yourself, am I doing the right thing by sharing this or should I keep it to myself? Is the person ready to receive my insight about them?

I have a friend who works as an intuitive consultant. Some of the work he does is with women who've been abused. When he first started out, he would see a woman and in a flash he'd know her history of abuse without her saying a word…and he would tell them what he saw. Many of the women couldn't take it. They would deny the abuse or say they didn't want to hear about it. They wanted help but at the same time they were in denial.
Over time, he learnt how to communicate with them at their own pace. They could not take the full force of his intuitive insights, so he learnt to deal with them….with compassion.

That's the key word here. Compassion. That's what I've learnt from intuition. It's to be vulnerable to your own pain and that of others and know when to speak and when to remain silent.

It's a skill we can all re-learn by tuning into our inner voice. By listening to what people are saying and to our own thoughts. Not just the words but also what's not being said. Intuition is an important tool we can use to find balance, between our outer and our inner lives.

I didn't always use my intuition but I think what helped me start using it, was that, when I was a child, I was a dreamer. As a matter of fact, I still am. I was always being told I had my head in the clouds. My teachers would look at me with mournful eyes and say: You could do so much better if you stopped day dreaming.
I'm glad I didn't listen to them. Dreaming and a vivid imagination are a big help with developing intuition. And I had both in spades. My inner life was so rich that I preferred it to the less colourful outer world. Let me say here that intuition is not an escape. It's about finding a balance between the intellect and our intuition. The emphasis in our education is on developing the intellect. Intuition remains untapped when it should be treated and developed as a life skill.

Before I started to use intuition, I had a need to control everything in my life. I was what is known as a control freak. Anyway, I realized that trying to control my life, my relationships…everything, it wasn't working…in fact…it was making it worse. That's when I sat down and had a kind of internal review of my life. I began to read and research stuff…because that's how I do it…and I realized that my problem was that I wasn't using my intuition. I had become reliant on my intellect alone. So I began to use my intuition. It wasn't easy…no way…I was scared. I'd get an intuitive flash about a path I should take in my life and my intellect would kick in and find excuses for why it knew better.
Some days, I'd get up in the morning and find my rational mind in conflict with my intuitive self. My intellect was determined to keep control.

Imagine a dialogue between my rational mind, which I'll call RM and my intuitive self, which I'll call IS.


IS: I don't feel so good today. I've got a feeling…

RM: …..forget about feelings. You're in control. You know better.

IS: But…I feel something bad might happen…like ..

RM: That's silly. Since when do you listen to all this mumbo jumbo.

IS: It's just that, I feel it's better to stay at home today.

RM: Don't be silly. Get yourself together. Squash those silly feelings.

IS: Alright…if you say so. You know better.


So I'd ignore IS and set out and my car wouldn't start and I'd get upset and lose my temper. Then I'd get to work and get upset with something else and all in all I had a lousy day. But I refused to admit that I should have paid attention to IS. Maybe IS was telling me that I had issues to deal with in my personal life or maybe I had a health problem that needed attention. Intuition is about tapping into the stuff that you're suppressing or ignoring for various reasons. Maybe it's too uncomfortable, maybe there's too much of change involved. I never said it was easy.

The intuitive life is a tough one. Make no mistake about that. It's not about being in some la la land where everything is smooth and easy. No way. Your internal landscape is changing all the time and you're tuned in to your inner world and that of others to such a fine degree, that you can no longer ignore someone's pain and say…..that's none of my business. You just can't do that any more. I used to get anxiety and panic attacks wondering what I was doing in this inner world of mine. Life is so much easier on the outside. Much simpler if you ignore IS.
Not that I'm suggesting you jump in and interfere with everyone's problems like a fix it all, but you become so compassionate that people know they can turn to you without you telling them how intuitive you are.

Once, a friend of mine was telling me about her problems. My intellect was coming up with a whole host of solutions to her problems but my intuition was telling me I should listen and remain silent. On this occasion, I paid heed to my intuition and instead of giving her advice, I reached out and touched her hand. I didn't say a word. I just touched her hand. Later she told me that was the best thing I'd done. She said that simple touch had conveyed more understanding to her that if I'd spoken.

Here's another thing. Remember, intuition doesn't make you special. So don't go round telling the world how intuitive you are.
As best selling writer and intuitive, Caroline Myss says, don't expect the window seat because you're intuitive. You are no different. Everyone has intuition. It's just that some of us have forgotten how to use it.
Using intuition changed me….is still changing me. I'm still a control freak at times…but now I check in with my intuition every time I take a decision…and ask myself….is this right…is this the best solution?
Philosophers and teachers from Socrates to J. Krishnamurti have used the technique of asking tough questions in order to get clarity.

Silence is another useful tool to get in touch with your intuition. Spend a little while in silence and contemplation everyday and use that time to do an internal check of your thoughts and find out what your intuition is saying.
The word intuition comes from the Latin intueri, meaning to look within. One of the definitions of intuition in The Webster's dictionary is: quick and ready insight. And what is insight? Back to my trusty Webster's again. The definition or meaning of insight is ..the act of seeing the inner nature of things.

I like that. The inner nature of things. Or, to look within at the inner nature of things.
A good definition of intuition.


Let me tell you about something that happened to me a while ago. I went into the post office to buy a stamp and also because I needed the postcode for an address.